Cross-Cultural Advancements in Positive Psychology – serie

This volume focuses explicitly on close relationships as a reliable source for individual happiness and well-being across cultures.

This book integrates research in positive psychology, Islamic psychology, and Muslim wellbeing in one volume, providing a view into the international experiential and spiritual lives of a religious group that represents over 24% of the world’s population.

This book integrates research in positive psychology, Islamic psychology, and Muslim wellbeing in one volume, providing a view into the international experiential and spiritual lives of a religious group that represents over 24% of the world’s population.

This is the first volume providing a research platform to showcase research in the field of positive psychology and well-being science in African contexts. Next to enhancing context-sensitive theory and practice on the African continent, it also contributes to the global discourse in positive psychology and facilitates the development of a science that reflects and is relevant to complexity and diversity in a globalising society. This volume brings together work from African scholars, featuring research on theoretical perspectives on well-being in Africa, measurement of well-being in Africa, manifestations and dynamics of well-being in Africa, and well-being promotion in Africa. It stimulates further research in positive psychology and well-being science in the African context and globally, and emphasises the interconnectedness and situatedness of human functioning and well-being, contributing to a more balanced perspective on well-being in an international perspective. The volume benefits researchers, students and practitioners in Africa and other international contexts who study or apply the science of positive psychology and well-being in diverse contexts.Chapter 1 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

This is the first volume providing a research platform to showcase research in the field of positive psychology and well-being science in African contexts. Next to enhancing context-sensitive theory and practice on the African continent, it also contributes to the global discourse in positive psychology and facilitates the development of a science that reflects and is relevant to complexity and diversity in a globalising society. This volume brings together work from African scholars, featuring research on theoretical perspectives on well-being in Africa, measurement of well-being in Africa, manifestations and dynamics of well-being in Africa, and well-being promotion in Africa. It stimulates further research in positive psychology and well-being science in the African context and globally, and emphasises the interconnectedness and situatedness of human functioning and well-being, contributing to a more balanced perspective on well-being in an international perspective. The volume benefits researchers, students and practitioners in Africa and other international contexts who study or apply the science of positive psychology and well-being in diverse contexts.Chapter 1 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

This volume addresses important questions related to the well-being and quality of life of emerging adults during crisis periods.

This volume addresses important questions related to the well-being and quality of life of emerging adults during crisis periods.

This open access book presents an integrative and transdisciplinary conceptualization of hope and brings together cross-cultural studies based on quantitative data from around the globe.

The international and multidisciplinary contributions address the complexities of young people’s life in a variety of cultural settings to explore how key developmental processes such as identity, religiosity and optimism, social networks, and social interaction in families and society at large promote optimal and successful adaptation.

The international and multidisciplinary contributions address the complexities of young people’s life in a variety of cultural settings to explore how key developmental processes such as identity, religiosity and optimism, social networks, and social interaction in families and society at large promote optimal and successful adaptation.

This volume focuses explicitly on close relationships as a reliable source for individual happiness and well-being across cultures.

This volume presents the reader with a stimulating tapestry of essays exploring the nature of personal autonomy, self-determination, and agency, and their role in human optimal functioning at multiple levels of analysis from personal to societal and cross-cultural. The starting point for these explorations is self-determination theory, an integrated theory of human motivation and healthy development which has been under development for more than three decades (Deci & Ryan, 2000). As the contributions will make clear, psychological autonomy is a concept that forms the bridge between the dependence of human behavior on biological and socio-cultural determinants on the one side, and people’s ability to be free, reflective, and transforming agents who can challenge these dependencies, on the other. The authors within this volume share a vision that human autonomy is a fundamental pre-condition for both individuals and groups to thrive, and that without understanding the nature and mechanisms of autonomous agency vital social and human problems cannot be satisfactory addressed. This multidisciplinary team of researchers will collectively explore the nature of personal autonomy, considering its developmental origins, its expression within relationships, its importance within groups and organizational functioning, and its role in promoting to the democratic and economic development of societies. The book is aimed toward developmental, social, personality, and cross-cultural psychologists, towards researchers and practitioners’ in the areas of education, health and medicine, social work and, economics, and also towards all interested in creating a more sustainable and just world society through promoting individual freedom and agency. This volume will provide a theoretical and conceptual account of the nature and psychological mechanisms of personal motivational autonomy and human agency; richmultidisciplinary empirical evidence supporting the claims and propositions about the nature of human autonomy and capacities for self-regulation;explanations of how and why different psychological and socio-cultural conditions may play a role in promoting or undermining people’s autonomous motivation and well-being, discussions of how the promotion of human autonomy can positively influence environmental protection, democracy promotion and economic prosperity.

What does Western science know about the relationship between individual well-being and cultural trends? What can learn from other cultural traditions? What do the recent advancements in positive psychology teach us on this issue, particularly the eudaimonic framework, which emphasizes the connections between personal well-being and social welfare? People grow and live in cultures that deeply influence their values, aspirations and behaviors. However, individuals in their turn play an active role in building their own goals, growth trajectories and social roles, at the same time influencing culture trends. This process, defined psychological selection, is related to the individual pursuit of well-being People preferentially select and cultivate in their lives activities, interests, and relationships associated with optimal experience, a state of deep engagement, concentration, and enjoyment. Several cross-cultural studies confirmed the positive and rewarding features of optimal experience. Based on these evidences, this book offers a new perspective in the study of human behavior. Highlighting the interplay between individual and cultural growth trajectories, it conveys a core message: educating people to enjoy engagement and involvement in activities that can be relevant and meaningful for social welfare is a premise to foster the harmonious development of human communities, and the peaceful cohabitation of cultures.

This volume presents the reader with a stimulating tapestry of essays exploring the nature of personal autonomy, self-determination, and agency, and their role in human optimal functioning at multiple levels of analysis from personal to societal and cross-cultural. The starting point for these explorations is self-determination theory, an integrated theory of human motivation and healthy development which has been under development for more than three decades (Deci & Ryan, 2000). As the contributions will make clear, psychological autonomy is a concept that forms the bridge between the dependence of human behavior on biological and socio-cultural determinants on the one side, and people’s ability to be free, reflective, and transforming agents who can challenge these dependencies, on the other. The authors within this volume share a vision that human autonomy is a fundamental pre-condition for both individuals and groups to thrive, and that without understanding the nature and mechanisms of autonomous agency vital social and human problems cannot be satisfactory addressed. This multidisciplinary team of researchers will collectively explore the nature of personal autonomy, considering its developmental origins, its expression within relationships, its importance within groups and organizational functioning, and its role in promoting to the democratic and economic development of societies. The book is aimed toward developmental, social, personality, and cross-cultural psychologists, towards researchers and practitioners’ in the areas of education, health and medicine, social work and, economics, and also towards all interested in creating a more sustainable and just world society through promoting individual freedom and agency. This volume will provide a theoretical and conceptual account of the nature and psychological mechanisms of personal motivational autonomy and human agency; richmultidisciplinary empirical evidence supporting the claims and propositions about the nature of human autonomy and capacities for self-regulation;explanations of how and why different psychological and socio-cultural conditions may play a role in promoting or undermining people’s autonomous motivation and well-being, discussions of how the promotion of human autonomy can positively influence environmental protection, democracy promotion and economic prosperity.

What does Western science know about the relationship between individual well-being and cultural trends? What can learn from other cultural traditions? What do the recent advancements in positive psychology teach us on this issue, particularly the eudaimonic framework, which emphasizes the connections between personal well-being and social welfare? People grow and live in cultures that deeply influence their values, aspirations and behaviors. However, individuals in their turn play an active role in building their own goals, growth trajectories and social roles, at the same time influencing culture trends. This process, defined psychological selection, is related to the individual pursuit of well-being People preferentially select and cultivate in their lives activities, interests, and relationships associated with optimal experience, a state of deep engagement, concentration, and enjoyment. Several cross-cultural studies confirmed the positive and rewarding features of optimal experience. Based on these evidences, this book offers a new perspective in the study of human behavior. Highlighting the interplay between individual and cultural growth trajectories, it conveys a core message: educating people to enjoy engagement and involvement in activities that can be relevant and meaningful for social welfare is a premise to foster the harmonious development of human communities, and the peaceful cohabitation of cultures.

This anthology focuses on empirical studies comparing cultures in relation to central positive psychological topics. The book starts out with an introductory chapter that brings together the main ideas and findings within an integrative perspective, based on a broad theoretical framework encompassing interdisciplinary and methodological issues. It gives special emphasis to some open issues in the theory and assessment of culture-related dimensions, and to the potential of positive psychology in addressing them. The introductory chapter is followed by two chapters that examine theoretical approaches and instruments developed to assess happiness and well-being across cultures. Following that examination, five chapters are devoted to the relationship between well-being, cultures and values. The second half of the book prominently investigates well-being across cultures in the light of socio-economic factors. This book shows that positive psychology, now officially well into its second decade, is providing still finer-grained perspectives on the diversity of cultures along with insights about our shared human nature, uniting us for better or worse.​

This is the first book to bring together examples of research in positive psychology / psychofortology conducted in the multi-cultural South African context with its diverse populations and settings. The volume reflects basic as well as applied well-being research in the multicultural South African context, as conducted in various contexts and with a variety of methods and foci. Theoretical, review, and empirical research contributions are made, reflecting positivist to constructivist approaches, and include quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method approaches. Some findings support universality assumptions, but others uncovered unique cultural patterns. Chapters report on well-being research conducted in the domains of education, work, health, and family, and in clinical, urban vs. rural, and unicultural vs. multicultural contexts. Studies span the well-being of adolescents, adults, and older people, and topics include resilience in individuals, families, and groups, measurement issues and coping processes, the role of personal and contextual variables, and facets such as hope, spirituality, self-regulation, and interventions.

Concepts like Health and Well-being are not exclusive products of the Western culture. Research has widely demonstrated that the representation of the body and of its pathologies, as well as treatment and healing practices vary across cultures in relation to social norms and beliefs.The culture of India is a melting pot of nine main Darshanas, or philosophical systems, that share the common core of a realization of the self in society. India’s traditional health system, Ayurveda, is a result of the practical application of the Darshanas to the observation of human nature and behavior. Ayurveda conceptualizes health, disease and well-being as multidimensional aspects of life, and it seeks to preserve a balance in individuals among their biological features, their psychological features and their environmental demands. The Ayurveda approach to health is remarkably similar to the eudaimonic conceptualization of well-being proposed by positive psychology, and the basic tenets of Ayurveda are deeply consistent with the latest developments of modern physics, which stresses the substantial interconnectedness among natural phenomena and their substrates. This text shows how the approach to health developed in Ayurveda can be fruitfully integrated in a general view of health and well-being that encompasses cultural and ideological boundaries. Specifically, it details the conceptualization of health as an optimal and mindful interaction between individuals and their environment.

This book approaches the field of positive psychology from a post-modern perspective. The book brings a more collective, qualitative, culturally sensitive and transformative approach to the processes of making sense and implementing the science of positive psychology.

Concepts like Health and Well-being are not exclusive products of the Western culture. Research has widely demonstrated that the representation of the body and of its pathologies, as well as treatment and healing practices vary across cultures in relation to social norms and beliefs.The culture of India is a melting pot of nine main Darshanas, or philosophical systems, that share the common core of a realization of the self in society. India’s traditional health system, Ayurveda, is a result of the practical application of the Darshanas to the observation of human nature and behavior. Ayurveda conceptualizes health, disease and well-being as multidimensional aspects of life, and it seeks to preserve a balance in individuals among their biological features, their psychological features and their environmental demands. The Ayurveda approach to health is remarkably similar to the eudaimonic conceptualization of well-being proposed by positive psychology, and the basic tenets of Ayurveda are deeply consistent with the latest developments of modern physics, which stresses the substantial interconnectedness among natural phenomena and their substrates. This text shows how the approach to health developed in Ayurveda can be fruitfully integrated in a general view of health and well-being that encompasses cultural and ideological boundaries. Specifically, it details the conceptualization of health as an optimal and mindful interaction between individuals and their environment.

This is the first book to bring together examples of research in positive psychology / psychofortology conducted in the multi-cultural South African context with its diverse populations and settings. The volume reflects basic as well as applied well-being research in the multicultural South African context, as conducted in various contexts and with a variety of methods and foci. Theoretical, review, and empirical research contributions are made, reflecting positivist to constructivist approaches, and include quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method approaches. Some findings support universality assumptions, but others uncovered unique cultural patterns. Chapters report on well-being research conducted in the domains of education, work, health, and family, and in clinical, urban vs. rural, and unicultural vs. multicultural contexts. Studies span the well-being of adolescents, adults, and older people, and topics include resilience in individuals, families, and groups, measurement issues and coping processes, the role of personal and contextual variables, and facets such as hope, spirituality, self-regulation, and interventions.

This anthology focuses on empirical studies comparing cultures in relation to central positive psychological topics. The book starts out with an introductory chapter that brings together the main ideas and findings within an integrative perspective, based on a broad theoretical framework encompassing interdisciplinary and methodological issues. It gives special emphasis to some open issues in the theory and assessment of culture-related dimensions, and to the potential of positive psychology in addressing them. The introductory chapter is followed by two chapters that examine theoretical approaches and instruments developed to assess happiness and well-being across cultures. Following that examination, five chapters are devoted to the relationship between well-being, cultures and values. The second half of the book prominently investigates well-being across cultures in the light of socio-economic factors. This book shows that positive psychology, now officially well into its second decade, is providing still finer-grained perspectives on the diversity of cultures along with insights about our shared human nature, uniting us for better or worse.​

The volume will be a collection of chapters about current theory, research, and practice related to multiculturalism and positive psychology. This book will serve as a reference to any who are interested in the intersection of positive psychology and multicultural context. While many in the field of positive psychology have begun to move more strongly towards a culturally-embedded approach that recognizes the importance of context in discussing, viewing and cultivating strengths in individuals from different backgrounds, there is still a dearth of research in this area compared with studies that take a cross-cultural approach (comparing people from different countries) or one that is purported to be “culture-free” or universal in its application. While it is becoming more common to see various articles or chapters published on these topics, there is still no comprehensive text aimed at discussion of the collection of these topics presented in a cohesive and structured way. This book aims to fill this gap in the literature. In this book, a broad definition of culture is utilized that includes such facets as race, ethnicity, socioeconomic or social class status, disability, religion, sexual orientation and gender. This book is intended to present research, theory and suggestions for practice that are grounded in diverse cultural contexts and current scholarship. It will assist researchers, students and practitioners who are studying and working within diverse populations. Currently there exists no comprehensive text that addresses the intersection of positive psychology and multiculturalism. Several edited volumes address positive psychology constructs (e.g., well-being, optimal experience, autonomy) across cultures, but they do not focus on multicultural populations within the United States. Other books focus more specifically on mental health applications and stress and coping among multicultural populations, however these books do not provide a broad perspective on psychology beyond this application piece. The proposed book will review current theory and research about constructs in addition to applications across contexts. Finally, other published books have focused on youth within multicultural society; this volume is more broad in its address of issues of positive psychology across the lifespan and across various aspects of identity including disability, gender, social class and sexual orientation.

This book presents an integrated review and critical analysis of the recent research in the positive psychology of religion, with focus on the positive psychology of religion across different cultures and religions. The book provides a review of the literature on different contributions of religion and spirituality to positive functioning and well-being and reviews religions across the world, including Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, Sikhism, Native American religions, and Hinduism.  It fills a unique place in the market’s increasing interest and demand in the psychology of religion, as well as positive psychology. While the target audience is researchers, scholars, and students in psychology, cross-cultural studies, religious studies, and social sciences, it will be useful for anyone interested in better understanding the contributions of religion and culture in subjective well-being.

This book approaches the field of positive psychology from a post-modern perspective. The book brings a more collective, qualitative, culturally sensitive and transformative approach to the processes of making sense and implementing the science of positive psychology.

The volume will be a collection of chapters about current theory, research, and practice related to multiculturalism and positive psychology.

It looks at cultural differences in the experience of psychological well-being, presents an analysis of the concept of psychological well-being and discusses various interventions, including Well-Being Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

This book presents an integrated review and critical analysis of the recent research in the positive psychology of religion, with focus on the positive psychology of religion across different cultures and religions.

This volume describes a culture-fair perspective on positive psychology research and practice in Latin America. It provides a deep understanding of the ways in which context can affect practice, intervention and research results. The development of Positive Psychology in areas such as test adaptation and construction, prediction of academic achievement and empowerment of children at risk is presented. Furthermore, topics related to positive communities and citizenship behaviors are included.The volume is organized into four sections. The first section presents the importance of test adaption and construction in order to assess Positive Psychology constructs, with a special focus on well-being as a core construct. The second section summarizes a group of research studies carefully designed to predict academic achievement applying Positive Psychology constructs. The third section outlines a set of studies intended to develop flow, resilience, social skills and positive emotionsin children at risk. And finally the fourth and last section introduces two points of view focused on communities in order to assess positive dimensions and to promote positive behaviors.This volume, aimed at researchers and Psychology, Education, Health and the Social Sciences students, is a useful tool for people interested in the development of Positive Psychology in Latin American countries.