The Formula For Happiness

About the Book

The Formula for Happiness is a self-help book which popularizes cutting-edge discoveries made by a board certified clinical psychologist about the nature of happiness and the behaviors and beliefs which enable people to become and remain happy. His groundbreaking way of understanding life and how to live has attracted worldwide attention since it was originally introduced to the scientific community in New Ideas in Psychology: an international journal of innovative theory in psychology in 1996. This is a peer reviewed journal produced by the world’s largest publisher of original scientific work and overseen by an editorial board consisting of faculty from departments of psychology in several of the world’s leading universities.

The Formula for Happiness presents this paradigm for the pursuit of happiness in a format which is entertaining and easily understood. It familiarizes readers with what they need to become and remain happy and how to proceed with their personal pursuit of happiness. Readers are provided with an objective means of measuring current levels of happiness as well as methods for increasing happiness and forecasting the effect potential courses of action are likely to have on their happiness at some future point in time.

The Formula for Happiness is the product of an innovative approach to the study of happiness which incorporates and surpasses research currently going on in the field of positive psychology in a number of important ways. It is based on generalizations emerging from the review of massive amounts of positive psychology research integrated with insights into the nature of happiness emerging from the fields of clinical and developmental psychology. It provides a comprehensive and coherent set of propositions about the nature of happiness which is different from anything available elsewhere in scientific and self-help literature today.

The Formula for Happiness is the first solidly scientifically-based self-help book to assert that happiness is primarily a matter of how people are situated with respect to the circumstances of their lives. Beyond making this assertion, it actually specifies exactly which circumstances make a difference in the of quality of human life. It precisely identifies what we require in order to become and remain happy.

The Formula for Happiness is also the first solidly scientifically-based self-help book to assert that happiness is a matter of choice. In addition to advancing this proposition, it provides readers with the only set of scientifically formulated guidelines for making choices which have happiness as their effect. It is the first book to present a set of principles for the pursuit of happiness which, like the principles of nutrition and health, are the product of scientific reasoning and research.

In showing readers how happiness is mainly a matter of circumstances and that circumstances are largely a matter of choice, The Formula for Happiness provides a new and much needed counterpoint to most of the thinking within psychology as well as much of what is available on the self-help market today. Instead of promoting the notion that happiness is a matter of what we think, how we perceive, or how we interpret things, The Formula for Happiness shows readers how quality of life is a matter of the way things really are and what we actually do. It is the first self-help book to provide a blueprint for constructing a durable high quality life.

In addition to presenting a pioneering paradigm for the pursuit of happiness, The Formula for Happiness contains a set of newly developed psychometric instruments. Readers can use these instruments to measure happiness, to develop goals for personal strategic planning, and to make momentous decisions such as what to major in at college, which career to pursue, whether to take a particular job, whether to remain in a romantic relationship, whether to get married, whether

About the Author

Douglas Ramm is a self-employed board certified clinical psychologist who operates a successful group practice in suburban Pittsburgh. He studied philosophy and religion at Ithaca College and psychology at Cornell and Duquesne universities. His most advanced degree is a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. He is certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology, he is listed on the National Register of Healthcare Providers in Psychology and he holds a certificate in professional qualification from the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards. He is a member of both the American Psychological and the American Philosophical Associations as well as the National Academy of Neuropsychologists, the Society for Personality Assessment, the National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors. He is listed in Marquee’s Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who is Science and Engineering, and Who’s Who in Medicine and Healthcare. For the past twenty-five years, Dr. Ramm’s practice has involved working with children, adolescents and adults. In addition to therapeutic services, he regularly evaluates individuals for government agencies and the court. He has also provided consultation to small businesses, nonprofit organizations and a variety of community groups. Dr. Ramm has lectured on psychology at Duquesne University, the University of Pittsburgh, and Saint Vincent College. He has conducted workshops for the Pennsylvania Psychological Association, Pennsylvania Association of Parole, Probation and Corrections Officers and a number of community groups and business organizations. In addition, he has been a trainer and consultant with Mangini Consulting Group, a sales, marketing, and management consulting firm specializing in the travel industry with clients including Holland America Cruise Line, Club Med and Vacation.com. Co-author Steven Czetli is a self-employed professional writer and former Executive Business Editor of The Pittsburgh Press. In addition to magazine articles, he is co-author of Silent Witness, The Story of a Psychic Detective. His newspaper experiences span 25 years and includes work as a reporter, writer and editor. In 1983 he was named editor of The Pittsburgh Business Times, and in 1986 was recruited to Executive Business Editor of The Pittsburgh Press. In 1992, he left the Press to complete work on Silent Witness and take over active management of Editor’s Aide, Inc., a successful media consulting firm. Editor’s Aide produces weekly financial features for newspapers, provides consulting and editorial support for publishing ventures and manages two publications for the Pittsburgh Technology Council. He is also a trainer and consultant with Mangini Consulting Group. Mr. Czetli has lectured on media and entrepreneurship at Carnegie Mellon University and The Pennsylvania State University from which he holds a bachelor’s degree in English. His own writing, as well as projects he has managed and sometimes co-wrote for the press have received numerous awards. In 2003, the Small Business Administration recognized him as a regional journalist of the year.