Peace Psychology and Character Strengths

Ryan M. Niemiec, Psy.D. is a leading scientist, educator, and practitioner in character strengths and well-being. His work has reached (and hopefully positively influenced) millions of people. He is chief science and education officer of the renown VIA Institute on Character, a nonprofit organization in Cincinnati that leads the global advancement of the science of character strengths; VIA’s scientific measurement tool, the VIA Inventory/VIA Survey of strengths, is taken by someone every 9 seconds of every minute. Ryan has penned over 100 academic publications and 14 books, for consumers, practitioners, and academics/scientists. A four-time, award-winning psychologist, Ryan is an annual instructor at the University of Pennsylvania and gives keynotes and invited addresses across the globe, amounting to more than 1,000 presentations on these topics. In regard to the integration of character strengths and peace, Ryan has penned seminal publications, forged numerous collaborations, and given a range of presentations on the topic including to universities, institutes, and United Nations agencies. Ryan’s research areas, in addition to peace psychology, include character strengths interventions, Mindfulness-Based Strengths Practice (MBSP), healthy living/lifestyle habits, spirituality/meaning in life, intellectual/developmental disability, nature connection/pro-environmental behaviors, and the management/transcendence of suffering/adversity. Ryan is ordained in the Order of Interbeing, the community of Thich Nhat Hanh/Plum Village, who have offered a wide range of books and practices on peace.

• Section I: Foundations Across the Levels of Peace.- Chapter 1: A Foundation for the Integration of Peace Psychology and Character Strengths: New Science, Emerging Practices.- Chapter 2: Inner Peace and Character Strengths.- Chapter 3: Relational Peace and Character Strengths.- Chapter 4: Intragroup Peace and Character Strengths.- Chapter 5: Intergroup Peace and Character Strengths.- Chapter 6: Community Peace and Character Strengths.- Chapter 7: International Peace and Character Strengths.- Chapter 8: Ecological Peace and Character Strengths.- Section II: Specific Character Strengths to Create Peace.- Chapter 9: Perspective and Curiosity for Peace.- Chapter 10: Courage for Peace.- Chapter 11: Kindness for Peace.- Chapter 12: Justice and Fairness for Peace.- Chapter 13: Humility and Forgiveness for Peace.- Chapter 14: Hope, Gratitude, and Love for Peace.- Chapter 15: Spirituality for Peace.- Section III: The Future: Character Strengths and Peace.- Chapter 16: A Barrierless World: Character Strengths and Peaceful Steps Toward Global Harmony.- Chapter 17: Conclusion: An Integration of the Integration of Peace and Character Strengths.