Dr. Barbara Fredrickson is a distinguished professor of psychology and neuroscience.  She is the director of the Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Lab at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  With 140 peer-reviewed articles published and translated into a dozen languages, her research is funded by the US National Institute of Health.  

“Positive psychology is not just for when things are going well.”  This conversation may be exactly what some of you need in these times of global political uncertainty and fear.  Barbara talks about maintaining positivity and functioning or flourishing in times of negativity.  

Connect with Barbara Fredrickson

Barbara Fredrickson’s page on the Social Psychology Network

You’ll Learn:

• [01:50] - As 2016 concludes, there is a lot of uncertainty and fear in the world due to political changes.  Barbara talks about the role of positive psychology in these times.
• [03:35] - Barbara shares her thoughts on maintaining positivity in the face of fear.
• [05:40] - Barbara talks about functioning and flourishing during periods of negativity.
• [06:35] - Some negativity is recycled and Barbara talks about approaching those situations.
• [10:55] - Barbara talks about reaching out with positivity to those that you have ideological differences with.
• [13:11] - A lot of Barbara’s research is on love and positivity resonance between people.  She talks about aspects of her research that are more important now, in these times.
• [15:35] - Barbara talks about the value of meditation in times of negative emotional state.
• [18:48] - I have found Barbara’s tool on tracking positivity ratio to be very valuable.  She talks about this tool and how it can be used.
• [20:11] - Barbara shares her thoughts on how leaders of organizations can help others balance these feelings.
• [22:25] - The Lightning Round with Barbara Fredrickson.

Your Resources:

President Obama - our positive psychologist-in-chief  (by Sonja Lyubomirsky)

Positivity Ratio

Awakening Compassion at Work: The Quiet Power That Elevates People and Organizations - Monica Worline and Jane E. Dutton

Stories of You Life and Others - Ted Chiang

Positivity Resonance

Thanks for listening!

Thanks so much for joining me again this week.  If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of this post.  

Also, please leave an honest review for the Making Positive Psychology Work Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. They do matter in the rankings of the show, and I read each and every one of them.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. It’s free!

Special thanks to Barbara for joining me this week. Until next time, take care!