Positivity
Positivity
Barbara L. Frederickson
HC AUD49.95
This book came to my attention
when a client placed an order for multiple copies.
Intrigued by the title and the numerous references
to it across the web I started reading.
The writing style is a mixture
of story and scientific facts. Barbara Frederickson
describes herself, as a scientist of psychology
who has made her career out of studying the
positive emotions. Her most cited contribution
is her 'broaden-and build' theory of positive
emotions and this is the thesis of her book.
Research results have shown that
a ratio of three positive emotions to one negative
emotion is the tipping point to predict whether
people languish or flourish. Her descriptions
of the ten forms of positivity are heartfelt
and enough in themselves to get you smiling
and feeling better. She describes how her team
has arrived at their results and demonstrates
with a story from the case files.
Part 2 is focused on giving you
the tools to raise your own ratio. She has included
a self-test so you can get your starting point
and 12 tools to implement ranging from mindful
meditation to being in nature.
Nothing startlingly new,
however I found them refreshing and was left
with a felt sense that each of the 12 tools
could easily be included in my daily life. To
help even further she suggests that you build
your own portfolio of positive emotion experiences.
For each of the emotions she poses a series
of questions for you to consider and write down.
You then go and find the right photos, words
and objects to ignite the felt sense you found
as you answered the questions. These exercises
would be great to take and adapt at the end
of a meditation class.
Author
Profile
Barbara Fredrickson, Ph.D.
earned her undergraduate degree from Carleton
College and her doctorate from Stanford University.
She is currently Kenan Distinguished Professor
at the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill, with appointments in Psychology and the
Kenan-Flagler School of Business. She is also
Director of the Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology
Laboratory (a.k.a., PEPLab). Fredrickson is
a leading scholar within social psychology,
affective science, and positive psychology,
and has received more than 10 consecutive years
of research funding from the National Institute
of Mental Health.
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more reviews - September 09
