Continue reading »]]> Wong, P. (2011) Positive Psychology 2.0: Towards a Balanced Interactive Model of the Good Life. DrPaulWong.Com

Abstract

This paper first describes the growing pains and challenges of the positive psychology (PP) movement and identified the four pillars of the good life as meaning, virtue, resilience, and well-being, which are all shaped by culture. I then introduce three issues that characterise the second wave of PP (referred to as PP 2.0). The first concerns the need for a comprehensive taxonomy of PP. The second involves the hypothesis that meaning-orientation and happiness-orientation represent two different visions of the good life with profound practical implications. Eudaimonia is viewed as meaning plus virtue. The third issue concerns a dual-systems model as a way to integrate the complex interactions between the negatives and positives to optimise positive outcomes in various situations. I conclude that PP 2.0 is characterised by a balanced, interactive, meaning-centered, and cross-cultural perspective.

To read the paper click here
 

Continue reading »]]> Ganzel, B.L, Kim, P. Glover, P.H., and Temple, E. (2008)

Resilience after 9/11: Multimodal neuroimaging evidence for stress-related change in the healthy adult brain

Neuroimage. 2008 April 1; 40(2): 788–795.

Abstract

Exposure to psychological trauma is common and predicts long-term physical and mental health problems, even in those who initially appear resilient. Here, we used multimodal neuroimaging in healthy adults who were at different distances from the World Trade Center on 9/11/01 to examine the neural mechanisms that may underlie this association. More than three years after 9/11/01, adults with closer proximity to the disaster had lower gray matter volume in amygdala, hippocampus, insula, anterior cingulate, and medial prefrontal cortex, with control for age, gender, and total gray matter volume. Further analysis showed a nonlinear (first-order quadratic) association between total number of traumas in lifetime and amygdala gray matter volume and function in the whole group. Post hoc analysis of subgroups with higher versus lower levels of lifetime trauma exposure revealed systematic associations between amygdala gray matter volume, amygdala functional reactivity, and anxiety that suggest a nonlinear trajectory in the neural response to accumulated trauma in healthy adults.

To read the paper click here

Continue reading »]]> Logotherapy and Existential Analysis – Dr Viktor Frankl Legacy

Logotherapy/Existential Analysis (LTEA) is an empirically based, meaning-centred approach to psychotherapy.

Logotherapy was developed by the Jewish Austrian psychiatrist and neurologist Dr. Viktor E. Frankl (1905-1997), who survived the horors of the Holocaust, and later published he international bestseller Man’s Search for Meaning.

Frankl maintains that the striving to find meaning and purpose in our lives are the primary and our most powerful motivational forces.

Logotherapy helps individuals  transcend the self and  use the power of meaning  in order to face and conquer adversity, suffering, loss or tragedy.

Frankl’s vision has a powerful message of hope for us all. it fosters an attitude of resilience and optimism in the face of pain and loss. He views people as having three dimensions: body, mind and spirit, and according to Frankl, the spirit can never be sick.

Continue reading »]]> Hart R., (2011) Choosing Schools – Choosing Identities in London: A Study of Parental Choice Among Members of an Immigrant Group in London. UK/USA: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing.

Dear Friends

I am delighted to announce the publication of my first book (which is my PhD dissertation) by Lambert Academic Publishing.

Here is the abstract:

This ethnographic study delineates the experiences of immigrant families living in London as they engage with local schools. The findings chapters of the study explore issues of access, by following the parents as they enter London’s educational marketplace and as they choose a school for their children. The study portrays the process of educational choice from their perspective as newcomers, highlighting their positioning in the educational marketplace and the significance of their skills and resources as educational consumers.

The findings reveal eight types of capitals that these families draw on as they engage with the education market. These are: cultural properties, social resources, identities, symbolic assets,  psychological empowerment, cognitive capacities, economic means and statutory positioning.  The analyses highlight the development that occurred in the choosers’ consumerist skills over time, suggesting that there may be a way to empower disadvantaged choosers to obtain improved positions as educational consumers.

A central theme in this study is the occurrence of a communal pattern of schooling among this group of families.  Searching for the factors that occasion segregation in education, the focus of the research shifted to explore the role of the choosers’ networks.  The findings suggest that by using various control mechanisms, these networks engendered a continual pattern of schooling resulting in segregation and closure.

‘Choosing schools – choosing identities’ stands for the main argument of this study which states that the choice of school, as an act of consumerism, represents the choosers’ collective identities, and at the same time plays a significant role in reinventing these identities.

Enjoy!!

Rona

Dr Rona Hart
Director
Heart Enterprises Ltd
London UK
Tel 020 – 8931-3333
mob 07980-709821
Email: rona@hart2heart.co.uk
www.positivepsychology4u.com

Continue reading »]]> Sharot, T. (2011) The Optimism Bias.  UK: Pantheon Books.

Dear friends

In The Optimism Bias Dr. Tali Sharot, of University College London, discusses our natural tendency to overestimate the likelihood of experiencing positive events in our lives in the future,  and to underestimate the likelihood of negative events occuring in our lives.

The book is written from her perspective as a neuroscientist, and therefore she explores this bias as it appears in our brain function, looking at the biological aspects of our thought patters – optimism and pessimism.

Our memories are far from being accurate…

In her early studies, Sharot asked participants to recall past memories. We may all be aware of the inaccuracies in our memory – and this was perhaps no surprise for  Sharot to discover that our recollections are indeed inaccurate.

However, Sharot went a step further. Using brain imaging technology, she found that the areas in the brain that are engaged when we remember events from the past – are the same areas in the brain that are engaged when we think about the future. Recollection, she claims, is very much a reconstructive process, more like story telling, rather than a video-rerun of past experiences. It is thus susceptible to inaccuracies.

Sharot went on to record people’s brain activity when they imagined everyday future events. What she discovered was that the majority of people had pleasant scenarios in their minds, of rather routine and dull future events.

She then found that most people expect more positive than negative or neutral events to take place in the future. They also expected those positive events to take place sooner rather than later. This is  the renowned “Optimism Bias”, which has been  extensively explored by psychology scholars (such as Taylor, Seligman, Carver and Scheier, Kahneman and Tversky, to name a few), and this made her question whether this natural bias towards optimism is related to our brain structure and function.

We are biased towards optimism

Sharot conducted her research in 3 countries – UK, USA  and Israel. All of these studies provided similar findings: it seems that our brain is hard-wired for optimism.

Building on the research of other psychologists, Sharot argues that optimism in effect serves an evolutionary purpose: those positive expectations of the future, seem to enhanced the probability of survival.

Evidently perhaps, optimism can be unproductive and even dysfunctional if it is overdone. It can have grave outcomes. If we cannot realistically predict what will happen in the future, and if we are not well prepared to the challenges of life – we may not be able to handle them when they occur.

Nevertheless, Sharot claims that optimism is functional. It can protect us from becoming depressed and hopeless about the future. It can reduce stress and fear,  hightening motivation and inclination to take action.

Sharot argues that there are parts in our brain that give us the capacity to imagine ourselves in the future. This future orientation is important  because it enable us to set goals, plan ahead, save and plan how to spend our money, maintain our diet and health, plan how to develop ourselves and our relationships, and put aside resources in order to protect ourselves from risks. This futuristic thinking, optimistic as it is,  is what motivates us and drives us to develop and improve ourselves.

But, do our expectations change our reality?

Sharot claims that when we are optimistic – that is, when we are expecting good things in our future – happiness and success,  these expectations raise our chances of success and happiness. What we see at work here is the old “self fulfilling profecy”!

But what about pessimism and depression?

Sharot found, and this is very much in line with other studies,  that who are depressed – tend to be negative and pessimistic. Antidepressants, Sharot argues,  do not directly change people’s moods. What they change is their cognitive bias – they slowly become less pessimistic and more optimistic. This is why it takes time for antidepressants to work – they first change perceptions, attention, and memory and only then begin to affect people’s emotional state.

Dr. Sharot claims that  resilience training  that helps people redirect cognitive bias toward the positive optimistic view, can, in fact, protect people against depression.

The Optimism Bias reveals the neuroscience behind hope and optimism and how the brains of optimists and pessimists differ. It also shows us  why we are not very good at predicting what will make us happy. For those of you who want to understanding the biological processes that affect our outlook and attitudes, this is a great read.

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And here is Dr Sharot herself discussing her book:

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Enjoy!

To your success!

Rona

Dr Rona Hart
Director
Heart Enterprises Ltd
London UK
Tel 020 – 8931-3333
mob 07980-709821
Email: rona@hart2heart.co.uk
www.positivepsychology4u.com

Continue reading »]]> Bernstein, G. (2011) Spirit Junkie. UK: Hay House.

Dear friends

In this inspirational Gabrielle Bernstein shares her personal story of how she turned her life around from being a New York City publicist and party girl – into a student of A Course in Miracles, and into a spiritual guide. In her new book, Spirit Junkie: A Radical Road to Self-Love and Miracles, Bernstein offers her spiritual beliefs for overcoming fear, changing perceptions, shifting negative thoughts into positive ones, and creating a life where she lives her calling.

Enjoy!

To your success!

Rona

Dr Rona Hart
Director
Heart Enterprises Ltd
London UK
Tel 020 – 8931-3333
mob 07980-709821
Email: rona@hart2heart.co.uk
www.positivepsychology4u.com

Continue reading »]]> Kouzes, J.M. and B. Z. Posner (2008) The Leadership Challenge. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

Dear friends,

The Leadership Challenge by Kouzes and Posner is one of the basic texts in business studies today. In this talk, Jim Kouzes summerizes the essence of leadership, by giving us some key lessons about what makes a great leader:

* Why would and why should people follow a leader?

* What is the one attribute that is the foundation of leadership?

* What’s the one quality and one practice that enables a leader to make a positive impact on others?

* What separates leaders from others?

* What’s is the most difficult lesson for leaders?

* What does it take to become a great leader?

* What is the secret of successful leadership?

Enjoy,

To your success!

Rona

Dr Rona Hart

Director

Heart Enterprises Ltd

London UK

Tel 020 – 8931-3333

mob 07980-709821

Email: rona@hart2heart.co.uk

www.positivepsychology4u.com

Continue reading »]]> Dear friends

In this inspirational talk Prof Marshall Goldsmith author of What Got You Here Won’t Get You There discusses the importance of managing your emotions and communication at work and in the context of leadership.

Based on his research, Goldsmith explains how being successful – is often detrimental for our future success. This is because we got so used to doing what we we do – that we think it will always work. Problem is it doesn’t! What got you here – won’t get you there! In this clip he explains why.

Enjoy!

To your success!

Rona

Dr Rona Hart

Director

Heart Enterprises Ltd

London UK

Tel 020 – 8931-3333

mob 07980-709821

Email: rona@hart2heart.co.uk

www.positivepsychology4u.com