Encyclopedia of Positive Psychology

This new encylopedia is a significant addition to Olympic College Library's psychology collection. Encyclopedia of Positive Psychology is part of the Library's Net Library e-book collection. To locate this Encyclopedia, go to Net Library and in the search box type "positive psychology".

Today’s positive psychologists have not invented the study of happiness, well being, or strengths although Positive Psychology has become, in the last decade, its own empirically based field of study and provides an umbrella term that brings together isolated lines of theory and research. The coining of the term for the field of study as we know it today can be traced back to Martin E. P. Seligman’s 1998 Presidential Address to the American Psychological Association. Martin Seligman offers the Foreword to this Encyclopedia.

It can be difficult at times when one has a research topic, to recall all the reference sources that might address my topic. By listing some of the subjects included in this reference work I'm hoping it might help you (and me!) identify the Encyclopedia of Positive Psychology as a useful source in research or student assignments.

Selected topics covered in this encyclopedia include (it's a long list but it gives you an idea of the breath of coverage!):

*abnormal psychology, *aesthetic appreciation, *agreeableness, *applied positive psychology, *attachment styles/theory, *cheerfulness, *civic responsibility and virtues, *clinical psychology, *compassion, *consciousness, *constructivism, *coping, *creativity, *cultural pluralism, *curiosity, *learned helplessness model, *emotional approach coping, *emotional intelligence, *empathy, *empirically-supported (evidence-based) interventions, *endorphins, *ethnic identity, *existential psychology, *forgiveness, *entrepreneurial behavior, *gratitude, *happiness, *health psychology, *heart-brain connection, *humility, *intimacy, *joy, *labeling (positive effects), *laughter, *locus of control, *meaning, *meditation/mindfulness, *narrative identity, *neurobiology, *optimism, *organizational psychology, *perseverance, *personal responsibility, *personality, *play/pleasure, *positive ethics, *positive social media, *posttraumatic growth, *psychological adjustment, *psychopathology, *purpose in life, *quality of life, *rehabilitation psychology, *resilience, *respect, *religiousness/religiosity, *school psychology, *self-efficacy, *self-determination, *self-esteem, *serotonin, *smiles/smiling, *social support, *social welfare, *strengths perspective, *successful (positive) aging, *transformational leadership, *utilitarianism, *values, *virtue ethics, *vitality, *well-being, *wisdom.

Posted by Leslie Hassett, Adjunct Library Faculty