Includes bibliographical references and index.

Conceptual explorations: courage ; humility ; strengths ; eudaimonia ; work ; culture and identity ; purpose ; spirituality -- Experiments: positive emotion ; positive health ; relationships ; empathy ; culture and subjective well-being ; wealth and subjective well-being ; mindfulness ; forgiveness ; flow -- Self-reflections: gratitude ; curiosity ; happiness promotion ; hope ; materialism ; savoring ; motivation ; engagement. I. Conceptual Explorations -- -- Courage -- What Makes an Action Courageous? / Cynthia L. S. Pury -- Humility -- Humility, the Modest Strength / Robert A. Emmons -- Strengths -- Using a Strengths Approach to Build Perspective-Taking Capacity / Michelle C. Louis -- Eudaimonia -- Contrasting Two Conceptions of Happiness : Hedonia and Eudaimonia / Alan S. Waterman --Work -- The Value(s) of Work / Christopher Michaelson --Culture and Identity -- Integrating an Understanding of Cultural Context Into a Discussion of Positive Traits / Jennifer Teramoto Pedrotti -- Purpose -- Understanding Purpose Through Interviews / Timothy S. Reilly and William Damon -- Spirituality -- Spiritual Struggles as a Fork in the Road to the Sacred / Maria R. Gear Haugen and Kenneth I. Pargament -- -- II. Experiments -- -- Positive Emotion -- How Positive Emotions Broaden and Build / Bethany E. Kok and Barbara L. Fredrickson -- Positive Health -- Heart Rate Variation With Positive Psychology Exercises / Sarah D. Pressman and Tara L. Kraft -- Relationships -- Capitalizing on Positive Events / Shelly L. Gable -- Empathy -- Perspective Taking and Prosocial Behavior : Caring for Others Like We Care for the Self / Michael W. Myers and Sara D. Hodges -- Culture and Subjective Well-Being -- Culture Influences the Ingredients of a Good Life and Conceptualizations of Happiness / Christie Napa Scollon, Derrick Wirtz, and Xuan-yi Wei -- Wealth and Subjective Well-Being -- Spending Money on Others Leads to Higher Happiness Than Spending on Yourself / Lara B. Aknin and Elizabeth W. Dunn -- Mindfulness -- Cultivating Mindfulness Through Listening / Shauna L. Shapiro and Timothy R. Mariels -- Forgiveness -- Teaching Forgiveness in Positive Psychology / Everett L. Worthington Jr., Aubrey L. Gartner, David J. Jennings II, and Don E. Davis -- Flow -- Flow and Optimal Learning Environments / David J. Shernoff and Brett Anderson -- -- III. Self-Reflections -- -- Gratitude -- Taking Care of Business With Gratitude / Philip C. Watkins, Amy Sparrow, and Amy C. Webber -- Curiosity -- Curiosity as a Social Lubricant : Transforming Conversations to Be Interesting, Engaging, and Meaningful / Todd B. Kashdan and Paul J. Silvia -- Happiness Promotion -- Using Mindful Photography to Increase Positive Emotion and Appreciation / Jaime L. Kurtz and Sonja Lyubomirsky -- Hope -- Hope Projects to One's Future Self / Jeana L. Magyar-Moe -- Materialism -- A Teaching Tool for Disengaging From Materialism : The Commercial Media Fast / Yuna L. Ferguson and Tim Kasser -- Savoring -- The Savoring Expedition : An Exercise to Cultivate Savoring / Patrick R. Harrison, Jennifer L. Smith, and Fred B. Bryant -- Motivation -- Internalized Motivation in the Classroom / Kennon M. Sheldon -- Engagement -- Civic Engagement / Constance Flanagan and Brian D. Christens.

Positive psychology is a rapidly expanding area of study that is of great interest to students at the graduate, undergraduate, and high school levels. But the field is so broad that teachers who want to cover all the bases when designing a positive psychology course may have difficulty locating and selecting materials. Activities for Teaching Positive Psychology addresses this problem by presenting a comprehensive set of fun, interactive classroom activities devised by contributors who are experienced teachers as well as leading scholars in their areas. Chapters cover all the topics typically included in existing positive psychology textbooks, emphasizing the hands-on experience that makes positive psychology courses so powerful. Extensive reading lists point interested readers towards a fuller understanding of the topics. The book is a rich source of ideas for all teachers of psychology, from novice to experienced instructors.

College of Arts and Sciences