Beyond the “Third Wave of Positive Psychology”: Challenges and Opportunities for Future Research

The positive psychology (PP) landscape is changing, and its initial identity is being challenged. Moving beyond the “third wave of PP,” two roads for future research and practice in well-being studies are discerned: The first is the state of the art PP trajectory that will (for the near future) continue as a scientific (sub)discipline in/next to psychology (because of its popular brand name). The second trajectory (main focus of this manuscript) links to pointers described as part of the so-called third wave of PP, which will be argued as actually being the beginning of a new domain of inter- or transdisciplinary well-being studies in its own right. It has a broader scope than the state of the art in PP, but is more delineated than in planetary well-being studies. It is in particular suitable to understand the complex nature of bio-psycho-social-ecological well-being, and to promote health and wellness in times of enormous challenges and changes. A unique cohering focus for this post-disciplinary well-being research domain is proposed. In both trajectories, future research will have to increase cognizance of metatheoretical assumptions, develop more encompassing theories to bridge the conceptual fragmentation in the field, and implement methodological reforms, while keeping context and the interwovenness of the various levels of the scientific text in mind. Opportunities are indicated to contribute to the discourse on the identity and development of scientific knowledge in mainstream positive psychology and the evolving post-disciplinary domain of well-being studies.

Yoga - Meditation and Positive Psychology

This book chapter explores the synergy between positive mental health and Yoga and Meditation traditions from India.

A Positive Psychology Perspective on Positive Emotion and Foreign Language Enjoyment Among Chinese as a Second Language Learners Attending Virtual Online Classes in the Emergency Remote Teaching Context Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study adopted a positive psychology perspective to investigate positive emotion and foreign language enjoyment among Chinese as a second language (CSL) learners in an emergency remote teaching (ERT) context amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A set of 90 preparatory Chinese language students (40 males and 50 females) was assessed for their level of foreign language enjoyment using the Foreign Language Enjoyment Scale (FLES). Participles' scores on self-perceived language achievement and actual test scores were adopted as the measurement of their Chinese language proficiency. The results revealed that: (1) CSL learners experienced high level of FL enjoyment in an online learning context, (2) no significant correlation was found between FLE and leaners' actual language achievement nor between FLE and their self-perceived achievement, (3) female learners showed higher FLE than male learners and gender was found to have a significant effect on FLE-Private, (4) participants' geological location, i.e., whether in China or at home countries, significantly influenced their FLE, (5) participants' regional group was not a significant predictor of FLE, and (6) teacher-related variables and learner self-perceptions of achievement were strong predictors of FLE among CSL learners. The findings highlight the importance of teacher's role in an online learning environment and suggest that FLE may not boost performance in the short term for language beginners but is still conducive in the long run. Implications for both teachers and learners, and suggestions for future researches are provided.

Positive psychology interventions in patients with breast cancer

Cancer can be defined by both accelerated cell reproduction and the damage it causes to people's health regardless of type. Breast cancer is not specifically exclusive to women, it also affects men but is less frequent, in 2018 it was reported that in Mexico two out of every 10 deaths in women were due to corresponding breast cancer in the period 2011 to 2016. The goal of this review is to publicize the effectiveness of some of the psychological intervention programs since positive psychology in patients with breast cancer. The bibliographic search was made in databases such as Redalyc, SciELO, Dialnet, PubMed and Google Academia, as inclusion criteria it was taken into account that the bibliography had a period of age not more than 10 years. and as exclusion criteria, all interventions involving girls, boys and adolescents were ruled out. The results found that interventions from positive psychology applied in patients with breast cancer mainly work on both positive and negative emotions, welfare, optimism and self-concept trying from women living in that situation, providing as results the improvement of problem solving and coping with the disease and its consequences. It was concluded by noting that cognitive behavioral psychological intervention from positive psychology effectively helps to cope with changes in an adaptive way and has adapted to the new lifestyle caused by breast cancer. It was considered important that future interventions also work with the population of men even though the sample was small because the diagnoses in them are uncommon, however it is important to know the effects of psychological intervention on them from positive psychology, and the factors that usually affect mainly during and after the disease process.