The book provides a new theory of well-being designed to integrate many disparate concepts of well-being, such as subjective well-being, personal happiness, mental well-being, emotional well-being, psychological well-being, hedonic well-being, social well-being, life satisfaction, domain satisfaction, and eudaimonia. It lays the foundation for a new a theory of mental well-being based on a hierarchical perspective of positive mental health and guided by the concept of positive balance. Written by a well-known expert in the field, this book addresses the issue of positive balance related to physiological, emotional, cognitive, meta-cognitive, developmental and social-ecological levels of an individual and analyses the factors at each level that contribute to an individual's positive mental health experience. It discusses in detail the effects of neurochemicals such as dopamine, serotonin, or cortisol; positive and negative affect; satisfaction in salient and multiple life domains vis-a-vis dissatisfaction in life domains; positive versus negative evaluations about one's life using certain standards of comparison; positive psychological traits of personal growth and intrinsic motivation, etc. vis-a-vis negative traits like pessimism and impulsiveness; and perceived social resources like social contribution and social actualization vis-a-vis perceived constraints like exclusion and ostracism. This original work is of interest to students, researchers and practitioners of quality of life and wellbeing studies, positive psychology, developmental psychology and mental health..

The concept of the Self has a long history that dates back from the ancient Greeks such as Aristotle to more contemporary thinkers such as Wundt, James, Mead, Cooley, Freud, Rogers, and Erikson (Tesser & Felson, 2000). Research on the Self relates to a range of phenomena including self-esteem, self-concept, self-protection, self-verification, self-awareness, identity, self-efficacy, self-determination etc. that could be sharply different or very similar. Despite this long tradition of thinkers and the numerous studies conducted on the Self, this concept is still not very well defined. More precisely, it is not a precise object of study, but rather a collection of loosely related subtopics (Baumesiter, 1998). Also, in the philosophical literature, the legitimacy of the concept of "self" has been brought into question. Some authors have argued that the self is not a psychological entity per se, but rather an illusion created by the complex interplay between cognitive and neurological subsystems (Zahavi, 2005). Although no definitive consensus has been reached regarding the Self, we emphasis in this volume that the Self and its related phenomena including self-concept, motivation, and identity are crucial for understanding consciousness and therefore important to understand human behavior. Self-Concept, Motivation and Identity: Underpinning Success with Research and Practice provides thus a unique insight into self-concept and its relationship to motivation and identity from varied theoretical and empirical perspectives. This volume is intended to develop both theoretical and methodological ideas and to present empirical evidence demonstrating the importance of theory and research to effective practice.

The Ape that Understood the Universe is the story of the strangest animal in the world: the human animal. It opens with a question: How would an alien scientist view our species? What would it make of our sex differences, our sexual behavior, our altruistic tendencies, and our culture? The book tackles these issues by drawing on two major schools of thought: evolutionary psychology and cultural evolutionary theory. The guiding assumption is that humans are animals, and that like all animals, we evolved to pass on our genes. At some point, however, we also evolved the capacity for culture - and from that moment, culture began evolving in its own right. This transformed us from a mere ape into an ape capable of reshaping the planet, travelling to other worlds, and understanding the vast universe of which we're but a tiny, fleeting fragment. Featuring a new foreword by Michael Shermer.

This volume brings together trends and their prospects to understand the complexity of metacognitive phenomena, with emphasis on the interactions of metacognition with affect. It discusses the three perspectives in understanding these interactions: the possible mechanisms underlying them, the manifestation of interactions of metacognition with affect in self- and co-regulation in social and educational contexts, and changes during development in young children and older adults. This volume is a tribute to Professor Emerita Anastasia Efklides, who was among the pioneers to investigate and argue the importance of the interactions between metacognition and affect. It serves as a dedication to her contribution in the widening of the scope of research in metacognition and self-regulated learning.

Originally published in 1972, this title provides an analysis of social interactions in educational contexts and opens up the field of the social psychology of education as an area in its own right at the very heart of the process of education. From a 'symbolic interactionist' perspective, the author develops a framework for the study of relations between teachers and pupils, discussing the basic ways of analysing social interaction, including the concepts of perception and role. He examines the distinctive perspectives of teachers and pupils on their relationships, bringing together into a coherent framework the insights of such writers as John Holt and Carl Rogers, and within this context he explores the notion of 'voluntary schooling'. The book also deals with other important aspects of education such as discipline, classroom group dynamics and the relations between headteachers and their staff. The theories put forward by the author are firmly grounded in the daily experience of teachers and pupils in the classroom at the time. The book was expected to be of value to experienced teachers and student teachers alike, as well as to teachers of the social sciences in general.

Now in a fifth edition, this bestselling introductory textbook remains the cornerstone volume for the study of second language acquisition (SLA). Its chapters have been fully updated, and reorganized where appropriate, to provide a comprehensive yet accessible overview of the field and its related disciplines. In order to reflect current developments, new sections and expanded discussions have been added. The fifth edition of Second Language Acquisition retains the features that students found useful in previous editions. This edition provides pedagogical tools that encourage students to reflect upon the experiences of second language learners. As with previous editions, discussion questions and problems at the end of each chapter help students apply their knowledge, and a glossary defines and reinforces must-know terminology. This clearly written, comprehensive, and current textbook, by Susan Gass, Jennifer Behney, and Luke Plonsky, is the ideal textbook for an introductory SLA course in second language studies, applied linguistics, linguistics, TESOL, and/or language education programs. This textbook is supported with a Companion Website containing instructor and student resources including PowerPoint slides, exercises, stroop tests, flashcards, audio and video links: https://routledgetextbooks.com/textbooks/9781138743427/