Customer Reviews

A Primer in Positive Psychology (Oxford Positive Psychology Series)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

At Coaching Toward Happiness and at MentorCoach, we
write about the leading figures in positive psychology
and in coaching and talk to them in live
teleconference interviews. We interviewed
Chris three times. His new book is exceptional.

Here's why:

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1. It's The Best.
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Okay. This is arguably the best introduction to positive
psychology ever written. It ties all the key issues
together in a compelling way. It provides understanding,
depth, rich resources, and it's fun to read.

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2. It's Reader-Friendly.
=========================

It's a large trade paperback, 314 pages. Rich with fascinating
detail, web sites, movies, overarching explanations of research.
Bad writing makes the reader feel dumb. Good writing makes the
reader feel smart. Chris makes you feel smart.

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3. If You Teach.
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If you teach positive psychology, you have to use this book. Listen
to the founder of the field: "This is the definitive textbook in
positive psychology. But more than that, it may be the single best
textbook on any subject that I have ever read... (It) both made me
laugh out loud and brought tears to my eyes." -- Martin E. P. Seligman

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4. For the Bright Professional
======================================

It's perfect for the curious, bright professional who's new to
positive psychology and wants to quickly get up to speed. If
you understand The Primer, you'll be ahead of 99% of the people
in your field.

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5. It Sounds Like Chris.
==========================

Conversational and accessible. It reads like he talks. And it
reads like a conversation with someone who's twice won the
honor of best teacher at the University of Michigan.

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6. It Has Tiny Throw-Away Nuggets.
======================================

The words "positive psychology" were first used, not by Seligman
in 1998, but Maslow in 1954. "...The smiley-face icon was created
for a life insurance company in 1964 by a Massachusetts graphic
artist, who was paid $45 for his creation. Neither the insurance
company nor artist Harvey Bell copyrighted the symbol which
has--perhaps as a result--become extremely popular."

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7. The Songs.
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Each chapter ends with films and dozens of Chris' favorite, relevant
songs: "Be True to Your School" (Beach Boys); "Get Up, Stand Up"
(Bob Marley & the Wailers), "To Sir, With Love" (LuLu); "I Feel
Good" (James Brown); "My Sweet Lord" (George Harrison). Walking
on Sunshine" (Katrina & the Waves). He admits to being a baby
boomer and knows it shows in his song choice. He also believes
a relevant song is a great way to signal the beginning of a class.

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8. Personal Usefulness.
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You might even find it personally useful. Of the thousands of
suggestions for increasing happiness that have been proffered
in the last fifty years, indeed over the centuries, which have
so far been empirically examined? It goes beyond the headlines
and looks in detail at what the research might really mean for what
you do.

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9. It's Unpretentious.
=======================

In 2003, I sometimes taught a teleclass from Chris' office at Penn.
His entire office consisted of a computer, a bare floor, one table
and chair, and a bookshelf with 15 scattered books. Nothing to
indicate, for example, that he was among the world's 100 most
frequently cited psychologists during the past 20 years.

The Primer is similarly down to earth. Name one other famous academic
who would write this paragraph:

"...some skeptics still believe that positive psychologists miss
the "obvious" point that life is tragic... I disagree but will
not belabor the point except to note that tragedy admits to
gradations. Even if everything sucks, some things suck more
than others, an irrefutable fact given how people actually behave
if not what they say....Whether we label ...preferred circumstances
"positive" or "less sucky" then becomes a matter of semantics (P. 13)."

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10. Find the Tenth Reason Yourself.
======================================

Chris was the lead creator of the VIA Survey of Signature Strengths,
a central positive psychology assessment. More than 300,000 people
from throughout the world have taken it. Who better to write about the
importance of individual strengths and values than the world's leading
expert? This is just one part of this book. You'll be able to find
many more than the "tenth" reason when you read him.

And, even better, if you'd also like to *listen* to him talk about
his work, you can. There are three free online interviews--two also
available by telephone--in the archive of the Coaching Toward
Happiness eNewsletter. Amazon's ground rules preclude my telling
you the url but if you google ["Coaching Toward Happiness" + Chris Peterson], you'll find them.

A Primer in Positive Psychology delivers a text full of the details from what has been concept for a decade. With the field of Positive Psychology coming to the point of being a deliverable product to the public, Dr. Peterson frames up a concise text of understandable background on what we are and how positive strategies of behavior throughout the lifetime can benefit all people. This establishes the goal of making Positive Psychology a core life training for students at all levels of education, beginning with primary stages. This textbook format gives parents the tools for themselves and their young adult children to teach themselves the principles of excelling at life, not just surviving it.

When I first heard of "positive psychology" I thought..."so what is negative psychology supposed to be?" The terminology shouldn't hang you up. Positive psychology is a look a what psychology can be sans the illness orientation. What this means is that you are really studying how people can use their minds without concentrating on how that thing they do with their hair is an obvious sign of their insecurity, their masturbatory tendencies, or their love affair with their anal stage of development. The book has great information but is not written in a stuffy or pretentious way. Without a doubt it is one of the most readable psychology books I've ever had the pleasure of recommending. Even though the author supplies the reader with tons of references to help him in his continued study, for the casual reader this book can easily stand by itself. If you are lucky enough to get this as a text book in college enjoy the course and the professor wise enough to chose this book.

I confess that I gave up reading "Authentic Happiness" half-way through, so I was not biased toward positive psychology. However, this was a text for a PP coaching class I took, and I liked it a lot -- very clear, straight-forward, easy to understand, full of substantive and interesting research, and even a bit of humor. I found myself looking forward to reading the assignments. My only fuss (which the author says he'll rectify in the next edition) is an inherent testosterone bias, (e.g., a key element of happiness is "winning," expressed in masculine terms rather than the kind of fulfillment that a soccer mom might get from raising great kids). Altogether a good explication of the rationale and value of positive psychology.

If you're looking for an accessible foundation in positive psychology that is content rich, research-based and practical, then this book is for you.

It's used as a college textbook by the author/professor at U of Michigan who is a pioneer in the field, but it's much more interesting and humorous than the textbooks I've read for my college classes. It doesn't have that typical textbook feeling, but it's richer in ideas than what is on the mass market on happiness.

And there are exercises to try out in your life to improve your happiness at the end of each chapter. The author is brilliant and articulate. He's won teaching awards at U of M:you feel like you're in his classroom being taught by him without having to pay tuition--and that's positive! I learned about this book on a list of top 10 books on Happiness & Positive Psychology. It's a great book for psychology students, coaches, practicing psychologists and regular folk interested in the evolving and transforming field of positive psychology.

During undergrad at Umich, I actually bought this book to read during a winter break when I realized I wouldn't be able to take Chris's course as an elective. A Primer feels less like a textbook, though it's layout, organization and content are far more useful and practical than most anything I've ever read in Psychology.

While A Primer is technically a textbook, it can be read through many lenses and angles and be used as a tool for personal and professional growth. The research is interesting and credible, and shows how Positive Psychology has deep roots under many names. Five stars 100%.

Excellent book if you want to understand the basics of Positive Psychology and all the scientific research that supports the field. Also it includes many practical ideas and exercises for use in any walk of life.

An excellent book on a relatively new approach to psychology. Should make for an excellent textbook for studnets of psych.

I bought this book new from Amazon. Everything was great (the content itself is quite good), but almost 50 pages are entirely missing. The page numbering goes straight from 214 to 263, leaving out a good deal of the book. My copy certainly didn't look like anything was missing (it doesn't seem that the pages were torn out, the binding is full, etc.), and I didn't notice at all until I got to the relevant section. Since I'm going through this book as part of a course, by the time I realized part of the book was missing, the returns window had expired. Although I would recommend the book, I suggest you go through and check that your copy isn't missing a big chunk!