Exploring Positive Psychology


Book Description

Looking for an introduction to positive psychology that offers real-life examples? This overview of the science of happiness supplies case studies from some of the world's most successful organizations and describes ways to experience the personal impact of this exciting scientific field. Rather than focusing on treating what is "wrong" with a person, positive psychology seeks to understand and foster the things that drive happiness, creativity, and emotional fulfillment. This is a relatively new area of psychological study, and this reference book presents the research and practice of positive psychology in an informative and accessible format. Readers are given a history of the field, its current applications, and the future implications of this psychological discipline. Case studies from companies such as The Body Shop, Volvo, Zappos, and Google highlight the impact of positive psychology when it's applied in a modern business setting. These case studies, along with biographies of leaders in the field, highlight each chapter and connect the dots between the empirical theory of positive psychology and its practice. Readers also receive tools to apply the practices to their own lives.




Health Psychology, 2nd Edition


Book Description

A truly interdisciplinary approach to the study of health, Health Psychology: An Interdisciplinary Approach uses the social ecological perspective to explore the impact of five systems on individual health outcomes: individual, culture/family, social/physical environment, health systems and health policy. In order to provide readers with an understanding of how health affects the individual on a mental and emotional level, the author has taken an interdisciplinary approach, considering the roles of anthropology, biology, economics, environmental studies, medicine, public health, and sociology.




Exploring the Psychology of Interest


Book Description

Psychologists have always been interested in interest, and so modern research on interest can be found in nearly every area of the field: Researchers studying emotions, cognition, development, education, aesthetics, personality, motivation, and vocations have developed intriguing ideas about what interest is and how it works. Exploring the Psychology of Interest presents an integrated picture of how interest has been studied in all the wide-ranging areas of psychology. Using modern theories of cognition and emotion as an integrative framework, Paul Silvia examines the nature of interest, what makes things interesting, the role of interest in personality, and the development of peoples idiosyncratic interests, hobbies, and avocations. His examination reveals deep similarities between seemingly different fields of psychology and illustrates the profound importance of interest, curiosity, and intrinsic motivation for understanding why people do what they do. The most comprehensive work of its kind, Exploring the Psychology of Interest will be a valuable resource for student and professional researchers in cognitive, social, and developmental psychology.




Handbook of Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine


Book Description

What psychological and environmental forces have an impact on health? How does behavior contribute to wellness or illness? This comprehensive volume answers these questions and others with a state-of-the-art overview of theory, research, and practice at the interface of psychology and health. Leading experts from multiple disciplines explore how health and health behaviors are shaped by a wide range of psychological processes and social-environmental factors. The book describes exemplary applications in the prevention and clinical management of today's most pressing health risks and diseases, including coronary heart disease, depression, diabetes, cancer, chronic pain, obesity, sleep disturbances, and smoking. Featuring succinct, accessible chapters on critical concepts and contemporary issues, the Handbook integrates psychological perspectives with cutting-edge work in preventive medicine, epidemiology, public health, genetics, nursing, and the social sciences.




Health Psychology in Action


Book Description

A definitive guide to the growing field of health psychology, which showcases contributions from academics and professionals working at the cutting edge of their discipline. Explores the field of modern health psychology, its latest developments, and how it fits into the contexts of modern healthcare, industry and academia Offers practical, real-world examples and applications for psychological theory in health care settings Provides a timely resource to support the new HPC registration of health and other psychologists Includes contributions from practitioners in a wide range of health care settings who share their own vivid personal experiences, as well as more general guidance to applying theory in practice




Skewed Studies


Book Description

In these uncertain times, how much can you trust health news? Is the research behind breaking headlines reliable? This book is an indispensable resource for students and general readers, helping them evaluate and think critically about health information. "People Who Drink Coffee Live Longer." "Students Learn Better When Listening to Classical Music." "Scientists Discover the Gene That Causes Obesity." We are constantly bombarded with reports of "groundbreaking" health findings that use attention-grabbing headlines and seem to be backed by credible science. Yet many of these studies and the news articles that discuss them fall prey to a variety of problems that can produce misleading and inaccurate results. Some of these may be easy to notice—like a research study on the benefits of red meat funded by the beef industry, or a study with a sample size of only 10 people—but others are much harder to spot. Skewed Studies: Exploring the Limits and Flaws of Health and Psychology Research examines the most pervasive problems plaguing health research and reporting today, using clear, accessible language and employing real-world examples to illustrate key concepts. Beyond simply outlining issues, it provides readers with the knowledge and skills to evaluate research studies and news reports for themselves, improving their health literacy and critical thinking skills.




The Health Psychology Reader


Book Description

The Health Psychology Reader is designed to complement and support the recent textbook Health Psychology: Theory, Research and Practice by David F. Marks, Michael Murray, Brian Evans and Carla Willig (SAGE, 2000). It can also be used as a stand-alone resource given its didactic nature. The Reader explores key topics within the health psychology field with incisive introductions to each section by the Editor and includes a selection of the most important theoretical and empirical published work.




Health Psychology


Book Description

The Third Edition of this landmark best-selling textbook has been thoroughly updated and revised to make it even more essential for course teaching. Retaining the celebrated approach of the previous editions, this new textbook incorporates research from a fuller range of perspectives to provide students with a critical understanding of the full variety of viewpoints. Key features of the third edition: - Extensive pedagogical features, including chapter outlines and summaries of key ideas, and guidelines for further research. Boxed case studies, tables and figures and cutting edge research are integrated throughout to aid students understanding if this fascinating field. - Brand new chapter on Literacy and Communication. - New accompanying companion website with a full suite of lecturer materials and online readings for students.




Health Psychology


Book Description

In its first edition, Richard Straub's text was acclaimed for its solid scientific approach, emphasis on critical thinking, real-world applications, exquisite anatomical art, and complete media/supplements package. The thoroughly updated new edition builds on those strengths to provide an even more effective introduction to the psychology behind why we get sick, how we stay well, how we react to illness, and how we relate to the health care system and health care providers.




Exploring Health Psychology


Book Description

Exploring Health Psychology provides comprehensive yet student-friendly coverage of both traditional topics in the field and important contemporary issues relating to reproductive, sexual, and psychological health. Using an informal, sometimes humorous narrative, the authors engage students of all interest levels, abilities, and learning styles by emphasizing the application of health and wellbeing psychology in their daily lives. Balancing depth and accessibly, each chapter describes the body systems relevant to a particular topic, incorporates up-to-date information and research, and contains relatable examples, real-world applications, compelling discussion and review questions, personal stories and vignettes, a running glossary, and more. Broad in scope, Exploring Health Psychology examines the interactions between biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors in psychological disorders and discusses their psychological and medical treatment. Critical psychological health issues such as anxiety and depression, the health of sexual and gender minorities, and the psychological dangers and pitfalls of the digital age are addressed to meet the needs of today’s students. An array of active learning features based on the SQ4R pedagogy—Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Reflect, and Review—enables students to take an active role in the learning process, develop effective study habits, strengthen critical and scientific thinking, and comprehend, retain, and apply the material.