Springer Art-of-Living: A Concept to Enhance Happiness: 63 (Social Indicators Research Series, 63)

This volume examines the questions of what constitutes a good life and how one can achieve happiness and well-being, and analyses different ways in which people can strive for a good life.  First, it presents an overview on important concepts in psychology that are related to living a good life. Then, a new approach is introduced: the concept of art-of-living as a holistic way to reach happiness. Empirical studies are reported involving a questionnaire for measuring art-of-living, and the validity of the questionnaire is demonstrated with respect to a wide range of concepts. In addition, the volume provides results from empirical studies, showing that, and how, art-of-living and happiness can be enhanced. Several intervention studies are described in detail, which have been performed with different groups of subjects, including pupils, university students and employees. Also, results of interviews are summarized, which were held with people who had been nominated as exemplary artists-of-living. The volume concludes with a description of art-of-living in autobiographies, and presents suggestions for further research with respect to art-of-living. From the Back Cover This volume examines the questions of what constitutes a good life and how one can achieve happiness and well-being, and analyses different ways in which people can strive for a good life.  First, it presents an overview on important concepts in psychology that are related to living a good life. Then, a new approach is introduced: the concept of art-of-living as a holistic way to reach happiness. Empirical studies are reported involving a questionnaire for measuring art-of-living, and the validity of the questionnaire is demonstrated with respect to a wide range of concepts. In addition, the volume provides results from empirical studies, showing that, and how, art-of-living and happiness can be enhanced. Several intervention studies are described in detail, which have been performed with different groups of subjects, including pupils, university students and employees. Also, results of interviews are summarized, which were held with people who had been nominated as exemplary artists-of-living. The volume concludes with a description of art-of-living in autobiographies, and presents suggestions for further research with respect to art-of-living. About the Author Bernhard Schmitz,  Prof. Dr., holds a full professorship at the department of psychology of the University of Technology, Darmstadt, Germany. He studied mathematics at the university of Düsseldorf and psychology at the University of Technology (TU) Berlin. Both studies he finished with a diploma. He got his doctoral degree at the Free University of Berlin, Germany, and his habilitation at the TU Berlin. He worked for more than 20 years at the Max-Planck-Institute for Human Development in Berlin, former directors P.M. Roeder, Paul B. Baltes and J. Baumert. The research of B. Schmitz deals with trainings in self-regulation, diaries and time-series analyses and, now with positive psychology, especially with art-of-living. He published numerous articles and books about time-series and self-regulation. He is member of the editorial board of “Metacognition and Learning” and “Learning and Instruction”. He was for four years editor of the most important German psychological journal “Psychologische Rundschau”.