--- title: Positive Psychology description: This branch of psychology studies the strengths, virtues, and factors that enable individuals and communities to thrive. Learners will understand scientific research on happiness, resilience, well-being, and optimal human functioning. category: social-sciences subcategory: psychology difficulty: beginner, intermediate, advanced url: /subject/positive-psychology --- # Positive Psychology This branch of psychology studies the strengths, virtues, and factors that enable individuals and communities to thrive. Learners will understand scientific research on happiness, resilience, well-being, and optimal human functioning. ## Available Resources 1 Videos • 4 Books • 3 Courses • 4 Websites ## Videos ### 1. The Power of Vulnerability **Author:** Brené Brown Researcher Brene Brown reports on six years of qualitative work on shame and connection, arguing that people who feel worthy of belonging are those willing to be vulnerable. Viewers get a research account, not a set of techniques. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCvmsMzlF7o **Tags:** vulnerability, shame-resilience, empathy, ted-talk, connection ## Podcasts ### 1. More Than A Feeling (Ten Percent Happier) **Author:** Saleem Reshamwala Limited podcast series from Ten Percent Happier in which host Saleem Reshamwala investigates emotions with neuroscientists, historians, philosophers, musicians and therapists. Listeners gain a grounded understanding of why emotions arise and how to decide which ones to act on. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** en | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.tenpercent.com/morethanafeeling **Tags:** emotions, emotional-regulation, neuroscience, mindfulness, wellbeing ### 2. The Science of Happiness **Author:** Dacher Keltner Podcast from UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center in which guests try a research-based practice, such as gratitude letters, awe walks or self-compassion exercises, and scientists explain the evidence behind it. Listeners learn practical, tested habits for well-being. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** en | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/podcasts/series/the_science_of_happiness **Tags:** happiness-research, compassion, gratitude, mindfulness, positive-psychology ## Books ### 1. Man's Search for Meaning **Author:** Viktor E. Frankl Viktor Frankl's account of surviving Auschwitz and other Nazi camps, followed by an outline of logotherapy, his psychotherapy built on the search for meaning. Readers understand his argument that people can find purpose through work, love and the attitude taken toward unavoidable suffering. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-Frankl/dp/080701429X?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** existentialism, logotherapy, meaning-of-life, holocaust-memoir, existential-psychology ### 2. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience **Author:** Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi The psychologist's account of flow, total absorption in a task that stretches skill to its limit, built on decades of experience-sampling research. Explains the conditions that produce it and how to structure work, hobbies and attention to enter it more often. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0061339202?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, humanities-social-sciences, psychology ### 3. Authentic Happiness **Author:** Martin E. P. Seligman Seligman's founding statement of positive psychology, arguing the field should study strengths rather than only pathology. Introduces the signature-strengths framework and the distinction between pleasure, engagement and meaning, with self-assessment questionnaires for applying it to work and relationships. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/1857883292?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, humanities-social-sciences, psychology ### 4. The Happiness Hypothesis **Author:** Jonathan Haidt Haidt tests ten ideas about wellbeing drawn from ancient philosophy and religion against modern psychological evidence, using the rider-and-elephant model of conscious and automatic mind. Covers reciprocity, adversity, virtue and the sources of meaning. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0465028020?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, humanities-social-sciences, psychology ## Courses ### 1. Positive Psychiatry and Mental Health **Author:** Sonia Kumar University of Sydney course on Coursera presenting positive psychiatry, which pairs treating mental illness with building strengths and wellbeing. It surveys major mental disorders, their causes and treatments, medication and psychotherapy, and evidence-based self-help strategies such as exercise, relaxation and social connection. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.coursera.org/learn/positive-psychiatry **Tags:** positive-psychiatry, mental-health, mental-disorders, wellbeing, psychotherapy ### 2. The Science of Well-Being for Parents **Author:** Laurie Santos Yale psychologist Laurie Santos applies well-being research to parenting across short modules on time management, self-care, guilt, stress, children's academic pressure, and screen time. Learners finish with evidence-based habits for reducing household stress and protecting their own well-being. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.coursera.org/learn/the-science-of-well-being-for-parents **Tags:** parenting, well-being, positive-psychology, stress-management, self-care ### 3. The Science of Well-Being **Author:** Laurie Santos Yale course taught by Laurie Santos on the psychology of happiness, covering common misconceptions about what makes people happy, cognitive biases behind them, and evidence-based practices such as gratitude, savoring and exercise. Learners complete weekly rewirement exercises and build one sustained wellness habit. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.coursera.org/learn/the-science-of-well-being **Tags:** positive-psychology, happiness, well-being, habit-formation, behavior-change ## Websites ### 1. PositivePsychology.com Research-referenced articles, exercises and downloadable worksheets on well-being, happiness, resilience, strengths, gratitude, mindfulness and self-compassion. Readers learn the main findings of positive psychology and practical exercises for applying them to themselves or with clients. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://positivepsychology.com **Tags:** positive-psychology, well-being, resilience, character-strengths, mindfulness ### 2. greatergood.berkeley.edu From UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center, this site offers science-based articles, videos, podcasts, quizzes, and practical guides on social and emotional well-being. It covers empathy, compassion, mindfulness, resilience, and emotional intelligence with actionable tips for daily life. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://greatergood.berkeley.edu **Tags:** websites, personal-development, life-skills ### 3. ppc.sas.upenn.edu Official site of UPenn's Positive Psychology Center, showcasing research on well-being, happiness, and character strengths, and offering resources, training programs, events, publications, and practical tools for educators, researchers, and practitioners. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://ppc.sas.upenn.edu **Tags:** websites, humanities-social-sciences, psychology ### 4. viacharacter.org viacharacter.org is the online hub of the VIA Institute on Character, offering education about the 24 character strengths, access to the free VIA Survey, and practical resources to identify, understand, and develop strengths for individuals, educators, and organizations. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://viacharacter.org **Tags:** websites, humanities-social-sciences, psychology --- *This content is part of Dantes.io - Your Treasure Map to Knowledge* *Curated by humans at Dantes.io. Personal study use welcome; republishing this curation requires permission (team@dantes.io).* View this page online: https://dantes.io/subject/positive-psychology