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November 2014 Vol. 52 No. 3

This handbook provides a rich and valuable summary of the current knowledge about positive emotions, the diverse theoretical orientations used to understand them, and the neurobiological, physiological, and psychological methodologies employed to study them. The impact of positive emotions on social cognition and close relationships is explored, as are cultural influences, individual differences, and life-span changes experienced with various positive emotions. Chapters that address specific positive emotions--e.g., happiness, pride, gratitude--approach the topic through these theoretical and methodological foundations. These chapters conclude with thoughtful suggestions for focusing future research efforts to address questions yet unasked in each specific area. Additional chapters summarize the implications of positive emotions on physical health, resilience, and mood disorders, and on larger social organizations, citizenship, leadership, and consumer behavior. When viewed as a whole, this handbook provides an understanding of how positive emotions fit into and expand traditional theories of emotion, how physiological and behavioral measures of positive emotion will further knowledge, how sociocultural contexts shape the meaning of positive emotions, how positive emotions impact subjective and psychosocial well-being, and how positive emotions can be explored at intrapersonal, interpersonal, group, and community levels.

--R. B. Stewart Jr., Oakland University

Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals.