Positive Psychology as Social Change

Robert Biswas-Diener is widely known as the "Indiana Jones of Positive Psychology" because his scientific pursuit of the emotional good life has led him to such far flung places as India, Greenland, Israel, Kenya, and Spain. He sits on the editorial boards of the Journal of Positive Psychology and the Journal of Happiness Studies. Robert is CAPP's Programme Director for Education and Learning. He is also part-time instructor of psychology at Portland State University (USA). Robert is the author of the books, Positive Psychology Coaching: Putting the science of happiness to work for your clients (Wiley, 2007), and Happiness: Unlocking the mysteries of psychological wealth (Blackwell, 2008).

From the reviews: "This volume demonstrates how the emphasis of positive psychology can and should be shifted from the individual to the group level. ... Biswas-Diener ... and the other contributors introduce the reader to cutting-edge thinking about public policy and interventions designed to impact individuals who find themselves in a wide variety of social contexts. ... Rarely does one find a volume of this genre to be as enthralling and thought provoking as this one. Summing up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals." (R. B. Stewart Jr., Choice, Vol. 49 (5), January, 2012)

• 1 What People Really Want in Life and Why It Matters:Contributions from Research on Folk Theoriesof the Good LifeChristie Napa Scollon and Laura A. KingPart I Some Cautionary Thoughts2 Think Before You ThinkNic Marks3 Socially Responsible Cheermongery: On the SocioculturalContexts and Levels of Social Happiness PoliciesNeil ThinPart II Positive Psychology and Public Policy4 Monitoring Psychosocial Prosperity for Social ChangeEd Diener and Carol Diener5 Gross National Happiness: A Gift from Bhutan to the WorldGeorge W. Burns6 Ecological Challenges, Materialistic Values,and Social ChangeTim Kasser7 Positive Psychology and Public HealthDora Guðrún GuðmundsdóttirPart III Positive Psychology and Poverty8 Positive Psychology and PovertyRobert Biswas-Diener and Lindsey Pattersonxiiixiv Contents9 Strengthening Underprivileged Communities:Strengths-Based Approaches as a Forcefor Positive Social Change in Community DevelopmentP. Alex Linley, Avirupa Bhaduri, Debasish Sen Sharma,and Reena GovindjiPart IV Positive Psychology and Organizations10 Creating Positive Social Change Through Building PositiveOrganizations: Four Levels of InterventionNicky Garcea and P. Alex Linley11 Organizational Democracy as a Force for Social ChangeTraci L. FentonPart V Positive Psychology and a Focus on Others12 Better Living Through Perspective TakingSara D. Hodges, Brian A.M. Clark, and Michael W. Myers13 Investing in Others: Prosocial Spending for (Pro)Social ChangeLara B. Aknin, Gillian M. Sandstrom, Elizabeth W. Dunn,and Michael I. NortonPart VI Positive Psychology and Social Change Interventions14 How Does Coaching Positively Impact Organizationaland Societal Change?Sunny Stout Rostron15 PositivePsychotherapy and Social ChangeAntonella Delle Fave and Giovanni A. Fava16 Recreate or Create? Leisure as an Arenafor Recovery and ChangeJoar Vittersø17 Positive ComputingTomas SanderPart VII Change theWorld18 Changing the World: The Science of Transformative ActionScott ShermanEditor’s AfterwordIndexContributors