Positive Psychology at the Summit Dean Keith Simonton University of California, Davis Roy F. Baumeister Florida State University Psychology has traditionally placed more emphasis on the negative than positive aspects of human behavior. The positive psychology movement, since its beginnings in 1999, has made major advances toward correcting this imbalance. Research inspired by the movement now spans an impressive range of topics, including many that are absolutely essential to a comprehensive psychological understanding of human nature. The present special issue provides a sampling of some of the best work in the area. All but the first and last articles come from presentations at the Second International Positive Psychology Summit, held in 2003 in Washington, DC. This sample can be supplemented by the chapters that have appeared in several recent anthologies of contemporary research. A possibly apocryphal comment attributed to Sigmund Freud characterized the practical goal of psychology as the effort “to replace neurotic misery with ordinary unhappiness.” Although few psychologists would have seriously em- braced such a bald and pessimistic statement, it was not entirely unfair, and quite possibly it has characterized the outcome of many supposedly successful therapies. In any case, there is little disputing the fact that psychology paid far more attention to mental illness than to mental health during its first century. The brief rebellion in the form of humanistic psychology, inspired by Abraham Maslow’s memorable assertion that health is not simply the absence of disease, was soon sidetracked by countercultural practition- ers who rejected rigorous science in favor of experiential explorations, and the movement drifted to the margins of the field. Decade after decade, psychologists have focused their best efforts on human failure, suffering, illness, dys- function, and other bad things. The new positive psychology movement, launched during Martin Seligman’s term as president of the American Psychological Asso- ciation, has provided an exciting counterweight to the long-standing focus on disease, suffering, and negativity. Its emphasis on such topics as happiness, leadership, creativity, strength, and virtue expands the spectrum of human experi- ence beyond the limited range indicated in Freud’s just-noted comment. It has, however, carefully avoided the antiscientific streak that spelled the downfall of humanistic psychology, and indeed, positive psychologists have em- braced rigorous scientific research with at least as much fervor as their more negativistic col- leagues. Although positive psychology has an active interest in practice and intervention, re- search remains its core, as exemplified in the present collection of articles. Perhaps it was reasonable that psychology would spend its first century emphasizing the negative side of things. Curing illness is argu- ably a more urgent and pressing goal than en- hancing health, especially insofar as people who are suffering from psychological problems may be unable to benefit fully from enhancement of normal functioning. One of us spoke at a recent Positive Psychology Summer Institute and re- calls listening quietly to a lively debate among the young scholars as to whether it would be desirable to send positive psychologists instead of food and medicine to desperate, developing third world countries, thereby seeking to en- hance the positive aspects of life there instead of mitigating the negative aspects. Despite that group’s identification with positive psychology, most of them sided with the program of reduc- Editor’s Note. The special issue was arranged and edited by Roy F. Baumeister and Dean Keith Simonton at the invitation of the editor.—DC Dean Keith Simonton, Department of Psychology, Univer- sity of California, Davis; Roy F. Baumeister, Department of Psychology, Florida State University. Correspondence concerning this article should be ad- dressed to Dean Keith Simonton, Psychology, One Shields Avenue, University of California, Davis, CA 95616-8686. E-mail: dksimonton@ucdavis.edu Review of General Psychology Copyright 2005 by the Educational Publishing Foundation 2005, Vol. 9, No. 2, 99 –102 1089-2680/05/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/1089-2680.9.2.99 99