Advancing Positive Change

Episode 6 - From Micro-Moments to Movements: High-Quality Connections, Relational Energy, and the Path to Positive Communities

This podcast examines how high-quality connections and relational energy scale from brief interpersonal interactions to community-level outcomes. It argues that positive communities emerge not from improving individuals but from repeated high-quality interactions that accumulate into patterns of collective engagement, requiring deliberate attention to interaction design and structural conditions. Desserin Pereyra desserin.pereyra@cgu.edu [desserin.pereyra@cgu.edu] Neda Semsar neda.semsar@cgu.edu [neda.semsar@cgu.edu]

Episode 5 - Striving for Eudaimonia through Virtue and Purpose

This podcast examines eudaimonia (human flourishing) as a form of well-being rooted in virtue and purpose rather than the pursuit of happiness alone. It integrates theory and research from positive psychology to highlight how cultivating character strengths and developing beyond-the-self purpose supports long-term well-being and personal growth. Cole Baisch cole.baisch@cgu.edu [cole.baisch@cgu.edu] Breanna Sampo breanna.sampo@cgu.edu [breanna.sampo@cgu.edu]

Episode 4 - Moments that Move Us: Curiosity & Awe

Discover how rich attention to the world around us can move us toward more meaningful and generous lives. In this episode of Advancing Positive Change, John and Cat explore two powerful pathways of human growth: curiosity and awe. They discuss how curiosity helps us engage uncertainty, deepen relationships, and shape everyday choices, while awe expands our perspective, fosters self-transcendence, and can inspire prosocial action. John Parrott john.parrott@cgu.edu [john.parrott@cgu.edu] Catalina Oselio catalina.oselio@cgu.edu [catalina.oselio@cgu.edu]

Episode 3 - Technology & AI Coaching for Positive Change

What if AI’s biggest impact isn’t on what we do, but on who we become? Andrew and Kristina explore the intersection of AI, psychology, and human behavior to ask how technology can be designed for positive change. From the EGT Framework—Seeing Good, Feeling Good, and Doing Good—to strengths-based approaches that reveal what helps people flourish, they examine how research-informed, human-centered technology can foster wellbeing while addressing safety, ethics, design, and human potential. AndrewVillamilPhD@gmail.com

Episode 2 - Self Transcendence and Change Beyond the Self

What is the nature of self-transcendent experiences and how–and why–do they move us to supersede our self-interest? In this episode, Alex and Nahrie discuss examples of self-transcendent experiences that lead to other-oriented behavior, interweave developmental approaches and research, and share their own stories of self-transcendence catalyzing positive change. Alex Cuevas alex.cuevas@cgu.edu [alex.cuevas@cgu.edu] linktr.ee/alcuev [https://linktr.ee/alcuev] Nahrie Chung Norvell nahrie.norvell@cgu.edu [nahrie.norvell@cgu.edu]