title: Learned Optimism
author:  Martin E. P. Seligman 
description: The author, a leading expert on the theory and treatment of depression, has written a lively, very accessible book on the power of a positive outlook and how to develop it. Basing his theories on his original research on "learned helplessness," Seligman goes on to develop a systematic model for the cognitive treatment of depression. This book summarizes his more recent work on a person's characteristic predisposition toward optimism or pessimism. Convincingly demonstrating that an optimistic mood contributes to one's success and happiness, Seligman goes on to demonstrate how a more optimistic outlook can be developed. Presented for lay readers, this book can be highly recommended to professionals as well for its lucid and informative introduction to cognitive therapy and its approach to issues of mood and depression.<br /><i>- Paul Hymowitz, New York Medical Coll.</i><br />Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
zlib_text: 
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](images/Seli_9780307803344_epub_cvi_r1.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # ![](images/Seli_9780307803344_epub_a01_r1.jpg)  
  Martin E. P. Seligman, Ph.D.  
    
  Learned Optimism
  
  
  Martin E. P. Seligman, Ph.D., professor of psychology at the University of
  Pennsylvania and a past president of the American Psychological Association is
  a leading motivational expert and an authority on learned helplessness. He is
  the director of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of
  Pennsylvania. His many books include _Authentic Happiness_ and _The Optimistic
  Child_. Dr. Seligman’s research has been supported by the National Institute
  on Mental Health, the National Institute on Aging, the National Science
  Foundation, the Department of Education, the MacArthur Foundation, the
  Templeton Foundation, and the Guggenheim Foundation.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ALSO BY MARTIN E. P. SELIGMAN, PH.D.  
    
  
  
  _Learned Helplessness: A Theory for the Age of Personal Control_  
   _What You Can Change and What You Can’t_  
   _Authen