Positive God Images and Positive Emotions toward God: Exploring Variations among Whites,Blacks, and Hispanics

How people view God is an important part of religious life. The purpose of this study is to see if four positive God image measures and two measures of positive emotions toward God vary among Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics. The data come from a recent nationwide survey in the United States (N = 2500). The findings reveal that, compared to Whites and Hispanics, Blacks have more positive image of God scores on all four measures. The data indicate that Blacks are also more likely than Whites and Hispanics to have strong positive emotions toward God. In contrast, consistent differences between Hispanics and Whites failed to emerge across all of the study measures.     

Positive Time: Balanced Time Perspective and Positive Orientation

The aim of the research presented in this article is to investigate the relationship between positive orientation and time perspective as outlined by Zimbardo and Boyd (J Pers Soc Psychol 77:1271–1288, 1999) and extended by an additional form of concentration on the present. The Polish version of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory was used. A third type of present time perspective, namely active concentration on the present, was measured by the Carpe Diem Scale. One hundred and eighty five Polish people (non-students) participated in a survey to which a canonical-correlation analysis and a cluster analysis were applied. Positive orientation was correlated with a balanced temporal profile comprising a strong positive past orientation, moderate concentration on the future, poor fatalistic time perspective, poor concentration on the negative past and moderate active concentration on the present. Whereas a positive orientation is based on a general positive attitude towards life and self, a balanced time perspective reflects a general positive attitude towards time, in which an active concentration on the present plays an important role.     

Positive emotion and health: going beyond the negative.

This study examined the relationships between positive emotions and health. Two positive emotions were considered, hope and curiosity, in conjunction with 3 physician-diagnosed disease outcomes: hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and respiratory tract infections. Medical data were abstracted over a 2-year period from 1,041 patient records from a multispecialty medical practice, and emotions were assessed through a mailed questionnaire. Across 3 disease outcomes, higher levels of hope were associated with a decreased likelihood of having or developing a disease. Higher levels of curiosity were also associated with decreased likelihood of hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Results suggest that positive emotion may play a protective role in the development of disease.     

Positive psychology: Past,present, and (possible) future

A survey study and two experiments were done to test the hypothesis that social flow is more enjoyable than solitary flow. In the survey study it was found that recalled social flow experiences were rated more enjoyable than solitary flow experiences. In the first experiment when challenge and skill were the same across social and solitary conditions, social flow was reported to be more enjoyable than solitary flow. In the second experiment when the level of social interdependence was manipulated it was found that participants in highly interdependent teams reported more joy in flow than individuals performing less interdependently. In both experiments, people playing simple paddleball games reported and expressed more joy performing with others than alone. Taken together, the three investigations support the conclusion that doing it together is better than doing it alone. Solitary flow, while quite enjoyable, is not as enjoyable as social flow.     

Stress, Positive Emotion, and Coping

There is growing interest in positive aspects of the stress process, including positive outcomes of stress and antecedents that dispose individuals to appraise stressful situations more as a challenge than as a threat. Less attention has been given to the adaptational significance of positive emotions during stress or to the coping processes that sustain positive emotions. We review evidence for the occurrence of positive emotions under conditions of stress, discuss the functional role that positive emotions play under such conditions, and present three types of coping that are associated with positive emotion during chronic stress. These findings point to new research questions about the role of positive emotions during stress and the nature of the coping processes that generate these positive emotions.     

Positive Leadership: Relationships with Employee Inclusion,Discrimination, and Well-Being

The diverse nature of 21st-century organizations has compelled leaders to minimize discrimination and bring about inclusion amongst their employees. One of the ways this can be achieved is through authentic, respectful, and inclusive leadership. The aim of the present paper was to (1) explore whether the three leadership styles can promote inclusion and curtail discrimination in the South African context and (2) ascertain whether this relationship has any bearing on well-being across Dutch, German, Icelandic, Indonesian, and South African contexts. To reach these aims, two cross-sectional studies have been conducted. In Study 1, 569 employees were surveyed, and results indicated that all three leadership styles loaded on a common latent factor (positive leadership) that was positively associated with both inclusion and discrimination. In Study 2, 1,926 employees were surveyed across the five countries. Results indicated that once again, the latent, positive leadership factor was positively associated with both inclusion and discrimination. Furthermore, inclusion, when compared to discrimination seemed to be a stronger mediator in the relationship between positive leadership and well-being. We propose leadership development that will cultivate positive leadership behaviors for the benefit of employee well-being and collaboration in increasingly diverse teams.     

应对与积极情绪研究:意义应对、积极情绪应对、情绪表露和情绪粒度

研究者们发现了应激状态下积极情绪与消极情绪共生的现象,这对于缓解压力提高应对效能有重要意义,积极情绪的研究成为应激和应对领域一个新的方向。为进一步明晰应对过程中积极情绪发生的特点、机制以及它们之间的关系,以应对过程中积极情绪发生的不同阶段为基点,探讨意义指向应对(应对失败之后),积极情绪指向应对(应对初始阶段),以及积极情绪的拓展建构(应对行为之前,并进一步探讨了情绪表露和情绪粒度两个与积极情绪密切相关的因素)。以后研究的重点主要有以下几点:应激源类型的划分,意义指向应对、积极情绪指向应对以及情绪表露和情绪粒度的进一步研究,并积极关注临床实践。     

A Positive Perspective on Attentional Bias: Positive Affectivity and Attentional Bias to Positive Information

In recent years there has been growing interest in determining the attentional basis of positive affectivity. Investigators have sought to evaluate the hypothesis that elevated positive affectivity is characterized by an attentional bias that favours the processing of positive information over neutral information. Unfortunately, in the studies carried out to date, the assessment procedures used by researchers to assess such attentional selectivity have either been methodologically limited or methodologically flawed. Hence, the validity of the hypothesis has remained indeterminate. To overcome the problems associated with attentional assessment procedures used in previous studies, and so shed light on the attentional basis of positive affectivity, we employed an appropriate variant of the attentional probe task. Our findings show that participants high in positive affectivity displayed greater relative attention to positive information compared to neutral information, than was the case for their low positive affectivity counterparts. Thus, the present results support the hypothesis that an attentional bias to positive information, relative to neutral information, is characteristic of elevated positive affectivity.     

人际医患信任的概念内涵、正向演变与影响因素

人际医患信任是人际水平上的医患信任, 是医患双方在互动过程中, 相信对方不会做出不利于自己甚至有害于自己行为的一种预期判断和心理状态。理想化的人际医患信任的正向演变可能呈现出由计算型信任到了解型信任, 再到认同型信任这一逐渐深化的过程。社会环境、就医情境与个体特征因素交互作用于医患信任建立与演变的心理机制与过程。未来研究应收集纵向数据探索医患信任的内容维度、影响机制及其演变特征, 并验证医患信任对于医患双方态度与行为的具体作用机制。     

Religion,Spirituality, and Positive Psychology in Adulthood: A Developmental View

For decades, psychologists have been interested in the question whether, and how, religious and spiritual behavior, in terms of beliefs, attitudes, practices, and belonging, could be scientifically studied and assessed in terms of their relative good, or ill, for human well-being. This article considers contributions of religious commitment and spiritual practice to well-being and cognitive-developmental theoretical models and related bodies of empirical and clinical research regarding religious and spiritual development across the life cycle, with particular attention to questions related to positive adult development.     

正强化和负强化:概念、争议与神经机制

1975年,Michael首次正式提出应放弃"正强化"和"负强化"术语的使用,引起对"正强化和负强化是否本质上具有区别"这一问题的关注和争议。正负强化究竟本质上是否有区分、如何区分、以及区分它们的意义等问题,得到了众多行为心理学家的深入探讨。多数学者再度阐明正强化和负强化具有不同的心理机制,加以区分具有重要应用意义,主张沿用对它们的区分。最近,对正负强化神经机制的研究取得突破性进展,进一步揭示它们具有截然不同的神经相关过程。我们建议,分析强化作用进行时,机体是否在环境条件作用下已经偏离了基础、正常的心理稳态,有助于规范理解强化物启动的是正还是负强化的神经过程。     

危及生命的慢性疾病应对中的积极心理效应:证据、质疑与建议

危及生命的慢性疾病指病程长、治愈难、治疗周期长、严重情况下会危及生命且严重影响患者及其家属正常生活的疾病.研究发现,乐观、抗争勇气、心理一致感、受益发现和创伤后成长等积极心理因素在危及生命的慢性疾病应对过程中能产生积极效果,并证实积极心理通过生物加工、行为加工、社会加工三条路径促进患者对疾病的应对.对疾病态度或感知进行干预以及直接诱发积极心理等干预方法能对疾病康复产生良好的效果.对该领域研究的质疑主要包括研究方法的科学性以及积极心理和疾病应对间因果关系的明确程度两个方面.针对质疑,未来研究应以实验法为主导并结合其它方法,进一步探讨积极心理与疾病应对和康复之间的因果关系.     

Positive Psychopathology and Positive Functioning: OCD,Flourishing and Satisfaction with Life through the Lens of Character Strength Underuse,Overuse and Optimal Use

Applied Research in Quality of Life - Theoretical propositions suggesting that character strengths (CSs) may have darker sides have triggered a new wave of studies, providing novel insight into the...     

Self-Handicapping,Expected Evaluation,and Performance: Accentuating the Positive and Attenuating the Negative

Three studies investigated the influence of social- and self-evaluative motives on self-handicapping and performance. In each study, efficacy expectancies were manipulated by varying the difficulty of a preliminary task, and social- and self-evaluation were manipulated orthogonally. In Study 1, participants who self-handicapped performed better than those who did not when a positive or negative evaluation was expected, in some conditions. In Study 2, we used a situationally imposed handicap and found that both social- and self-evaluation participants showed improved performance in the presence of the handicap. In Study 3, when a positive or negative evaluation was expected, high self-handicappers performed better after choosing to self-handicap, for both social- and self-evaluative motives. Little evidence of self-handicapping or effects on subsequent performance was found for low self-handicappers. No evidence was found for self-handicapping among participants who could not be evaluated. Discussion centers around motives to self-handicap and implications for subsequent performance.     

Positive psychotherapy for smoking cessation: Treatment development,feasibility, and preliminary results

Low positive and high negative affect (NA) predict low rates of smoking abstinence among smokers making a quit attempt. Positive psychotherapy can both increase positive affect (PA) and decrease NA and, therefore, may be a useful adjunct to behavioral smoking counseling. The purpose of the present study was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a positive psychotherapy for smoking cessation (PPT-S) intervention that integrates standard smoking cessation counseling with nicotine patch and a package of positive psychology interventions. We delivered PPT-S to 19 smokers who were low in PA at baseline. Rates of session attendance and satisfaction with treatment were high, and most participants reported using and benefiting from the positive psychology interventions. Almost one-third of the participants (31.6%) sustained smoking abstinence for six months after their quit date. Future studies to assess the relative efficacy of PPT-S compared to standard smoking cessation treatment are warranted.     

Positive versus negative face recognition decisions: confidence,accuracy, and response latency

A large amount of eyewitness identification and face recognition research has investigated the confidence–accuracy (CA) relationship. One consistent finding is that positive recognition decisions (or choosers) demonstrate superior CA calibration to negative recognition decisions (or non‐choosers). This experiment tested whether an explanation of this difference, based on the information available for confidence judgements, accounted for the pattern of CA calibration in positive and negative face recognition decisions. CA calibration for positive and negative decisions was compared for both item and associative recognition judgements. Significantly greater resolution was observed for positive decisions in both the item and associative conditions. Similarly, for both judgement types, positive decisions evidenced a stronger response latency–accuracy relationship than negative decisions. Implications for diagnosing the accuracy of eyewitness identification are discussed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.