Evidence map›Paper›PMID 20091429›Full record

ReviewAnnals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine2010

The value of positive psychology for health psychology: progress and pitfalls in examining the relation of positive phenomena to health.

Lisa G Aspinwall, Richard G Tedeschi

Abstract readReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 57 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
57citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

57 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review of the application of positive psychology to substance use, addiction, and recovery research.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2013
    Pooled it
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  9. "The Secret" to Success? The Psychology of Belief in Manifestation.Personality & social psychology bulletin · 2025
    Article
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  11. Observational
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  14. Establishing a Comprehensive Hierarchical construct of Eustress (CHE).Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.) · 2024
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Lisa G AspinwallDepartment of Psychology, University of Utah, 380 South 1530 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0251, USA. lisa.aspinwall@utah.edu
Richard G Tedeschi

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The growth of the "positive psychology" movement reflects increased scientific and lay interest in the relation of positive phenomena to mental and physical health and the corresponding potential for interventions that promote positive feelings, thoughts, and experiences to improve health and well-being. In this article, we (1) consider research on optimism, sense of coherence, and posttraumatic growth that predates the contemporary emphasis on positive psychology, but has clear and increasingly well-supported connections to health psychology, (2) examine several potential mechanisms through which such positive phenomena may influence the etiology, progression, and management of illness, (3) identify four pervasive but misleading assumptions about positive phenomena that may limit both scientific research and practical application, and (4) caution against serious pitfalls of popular views of positive thinking, such as its promotion as a cure for cancer and other diseases. We conclude with recommendations for the balanced scientific investigation and application of positive phenomena.

Indexed as

AffectHealthModels, PsychologicalPsychological TheoryBehavioral MedicineHumansMental Health

Identifiers

PMID20091429

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.