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Derek Chadee and Aleksandra Kostić

Positive psychology conjures the notion of a soft approach to addressing hard psychological issues. Though this is far from the truth, academia quite often focuses on removing of the negative and thinking critically of issues that adversely impact on our lives. Focusing on the other side, the positive, somehow implicitly summons the notion of not assessing the core of a problem. Martin Seligman in 1998, recognizing the usefulness of critically assessing the cause and impact of the negative, also saw the need to focus theorization, research, policy, and a paradigm toward the other side of the coin – the positive. In fact, positive psychologists go even further to emphasize that by encouraging the development of positive attributes many of the negative issues may be systemically addressed.

Martin Seligman the father of positive psychology defined this area of psychology as “a scientific and professional movement with a new goal to build the enabling conditions of a life worth living” (2011) and studied not only the frailties and problems but the strengths and virtues of the human being (Seligman, 2002, p. 630). Later, Duckworth, Steen, and Seligman (2005) clarified positive psychology from clinical psychology noting that as a “scientific study of positive experiences and positive individual traits and the institutions that facilitate their development, a field concerned with well‐being and optimal functioning, positive psychology at first glance seem peripheral to mainstream clinical psychology. We believe otherwise.” In fact, they noted that positive psychology expands the emphasis of clinical psychology from distress and interventions for improvement and moving the discourse to continuance of well‐being. Taking this principle of positive psychology, its contributions toward well‐being expands beyond that of the clinical branch of the discipline of psychology. Gable and Haidt (2005) argued that the prominence of the negative in psychology may be a result of prioritizing of compassion, the history and pragmatism of focusing on distress and disease, the nature and theorization of psychology. But they also posited that a positive psychology in no way implies a negative psychology, nor prior or future theorization, and research outside of this emerging branch are not in any way inferior.

Core to the discipline is the fact that positive psychology has the characteristics of a scientific intellectual movement and has over a short period develop a paradigm of a mature science (Simmons, 2013). Seligman, Gillham, Reivich, Linkins, and Ernst (2009) acknowledged the growth of positive psychology as a scientific paradigm to study positive emotions, engagement, and meaning and the importance of these characteristics in the development of life satisfaction. But one may ask why the ease in which this discipline has so quickly navigated toward respectability. The answer obviously lies in the content of positive psychology and the simplicity of the assumptions and premises on which, over a hundred years prior, the discipline of psychology studied with interventions. However, psychology fell short of ensuring the continuance of the well‐being of the inner being (Duckworth et al., 2005). Simmons (2013) referred to an interesting quotation from Abraham Maslow’s classic book, Motivation and Personality, in a chapter titled “Toward a Positive Psychology”:

The science of psychology has been far more successful on the negative than on the positive side. It has revealed to us much about man’s shortcomings, his illness, his sins, but little about his potentialities, his virtues, his achievable aspirations, or his full psychological height. It is as if psychology has voluntarily restricted itself to only half its rightful jurisdiction, and that, the darker, meaner half.

(Maslow, 1954, p. 354)

The genesis of positive psychology has been attributed to the works of humanistic psychologists such as Carl Rogers, Rollo May, Abraham Maslow, Gordon Allport, and Marie Jahoda, who in 1958 wrote on the continuance of well‐being in patients (Duckworth et al., 2005). One can possibly say that the spirit of humanistic psychology manifested in positive psychology, one discipline in its evolution. However, Peterson and Seligman (2004, see also Simons, 2013) noted the reluctance of the humanistic school to emphasize scientific rigor.

Happiness and well‐being are partly influenced by positive emotions, engagement, and purpose (Seligman, 2008). Concerns about the past, present, and future influence our levels of contentment, serenity, somatic and complex pleasures, optimism, and hope (Duckworth et al., 2005; Seligman, Rashid, & Parks, 2006). Our engagement is reciprocally conditional to strengths which are constructed on core virtues such as wisdom, integrity, and honesty. Purpose and life meaning are derived from interaction within the institutional core to our self. These three domains are not mutually exclusive but the ideal is a harmonious balance. The interplay of the three domains provide hedonic, emphasis on happiness and pleasure, and eudaimonic emphasis on life’s meaning, purpose, and satisfactions. Both hedonic and eudaimonic models were synergized by Seligman and Adler (2018; see also Altmaier, 2019) to understand a blended engagement in the derivation of happiness and life satisfaction. Seligman articulated this blend in the PERMA model which is an acronym for positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment.

Positive psychology has distinguished between the absence of the negative and the presence of the positive. Consider, cold is the absence of heat or poverty the absence of wealth, though debatable, these analogies have their insights but also their limits. Similarly, consider the issue of delinquency. The resolution of this issue by addressing the core causes of the problem means that the issue has been addressed with temporal and spatial specificity. But has the well‐being of persons involved with or affected by delinquency been addressed or sustained? Has the social environment and parties feel engaged, or have a greater sense of well‐being, or have more positive emotions? The positive psychology emphasis of beyond time and space limitations is a core distinguishing factor. Duckworth et al. (2005) observing that the positive is not simply the absence of the negative, noted with an example that the removal of incivility, revenge, and anger, does not necessarily lead to the presence of civility, cooperation, and loyalty. Both the former, removal of the negative, and the latter, creation and sustenance of the the positive, require different interventions.

Within this context and sharing the assumptions and theorization of positive psychology, the contributors to this book are from a wide range of cultures and have diligently articulated significant issues of interest on positive psychology to an international audience. Their contributions include the areas of altruism, positive creativity, science of well‐being, forgiveness, coaching for leadership, cyberpsychology, intelligence, responding to catastrophes like COVID‐19, time perspective, physiological and epigenetic, youth civic engagement, ups and downs of love, flow and good life, global perspectives on positive psychology, self and collective efficacy, positive psychology interventions, and positive orientation.

Do we humans ever, in any degree, care for others for their sakes and not simply for our own? Daniel Batson, renowned for his research on empathy and altruism, in his chapter utilizes the empathy‐altruism hypothesis to address this question. The egoism–altruism debate is briefly discussed, touching on the egoism trend that prevails in Western societies. The empathy‐altruism hypothesis, which states that altruistic motivation is produced by empathetic concern is discussed distinguishing empathetic concern (the perceived welfare of a person in need elicits and is congruent with other‐oriented emotion) and altruistic motivation (increasing another’s welfare in the main goal). Other aspects of empathy‐altruism are articulated such as self‐benefits falling within the realm of the goal of egoism as opposed to the consequence of altruism. The author notes that empathy‐induced altruistic motivation is within the human repertoire and the biological roots of such motivation may lie in generalized parental nurturance. Practical implications of the empathy‐altruism hypothesis are then discussed in relation to its benefits and liabilities. Some benefits include the inhibition of aggression, the increase of collaboration in conflicts, and improved attitudes toward stigmatized groups. Some liabilities include the potential risk of harm (e.g., through time, money, and physical injury) by performing some altruistic acts and some needs may not necessarily arouse empathetic concern.

Distinguished psychologist, Robert J. Sternberg, differentiates between positive and negative creativity, highlighting that while fundamentally being the same, the distinguishing factor is the function they serve. The author contends that creators need to think beyond the short‐term requirements of creative solutions since solutions which have outlived their purpose may become negative in the wrong hands, for example, nuclear weapons and carbon‐based fuels. Acknowledging the prevalence and impact of negative creativity globally, the article outlines some of the fundamental reasons for negative creativity. These include enhancing reputation, responding in anger, responding to fear, and revenge.

Creators need to also pay attention to whether creativity is adding value both in the short and long term, that is whether it is positive, negative, or neutral. Citing social media and a form of creativity once intended to be positive, it has evolved into a medium which has been used to distort elections and spread hateful propaganda. One of the many conclusions from this chapter is a discussion on how creativity can be uncomfortable and potentially dangerous, but, despite this, there is a need for more positive creativity, decency in discourse, reflection, and civility.

In their chapter Jessica Kansky and Ed Diener extend theconcept of subjective well‐being (SWB) beyond happiness. The primary causes ofwell‐being (e.g., income, social relationships, genetics, strengths andpositive behaviors, and health) were discussed as well as its criticaloutcomes. SWB consists of three independently related facets: positive,negative, and life satisfaction. The dynamic nature of SWB has seen a growinginterest in the field which has been matched by evolving methods of measurementwhich range from self‐report methods to physiological and neuroimaging methods.These methods, however, are constrained by their inability to provide causal conclusions. To address this limitation, experimental methods and long‐termfollow‐up assessments were viewed as a way forward allowing researchers tounderstand the causal relationship between moods and affect. The influence ofprograms such as ENHANCE strongly suggest the malleability of happiness. As the authors pointed, “an individual may have multiplehappiness set points, rather than one global point and that different aspectsof well‐being can move in different directions independently”. Inclosing an emphasis is given to the strong need for further research on theconceptual and theoretical foundations of SWB and its globalization.

How can positive psychology be applied to leadership styles not only for the direct benefit of organizations but for overall human development? Ilona Boniwell and Wendy‐Ann Smith discuss the merit of positive leadership for organizations challenged by global competition. Employees who belong to teams which are guided by greater opportunities for recognition, whose leaders are seen as more ethical, authentic, and charismatic, tend to demonstrate greater engagement at the individual level, and those organizations are better able to achieve their corporate goals. Positive leadership is an umbrella term encompassing several leadership styles which places the human at the center of the value creation process. The authors distinguish among positive organizational scholarship, positive organizational behavior, and positive leadership as critical tools of positive psychology within the workplace. Guided by the competing values framework, which posits that leadership has the capacity to hold and integrate contrasting tensions, the chapter discusses the major theoretical underpinnings of leadership.

Some of the major tools in coaching of employees are articulated and include perceiving emotions, understanding emotions, using emotions to facilitate thinking, and managing emotions. Perceiving emotions extends beyond just that of the individual leader but also of members of the team since this directly impacts leadership thought and behaviors. Understanding emotional reactions provides a greater awareness of the causes of certain emotions and some predictability to the consequences of such emotional responses. Using emotions, both positive and negative, to facilitate thinking can have beneficial outcomes. Positive emotions make one more receptive and creative while negative emotions, guided by support have the potential for creative problem solving. Finally, the authors insightfully discuss that the managing of emotions as a coaching tool is critical since emotions can be contagious and can impact the mood and morale of work teams. Leadership is an integration between positive opposites, which can become negative when viewed in isolation, and that effective coaching supports and challenges employees to go beyond the either/or choices presented by these positive opposites.

Jolanta Burke integrates positive psychology and cyberpsychology into the new and novel field of positive technology. Merging cyberpsychology and positive psychology draws attention to the use of technology in addressing human needs and the development of well‐being programs which are delivered using technology. Positive cyberpsychology aims to study three broad areas: the positive impact of technology in directly improving individual and group level well‐being, the positive subjective experience of technology, and the positive subjective impact of online content at the individual and group level.

With respect to the positive impact of technology in directly improving individual and group level well‐being, there are currently available interventions used in the medical field which serve as a stepping stone since they primarily focus on health rather than well‐being. The author contends that cyberpsychology can inform positive psychology in this regard by focusing researchers on the effectiveness of and optimal use of cyberpsychology. To understand the impact of technology on well‐being requires further research attention to ensure end‐users’ positive experiences with technology. Specifically, there is a paucity of research on the positive impact of technology with much greater attention being given to the negative physical and mental outcome of technology. Initial studies have demonstrated how technology can improve lives and this should serve as a guide to developing positive cyberpsychology interventions.

Robert J. Sternberg, in another contribution, is empathetic and expresses his concern as an academic and a world citizen on how pandemics and issues such as COVID‐19 are addressed. Guided by relevant research he notes the failure of human beings to truly adapt to catastrophes highlighting several ways in which human beings have failed to adapt to changes. Citing the mismanagement of the Spanish flu pandemic as the perfect example of what world leaders should avoid, he posits that twenty‐first‐century world leaders instead choose to either ignore those events or implement decisions which arguably have made the current COVID‐19 pandemic worse. The chapter challenges the traditional notions of intelligence, drawing a comparison between competence, which refers to our capabilities, and performance which refers to what we do. Applying academic definitions of intelligence may be flawed in real‐world settings since pandemics, catastrophes, and climate change oftentimes require practical solutions for which there is no predefined right or wrong answer.

Sternberg argues for the need to incorporate social psychology in the study of intelligence since real‐world problem solving and decision making occur within a sociocultural context. Cognitive dissonance theory was used to succinctly explain changes in behaviors and decisions and to demonstrate the utility of incorporating social psychology in the study of intelligence. The role of rational thinking and personality traits are important consideration for realization of the fruits of social intelligence. The chapter outlines the use of positive psychology in helping individuals make important decisions which have health and well‐being implications.

What is the relationship between time perspective and feeling good? Aleksandra Kostić, Derek Chadee, and Marija Pejičić’s chapter addresses this issue. Psychological research on time indicates that the attitude toward time has a strong and even powerful influence on how we live. The way we relate to different time intervals and the way in which we separate and connect them, and then separate again, influence our perception of the world and sense of well‐being. The authors’ interest is directed toward the analysis of the connection between the subjective experience of time and an individual’s positive affective experience, which implies finding answers to some unresolved questions. Therefore, an important question to ask is whether a certain preferred temporal orientation implies a higher number of positive effects, and another one implies a higher number of negative effects. Core to this chapter is understanding how our motivation, activities, achievements, and transformations are influenced by our time perspective and in turn influence our well‐being.

Massimo Agnoletti and Sandro Formica’s chapter on physiological and epigenetics builds on research which explored emotions and physiology to demonstrate the deeper impact that emotions, both positive and negative, can have on physical health and well‐being. The authors acknowledge the gap between medically researched interventions, which focus on physical and chemical processes of acute illness and trauma, and the psychological impact of illnesses and progressive treatments on humans. Progressive treatment of patients has sought to narrow the mind–body gap since there is new and compelling empirical support for the integration of both methods of treatment. This integration of biomedical and psychological knowledge brings a new and valuable understanding of the physiological and cellular dynamics of positive emotions.

To demonstrate adequately the benefits of physiological and epigenetic effects of positive emotions, the authors use three elements: the dopaminergic neural pathway, the cholinergic anti‐inflammatory pathway (CAP), and the interoceptive information. The dopaminergic pathway provides an understanding of the motivational influences governing repeating of behaviors which have positive emotional experiences and promotes better health. The CAP mediates the relation between life experiences and cellular information of the immune system which means that both the quality and quantity of life experiences can trigger epigenetic changes which can affect the quality of life and perception of personal identity. Finally, the interoception information is a continuous bidirectional communication between emotions and external sensory exchanges. The quality of life will be improved when human beings become aware of their thoughts, deeds, and lifestyle and advocate for the further narrowing of the mind–body gap and a move toward developing a platform for a holistic approach to the well‐being of individuals and society.

Youth civic engagement is multidimensional with a synergy among individuals, institutions, cultures, and subcultures with a social and economic, among others, context. Laura Wray‐Lake, Burkhard Gniewosz, Celina Benavides, and Sara Wilf adopting a developmental and cultural perspective, provide a micro–macro understanding of factors contributing to youth civic engagement and how these levels and their interaction influence engagement. The authors distinguish civic engagement from citizenship noting that the latter is a formal and legal status of being a member of a society while the former is the subjective representation of citizenship with psychological or tangible interactions with others where individuals express rights and acts on responsibilities without the requirement of citizenship. For engagement to take place there must be interaction between the individual and community. An emphasis of this chapter is the importance of socialization in civic development in both childhood and adolescence allowing for a sense of purpose in connection to their social world. The authors embolden discourses to build a consensus across cultures and disciplines on the understanding of youth civic engagement.

In his third contribution, Robert J. Sternberg focuses on the several elements of love and the contribution of these elements to the satisfaction and maintenance of a relationship including elements of trust, compassion, and communication. These core elements are utilized in a holistic analysis and identification of malfunctions within the relationship, and perception of the degree to which the relationship helps the individual to self‐actualize. Crucial to an understanding of love are intimacy, passion, and commitment. These form the author’s triangular theory of love, the understanding of which is posited to be essential for a successful relationship. The theory of love as a story is discussed, along with the formulation and functions of the stories of love. The roles of jealousy and envy within current and future relationships are also considered, with situational and personal jealousy and envy being the focus. These constructs were noted as being either harmful or beneficial to a relationship. The chapter provides an angle into the meaningfulness, the eudaimonic, of love and positive relational development.

The celebrated and one of the major contributors to the genesis of positive psychology, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi writes on the flow concept, a major contribution he has made to positive psychology. He notes that this concept arose out of research on low to nonextrinsic rewarding activities. Csikszentmihalyi provides an understanding of the development of the flow concept. He describes the state of flow as an intense concentration in which we tend to lose self‐consciousness, though being in control of actions and sensations, but the experience being its own reward. The concept of flow remains an important concept in positive psychology. The eudaimonic relationship between flow and realization of intrinsic motivation is core to the distinction of positive psychology from main stream psychology. And this point is clearly articulated in Csikszentmihalyi’s chapter.

In the rebalancing of the field of psychology, a call for an increase in positive psychological science was made. Positive psychological science’s aim is to increase the understanding of how to build the factors for the prevention of pathologies that result from purposelessness. Stewart I. Donaldson, Saida Heshmati, and Scott I. Donaldson’s chapter starts with a brief history of the impact and development within positive psychology. Positive psychology has seen a tremendous increase in peer‐reviewed positive psychological scientific studies and research and many of the critiques of positive psychology as nonscientific result from reviewing of some literature that has not passed the examination of scientific peer review. Fundamental to the global development of a scientific psychology is the establishment of reliable and valid measures. The several meta‐analyses strongly reaffirm the empirical validity of positive psychological interventions. The chapter deliberates on potential new directions and includes areas of cultural context and relationships and their related issues. The purpose of positive psychology as a new science is to develop and utilize knowledge to address pathologies that arise when life is barren and meaningless. The authors conclude by asserting that “the global perspective on positive psychological science will inspire much more sound peer‐reviewed research, and facilitate the design and evaluation of many more evidence‐based positive psychology interventions across the world.”

Shari Young Kuchenbecker expands on Albert Bandura’s social cognitive theory (SCT) utilizing self‐efficacy at the center of human agency. Her chapter provides a brief history of Albert Bandura’s concept contextualizing them within a positive psychological perspective. The widespread usefulness of his theories and experiments are emphasized, this includes the concept of self‐efficacy. Of import is the ability to connect with others and the role of self‐efficacy in interpersonal and intrapersonal relationships. The essentiality of the interaction between an infant and the caregiver to the social development of the child is emphasized. The link between the care of a child and the healthy development of self‐efficacy and other social competencies such as emotional regulation, communication skills, and the ability to form positive functioning social relationships are contextualized in the development of a psychologically healthy person. Self‐efficacy and collective efficacy are core to our holistic development and the chapter differentiates these concepts. The relationship between self‐efficacy and well‐being is considered with an emphasis on the concept of moral disengagement, first introduced by Bandura. Moral disengagement is designed to justify an individual’s actions. If moral disengagement exists then so too does moral engagement, which, the author postulates, is the key to the success of the collective efficacy. The chapter acknowledges the contribution of Albert Bandura in creating a map to understand the relationship between community and positive psychology.

As the name suggests, REACH Forgiveness is an intervention with the purpose of assisting persons in the forgiveness of others and becoming more forgiving generally. Everett L. Worthington Jr. begins his chapters by giving a brief history of the development of the intervention as well as some research conducted in efforts to inspire the audience with potential ideas for possible future positive psychological interventions. Taking the REACH Forgiveness intervention as a case study, the author describes the use of scientific principles to create quality psychological interventions, to conduct research on their efficacy, effectiveness, and dissemination. Some origins of ideas for new interventions are discussed, identifying some sources including clients, teachers, and real‐life experiences. Interestingly, the author also focuses on how to create an intervention from an idea. Populations in need of assistance that can potentially be provided through intervention are proposed as a key sample for ethically testing of ideas. Intervention go through multiple testing before the results are published and the intervention is used. An example of the development of an intervention is provided through a case study of the REACH Forgiveness intervention. Methods of disseminating an intervention are outlined, these include dissemination through speeches, scientific publications, and presentations and books. An important take home is that interventions must have relevance and utility.

Vesna Petrović, Dragan Žuljević, and Gian Vittorio Caprara present a series of studies in their chapter that demonstrate the relationships among positive evaluations about oneself, life, and future and these relationships can be traced to a common latent dimension of “positive orientation” and positivity. Their review of findings validates the relationship between positivity and being well adjusted. Positive orientation is a stable evaluative disposition that assists in coping with adversities and has been identified as a latent factor in self‐esteem, life satisfaction, and dispositional optimism with evidence of positivity having a genetic influence. The first two studies demonstrated the universality of the positivity scale by testing variance levels across age, gender, and different languages. Positivity should be considered a superordinate variable to self‐esteem, life satisfaction, and dispositional optimism. The fourth study highlighted the moderate relation between positivity and the Big Five personality traits which has direct implications for techniques used to improve positivity and general well‐being. The fifth study investigated the potential mediating role of positivity in the relation between unresolved family traumatization and variables of subjective well‐being. Unresolved family traumatization significantly affects well‐being as it predicted higher scores of general distress and negative affect, as well as lower scores of satisfaction with life and positive affect. The same can also be said for positivity, but in the opposite direction.

Based on the arguments made within this article, several areas of future research were noted which include the impact of positivity on different spheres of life and domains of functioning, such as physical health, family, job, coping, and other domains. The authors advocate for research which provides an understanding of the biological correlates of positivity and the ways positivity may moderate stress, illness, and pain to promote overall health and well‐being. Research of this nature is essential for designing interventions based on practices that promote and sustain individuals’ positivity.

Lopez and Snyder (2009; also quoted in Almaier, 2019, p. 21), succinctly expressed the essence and emphasis of positive psychology as:

Positive psychology is the “scientific study” of what makes life most worth living. It is a call for psychological science and practice to be as concerned with strength as with weakness; as interested in building the best things in life as in repairing the worst; and as concerned with making the lives of normal people fulfilling as with healing pathology.

(Lopez & Snyder, 2009, p. xxiii)

The engagements in this volume provide multidimensional perspectives consistent with the emphasis of positive psychology.