Happiness, excellence, and optimal human functioning: Review of a special issue of the American Psychologist (2000;55:5-183), Martin E P Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, guest editors.

In January 2000, the American Psychological Association's flag-ship journal, American Psychologist, dedicated an entire issue to the growing field of “positive psychology,” including both theory and practical applications. The special issue was highly relevant to physician well-being, and in this article I summarize and critique its key papers. Subsequent developments in positive psychology—including conferences, further readings, and grant awards—are available at http://www.apa.org/releases/positivepsy. html or the journal editor's web site, http://psych.upenn.edu/seligman.