Eastern European Perspectives on Emotional Intelligence


Book Description

This book offers a unique perspective on Emotional Intelligence (EI) research in Eastern Europe, analyzing current trends in the research and application of EI in a region with a distinct socio-political history. Bringing together leading researchers from seven countries, namely Bulgaria, Croatia, Lithuania, Serbia, Slovakia, Poland, and Russia, chapters within this edited volume present original research that illustrates both the etic and emic aspects of emotions, to discuss how EI research can address psychosocial challenges across different societies. Using a selection of cross-cultural frameworks for comparison, contributors to the volume make important developments to the field of EI research by instating a cultural and regional adaptation of EI theories. This includes considerations of EI from a collectivistic perspective as well as the relevance of creating psychological measurement tools that reflect and represent the cultural and linguistic nuances in the adaptive use of emotional information. Eastern European Perspectives on Emotional Intelligence will prove a valuable resource for academics, researchers, and students of cultural and social psychology, or particularly for those seeking to expand their conceptual understanding of EI.




The Routledge History of Emotions in the Modern World


Book Description

The Routledge History of Emotions in the Modern World brings together a diverse array of scholars to offer an overview of the current and emerging scholarship of emotions in the modern world. Across thirty-six chapters, this work enters the field of emotion from a range of angles. Named emotions – love, anger, fear – highlight how particular categories have been deployed to make sense of feeling and their evolution over time. Geographical perspectives provide access to the historiographies of regions that are less well-covered by English-language sources, opening up global perspectives and new literatures. Key thematic sections are designed to intersect with critical historiographies, demonstrating the value of an emotions perspective to a range of areas. Topical sections direct attention to the role of emotions in relations of power, to intimate lives and histories of place, as products of exchanges across groups, and as deployed by new technologies and medias. The concepts of globalisation and modernity run through the volume, acting as foils for comparison and analytical tools. The Routledge History of Emotions in the Modern World is the perfect resource for all students and scholars interested in the history of emotions across the world from 1700.




Human Interaction with the Divine, the Sacred, and the Deceased


Book Description

Human Interaction with the Divine, the Sacred, and the Deceased brings together cutting-edge empirical and theoretical contributions from scholars in fields including psychology, theology, ethics, neuroscience, medicine, and philosophy, to examine how and why humans engage in, or even seek spiritual experiences and connection with the immaterial world. In this richly interdisciplinary volume, Plante and Schwartz recognize human interaction with the divine and departed as a cross-cultural and historical universal that continues to concern diverse disciplines. Accounting for variances in belief and human perception and use, the book is divided into four major sections: personal experience; theological consideration; medical, technological, and scientific considerations; and psychological considerations with chapters addressing phenomena including prayer, reincarnation, sensed presence, and divine revelations. Featuring scholars specializing in theology, psychology, medicine, neuroscience, and ethics, this book provides a thoughtful, compelling, evidence-based, and contemporary approach to gain a grounded perspective on current understandings of human interaction with the divine, the sacred, and the deceased. Of interest to believers, questioners, and unbelievers alike, this volume will be key reading for researchers, scholars, and academics engaged in the fields of religion and psychology, social psychology, behavioral neuroscience, and health psychology. Readers with a broader interest in spiritualism, religious and non-religious movements will also find the text of interest.




Developing a Model of Islamic Psychology and Psychotherapy


Book Description

At a time when there is increasing need to offer psychotherapeutic approaches that accommodate clients’ religious and spiritual beliefs, and acknowledge the potential for healing and growth offered by religious frameworks, this book explores psychology from an Islamic paradigm and demonstrates how Islamic understandings of human nature, the self, and the soul can inform an Islamic psychotherapy. Drawing on a qualitative, grounded theory analysis of interviews with Islamic scholars and clinicians, this unique volume distils complex religious concepts to reconcile Islamic theology with contemporary notions of psychology. Chapters offer nuanced explanations of relevant Islamic tradition and theological sources, consider how this relates to Western notions of psychotherapy and common misconceptions, and draw uniquely on first-hand data to develop a new theory of Islamic psychology. This, in turn, informs an innovative and empirically driven model of practice that translates Islamic understandings of human psychology into a clinical framework for Islamic psychotherapy. An outstanding scholarly contribution to the modern and emerging discipline of Islamic psychology, this book makes a pioneering contribution to the integration of the Islamic sciences and clinical mental health practice. It will be a key resource for scholars, researchers, and practicing clinicians with an interest in Islamic psychology and Muslim mental health, as well as religion, spirituality and psychology more broadly.




Developing a Foundation for Learning with Internationally Adopted Children


Book Description

This practice-focused guide introduces The SmartStart Toolbox as a remedial program to help mental health professionals and adoptive parents promote the educational and social development of internationally adopted children aged 4–8. Recognizing the cultural, emotional, and cognitive needs of children who have experienced a fundamental change in their social situation of development following international adoption, The SmartStart Toolbox provides a range of family-based remedial activities which stimulate children’s thinking and learning while creating scaffolded attachment opportunities during early interactions with their adoptive families. The volume details the notions of "psychological tools" (Vygotsky) and "mediated learning experience" (Feuerstein) which form the theoretical foundations for The SmartStart Toolbox and offers step-by-step guidance on conducting activities and adapting them to the individual child. The SmartStart methodology can also be used by professionals for diagnostic purposes. This text will benefit researchers in child psychology, as well as clinicians, family therapists, social workers, and educators with an interest in child development, cognitive and language enhancement, and adoption and fostering more broadly. Adoptive parents will also benefit from this book and its focus on themes of attachment, parenting, and the development of social cognition.




Positive Psychology: A Workbook for Personal Growth and Well-Being


Book Description

The Positive Psychology: A Workbook for Personal Growth and Well-Being is a companion workbook designed to accompany Compton and Hoffman’s Positive Psychology: The Science of Happiness and Flourishing, 4e. The workbook aligns active learning and critical thinking applications with the twelve core chapters of Compton and Hoffman’s textbook, but could easily be a benefit to other Positive Psychology texts or support courses and texts where a workbook centered on growth, well-being, and mindfulness is desired.




The Psychological Basis of Moral Judgments


Book Description

This volume examines the psychological basis of moral judgments and asks what theories of concepts apply to moral concepts. By combining philosophical reasoning and empirical insights from the fields of moral psychology, cognitive science, evolutionary psychology, and neuroscience, it considers what mental states not only influence, but also constitute our moral concepts and judgments. On this basis, Park proposes a novel pluralistic theory of moral concepts which includes three different cognitive structures and emotions. Thus, our moral judgments are shown to be a hybrid that express both cognitive and conative states. In part through analysis of new empirical data on moral semantic intuitions, gathered via cross-cultural experimental research, Park reveals that the referents of individuals’ moral judgments and concepts vary across time, contexts, and groups. On this basis, he contends for moral relativism, where moral judgments cannot be universally true across time and location but only relative to groups. This powerfully argued text will be of interest to researchers, academics, and educators with an interest in cognitive science, moral theory, philosophy of psychology, and moral psychology more broadly. Those interested in ethics, applied social psychology, and moral development will also benefit from the volume.




A Scientific Assessment of the Validity of Mystical Experiences


Book Description

In this book the approach of the natural sciences is adopted to confront the ontological question of how far mystical experiences can be considered as reports of an objective reality rather than reports of subjective delusions. Moving beyond traditional philosophical or cultural and theological interpretations of mystical phenomena, the author uses inductive inference to analyze claims made by secular and religious mystics, highlight links between altered states of consciousness and neurochemistry, and counters reductionist claims that mystical states are exclusively products of neurochemical, neurophysiological, or psychopathological factors. The text also considers the positive long-term effects of proper use of psychedelics and meditation. This fresh approach to mystical experiences will be of interest to scholars, researchers, and postgraduate students working in the areas of psychology and neuroscience, and with an interest in mysticism in religious studies and philosophy.




The Relevance of Alan Watts in Contemporary Culture


Book Description

Whilst accounting for the present-day popularity and relevance of Alan Watts’ contributions to psychology, religion, arts, and humanities, this interdisciplinary collection grapples with the ongoing criticisms which surround Watts’ life and work. Offering rich examination of as yet underexplored aspects of Watts’ influence in 1960s counterculture, this volume offers unique application of Watts’ thinking to contemporary issues and critically engages with controversies surrounding the commodification of Watts’ ideas, his alleged misreading of Biblical texts, and his apparent distortion of Asian religions and spirituality. Featuring a broad range of international contributors and bringing Watts’ ideas squarely into the contemporary context, the text provides a comprehensive, yet nuanced exploration of Watts’ thinking on psychotherapy, Buddhism, language, music, and sexuality. This text will benefit researchers, doctoral students, and academics in the fields of psychotherapy, phenomenology, and the philosophy of psychology more broadly. Those interested in Jungian psychotherapy, spirituality, and the self and social identity will also enjoy this volume.




Emotionally Intelligent School Counseling


Book Description

The concept of emotional intelligence (EI), which has steadily gained acceptance in psychology, seems particularly well suited to the work of school counselors and school psychologists who must constantly deal with troubled and underperforming students. To date, however, no book has systematically explained the theoretical and scientific foundations of emotional intelligence and integrated this information into the roles and functions of school counselors and other school personnel. In addition to illustrating how social emotional learning is important to both individual students and to school climate, the book also shows school counselors how to expand their own emotional awareness and resiliency. Key features of this outstanding new book include: *ASCA Guidelines. The book integrates the latest findings from the field of social emotional learning with the new ASCA guidelines for school counselors. *Real-life Cases. The book moves quickly from an overview of basic definitions, theories, and guidelines to stories of real counselors, administrators, teachers, and parents. *Author Expertise. John Pellitteri is Professor and Director of the Graduate Program in School Counseling Queens College (CUNY). A former school counselor, he is a leading researcher in the area of emotional intelligence. Barbara Ackerman is a K-5 school counselor and retiring Vice President of the American School Counseling Association (ASCA) Elementary School Division. Claudia Shelton has been a school counselor in grades 6-12 and currently heads a firm specializing in professional development for schools. Robin Stern is an adjunct associate professor and researcher at Columbia Teachers College and a specialist in social emotional learning for the New York City Board of Education. This book is appropriate as a supplementary text in school counseling courses and as a professional reference work for practicing school counselors, counselor educators, counseling psychologists, school psychologists, and school administrators.