December 5, 2013 will be remembered for at least two historic events: First, the worst storm surge in Northern Europe for more than half a century, with mile upon mile of town and countryside in the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark inundated with sea water and many people losing their homes, their livelihoods, […]

Pick any chapter from Chris Peterson’s posthumously published book, Pursuing the Good Life: 100 Reflections on Positive Psychologyand you’re in for a real treat. His reflections cover every aspect of what it means to be human, to live a life worth living. Even sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll get a passing mention, although you […]

In the UK business community there is a growing interest in the topic of employee engagement, sparked by a government-commissioned report in 2009, Engaging for Success: Enhancing Performance through Employee Engagement. In November 2012 the report’s authors, David MacLeod and Nita Clarke, established a group called Engage for Success  (EfS) which describes itself as a “movement […]

Even though Ken Keir focused on Honda’s R&D philosophy, explaining that in recessionary times, the company goes against the tide and invests more in R&D rather than less, by the time we reached slide 5 of the presentation on the Honda strategy, vision, values, and behavior, it was pretty clear to me that here was a company founded on positive psychology principles. How did I know?

When I first came across the VIA Inventory of Character Strengths back in my 2007 MAPP class, I was curious to know whether all 24 strengths are the same in terms of their relationship to well-being. We’d read the 2005 research paper by Seligman and colleagues that suggests that using your strengths in new ways […]

During the recent London 2012 Olympic Games an unparalleled mood of optimism and hope swept across the United Kingdom. Even people who don’t love sports could not help being drawn into the anticipation and excitement, sharing the heroism of the medal winners and the heart-break of those who missed out, whether by a millimetre or […]

My latest article for Positive Psychology News Daily is a review of a new Positive Psychology-based book by ed psych and consultant Sue Roffey, called Changing Behaviour in Schools: Promoting Positive Relationships and Well-being. One of the great strengths of this book is its breadth, not just in terms of aims but also its evidence […]

One of the very first pieces I wrote for Positive Psychology News Daily back in 2007 focused on the application of strengths – whether strengths as defined in positive psychology are always positive and how we know which strength to apply in any given situation. This was inspired by a great article by Barry Schwartz […]

* Hope and Hell are both located in Michigan… One of the aspects of studying positive psychology which really appeals to me is its sheer breadth – the fact that it applies in so many fields of human endeavour and experience.  Positive psychology appears in disciplines as diverse as art and design, education, politics, and […]

As the mother of a rapidly-growing boy (aged 8, going on 18), I was very interested to come across the Positive Masculinity Model, and wondered what I could learn from it that would be useful to me as a parent.   Below is my Positive Psychology News Daily article on the subject in full. I probably […]

The 5th European Positive Psychology Conference took place June 23-26 in Copenhagen, Denmark. I’ve written three separate reviews, covering eleven Keynotes, invited speakers, and opening and closing presentations. To read the full reviews, take a look at Positive Psychology News Daily:  part 1, part 2 and part 3. Part 1: Keynote 1: Stopping the Insanity: […]

Creativity expert, Sir Ken Robinson, talks about the need for revolution in the education system. “Very many people go through their whole lives having no real sense of what their talents may be, or if they have any to speak of. I meet all kinds of people who don’t think they’re really good at anything”, […]