Inspired by some comments by Tony Hsieh, I decided to dig a little deeper into the science of happiness. Just gathering a bunch of notes at this point, and then will try to synthesize some of what I am discovering.
A Few Different Frameworks on Happiness:
- Perceived Control
- Perceived Progress
- Connectedness
- Vision / Meaning (Being part of something bigger than yourself)
[ via Zappos – SXSW – 3-14-09 ]
3 Types of Happiness:
- Rock Star (Pleasure – Chasing the next high)
- Flow (Engagement – time flies)
- Meaning / Higher Purpose (Being Part of something bigger than yourself)
[ via Zappos – SXSW – 3-14-09 ]
Happiness Is the Mission
[ via video of SXSW talk ]
Martin Seligman
- wikipedia – Martin Seligman
- Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment
- Can Happiness be Taught?
- Authentic Happiness Positive Psychology Center
The Happiness Hypothesis
Tony Hsieh – Unified Happiness Theory
Establishing balance among four basic human needs:
- perceived progress
- perceived control
- relatedness
- connection to a larger vision
[ via Inc. – The Zappos Way of Managing ]
Other Sources
- Gardner, H., Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Damon, W. (2001). Good work: When excellence and ethics meet.
- Buckingham, M., & Clifton, D. O. (2001). Now, discover your strengths. Free Press.
- Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2004). Good Business: Leadership, Flow, and the Making of Meaning. Penguin.
- Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). Authentic happiness. Free Press.
- Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). Authentic Happiness. New York: Free Press.
- A new, up to date textbook: Peterson, C. (2006): A Primer in Positive Psychology
- Damasio, A. (1994). Descartes’ error: Emotion, reason, and the human brain. New York: Putnam.
- Gladwell, M. (2005). Blink: The power of thinking without thinking. New York: Little, Brown.
- Wegner, D. White Bears.
- Burns, D. D. (1999). Feeling Good (2nd Ed.). New York: Avon.
- Kramer, P. D. (1993). Listening to prozac. New York: Viking.
- Carnegie, D. How to win friends and influence people.
- Cialdini, R. B. (2001). Influence: Science and practice (4th Ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
- Ridley, M. (1996). The origins of virtue. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin.
- Baumeister, R. F. (1997). Evil: Inside human cruelty and violence. New York: W. H. Freeman.
- Wright, R. (1994). The moral animal: Pantheon.
- Brim, G. (1992). Ambition. New York: Basic Books.
- Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997). Finding flow. New York: Basic.
- Frank, R. H. (1999). Luxury fever: Why money fails to satisfy in an era of excess. New York: Free Press.
- Kasser, T. (2002). The high price of materialism. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
- Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). Authentic happiness. New York: Free Press.
- Blum, D. (2002). Love at Goon Park. Cambridge MA: Perseus.
- Gottman, J. (1994). Why marriages succeed or fail. New York: Simon & Schuster.
- Emmons, R. A. (1999). The psychology of ultimate concerns: Motivation and spirituality in personality. New York: Guilford.
- Frankl, V. E. (1984). Man’s search for meaning. New York: Pocket Books.
- Pennebaker, J. (1997). Opening up: The healing power of expressing emotions (revised edition). New York: Guilford.
- Damon, W. (1997). The youth charter: How communities can work together to raise standards for all our children. New York: Free Press.
- Franklin, B. (1962). Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. New York: MacMillan.
- Hunter, J. D. (2000). The death of character: Moral education in an age without good and evil. New York: Basic.
- Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. Washington DC: American Psychological Association, and Oxford University Press.
- Singer, P. (1979). Practical ethics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Abbott, E. A. (1952/1884). Flatland: A romance of many dimensions. 6th Edition. New York: Dover.
- Boyer, P. (2001). Religion explained: The evolutionary origins of religious thought. New York: Basic.
- Eliade, M. (1957/1959). The sacred and the profane: The nature of religion. W. R. Task (trans.). San Diego: Harcourt Brace.
- James, W. (1961). The varieties of religious experience. New York: Macmillan.
- Maslow, A. H. (1964). Religions, values, and peak-experiences. Columbus OH: Ohio State University Press.
- Miller, W. R., & C’de Baca, j. (2001). Quantum Change. New York: Guilford.
- Gardner, H., Csikszentmihalyi, m., & Damon, W. (2001). Good work: When excellence and ethics meet. New York: Basic.
- Leakey, R. (1994). The origin of humankind. New York: Basic Books.
- Richerson, P. J., & Boyd, R. (2005). Not by genes alone: How culture transformed human evolution. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
- Wilson, D. S. (2002). Darwin’s cathedral: Evolution, religion, and the nature of society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Leave a Reply