Positive Evolutionary Psychology

Positive psychologists focus on ways that we can advance the lives of individuals and communities by studying the factors that increase positive outcomes such as life satisfaction and happiness. Evolutionary psychologists use the principles of evolution, based on Darwin's understanding of life, to help shed light on any and all kinds of psychological phenomena. This book brings together both fields to explore positive evolutionary psychology: the use of evolutionary psychology principles to help people and communities experience more positive and fulfilling lives.Across eleven chapters, this book describes the basic ideas of both evolutionary and positive psychology, elaborates on the integration of these two fields as a way to help advance the human condition, discusses several domains of human functioning from the perspective of positive evolutionary psychology, and finally, looks with an eye toward the future of work in this emerging and dynamic field. Over the past few decades, evolutionary psychologists have begun to crack the code on such phenomena as happiness, gratitude, resilience, community, and love. This book describes these facets of the human experience in terms of their evolutionary origins and proposes how we might guide people to optimally experience such positive phenomena in their everyday lives.

AcknowledgementsForeword by Scott Barry KaufmanSection I: Positive Evolutionary Psychology DefinedChapter 1: What is Positive Evolutionary Psychology?Chapter 2: Examples of Positive Evolutionary PsychologyChapter 3: Ape Out of Water: Evolutionary Mismatch and The Nature of Who We AreSection II: Domains of Positive Evolutionary PsychologyChapter 4: The Democratic Ape: Evolved to Get AlongChapter 5: The Bright Side of ReligionChapter 6: Happiness, Gratitude, and LoveChapter 7: Taking the High Road in LifeChapter 8: An Evolutionary Psychology of ResilienceSection III: Applied Positive Evolutionary PsychologyChapter 9: Healthy Living ReconsideredChapter 10: Building Darwin's CommunitySection IV: Implications and the Future of Positive Evolutionary PsychologyChapter 11: Darwin's Quick Tips for Living a Richer LifeIndex