From Serbia with Positive Orientation
Vesna Petrović
Search for more papers by this authorDragan Žuljević
Search for more papers by this authorGian Vittorio Caprara
Search for more papers by this authorVesna Petrović
Search for more papers by this authorDragan Žuljević
Search for more papers by this authorGian Vittorio Caprara
Search for more papers by this authorAleksandra Kostic
Search for more papers by this authorDerek Chadee
Search for more papers by this authorSummary
This chapter presents the major findings of five studies conducted in Serbia that corroborate the validity of the positivity scale and that document the impact of positive orientation on psychosocial functioning. A large number of studies that have included thousands of participants across a diverse range of cultures have led to positive orientation being posited as the common latent factor underlying self-esteem, life satisfaction, and dispositional optimism. Five studies on positivity carried out on a Serbian sample mainly confirm the findings reported by a large number of the other investigations on positivity, administered to thousands of participants over the past 20 years and conducted across a large and varied array of countries, contexts, and cultures. Thus, research designed to test whether, and especially how, positivity operates as a beneficial function and whether and why a lack or excess of positivity, or, in short may carry negative consequences deserve further investigation.
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