The Institute for Applied Positive Research is the research arm of GoodThink, a positive psychology consulting firm that has worked with organizations ranging from NASA to the White House to Boston Children’s Hospital to half of the Fortune 100.

Our goal is to use research studies to uncover best practices in business, medicine and personal development that fuel empowerment, resilience, happiness and success.

IAPR researchers hail from Harvard, Stanford and UPenn, and the institute has formed partnerships with thought leaders and organizations including Arianna Huffington and the Solutions Journalism Network.

RESPONDING TO STRESS BETTER FUELS SUCCESS

We found that 91% of us could deal with stress better. That’s why we’ve partnered with Plasticity Labs to create a stress responder scale to help you identify your worry type and start taking back control.

Read HBR Article | Take the Stress Responder Scale

VACATIONS MAKE YOU MORE SUCCESSFUL

In 2000, Americans typically took almost three weeks of vacation, but in 2015, they only took 16.2 days of vacation – meaning we’ve lost nearly a week of vacation in the past fifteen years. Our study with the US Travel Association found that taking a vacation actually increases your chances of promotion by 30%.

Read the HBR Article

SOLUTIONS-FOCUSED NEWS LEADS TO INCREASED TEAM PRIDE

Solutions Journalism (SoJo) creates a positive mindset shift for news professionals, especially reporters. Reporters taking part in the SoJo program experienced significant increases in job meaningfulness, team pride and connection with coworkers relative to those in the control condition.

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SHIFTING FROM NEGATIVE TO SOLUTION-FOCUSED

Whether on the news or in business, when faced with a problem, getting the brain to focus on what we can do about it fuels performance. Our follow-up study found that pairing a discussion of solutions with problems increased creative problem-solving by 20%.

Read HBR article | Read White Paper

CREATING EMPOWERMENT: SHIFTING THE CONVERSATION

In partnership with the Solutions Journalism Network and the Detroit Free Press, our most recent study found that solution-focused journalism led readers to feel more optimistic and empowered, including 12% more energized, 16% less anxious, and 10% more connected to the community.

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NEGATIVE NEWS ON THE BRAIN

Negative news can be exhausting and depressing. In partnership with Arianna Huffington, Michelle Gielan and her team found that just three minutes of negative news can lead to a 27% higher likelihood of you having a bad day – as reported 6-8 hours later. There is a better path forward.

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THE BUSINESS CASE FOR CHANGING NEWS COVERAGE

Research reveals that our current media and advertising model fails to take into account one key element: the psychological state induced by the preceding and surrounding content. Transformative Journalism is an activating, engaging, solution-focused approach to covering news which has been shown to be better for the bottom line and better for society.

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POSITIVE CULTURE FUELS BUSINESS OUTCOMES

Shifting a culture to positive is possible. Nationwide Brokerage Services implemented new science-based business practices for their sales teams, and the results were significant. Sales have skyrocketed. The company’s insurance application rate increased 237% in just 18 months, and gross revenues shot up by hundreds of millions of dollars.

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THE 3 KEYS TO CREATING POSITIVE GROWTH

Our research shows that there are three keys to creating positive growth and predicting 75% of job success at work: work optimism, positive engagement and support provision. We’ve created an assessment tool, The Success Scale, to allow you to test yourself on these predictors, including an interpretive report upon completion.

Take the Success Scale