Positive Psychology: Recommended Reading

There are so many books published on positive psychology now that it is hard to keep up. All the more reason to note down books that I think are most useful. Please use the comments link to add any other recommendations or comment on any of these.

 

The first book in each section is my top recommendation

 

General

Boniwell, I (2007) Positive Psychology in a Nutshell (London: PWBC)

Compton W,C. (2005)  Introduction to Positive Psychology (Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth)

Seligman, M. Authentic Happiness (New York: Free Press, 2002)

Snyder, C.R . & Lopez, S (2002) Handbook of Positive Psychology. New York: OUP

Linley P. & Joseph,S Positive Psychology in Practice Wiley (2004)

Carr,A. Positive Psychology (Hove and New York: Brunner-Routledge, 2004)

 

Happiness and Well-Being

 

Lyubomirsky, S (2008) The How of Happiness (Sphere)

Gilbert, D (2006) Stumbling on Happiness (Harper)

Haidt, J. The Happiness Hypothesis  (London: Arrow, 2006)

Nettle, D. Happiness (Oxford: OUP, 2005)

Ben-Shahar, T (200) Finding Pleasure, Meaning and Life's Ultimate Currency  (McGraw-Hill)

Layard, R Happiness (London: Penguin, 2006)

Argyle,M. The Psychology of Happiness (London: Routledge, 2001)

Eysenck, M (1990) Happiness  (L.E.A)

Myers, D.M. The Pursuit of Happiness (New York: Morrow, 1992)

Keyes, C  and Haidt , J (ed) Flourishing: Positive Psychology and the Life Well-Lived

Weiner, E (2008) The Geography of Bliss (Twelve)

 

Flow

 Csikszentmihalyi , M.  Flow: The Psychology of optimal experience   (1990)

Csikszentmihalyi . M.  Finding Flow (1997)

Strengths

Rath, T. (2007)  StrengthsFinder  (New York, Gallup)

Bolt, M  (2004)  Pursuing Human Strengths: A Positive Psychology Guide (Worth)

Peterson, C & Seligman, M  (2004)  Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification (OUP)

 

Aspinall,L. & Staudinger, U. A Psychology of Human Strengths (Washington, APA, 2003)

 

 

Emotions, Emotional Intelligence and Resilience

Goleman, D. (1995) Emotional Intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ New York: Bantam

Reivich, K., & Shatte, A. (2002). The Resilience Factor.  New York: Broadway Books.

Goleman, D. (1998) Working with Emotional Intelligence: Bantam

Epstein,S (1998) Constructive Thinking: The Key to Emotional Intelligence (Westport, Praeger)

Barr-On, R & Parker, J (2000) The Handbook of Emotional Intelligence (Jossey-Bass)

 

The positive psychology of Buddhism and Mindfulness

Levine, M. (2000) The Positive Psychology of Buddhism & Yoga (LEA)

Goleman, D. (2003) Destructive Emotions (London: Bloomsbury)

H.H Dalai Lama & Cutler, H (1998) The Art of Happiness (London, Hodder and Stoughton)

Benson, H.  (1975)The Relaxation Response (New York: William Morrow)

Kabat-Zinn, J. (2005) Full Catastrophe Living (London: Piatkus)

Langer, E (1989) Mindfulness (Perseus)

Ricard, M  (2007) Happiness (Atlantic)

 

Hope, Optimism and Luck

Seligman, M Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life New York: Pocket Books

Snyder, C.R  (2000) Handbook of Hope. Orlando FL: Academic Press

Gillham, J The Science of Optimism and Hope Philadelphia, PA: Templeton Foundation Press (2000)

Wiseman, R.  The Luck Factor (Arrow, 2004)

Positive Relationships - Love and Friendship

Gottmann, J. & Silver, N. (1999) The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work  (London: Orion)

Sternberg, R, (1988) The Triangle of Love (New York: Basic)

Wisdom and Decision-Making

Sternberg,R.  & Jordan, J. (2005) A Handbook of Wisdom (Cambridge: CUP)

Philosophy relevant to Positive Psychology

Aristotle (2004) Nicomachean Ethics (Penguin)

Russell, B. (2006)) The Conquest of Happiness (Routledge)

Fromm, E (1995) The Art of Loving (Thorsons)

LeBon, T (2001) Wise Therapy (London: Sage)

Bellioti, R (2004) Happiness is Overrated (Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield)

Schoch, R (2007) The Secrets of Happiness (London: Profile)

Revel, J-F & Ricard, M (1998)The Monk and the Philosopher (New York: Schocken)

Self-Help books relevant to Positive Psychology
(Note: Many of these  are based on empirical research, but are included because they contain interesting ideas that may be the starting point for research)

LeBoef, M. (1980) Creative Thinking  (London: Piatkus)

Buzan, T  (2000) The Mind Map Book London:BBC

Buzan, T  (2000) Use Your Head London:BBC

de Bono, E. (1982) de Bono's Thinking Course. London: BBC Books

de Bono, E . (2000) Six Thinking Hats.  London: Penguin

Gelb, M (2004) How to Think like Leonardo da Vinci  Element Books

Harris, R. (1998) Creative Thinking Techniques

Osborn, A. (1953) Applied Imagination.  New York: Scribners

Rawlinson, J. (1986) Creative Thinking and Brainstorming. London: Gower

Hammond, J, Keeney, R & Raiffi, H (1999) Smart Choices (Boston: Harvard)

Paterson, R.  (2000) The Assertiveness Workbook (Oakland: New Harbinger)

Sharma, R (1997) The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari (Ontario: Harper Collins)

Popovic, N. (2005) Personal Synthesis. (London: PWBC.)

Branden, N. (2004) The Six Pillars of self-esteem (Random House)

Clegg, B & Birch, P  (1999) Instant Creativity Kogan Page

 

Positive Psychology Coaching and Interventions

Biswas-Diener, R & Dean, B Positive Psychology Coaching.  (New Jersey, WIley, 2007)

Frisch, M. (2006) Quality of Life Therapy (New Jersey: Wiley)

Shane J. Lopez (Editor), C.R. Snyder (Editor)  Positive Psychological Assessment: A Handbook of Models and Measures

 

Precursors to Positive Psychology

Levinson, D. Season’s of a Man’s Life (New York: Ballantine, 1986)

Maslow, A. Motivation and Personality (Longman, 1987)

Pervin, L & John, O.  Handbook of Personality. New York: Guilford.

Vaillant, G.E. Adaption to Life (Harvard University Press, 1995)

Bowlby,J. (1971) Attachment and Loss Volume 1: Attachment Penguin Books, Harmondsworth

Creativity and Creative Thinking

Sternberg, R (1999) Handbook of Creativity Cambridge, UK

Newsletter 6 - New Years Rules for Happiness and January courses

Regular readers may recall that in general I am not in favour of New Years Resolutions
(See last year's article New Years Resolutions? You must be nuts ...)
However, today's Times features a really interesting piece by none other than the Chief Rabbi,
Jonathan Sacks, entitled Count your blessings and begin to change your life
The apparent contradiction is resolved because Sacks isnt so much recommending unrealistic
resolutions as pretty wise-looking rules for living well. You can read Sacks's whole article online, but here's a list of his 10 recommendations.(the bits in brackets are my gloss on what he says)


Read more of this article .... including 5 more tips for living happily suggested by Tim LeBon

(The above article is the most recent article on Tim LeBon's Socrates Satisfied blog).

One of Sachs's tips is to engage in livelong learning - here are details of 4 courses that may be just the ticket ..

4 courses in practical philosophy and psychology starting in early January

If learning, personal development or well-being are amongst your new year's goals, then you might like to sign up for one of 4 courses I'm running in the next couple of weeks.
They are:
Frankl and the Search for Meaning
Friday 18th Jan 2008 1030-1730 Location: City Lit, Central London
Viktor Frankl's ideas can inspire everyone aiming to find more meaning and purpose in their life.
This lively and highly-rated workshop will help you start the New Year focusing on this important issue.
Call 020 7831 7831 to enrol or visit the City Lit website

Philosophical Life Coaching
Saturday 19th Jan 2008 1030-1630 Location: City Lit, Central London
" “Move over Carole Caplin. The new gurus of self-help are philosophical counsellors from beyond the grave” proclaimed the Independent recently.
Lead a more satisfying and meaningful life by using insights and methods from the great thinkers. This introduction will show you some of the most interesting ways it can be of help.
No previous experience required
Call 020 7831 7831 to enrol or visit the City Lit website


Personal Development through Philosophy

This 10 week course will show how studying philosophy can help you discover how they can be true to themselves, make wiser decisions and develop more enlightened values.

Course Information

Course Code:	CE1944
Course Fee:	£100
Start date:	Tuesday 15 January 2008
Class Time:	6.30pm – 8.30pm
Number of Classes:	10 weekly classes
Accreditation:	10 credits at level 1

To enrol call 020 7040 8268 between 9.30am and 5.00pm.or visit the City Uni website

Positive Psychology

Positive psychology is the growing branch of psychology that focuses on the positive, including strengths, positive states and well-being. This course will have a particular emphasis on how positive psychology can make you more effective in your working life in terms of your strengths, emotional intelligence, creativity, decision making, meaning and purpose.

Course Code:	CE1941
Course Fee:	£180
Start date:	Thursday 17 January 2008
Class Time:	6.30pm – 8.30pm
Number of Classes:	10 weekly classes
Accreditation:	10 credits at level 1

Call 020 7831 7831 to enrol or visit the City Lit website