Learn how to select the right positive psychology (PP) assessment tool for the right situation
- Written by internationally renowned authors
- Looks at well-being, traits, states, and behavior
- Presents the relevant psychometric properties
- Considers assessment challenges
- Recommends selection in different settings
- Explores new directions in PP
A comprehensive guide to positive psychology assessment and the available tools
This volume gives a state-of-the-art overview of assessment in the field of positive psychology, including a comprehensive survey of current theories, approaches, issues, and assessment instruments. In four sections, leading experts look at different conceptualizations of well-being and discuss specific traits, states, and behaviors. New directions in positive psychology are also explored, including measuring primal world beliefs, imagination, self-transcendent experiences, and nostalgia.
Each chapter provides introductory background to the positive psychology topic being covered, reviews the most relevant assessment instruments, and discusses the specific assessment-related challenges. Recommendations for selecting assessment tools are included for specific settings, such as school, relationships, health and clinical settings, leisure, and interventions. This book is a must for positive psychology researchers, instructors, students, and practitioners wanting to select the right positive psychology instrument for the right situation.
From the reviews
“A great resource for students, clinicians, and researchers wanting to learn more about positive psychology.
This book describes the field of positive psychology, including theory, assessment, and application in different settings. It also introduces new concepts such as measuring primal world beliefs and nostalgia. The book is very readable and contains numerous tables/boxes, which help clarify the text. This book is excellent because it provides an overview of different assessment tools for measuring positive psychology concepts. It explores a broad range of traits and behaviors and shows how the assessment process can be applied in different settings.”
Gary B. Kaniuk, PsyD, Cermak Health Services, Chicago, IL, in Doody’s Reviews, June 2023
Praise for the book
“This is a tremendously rich resource for researchers, students, and practitioners interested in positive psychology and basic aspects of human flourishing. Highly regarded experts in the field explain the currently available methods and measures, summarize best practices, and offer useful advice.”
Roy F. Baumeister, PhD, Professor emeritus, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; President-Elect (2023), International Positive Psychology Association
“This highly readable volume is designed to help researchers, students, and practitioners find suitable assessment tools and will be invaluable for all serious researchers in positive psychology and its applications.”
Colin Cooper, PhD, President, International Society for the Study of Individual Differences
“This book provides a comprehensive, scientifically sound, and highly readable overview of the state of the art of assessment methods in positive psychology. It is a veritable goldmine for researchers and applied psychologists and has the potential to become the standard reference for assessment methods in positive psychology.”
Michael Eid, PhD, Professor of Methods and Evaluation, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
“Positive psychology has now come of age and this handbook provides an invaluable, comprehensive, and critical overview of the field.”
Adrian Furnham, DPhil, DSc, Adjunct Professor, Department of Leadership and Organizational Behaviour, Norwegian Business School, Oslo, Norway
“A welcome and invaluable handbook that enables readers to easily learn about positive psychology constructs and the best instruments for measuring them. Easy-to-use tables and straightforward reviews of instrument strengths, weaknesses, and recommendations are strong features. This is a handbook that will be perpetually open on your desk to be eagerly and actively read and reread!”
James C. Kaufman, PhD, Professor of Educational Psychology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
“This book brings insightful, practical perspectives to foundational concepts in positive psychology. Its careful attention to measurement and method does an excellent job of confirming the core constructs in positive psychology while pointing the way to innovative approaches and concepts that are necessary for a thriving field of endeavor.”
Michael Leiter, PhD, Honorary Professor, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia
“Finally, the GO-TO book for measuring positive psychology.”
Martin E. P. Seligman, PhD, Zellerbach Family Professor of Psychology and Director of the Positive Psychology Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
“This book provides an excellent overview of key constructs in the field of positive psychology and the instruments that have been developed to measure them. The authors give a critical review of the reliability and validity of available instruments, thereby helping researchers and practitioners to choose an instrument that suits their purposes.”
Prof. Dr. Marianne van Woerkom, Tilburg University/Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands