Abstract
In April 2016, a new vision for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was revealed on national TV. The ambitious blueprint outlines a long-term plan for diversifying the country’s oil based economy. Set forth by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, the Vision 2030 places Saudi citizens in the center of its quest for a post-oil era by recognizing Saudis as an untapped resource necessary for the country’s new economic plan. The vision sets forth a number of goals, one of which is improving the social, physical and psychological wellbeing of Saudis. In this chapter, we provide an overview of a growing positive psychology movement in the Kingdom, as well as the accelerating effects recent economic and social reforms have had on the movement. Additionally, we briefly discuss how the predominant religion of Saudi Arabia, Islam, contributes to positive psychology, the beginning of positive psychology education in the nation and, the prospect of an indigenous positive psychology as a result of establishing the Kingdom’s first positive psychology research lab.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Abdullah, F. (2014). Virtues and character development in Islamic ethics and positive psychology. International Journal of Education and Social Science, 1(2), 69–77.
Al Gelban, K. S. (2009). Prevalence of psychological symptoms in Saudi secondary school girls in Abha, Saudi Arabia. Annals of Saudi Medicine, 29(4), 275–279.
Alahmadi, H. A. (2002). Job satisfaction of nurses in Ministry of Health hospitals in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia. Saudi Medical Journal, 23(6), 645–650.
Alessandri, G., Vecchione, M., Tisak, J., Deiana, G., Caria, S., & Caprara, G. V. (2012). The utility of positive orientation in predicting job performance and organisational citizenship behaviors. Applied Psychology, 61, 669–698.
Al-Ghalib, S. J., & Salim, A. Y. (2018). A mindfulness based intervention to enhance university student wellbeing in Saudi Arabia. Middle East Journal of Positive Psychology, 4(1), 142–157.
Al-Ghalib, S. J., Salim, A. Y., Al-Khalifah, S., & Dahlawi, R. A. (2018). Perceptions of women’s driving in Saudi Arabia: Relationship with openness to experience and happiness. Middle East Journal of Positive Psychology, 4(1), 102–125.
Alotaibi, J., Paliadelis, P. S., & Valenzuela, F. (2015). Factors that affect the job satisfaction of Saudi Arabian nurses. Journal of Nursing Management, 24(3), 275–282.
Alqarni, S. S. (2016). A review of prevalence of obesity in Saudi Arabia. Journal of Obesity & Eating Disorders, 2(2), 25.
Al-Seheel, A. Y., & Noor, N. M. (2016). Effects of an Islamic-based gratitude strategy on Muslim students’ level of happiness. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 19(7), 686–703.
Alshayea, A. (2013). Scientific research in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Potential for excellence and indicators of underdevelopment. Higher Education Studies, 3(5), 47–51.
Al-Swailem, A. M. (2014). Saudi national science, technology and innovation plan towards knowledge based economy. BMC Genomics, 15(Suppl 2), 02.
Al-Swailem, A. M. (2018). Introduction: National committee of bio ethics. Retrieved April 29, 2018, from http://bioethics.kacst.edu.sa/About.aspx.
Alzalabani, A. H. (2017). Antecedents of job satisfaction in Saudi Arabia: Impact of industrial sector. International Journal of Business and Management, 12(11), 61–72.
Becker, S., AlZaid, K., & AlFaris, E. (2002). Screening for somatization and depression in Saudi Arabia: A validation study of the PHQ in primary care. International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, 32(3), 271–283.
Bhullar, N., Surman, G., & Schutte, N. S. (2015). Dispositional gratitude mediates the relationship between a past-positive temporal frame and wellbeing. Personality and Individual Differences, 76, 52–55.
Community Jameel. (n.d.). Our initiatives—Together for good. Retrieved April 29, 2018, from https://www.cjameel.org/en/initiatives.
Creative Mornings. (n.d.). About|CreativeMornings/Jeddah. Retrieved April 30, 2018, from https://creativemornings.com/cities/jed/about.
Datu, J. A., King, R. B., & Valdez, J. P. (2016). Psychological capital bolsters motivation, engagement, and achievement: Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 13(3), 260–270.
Furumoto, L. (1980). Mary Whiton Calkins (1863–1930). Psychology of Women Quarterly, 5(1), 55–67.
Hamad, M. O., & Al Kwifi, O. S. (2015). Factors influencing job productivity: A case study of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Journal for Global Business Advancement, 8(3), 326.
Hamdan, A. (2005). Women and education in Saudi Arabia: Challenges and achievements. International Education Journal, 6(1), 42–64.
Haque, A. (2004). Psychology from Islamic perspective: Contributions of early Muslim scholars and challenges to contemporary Muslim psychologists. Journal of Religion and Health, 43(4), 357–377.
Hollis-Walker, L., & Colosimo, K. (2011). Mindfulness, self-compassion, and happiness in non-meditators: A theoretical and empirical examination. Personality and Individual Differences, 50(2), 222–227.
How Saudi Arabia’s UN Envoy Announced the Women Driving Decree. (2017, September 27). Alarabia English. Retrieved April 29, 2018, from https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2017/09/27/Saudi-envoy-to-UN-breaks-news-of-permission-for-women-to-drive-amid-applause-.html.
Idris, A. M., & Manganaro, M. (2017). Relationships between psychological capital, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment in the Saudi oil and petrochemical industries. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 27(4), 251–269.
Jaalouk, D., Okasha, A., Salamoun, M. M., & Karam, E. G. (2012, November). Mental Health Research in the Arab world. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 47, 1727–1731.
Jabalomar. (2017). In the framework of Prince Khalid Al-Faisal’s Initiative “How to be a role model”. Retrieved from https://jabalomar.com.sa/ .
Jacobsen, D. (2013). Bibliography of workplace gratitude. Retrieved from http://www.globoforce.com/gfblog/2013/the-power-of-workplace-gratitude-a-brief-bibliography/.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR). Constructivism in the Human Sciences, 8(2), 73–107.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (2012). Mindfulness for beginners: Reclaiming the present moment—and your life. Boulder, CO: Sounds True.
Karam, E., & Itani, L. (2015). Mental health research in the Arab world: An update. BJPsych International, 12(S1), S-25–S-28.
Kechichian, J. A. (2015). Iffat Al Thunayan: An Arabian Queen. Eastbourne: Sussex Academic Press.
Keller, E. F. (1995). Reflections on gender and science. New Haven, CT (USA): Yale University Press.
Khodayarifard, M., Ghobari-Bonab, B., Akbari-Zardkhaneh, S., Zandi, S., Zamanpour, E., & Derakhshan, M. (2016). Positive psychology from Islamic perspective. International Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 10(1), 77–83.
Koenig, H. G. (2014). Mental health care in Saudi Arabia: Past, present and future. Open Journal of Psychiatry, 4, 113–130.
Memish, Z. A., El Bcheraoui, C., Tuffaha, M., Robinson, M., Daoud, F., Jaber, S., … Al Rabeeah, A. A. (2014). Obesity and associated factors: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Preventing Chronic Disease, 11, E174.
Pradhan, R. K., Jena, L. K., & Bhattacharya, P. (2016). Impact of psychological capital on organizational citizenship behavior: Moderating role of emotional intelligence. Cogent Business & Management, 3(1).
Rao, M. A., Donaldson, S. I., & Doiron, K. M. (2015). Positive psychology research in the Middle East and North Africa. Middle East Journal of Positive Psychology, 1(1), 60–76.
Razzak, H., Qawas, A., El-Metwally, A., Harbi, A., & Al-Shujairi, A. (2017). The prevalence and risk factors of obesity in the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Journal of Obesity, 5(2), 57.
Rezaeitalarposhti, A., & Rezaeitalarposhti, A. (2013). Psychology from Islamic perspective: Contributions of Quran to contemporary psychologists. International Research Journal of Applied and Basic Sciences, 6(11), 1590–1595.
Seligman, M. (2009, September 25). Positive Psychology Center Report (Rep.). Retrieved April 30, 2018, from https://www.sas.upenn.edu/psych/seligman/ppcreport2009.pdf.
Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). Authentic happiness. New York, NY: Free Press.
Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and wellbeing. New York, NY: Free Press.
Shababuna Creative Hub. (n.d.). A new platform for social innovation. Retrieved April 30, 2018, from http://lfalsharif.wixsite.com/creativehub.
Terzian, S. G. (2004). The elusive goal of school spirit in the comprehensive high school: A case history, 1916–1941. The High School Journal, 88(1), 42–51.
United Nations Development Programme. (n.d.). Environment and energy. Retrieved April 30, 2018, from http://www.sa.undp.org/content/saudi_arabia/en/home/ourwork/environmentandenergy/overview.html.
Van Dyne, L., Vandewalle, D., Kostova, T., Latham, M. E., & Cummings, L. L. (2000). Collectivism, propensity to trust and self-esteem as predictors of organizational citizenship in a non-work setting. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 21, 3–23.
Vision 2030. (2016, May 8). Vision 2030. Retrieved from http://vision2030.gov.sa/en.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Al-Ghalib, S.J., Al-Khalifah, S.AH., Salim, A.Y., Dahlawi, R.A.H. (2019). Saudi Arabia’s Road to Positivity: Positive Psychology Education and Research. In: Lambert, L., Pasha-Zaidi, N. (eds) Positive Psychology in the Middle East/North Africa. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13921-6_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13921-6_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-13920-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-13921-6
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)