54 of 59 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Better books out there on this subject, August 18, 2009
This review is from: Positivity: Groundbreaking Research Reveals How to Embrace the Hidden Strength of Positive Emotions, Overcome Negativity, and Thrive (Hardcover)
I've read 4 books on the subject of positive psychology and this here was my least favorite. It isn't terrible by any stretch of the imagination, but I'll outline my final judgment with a list of pros and cons.
Pros:
1. The author's research and contribution to the field of positive psychology is both interesting and useful. The awareness that positive emotions "broaden and build" is insightful and intuitively makes sense.
2. Decent introduction and overview of positive emotions and psychology.
3. Some useful exercises.
Cons:
1. Much of the book is written in a way that, like many self help books, is just bloated. The author, like many others, spends pages and pages telling you what the book is going to do for you when it could be telling what it should be telling you so that it could do something for you. In short, I don't want a book to spend pages and pages pumping me up by telling me what it's going to do for me over and over. It's like a bad infomercial and a complete waste of pages.
2. There are better books out there on this subject, one of which is titled "The How of Happiness" and which I found to just be better in every respect.
My suggestion is to read the research from the author of "Positivity...", as it seems to be an important and consistently reproduced contribution to the field, and get "The How of Happiness".
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
118 of 139 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Do Not Recommend for People With Serious Problems, March 21, 2009
This review is from: Positivity: Groundbreaking Research Reveals How to Embrace the Hidden Strength of Positive Emotions, Overcome Negativity, and Thrive (Hardcover)
Dear Friends: I am somewhat disappointed with this book. The author is clearly a very brilliant scholar in her field, and writes clearly and in an interesting manner.
But she is more focused on how her scientific studies and those of her colleagues provided some of the first testable scientific evidence for the value of increasing one's positive emotions than she is in presenting how the results of those studies can be implemented by people with serious life problems seeking to increase their "positivity."
Some of her techniques involve going to her website, recording daily monitoring of one's emotions, and voluntering to add the reader's results to her database. That's a clever way to find new study volunteers, but not what I'd expect in a self-help book.
Her recommendations for troubled seekers are surprisingly few and bland, given the intense, in-depth amount of research she has clearly done in this field. The book also needed a stronger editor, as there is much repetition of material.
I was also surprised by her showcasing of certain Buddhist techniques that can be used to increase "positivity" with any acknowledgement that similar or identical techniques exist in other religions and spiritualities, such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam. She appeared unaware that the common elements of mysticism and meditation are not confined to Buddhism.
In addition, the examples given in the book of people benefiting from its principles are largely of happily married people with children where everything turned out well for them when they implemented the very few "positivity" techniques that the author suggests
I wondered -- what about the people who implemented these "positivity" techniques, but still had to deal with unfortunate outcomes? Why was no one in her examples single, divorced, widowed, elderly, physically and emotionally disabled, or a teenager?
It seemed that everyone who implemented her principles -- always successfully -- was a happily married academic between the ages of 25 to 60. Where was the rest of the population?
This emphasis on a very narrow segment of the U.S. population caused me to question the value of her book for the rest of us.
The book did spark my interest in "positivity," positive thinking, and the field of positive psychology, and I have gone ahead to purchase other books about it.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
31 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Positive Emotion Really Works, January 30, 2009
This review is from: Positivity: Groundbreaking Research Reveals How to Embrace the Hidden Strength of Positive Emotions, Overcome Negativity, and Thrive (Hardcover)
Dr. Barbara Fredrickson writes an easy to read stunningly, compelling book. Positivity is rich with the science and research of how and yes why, experiencing positive emotions makes life easier- both in the good and bad times. Fredrickson brings her many gifts as an analytical scientist to the table as she writes about her years of in-depth research (and that of many others) with "the numbers" that document why positive emotions make our lives better. I have read many happiness books but this book is a true joy to read as Fredrickson weaves in her own heartfelt experiences and personal stories from her colleagues and research participants making the "science" come to life. But, that isn't all Fredrickson gives you practical, easy techniques based on the research of how raise your "positivity ratio" and find yourself when you get lost in the busy and uncertain world we live in today. For me once again reading this book narrowed the gap between the major premises of many faith traditions and science. If you are a skeptic she has the numbers that really document how positive emotion shifts your ability to see more options, be physically healthier and how to feel better. Or, if you just want to make a change in life and want to enjoy your life more you will love Positivity.
Bonnie Snyder,Ed.S
Life Balance Coach & Author
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
