Book Talk: An Intimate Conversation about Thriving Women
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Photo courtesy of the author.
In mid-February at a small, independent bookstore in Chapel Hill, N.C., Barbara Fredrickson, Ph.D. interviewed Diana Whitney, Ph.D. about the book, Thriving Women, Thriving World, which she co-authored with several MAPP alumnae. Fredrickson is a psychological researcher specializing in the role of positive emotions on human functioning and Whitney is an organizational consultant focused on Appreciative Inquiry.
Fredrickson started the discussion by asking what inspired Diana and a group of women, including several MAPP alumnae to write the book. Whitney explained that she was affected by the many women who opened up and publicly shared their stories during the #MeToo movement. It seemed to her like she couldn’t go a day without hearing a woman’s story of abuse. She wondered, “What can I do about this?”
Whitney then turned to her friend, Caroline Miller, C’06, and the two women discovered a shared enthusiasm for taking action to support women’s efforts to tell their stories. With a background in Appreciative Inquiry, Whitney’s instincts and training told her that she could work with these women to begin telling stories of possibility. Whitney explained, “then we gathered a group of women with a broad range of ages and living and working on all seven continents as authors to write this book.”
Fredrickson then explored how positive emotions affect us physiologically, “Mild and subtle states of positive experiences change the way our brains work. We take in more information and connect with others in more creative and healthy ways. Even when in difficulty, we can ask, “How can we make this moment better?”
Whitney agreed and explained that while writing the book, the authors noticed how much words can alter our state of mind. She explained that Kathryn Britton C’06 played an instrumental role during the writing process in order to elevate the importance of words. “Words create worlds and words matter,” said Whitney. “Through our stories, we learned from and uplifted each other,” she said.
“Yes, positive emotion is more communal. In Love 2.0 I talk about positivity resonance, when both parties are feeling uplifted, their physiology is literally linked,” explained Fredrickson. She continued, “Small moments of connection contribute to healthier relationships and better health. We did a large study where people were asked to connect with strangers. We saw improvements in their health, feelings of universal connection, and enacted kindness and humility. When we connect with others, we become better versions of ourselves.”
However, Whitney pointed out that people sometimes need encouragement and permission to connect. She said, “We have developed poor social habits. We rush; we try to beat other people to the first place in line; and we don’t take time to say good morning and look people in the eye.” Whitney explained that the process of writing the book invited people to connect meaningfully and fully.
An audience member asked Whitney about her biggest discovery while writing the book. She replied, “I was surprised with how hard it was to stay with the hard realities of life and then keep the conversations moving upward in a positive cycle. In the book, there are questions to invite people to share hard experiences. The key is to live life in the emerging positive.”
Kathryn Britton C ’06 was originally scheduled to join Whitney for this book talk but was unable to attend.
Barbara L. Fredrickson, Ph.D., is Kenan Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience and Director of the Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Lab (a.k.a. PEP Lab) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has published more than 110 peer-reviewed articles and her books, Positivity and Love 2.0, have been translated into dozens of languages. Among the most highly-cited scientists, Professor Fredrickson was honored in 2017 with the Tang Prize for Achievements in Psychology, awarded to recognize exceptional career contributions to the well-being of humanity.
Diana Whitney, Ph.D., is an internationally acclaimed consultant, writer, and inspirational speaker working at the forefront of the fields of organization development and positive social change. She is an expert in Appreciative Inquiry and Appreciative Leadership, an executive advisor and Founder of Corporation for Positive Change and Co-founder of the Taos Institute. She is an award-winning author of twenty books, including The Power of Appreciative Inquiry and Appreciative Leadership.
