Authentic Happiness

by Roy Baumeister, 2012

How do we learn self-control as children? What bolsters will power? What undermines it? Is self-control a skill that can be practiced and taught? How can we encourage young people to perform to their potential?

by Roy Baumeister, 2014

• How do self-control and willpower function?
• How do we learn self-control as children?
• What bolsters willpower? What undermines it?
• Why do we so often fail to break bad habits?
• How can we increase our willpower and make it work for us?

Professor Roy Baumeister, USA, respected social psychologist exploring self-control, self-regulation, meaning and happiness and author of Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength

by Angela Duckworth 2013

Research Psychologist Angela Duckworth was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2013. The Fellowship is a $625,000, no-strings-attached grant for individuals who have shown exceptional creativity in their work and the promise to do more.

by Angela Duckworth, 2014

Presentation by Angela Duckworth, University of Pennsylvania; MacArthur Fellow

In conversation with:
Sheila Durant, P.S. 69X Journey Prep, Bronx, NY
Bryan Carter, GESU School, Philadelphia, PA
Moderator: Shannah Varon, Boston Collegiate Charter School, Boston, MA

Filmed at the STC 2014 National Forum: Harlem // NYC
May 15th, 2014

by Angela Duckworth, 2013

Watch Angela Duckworth talk about her research on grit and inter-disciplinary research in human capital. She is the co-leader of the Identity and Personality Network.

Angela Duckworth is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. She studies individual differences that predict achievement. Her research centers on self-control (the ability to regulate emotions, thoughts, and feelings in the service of valued goals) and grit (perseverance and sustained interest in long-term goals). In prospective, longitudinal studies, she documents the relationships among self-control, grit, and intelligence, and their prediction of academic and professional achievement.

By Alan Carr

Remediating deficits and managing disabilities has been a central preoccupation for clinical psychologists. Positive Psychology, in contrast, is concerned with the enhancement of happiness and well-being, involving the scientific study of the role of personal strengths and positive social systems in the promotion of optimal wellbeing. Alan Carr's Positive Psychology has become essential reading for anyone requiring a thorough and accessible introduction to the field.

By Kim Cameron, Jane Dutton, Robert Quinn

In helping establish a new field of study in the organizational sciences, POS, this book examines a variety of positive dynamics in businesses and organizations that give rise to extraordinary outcomes. Positive Organizational Scholarship does not adopt one particular theory or framework, but encompasses any phenomenon that leads to positive, nurturing results. This collection of essays, written by established senior scholars, explains why and how these commonsense prescriptions work.

By Marcus Buckingham

Research data show that most people do not come close to making full use of their assets at work. Go Put Your Strengths to Work aims to change that by kick-starting the “strengths revolution” that began with Buckingham’s earlier books. Through a six-step, six-week experience, Go Put Your Strengths to Work shows you how to seize control of your assets and rewrite your job description under the nose of your boss.

By Robert Biswas-Diener and Todd Kashdan

In The Upside of Your Dark Side, two pioneering researchers in the field of psychology show that while mindfulness, kindness, and positivity can take us far, they cannot take us all the way. Sometimes, they can even hold us back. Emotions such as anger, anxiety, guilt, and sadness might feel uncomfortable, but it turns out that they are also incredibly useful. The key lies in what the authors call “emotional, social, and mental agility,” the ability to access our full range of emotions and behavior—not just the “good” ones—in order to respond most effectively to whatever situation we might encounter.

By Tal Ben-Shahar

Applying cutting-edge research in the field of positive psychology, Ben-Shahar takes us off the impossible pursuit of perfection and directs us to the way to happiness, richness, and true fulfillment. He shows us the freedom derived from not trying to do it all right all the time and the real lessons that failure and painful emotions can teach us.