Optimism & Pessimism: Implications for Theory, Research, and Practice

Optimism & Pessimism: Implications for Theory, Research, and Practice
Edward C. Chang | 1900-01-01 00:00:00 | American Psychological Association (APA) | 395 | Emotions
Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Focuses on the practical implications for therapy and provides current reviews of the empirical foundations of these constructs. Includes an examination of cultural, biological, and psychological factors on optimism and pessimism. Illustrates the interplay between optimism and pessimism that reflects the tension and harmony in life.
Reviews
This informative book, with chapters by several different psychologists, is a wonderful balancing of the one-sided "positive psychology" movement. One size does not fit all of us !! And this book respects and understands our individual differences. I particularly appreciate the chapter by Julie Norem, Ph.D., which previews her insightful new book, The Positive Power of Negative Thinking, about the psychology of Defensive Pessimism.
Reviews
If you are like me and feel that optimism and pessmism can be both good and bad, you must check out this book! The chapters are interesting, thorough, and cover alot of ground. One or two of the dozen or so chapters can be a bit dense however. Nonetheless, this is by far the most balanced book I've seen written on optimism by some top people like Martin Seligman (who wrote Learned Optimism). It was refreshing to see that the cup can be both half empty and half full at the same time! (The Ying and Yang art cover is absolutely fab if you're into such things.)

I'm a freelance writer based in New York and I write columns for several national publications on diverse topics ranging from education to health.

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A General Theory of Emotions and Social Life (Routledge Advances in Sociology)

A General Theory of Emotions and Social Life (Routledge Advances in Sociology)
Warren D. TenHouten | 2006-11-01 00:00:00 | Routledge | 336 | Emotions

Founded upon the psychoevolutionary theories of Darwin, Plutchik and Izard, a general socioevolutionary theory of the emotions - affect-spectrum theory - classifies a wide spectrum of the emotions and analyzes them on the sociological, psychological and neurobiological levels.

This neurocognitive sociology of the emotions supersedes the major theoretical perspectives developed in the sociology of emotions by showing primary emotions to be adaptive reactions to fundamental problems of life which have evolved into elementary social relationships and which can predict occurrences of the entire spectrum of primary, complex secondary, and tertiary emotions.

Written by leading social theorist Warren D. TenHouten, this book presents an encyclopaedic classification of the emotions, describing forty-six emotions in detail, and presenting a general multilevel theory of emotions and social life. The scope of coverage of this key work is highly topical and comprehensive, and includes the development of emotions in childhood, symbolic elaboration of complex emotions, emotions management, violence, and cultural and gender differences. While primary emotions have clearly defined valences, this theory shows that complex emotions obey no algebraic law and that all emotions have both creative and destructive potentialities.

 

Reviews
This is the first book I've read on emotions. It reads like a comprehensive review of emotions. I especially liked Tenhouten's systematic description of basic emotions and how they can be combined to describe secondary and tertiary emotions. Tenhouten's book sparked an internest to read the work of Plutchik (Emotions and Life) and some of Paul Ekman's work. This is one of the best academic books I've read. Thanks Professor Tenhouten!

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Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Volume 17, 1997: Focus on Emotion and Adult Development

Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Volume 17, 1997: Focus on Emotion and Adult Development
K. Warner Schaie PhD,M. Powell Lawton PhD | 1997-11-10 00:00:00 | Springer Publishing Company | 384 | Emotions

In this timely volume, prestigious contributors incorporate new knowledge from general psychology into a more comprehensive and accessible view of emotion in adult development and aging. The first chapter sets the stage by providing an overview of emotion across the entire life-span. Subsequent chapters examine and consider thought-provoking themes including: how feelings are used in interpersonal communication across the years of adulthood; the linkage between stressful life events and the occurrence of disease; and the changes in emotional intensity and emotional understanding as we age. This volume is essential for general psychologists, gerontologists, researchers, and geriatric practitioners desiring to better their understanding of their older patients and clients.

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