Capturing the complexity and dynamics of positive human health: Conceptual and methodological considerations

This chapter illustrates how recent advances in longitudinal methodology can be applied to diverse issues of interest to positive psychologists. The rules for doing research that can net the highest stakes in understanding are, to a considerable extent, the rules of design and measurement. The aim of the chapter is to describe how contemporary theories of well-being may be empirically evaluated using a variety of research designs and analytical techniques that can fully capture the complexity and dynamics of positive human health. Throughout, the chapter identifies unresolved methodological challenges associated with the measurement and analysis of between- and within-person phenomena and elaborates on the implications of these challenges for process research in positive psychology.