Science of Optimism and Hope, The
Details and Description
Description
Optimism and hope are not random feelings; they can be conscious choices. Martin E. P. Seligman, professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, is one of the world's leading authorities on learned helplessness and its relation to optimism and hope. He is also the best-selling author of Learned Optimism (Knopf, 1991). In recognition of his contribution to the field, the John Templeton Foundation hosted a symposium to honor his work and to document its tremendous influence on the world of psychological research.
This volume brings together eminent psychologists and professionals whose work has been greatly influenced by Seligman's innovative approach. The contributions include those of Steven Maier, who examines the neurobiology of helplessness and resilience. Susan Nolen-Hoeksema looks at resilience among bereaved people and how personality variables, such as optimism and coping styles, can affect this state.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi relates his research in understanding happiness by focusing on the phenomenon of “flow,” a state of present-mindedness that happens when people are totally immersed in what they love doing. David Myers discusses the relationship of hope and happiness to religion.
Dr. Seligman's work in learning how to transform negative thoughts offers many people the opportunity to rise above pessimism and depression. The impact of these feelings on our physical and psychological states can be proved and studied, as this volume so clearly demonstrates.
Table of Contents
Preface / ix
Part I: History
Introduction / 3
Jane E. Gillham
1. From Helplessness to Hope: The Seminal Career of Martin Seligman / 11
Steven. F. Maier, Christopher Peterson, and Barry Schwartz
Part II: Optimism and Well-Being in Individuals
2. The Neurobiology of Stressor Controllability / 41
Steven F. Maier and Linda R. Watkins
3. The Neurochemistry of Stress Resilience and Coping: A Quest for Nature’s Own Antidote to Illness / 57
Robert C. Drugan
4. Optimistic Cognitive Styles and Invulnerability to Depression / 75
Lyn Y. Abramson, Lauren B. Alloy, Benjamin L. Hankin, Caroline M. Clements, Lin Zhu, Michael E. Hogan, and Wayne G. Whitehouse
5. Commentary on the Temple-Wisconsin Cognitive Vulnerability to Depression Project: Causality in Non-Experimental Mental Health Research / 99
Thomas E. Joiner, Jr.
6. Growth and Resilience Among Bereaved People / 107
Susan Nolen-Hoeksema
7. The Hope Mandala: Coping with the Loss of a Loved One / 129
C.R. Snyder
8. Optimistic Explanatory Style and Health / 145
Christopher Peterson
9. What I Do Know Won’t Hurt Me: Optimism, Attention to Negative Information, Coping, and Health / 163
Lisa G. Aspinwall and Susanne M. Brunhart
10. On the Mechanisms by Which Optimism Promotes Positive Mental and Physical Health: A Commentary on Aspinwall and Brunhart / 201
Lauren B. Alloy, Lyn Y. Abramson, and Alexandra M. Chiara
11. Promoting Hope in Children and Adolescents / 215
Andrew J. Statté, Jane E. Gillham, and Karen Reivich
12. Discussion of the Penn Optimism Program: Recognizing Its Strengths and Considerations for Enhancing the Program / 235
Kevin D. Stark and Janay Boswell
13. Commentary: New Directions for Study / 259
Stanley Rachman
14. How Negative Psychology Is Integral to Positive Psychology / 263
Robert J. DeRubeis
Part III: Optimism in Families and Cultures
15. Optimism and the Family / 271
Frank D. Fincham
16. Optimism: Definitions and Origins / 299
Judy Garber
17. On Chaos, Fractals, and Stress: Response to Fincham’s “Optimism and the Family” / 315
Everett L. Worthington, Jr.
18. Hope and Happiness / 323
David G. Myers
19. Intergenerational Transmission of Religion / 337
Lisa Miller
20. The Role of Faith in Shaping Optimism / 341
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
21. Optimism, Culture, and History: The Roles of Explanatory Style, Integrative Complexity, and Pessimistic Rumination / 349
Jason M. Satterfield
22. Comments: Optimism and the Laws of Life, History, and Culture / 379
Christopher Peterson and Michael P. Bishop
23. The Contribution of Flow to Positive Psychology / 387
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
24. Pitfalls on the Road to a Positive Psychology of Hope / 399
Barry Schwartz
Part IV: Seligman Address
25. Positive Psychology / 415
Martin E. P. Seligman
Contributors / 431
Index / 437
Endorsements and Reviews
Reviews
Herald Sun—Melbourne, AU
Hope is described in the book The Science of Optimism and Hope as a conscious choice rather than a random feeling. Martin Seligman, Professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, wrote that we all learn to feel either hopeful or helpless. He said pessimists could be taught to have "skills of optimism". People taught the skills were less prone to depression and there was evidence that optimism might delay the ageing process. He also quoted studies that indicate the immune systems of pessimists function less well than those of optimists, that optimists have greater life expectancy than pessimists and people like optimists more than pessimists.
Metapsychology Online Review
On the whole, The Science of Optimism and Hope offers a significant indication about the future development of our psycho-social sciences, precisely because of the recent work in positive psychology presented in this volume carries a great humanistic potential, being less positivistic and more self-critical.
Research News & Opportunities in Science and Theology
The Science of Optimism and Hope (2000) is a collection of essays edited by Jane E. Gillham in honor of Martin Seligman, a primary architect of the emerging “positive psychology” movement. He believes that psychology has over-emphasized pathologies to the detriment of understanding the importance of healthy thinking. The 25 research essays by leading thinkers testify to the validity of this central intuition.