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A Selected Bibliography of Optimism, Wellbeing, and the Related Fields of Study

This page aims to provide a list of selected literature on Optimism, Wellbeing, and related fields of study, including Positive Psychology, Positive Education, Constructive Journalism, Positive Organizational Scholarship, and more. Please note that the titles listed below are intended to provide suggestions to help get started on wellbeing journey.

Articles:

  1. Niraula, U. K. (2023). A synopsis of positive education. The Upbeat Outlook: Optimist International Nepal. URL
  2. Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Girgus, J. S., & Seligman, M. E. (1992). Predictors and consequences of childhood depressive symptoms: A 5-year longitudinal study. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 101(3), 405–422. DOI
  3. Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55(1), 5–14. Link
  4. Seligman, M. E. P., Ernst, R. M., Gillham, J., Reivich, K., & Linkins, M. (2009). Positive education: Positive psychology and classroom interventions. Oxford Review of Education, 35(3), 293–311. Link

Books:

  1. Easterbrook, G. (2018). It’s better than it looks: Reasons for optimism in an age of fear. PublicAffairs.
  2. Gyldensted, C. (2015). From mirrors to movers: Five elements of positive psychology in constructive journalism. Ggroup Publishing. URL
  3. Jackson, J. (2019). You are what you read: Why changing your media diet can change the world. Unbound. URL
  4. Kern, M. L., & Wehmeyer, M. L. (Eds.). (2021). The Palgrave handbook of positive education. Palgrave Macmillan. URL
  5. Larson, C. D. (1912). The scientific training of children. The New Literature Publishing Company. URL
  6. Larson, C. D. (1912). Your forces and how to use them. The New Literature Publishing Company. URL
  7. McCloskey, D. N. (2016). Bourgeois equality: How ideas, not capital or institutions, enriched the world. The University of Chicago Press. URL
  8. Norrish, J. M. (2015). Positive education: The Geelong Grammar School journey. Oxford University Press. DOI
  9. Ridley, M. (2010). The rational optimist: How prosperity evolves. HarperCollins. URL
  10. Rosling, H. (2018). Factfulness: Ten reasons we’re wrong about the world – and why things are better than you think. Flatiron Books. URL
  11. Seligman, M. E. P. (1990). Learned optimism. Knopf.
  12. Seligman, M. E. P.,  Reivich, K., Jaycox, L., & Gillham, J. (1995). The optimistic child. Houghton Mifflin Company.
  13. Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. Free Press. Read Abstract
  14. Snyder, C. R., Lopez, S. J., Edwards, L. M., & Marques, S. C. (Eds.). (2016). The Oxford handbook of positive psychology. Oxford University Press. DOI
  15. Spreitzer, G. M., & Cameron, K. S. (Eds.). (2011). The Oxford handbook of positive organizational scholarship. Oxford University Press. DOI

Chapters in Edited Books:

  1. Kern, M. L., Park, N., & Romer, D. (2017). The positive perspective on youth development. In D. L. Evans, E. B. Foa, R. E. Gur, H. Hendin, C. P. O’Brien, D. Romer, M. E. P. Seligman, & B. T. Walsh (Eds.), Treating and preventing adolescent mental health disorders: What we know and what we don’t know (2nd ed., pp. 543–568). Oxford University Press. DOI

Happy reading!