Overview

Positive psychology is about fostering strength and living well—about how to do a good job at being human. Charles Hackney connects this still-new movement to foundational concepts in philosophy and Christian theology. He then explores topics such as subjective states, cognitive processes, and the roles of personality, relationships, and environment.

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9780830828708

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Reviews

Charles Hackney offers a Christian view of second-wave positive psychology. For the reader who wants to put a Christian understanding of positive psychology in historical, theological, philosophical, and psychological perspective, this is the definitive book. --Everett L. Worthington Jr., author of Coming to Peace with Psychology: What Christians Can Learn from Psychological Science I found Charles Hackney's book to be a beautiful overview and critique of positive psychology--both the movement and its many topics--viewed through a Christian lens. I very much appreciated the thoughtful integration of a huge body of psychological literature within a faith-based context. The book provides a great deal of food for thought, all packaged within bite-sized, well-organized, highly readable chapters. I would highly recommend this book as a resource for scholars and clinicians, and I would see it as an excellent choice for a Christian-focused undergraduate or graduate course on positive psychology. --Julie J. Exline, professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Case Western Reserve University If you're looking for the most thorough and thoughtful look at positive psychology from a Christian perspective, this is it. Dr. Hackney combines his impressive knowledge of research, an incisive Christian appraisal of human flourishing, and outstanding communication skills to provide this excellent textbook on one of the most promising movements in contemporary psychology. --Mark R. McMinn, author of The Science of Virtue and coauthor of Embodying Integration Not only does Charles Hackney helpfully locate the field of positive psychology historically and theoretically, he provides well-researched treatments of a variety of the field's most intriguing topics (e.g., hope, mindfulness, wisdom, self-control, flow). All of this is done from a thoughtful and balanced Christian point of view that is not forced or heavy handed. Hackney's book is a comprehensive, thoroughly researched, and clearly written introduction to positive psychology for Christian undergraduate and graduate students. --Steven L. Porter, professor of theology and philosophy, Rosemead School of Psychology, Biola University With good will and a sweet sense of humor, Charles Hackney demonstrates in these pages a deep appreciation of positive psychology as well as an impressive familiarity with its findings and sensibilities. Even better, he offers a constructive critique of some of its themes and makes some surprising contributions of his own (e.g., there are chapters on sports and martial arts). Best of all, he has given us a readable yet sophisticated Christian interpretation of its major contributions so far, while advocating for a Christian version of the project. With such a far-reaching synthesis, some minor disagreements are unavoidable, but the breadth and depth of what he has accomplished is so well done and so enjoyable. --Eric L. Johnson, professor of Christian psychology, Gideon Institute for Christian Psychology and Counseling, Houston Baptist University

""If you're looking for the most thorough and thoughtful look at positive psychology from a Christian perspective, this is it. Dr. Hackney combines his impressive knowledge of research, an incisive Christian appraisal of human flourishing, and outstanding communication skills to provide this excellent textbook on one of the most promising movements in contemporary psychology."" -- Mark R. McMinn, author of The Science of Virtue and coauthor of Embodying Integration ""Charles Hackney offers a Christian view of second-wave positive psychology. For the reader who wants to put a Christian understanding of positive psychology in historical, theological, philosophical, and psychological perspective, this is the definitive book."" -- Everett L. Worthington Jr., author of Coming to Peace with Psychology: What Christians Can Learn from Psychological Science ""I found Charles Hackney's book to be a beautiful overview and critique of positive psychology—both the movement and its many topics—viewed through a Christian lens. I very much appreciated the thoughtful integration of a huge body of psychological literature within a faith-based context. The book provides a great deal of food for thought, all packaged within bite-sized, well-organized, highly readable chapters. I would highly recommend this book as a resource for scholars and clinicians, and I would see it as an excellent choice for a Christian-focused undergraduate or graduate course on positive psychology."" -- Julie J. Exline, professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Case Western Reserve University ""With good will and a sweet sense of humor, Charles Hackney demonstrates in these pages a deep appreciation of positive psychology as well as an impressive familiarity with its findings and sensibilities. Even better, he offers a constructive critique of some of its themes and makes some surprising contributions of his own (e.g., there are chapters on sports and martial arts). Best of all, he has given us a readable yet sophisticated Christian interpretation of its major contributions so far, while advocating for a Christian version of the project. With such a far-reaching synthesis, some minor disagreements are unavoidable, but the breadth and depth of what he has accomplished is so well done and so enjoyable."" -- Eric L. Johnson, professor of Christian psychology, Gideon Institute for Christian Psychology and Counseling, Houston Baptist University ""Not only does Charles Hackney helpfully locate the field of positive psychology historically and theoretically, he provides well-researched treatments of a variety of the field's most intriguing topics (e.g., hope, mindfulness, wisdom, self-control, flow). All of this is done from a thoughtful and balanced Christian point of view that is not forced or heavy handed. Hackney's book is a comprehensive, thoroughly researched, and clearly written introduction to positive psychology for Christian undergraduate and graduate students."" -- Steven L. Porter, professor of theology and philosophy, Rosemead School of Psychology, Biola University

Author Information

Charles Hackney (PhD, SUNY Albany) is associate professor of psychology at Southern Wesleyan University in South Carolina.

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