The (Un)translatability of Well-Being

The Oxford Handbook of Translation and Social Practices ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190067205.013.30 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 377-394

Author(s):

Tim Lomas

Keyword(s):

Positive Psychology ◽

Subject Matter ◽

Cultural Awareness ◽

Well Being ◽

Cross Cultural ◽

Scientific Study ◽

Ways Of Thinking ◽

Mainstream Psychology

Positive psychology—the scientific study of well-being—has made considerable strides in understanding its subject matter since emerging in the late 1990s. However, like mainstream psychology more broadly, it can be deemed relatively Western-centric, with its concepts and priorities influenced by ways of thinking and understanding that are prominent in Western cultures. Consequently, the field would benefit from greater cross-cultural awareness, engagement, and understanding. One such means of doing so is through the study of “untranslatable” words (i.e., those lacking an exact equivalent in another language, in this case English). This chapter reflects on the nature of untranslatable words, considers their significance to positive psychology (and psychology more broadly), and offers suggestions for why and how the field should engage with them.

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Experiential cartography and the significance of “untranslatable” words

Theory & Psychology ◽

10.1177/0959354318772914 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 28 (4) ◽

pp. 476-495 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Tim Lomas

Keyword(s):

Cultural Awareness ◽

Cross Cultural ◽

Cultural Variation ◽

The World ◽

Ways Of Thinking ◽

Mainstream Psychology

Mainstream psychology can be regarded as largely Western-centric, with its concepts and priorities biased towards Western ways of thinking and understanding. Consequently, the field would benefit from greater cross-cultural awareness and engagement. To that end, this article offers one means of engagement, the study of “untranslatable” words (i.e., terms without an exact equivalent in another language, in our case English). A key function of language is that it offers a “map” that allows us to understand and navigate the world. In that respect, such words point to cultural variation in the maps we use, and even to variation in the actual territory mapped. The paper concludes with suggestions for why and how psychology could benefit from engaging with such words.

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Better Together

The Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology, 3rd Edition ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199396511.013.67 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

James O. Pawelski ◽

Louis Tay

Keyword(s):

Positive Psychology ◽

Conceptual Model ◽

Performance Art ◽

Subject Matter ◽

Scientific Inquiry ◽

Well Being ◽

Human Flourishing ◽

Positive Interventions ◽

And Performance ◽

Music Film

Positive psychology is a science, yet its subject matter overlaps significantly with that of the humanities. Differing methods of inquiry could lead to an antagonistic relationship between positive psychology and the various disciplines in the humanities, but this chapter explores the value of collaborative relations between these domains. It begins by noting ways in which the humanities have influenced—and continue to influence—positive psychology, and goes on to advocate an extensive, robust, and formal collaboration between positive psychology and the humanities. Positive psychology stands to benefit from such a collaboration through access to a rich repository of information about human experience and the quest to understand and cultivate human flourishing, through conceptual analyses and more robust and nuanced constructs, and through a new domain of positive interventions. Two extended discussions demonstrate some of the benefits that can accrue to positive psychology through collaboration with the humanities. First, a careful philosophical analysis of the “positive” in positive psychology shows how the humanities can help deepen positive psychology’s conceptual roots. Second, the presentation of a conceptual model for operationalizing the well-being effects of the humanities shows how collaboration can open up significant new programs of scientific inquiry into the roles of philosophy, history, religion, literature, music, film, and visual and performance art for understanding, enjoying, and advancing human flourishing.

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Positive Psychotherapy

10.1093/med-psych/9780195325386.001.0001 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Tayyab Rashid ◽

Martin P. Seligman

Keyword(s):

Positive Psychology ◽

Well Being ◽

Human Experience ◽

Cross Cultural ◽

Positive Psychotherapy ◽

Cultural Implications ◽

Core Elements ◽

Core Concepts

Positive psychotherapy (PPT) is a therapeutic endeavor within positive psychology that aims to alleviate symptomatic stress by way of enhancing well-being. Traditional psychotherapy does a good job of making clients feel, for example, less depressed or less anxious, but the well-being of clients is not an explicit goal. Positive psychology studies the conditions and processes that enable individuals, communities, and institutions to flourish. PPT integrates symptoms with strengths, risks with resources, weaknesses with values, and regrets with hopes, in order to understand the inherent complexities of human experience in a balanced way. Without dismissing or minimizing the client’s concerns, the PPT clinician empathically understands and attends to pain associated with trauma and simultaneously explores the potential for growth. This clinician’s manual contains 15 PPT sessions, with core concepts, guidelines, skills, and worksheets for practicing these skills. Each session focuses on one or more practice and includes a Fit & Flexibility section that presents various ways that PPT practices can work (without losing their core elements) given clients’ specific situations. Each session includes at least one vignette as well as cross-cultural implications.

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