Peace Psychology and Character Strengths: Integrating Science and Practice

In this volume the sciences of peace psychology and character strengths integrate in a substantive way to examine how the positive parts of our personality can contribute and impact each ＂level＂ of peace - inner, relational, group, community, international, and ecological peace. Readers will discover a wide range of insights, models, and scholarship; new studies conducted for this volume; and practical strategies to bring greater peace to oneself, one’s relationships, and the world.

Ryan M. Niemiec, Psy.D. is a leading scientist, educator, and practitioner in character strengths and well-being. His work has reached (and hopefully positively influenced) millions of people. He is chief science and education officer of the renown VIA Institute on Character, a nonprofit organization in Cincinnati that leads the global advancement of the science of character strengths; VIA’s scientific measurement tool, the VIA Inventory/VIA Survey of strengths, is taken by someone every 9 seconds of every minute. Ryan has penned over 100 academic publications and 14 books, for consumers, practitioners, and academics/scientists. A four-time, award-winning psychologist, Ryan is an annual instructor at the University of Pennsylvania and gives keynotes and invited addresses across the globe, amounting to more than 1,000 presentations on these topics. In regard to the integration of character strengths and peace, Ryan has penned seminal publications, forged numerous collaborations, and given a range of presentations on the topic including to universities, institutes, and United Nations agencies. Ryan’s research areas, in addition to peace psychology, include character strengths interventions, Mindfulness-Based Strengths Practice (MBSP), healthy living/lifestyle habits, spirituality/meaning in life, intellectual/developmental disability, nature connection/pro-environmental behaviors, and the management/transcendence of suffering/adversity. Ryan is ordained in the Order of Interbeing, the community of Thich Nhat Hanh/Plum Village, who have offered a wide range of books and practices on peace.