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Many core tenets of positive psychology and the psychology of religion/spirituality (R/S) are essential concepts within the rich literature and culture of the Jewish tradition. Judaism, with its long history of texts, traditions, and... more
Many core tenets of positive psychology and the psychology of religion/spirituality (R/S) are essential concepts within the rich literature and culture of the Jewish tradition. Judaism, with its long history of texts, traditions, and practices, can substantively contribute to the developing field of positive psychology. In this chapter, we explore happiness, character, and spirituality within a Judaic framework, opening opportunities for integrative theory, research, and clinical practice. From a theoretical standpoint, these Judaic models provide useful ways of conceptualizing positive psychology constructs. On a pragmatic level, researchers and practitioners can utilize these ideas in their work with the Jewish population, enhancing their efficacy and cultural competence. The chapter includes a general description of Jewish tradition and relevant demographics for context and then summarizes the theory, research, and practice of happiness, character, and spirituality, noting practical suggestions and future directions.
The aim of this study was to explore the effects of a gratitude intervention specifically targeting a parent's gratitude toward his or her child. While the general trend in gratitude interventions is to ask a participant to reflect... more
The aim of this study was to explore the effects of a gratitude intervention specifically targeting a parent's gratitude toward his or her child. While the general trend in gratitude interventions is to ask a participant to reflect broadly on what he or she is grateful for, it was hypothesized that an intervention more specific in scope could have stronger effects. Specifically, in the interpersonal context, if the gratitude was targeted toward a specific person, in this case a parent's gratitude towards his or her child, the effects of a general gratitude intervention may be compounded. Participants (N=48) were split into two groups, one completing a general daily gratitude exercise (e.g. write something you are grateful for) and one completing a specific daily gratitude exercise (e.g. write something you are grateful for specifically regarding your child). It was hypothesized that after a two-week daily intervention, the specific group would have a higher change in dispositional gratitude, higher life satisfaction, decreased parental related irrational beliefs, increased parental rational beliefs, increased parental positive emotions, decreased parental negative emotions, an increase in the positive aspects of the parent-child relationship and a decrease in the negative aspects of the parent-child relationship than the general group. Results indicated that there were no significant changes from pre to post intervention in either group, making comparisons of one group over the other moot. We discuss the limitations and possible future directions of this study, as well as its implications for the field of school psychology.