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Leading With Positive Emotions

By Barbara L. Frederickson
Center for Positive Organizational Scholarship, January 18, 2012

"In the wake of the attacks of September 11th, Americans and others remain afraid, angry and profoundly sad. At first blush, positive emotions seem out of place - even inappropriate - during these trying times. Yet scientific research on positive emotions suggests that feeling good  is far more important than many people suspect.
 
Experiencing positive emotions—like joy, gratitude, hope or peace—is a sign that a person is, at that moment, not experiencing fear, anger or sadness. Yet positive emotions do much more than merely signal wellbeing. Positive emotions also improve coping and produce well-being. They do so not just in the present, pleasant moment, but over the long term as well." 

Read the full article at Center for Positive Organizational Scholarship

Even Beginners Can Curb Pain With Meditation

By Adam Cole
NPR Health Blog, January 4, 2012

"Meditation has long been touted as a holistic approach to pain relief. And studies show that long-time meditators can tolerate quite a bit of pain. Now researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center  have found you don't have to be a lifelong Buddhist monk to pull it off. Novices were able to tame pain after just a few training sessions."

Read the full article at NPR Health Blog

Doing The Right Thing: Measuring Wellbeing For Public Policy

By Marie J. C. Forgeard, Eranda Jayawickreme, Margaret L. Kern, Martin E. P. Seligman
International Journal of Wellbeing, January 1, 2011

"Many  experts now recognize that income is not a measure that alone captures the wellbeing of individuals, and governments around the world are starting to rethink the ways in which they measure the welfare of their citizens. Wellbeing is best understood as a multifaceted phenomenon that can be assessed by measuring a wide array of subjective and objective constructs."

Read the full article at International Journal of Wellbeing

Upward Spirals of The Heart: Autonomic Flexibility & Vagal Tone (title abbreviated)

By Barbara L. Fredrickson, Bethany E. Kok
Biological Psychology, September 22, 2010

"Inspired by Fredrickson’s broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, we posit that the association between VT and well-being reflects a reciprocal causality, an “upward spiral” in which VT facilitates capitalizing on social and emotional opportunities and the resulting opportunistic gains, in turn, lead to higher VT. In such a spiral, the consequences of small, subtle, even fleeting behaviors and emotions accumulate and compound over time, eventually building durable personal resources that significantly improve a person’s well-being."
 

Read the full article at Biological Psychology

In Search Of Durable Positive Psychology Interventions

By Barbara L. Fredrickson, Michael A. Cohn
Journal of Positive Psychology, September 1, 2010

"A number of positive psychology interventions have successfully helped people learn skills for improving mood and building personal resources (e.g., psychological resilience and social support). However, little is known about whether intervention activities remain effective in the long term, or whether new resources are maintained after the intervention ends. We address these issues in a 15-month followup survey of participants from a loving-kindness meditation intervention. Overall, our results suggest that positive psychology interventions are not just efficacious but of significant value in participants’ real lives."

Read the full article at Journal of Positive Psychology

Eat, Greet, And Be Happy

By Tom Rath & Jim Harter
Gallup Management Journal, July 1, 2010

"Much of what we think will improve our wellbeing is either misguided or just plain wrong, write Rath and Harter in their new book 'Wellbeing: The Five Essential Elements.' Most of us think wellbeing equals health and wealth. But, after a thorough review of hundreds of studies of wellbeing and a comprehensive global study of wellbeing in more than 150 countries, Rath and Harter realized that view is inaccurate. It also completely neglects the impact of lunch."

Read the full article at Gallup Management Journal

The Neuroscience of Distance and Desire

By Piercarlo Valdesolo
Scientific American, June 15, 2010

"The authors’ argument...rests on the idea that the way we see the world can be distorted by the way we feel and think about it. Their research is part of an emerging body of work supporting this idea."

Read the full article at Scientific American

The Business Case For Wellbeing

By Jennifer Robison
Gallup Management Journal, June 9, 2010

"Many organizations think that employee wellbeing is, well, none of their business. And there's some sense to that -- wellbeing does seem ill-defined, private, and ultimately unmanageable. According to Tom Rath, leader of Gallup's workplace research and leadership consulting practice, and Jim Harter, Gallup's chief scientist for workplace management and wellbeing, it's not. But wellbeing is gravely misunderstood."

Read the full article at Gallup Management Journal

Your Brain On Computers: Hooked On Gadgets And Paying A Mental Price

By Matt Richtel
New York Times, June 6, 2010

"Scientists say juggling e-mail, phone calls and other incoming information can change how people think and behave. They say our ability to focus is being undermined by bursts of information."

Read the full article at New York Times

Your Money Or Your Life

By Tom Rath & Jim Harter
Gallup Management Journal, May 27, 2010

"Money can't guarantee happiness because the material things we buy don't make us happy for very long say the authors of 'Wellbeing: The Five Essential Elements.' In this interview, they talk about Financial Wellbeing: specifically, money's effect on how we experience and evaluate our lives."

Read the full article at Gallup Management Journal

When Apologies Work: Matching Apology Components to Victims’ Self Construals Facilitates Forgiveness

By Ryan Fehr, Michelle J. Gelfand
Elsevier, May 13, 2010

"Apologies are useful social tools that can act as catalysts in the resolution of conflict and inspire forgiveness. Yet as numerous real-world blunders attest, apologies are not always effective."

Read the full article at Elsevier

Putting Brain Training To The Test

By Adrian M. Owen et al.
Nature Magazine, April 20, 2010

"Brain training, or the goal of improved cognitive function through the regular use of computerized tests, is a multimillionpound industry, yet in our view scientific evidence to support its efficacy is lacking."

Read the full article at Nature Magazine

Your Brain Is A Rain Forest

By Thomas Armstrong
Ode Magazine, April 1, 2010

"People with conditions like ADHD, dyslexia and mood disorders are routinely labeled '€œdisabled'. But differences among brains are as enriching—and essential—as differences among plants and animals. Welcome to the new field of neurodiversity."

Read the full article at Ode Magazine

The Power Of Hope

By David Servin-Schreiber
Ode Magazine, April 1, 2010

"Freeing yourself from fear helps build the physical strength needed to fight disease and engage fully with life."

Read the full article at Ode Magazine

Depression and Smoking

By Laura A. Pratt, Ph.D, Debra J. Brody, M.P.H.
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, April 1, 2010

"Among adult smokers, those with depression smoked more heavily than those without depression. They were more likely to smoke their first cigarette within 5 minutes of awakening and to smoke more than one pack of cigarettes per day."

Read the full article at Centers for Disease Control & Prevention

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