title: The present and future of positive technologies.
abstract: The goal of this work is to delimit the field of Positive Technology--the scientific and applied approach to the use of technology for improving the quality of our personal experience. This new field combines the objectives of Positive Psychology with enhancements of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) by focusing on three key variables--emotional quality, engagement/actualization, and connectedness--that are able to transform our personal experience in a tool for building new and enduring personal resources. In fact, Positive Technologies include those designed to manipulate the quality of experience through its structuring, augmentation and/or replacement, with the goal of increasing wellness, and generating strengths and resilience in individuals, organizations, and society. This work describes existing Positive Technologies, classified according to their objectives: hedonic (mood-altering devices, which use ICTs to induce positive and pleasant experiences); eudaimonic (systems designed to support individuals in reaching engaging and self-actualizing experiences); and social/interpersonal (technologies that seek to improve the connectedness between individuals, groups, and organizations). Finally, possible directions of future developments are suggested.
authors.affiliation: Dpto. Psicología Básica, Clínica y Psicobiología, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón, Spain. botella@psb.uji.es
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Botella
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Riva
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gaggioli
authors.forename: Brenda K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Wiederhold
authors.forename: Mariano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alcaniz
authors.forename: Rosa M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Baños
mesh_terms: D004644:Emotions; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011209:Power, Psychological; D060756:Social Networking; D013672:Technology / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends; D013813:Therapy, Computer-Assisted; D014584:User-Computer Interface