Nicholas Hall

In a special lecture preceding this year’s first International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA) World Congress in Philadelphia, Martin Seligman laid out his vision of a new field called positive education.…

Are you always the same person?  In some situations, you may feel stressed but strong, moving forward knowing that an adversity is at least partly within your control. In other…

It might sound unlikely that an Australian-raised, self-proclaimed 60’s feminist-turned-Buddhist-nun would be the energy behind the San Francisco-based conference Happiness and Its Causes (November 24-25, 2008).

“Let’s deconstruct happiness, open it up, and look at the differences,” says Ven. Robina Courtin. “Inspiring people is the main agenda of this conference.” (DISCOUNT inside the article).

“Peace is more precious than diamonds, silver, or gold.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. This month I thought that I would visit a topic that is near and dear to…

Positive psychology and EI (“emotional intelligence”) have differing domains of research, though luckily I believe they can contribute to one another. For reference, here are the four branches of EI…

Many psychologists have attempted to describe a skill resembling emotional intelligence. None have gone so far and defined so well the concept of EI (“emotional intelligence”) as has Peter Salovey, professor of psychology at Yale University.

Recently, Dr. Mangels and colleagues teamed up with Carol Dweck to study the differences in the brains of people with growth mindsets and fixed mindsets. This is exciting work because it is hard empirical science studying the underlying brain functions dealing with learning and internal self-concepts.

(To see a video version of this article, scroll down to the post script.)
It was nuts. I had looked at 50 apartments over two weeks before I made my decision. I was still not entirely satisfied with my choice! I was strung out and anxious the whole time that I was in-between abodes. What a mess.

I recently applied to a one-week summer scholarship program, one that sounded really great, and wouldn’t you know it, “we were overwhelmed by applicants, and although yours was excellent…” Sigh.…

I was recently invited to speak at a support facility for adults recovering from the prolonged effects of psychiatric illness in Bridgeport, CT. The Bridge House offers a number of…

Robert Wright proposes in his book Nonzero that there may be a “natural law” that people move toward – a natural law of interdependence and win-win scenarios that promotes survival. Wright’s natural law…

Does this new upstart subfield within psychology called positive psychology have anything to add to the domain of people in the workplace? If positive psychology is all about positive emotions and human flourishing, what can it say about our work life and how to be happiest and flourishing in it?

Nicholas Hall, MAPP ’06, is the manager of the Stanford University Graduate School of Business Behavioral Lab. He consults on worker satisfaction and engagement, and sits on the advisory board…