Toward a Positive Psychology of Relationships

New Directions in Theory and Research

Meg A. Warren, Stewart I. Donaldson, Meg A. Warren, Stewart I. Donaldson

• Publisher: Praeger
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN:
  9781440838309
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9798216156581
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: History & Theory in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

Providing an invaluable resource for scholars and researchers, this book investigates positive psychology and relationships theory and research across a range of settings and life stages—intimate, work, educational, senior/retirement, and in the context of diversity.

Nearly universally, relationships are a key source of what we all seek in life: happiness, fulfillment, and well-being. The experts who contributed to this novel volume apply the framework of positive psychology to the findings of relationships research across a variety of practical contexts. What actions create and sustain respectful, caring, joyous, stimulating, and loving relationships? How do people rich in friendship, intimacy, and interpersonal skills think and behave? How do they unconsciously cultivate positive relationships? This book brings together authoritative reviews, cutting-edge research, and thoughtful scholarship that serve to answer these questions and document the benefit of positive relationships in a variety of settings and across the human life span.

Following a comprehensive introduction, the book addresses positive intimate relationships, positive relationships at work, positive relationships during different stages of life (in youth, in adolescence, and among older adults), and positive relationships intersecting with diversity. The chapters underscore the simple concept that relationships are central to what makes life worth living and are fundamental to well-being across all life domains as they play out at home, in school, at work, in retirement homes, and in the community at large.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• Chapter 1. Other People Matter: The Power of Positive Relationships
• Chapter 2. Applying Positive Psychology to Advance Relationship Science
• Chapter 3. Positive Psychology, Relational Self-Esteem, and Increasing Well-Being
• Chapter 4. The Positive Psychology of Romantic Love
• Chapter 5. Toward a Positive Psychology of Online Romantic Relationships: A New Frontier?
• Chapter 6. Positive Relationships at Work in Early Childhood Education
• Chapter 7. Developmental Tools That Build Social and Emotional Competence in School: A Focus on Effortful Control and Ego-Resiliency
• Chapter 8. Building Positive Relationships with Adolescents in Educational Contexts: Principles and Practices for Educators in School and Community-Based Settings
• Chapter 9. Social Flow: Optimal Experience with Others at Work and Play
• Chapter 10. Measuring the Impact of Quality of Relationships through the Positive Emotional Attractor
• Chapter 11. Facilitating Meaningful Communication among Older Adults
• Chapter 12. Positive Psychology, Close Relationship Processes, and Cultural Diversity
• Chapter 13. “Being Human Together”: Positive Relationships in the Context of Diversity, Culture, and Collective Well-Being
• Index