May 27, 2009
Contact Dale Floody at 608-963-4177
BALANCED POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY, WHERE THE GRASS IS GREENER WRITTEN BY VITERBO ADJUNCT PROFESSOR DALE FLOODY
LA CROSSE, Wis. – Balanced Positive Psychology, Where the Grass is Greener, a book that extols the virtues of serenity, mindfulness, spirituality, peace, humor, and early childhood intervention, has been authored by Dale Floody, an adjunct professor at Viterbo University.
Retired from the University of Wisconsin system as a professor emeriti, Floody has taught in the field of psychology for over 35 years at the college level. For three years, he was the system-wide chair of the psychology departments for the state’s two-year UW colleges.
Floody examines and critiques Positive Psychology, which was first introduced in 2000 by Martin Seligman, president of the American Psychological Association, and the movement rapidly became popular. However, the practice has also been controversial, Floody asserts, because of its emphasis on a more shallow view of happiness to the exclusion of a deeper exploration of a personality that flourishes because of a more profound appreciation what life can provide.
“Positive Psychology has a lot to offer to the profession, but, it’s important to provide a more balanced perspective that calls for a broader definition of what constitutes happiness,” Floody said.
Floody himself was attracted to the study of Positive Psychology because it provides a flip side to the overwhelming concentration of attention practitioners and college psychology programs pay to maladaptive behavior.
“So much of what we as professionals focus on is the so called negative and abnormal behavior that needs to be ‘fixed’ to the detriment of simply recognizing and rewarding prosocial ways of living.
Floody hopes his book will find its way into the hands not only of practitioners, but also parents and other people who are interested in reflecting and their impact in today’s world.
Floody’s book is available from amazon.com and he also maintains a Web site that publishes updates to the book on a regular basis at balancedpsych.com.