Ken Sheldon's comprehensive new book addresses two questions: how can individuals best integrate the different facets of themselves to achieve "optimal human being," and how can researchers best integrate the different levels of analysis within the human sciences to understand "optimal human being" in general? In the process, the book supplies two new frameworks--one for viewing the human sciences as a group, and the other for viewing personality theory within that group.
"Optimal Human Being" features a multi-level model that moves from biologically based levels of analysis to higher, socially based levels, and demonstrates how these different levels interact to determine behavior. The author then proposes a new way of looking at personality by examining four "tiers": organismic foundations, personality traits, goals/intentions, and self-concepts, and demonstrates how these levels relate to the state of optimal human being. The book concludes with two higher levels of analysis relevant to personality--social interaction and culture--and proposes a new profile of optimal human being.
Intended for researchers and students in social and personality, clinical, developmental, and industrial psychology and other social sciences, the book will also serve as a supplement in a variety of courses including personality, positive psychology, well being, personal development, and motivation.

Ken Sheldon's comprehensive new book addresses two questions: how can individuals best integrate the different facets of themselves to achieve "optimal human being", and how can researchers best integrate the different levels of analysis within the human sciences to understand "optimal human being" in general? In the process, the book supplies two new frameworks-one for viewing the human sciences as a group, and the other for viewing personality theory within that group. Optimal Human Being features a multi-level model that moves from biologically based levels of analysis to higher, socially based levels, and demonstrates how these different levels interact to determine behavior. The author then proposes a new way of looking at personality by examining four "tiers": organismic foundations, personality traits, goals/intentions, and self-concepts, and demonstrates how these levels relate to the state of optimal human being. The book concludes with two higher levels of analysis relevant to personality-social interaction and culture-and proposes a new profile of optimal human being. Intended for researchers and students in social and personality, clinical, developmental, and industrial psychology and other social sciences, the book will also serve as a supplement in a variety of courses including personality, positive psychology, well being, personal development, and motivation.

This volume presents the reader with a stimulating tapestry of essays exploring the nature of personal autonomy, self-determination, and agency, and their role in human optimal functioning at multiple levels of analysis from personal to societal and cross-cultural. The starting point for these explorations is self-determination theory, an integrated theory of human motivation and healthy development which has been under development for more than three decades (Deci & Ryan, 2000). As the contributions will make clear, psychological autonomy is a concept that forms the bridge between the dependence of human behavior on biological and socio-cultural determinants on the one side, and people's ability to be free, reflective, and transforming agents who can challenge these dependencies, on the other. The authors within this volume share a vision that human autonomy is a fundamental pre-condition for both individuals and groups to thrive, and that without understanding the nature and mechanisms of autonomous agency vital social and human problems cannot be satisfactory addressed.

This multidisciplinary team of researchers will collectively explore the nature of personal autonomy, considering its developmental origins, its expression within relationships, its importance within groups and organizational functioning, and its role in promoting to the democratic and economic development of societies. The book is aimed toward developmental, social, personality, and cross-cultural psychologists, towards researchers and practitioners' in the areas of education, health and medicine, social work and, economics, and also towards all interested in creating a more sustainable and just world society through promoting individual freedom and agency.

This volume will provide

• a theoretical and conceptual account of the nature and psychological mechanisms of personal motivational autonomy and human agency;
• rich multidisciplinary empirical evidence supporting the claims and propositions about the nature of human autonomy and capacities for self-regulation;
• explanations of how and why different psychological and socio-cultural conditions may play a role in promoting or undermining people's autonomous motivation and well-being,
• discussions of how the promotion of human autonomy can positively influence environmental protection, democracy promotion and economic prosperity.

A renowned psychologist argues that free will is not only real but essential to our well-being It's become fashionable to argue that free will is a fiction: that we humans are in the thrall of animal urges and unconscious biases and only think that we are choosing freely. In?Freely Determined, research psychologist Kennon?Sheldon?argues that this perception is not only wrong but also dangerous. Drawing on decades of his own groundbreaking empirical research into motivation and goal setting, Sheldon shows us that embracing the ability to choose our path in life makes us happier, healthier, and more fulfilled. He also shows that this insight can help us choose better goals-ones that are concordant with our values and that, critically, we're more likely to actually see through. Providing readers insight into how they can live a more self-directed, satisfying life, Freely Determined offers an essential guide for how we might recognize our freedom and use it wisely.

The right to "pursue happiness" is one of the dominant themes of western culture, and understanding the causes of happiness is one of the primary goals of the positive psychology movement. However, before the causality question can even be considered, a more basic question must be addressed: CAN happiness change? Reasons for skepticism include the notion of a "genetic set point" for happiness, i.e. a stable personal baseline of happiness to which individuals will always return, no matter how much their lives change for the better; the life-span stability of happiness-related traits such as neuroticism and extraversion; and the powerful processes of hedonic adaptation, which erode the positive effects of any fortuitous life change. This book investigates prominent theories on happiness with the research evidence to discuss when and how happiness changes and for how long.

Positive psychology exploded into public consciousness 10 years ago and has continued to capture attention around the world ever since. The movement promised to study positive human nature, using only the most rigorous scientific tools and theories. How well has this promise been fulfilled? This book evaluates the first decade of this fledgling field of study from the perspective of nearly every leading researcher in the field.
Scholars in the areas of social, personality, clinical, biological, emotional, and applied psychology take stock of their fields, while bearing in mind the original manifesto and goals of the postive psychology movement. They provide honest, critical evaluations of the flaws and untapped potential of their fields of study. The contributors design the optimal future of positive psychology by addressing gaps, biases, and methodological limitations, and exploring exciting new questions.

This volume presents the reader with a stimulating tapestry of essays exploring the nature of personal autonomy, self-determination, and agency, and their role in human optimal functioning at multiple levels of analysis from personal to societal and cross-cultural. The starting point for these explorations is self-determination theory, an integrated theory of human motivation and healthy development which has been under development for more than three decades (Deci & Ryan, 2000). As the contributions will make clear, psychological autonomy is a concept that forms the bridge between the dependence of human behavior on biological and socio-cultural determinants on the one side, and people's ability to be free, reflective, and transforming agents who can challenge these dependencies, on the other. The authors within this volume share a vision that human autonomy is a fundamental pre-condition for both individuals and groups to thrive, and that without understanding the nature and mechanisms of autonomous agency vital social and human problems cannot be satisfactory addressed.

This multidisciplinary team of researchers will collectively explore the nature of personal autonomy, considering its developmental origins, its expression within relationships, its importance within groups and organizational functioning, and its role in promoting to the democratic and economic development of societies. The book is aimed toward developmental, social, personality, and cross-cultural psychologists, towards researchers and practitioners' in the areas of education, health and medicine, social work and, economics, and also towards all interested in creating a more sustainable and just world society through promoting individual freedom and agency.

This volume will provide

• a theoretical and conceptual account of the nature and psychological mechanisms of personal motivational autonomy and human agency;
• rich multidisciplinary empirical evidence supporting the claims and propositions about the nature of human autonomy and capacities for self-regulation;
• explanations of how and why different psychological and socio-cultural conditions may play a role in promoting or undermining people's autonomous motivation and well-being,
• discussions of how the promotion of human autonomy can positively influence environmental protection, democracy promotion and economic prosperity.

Self-determination theory is grounded in the belief that people work best and are happiest when they feel that they are in control of their own lives. This invaluable book explains the ramifications of the theory and provides clinical examples to show that it can be used to motivate patients undergoing treatment for such physical or psychological issues as diabetes management, smoking cessation, post-traumatic stress, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and depression. The first part of the book provides historical background to self-determination theory, showing that it is humanistically oriented and has three decades of empirical research behind it. In the process, the authors discuss why humanistic psychology fell out of favor in academic psychology; why "self-help" and New Age books have such perennial popularity; and why it is so important for authorities to support patients' sense of self. The remainder of the book presents many specific case examples to describe the theory's application.