A positive psychology field of dreams: "If you build it, they will come ..."

The virtues are imbedded in a new field: positive psychology. With a definition and brief discussion of the parameters of positive psychology, various factors related to virtues are explored, including their public versus private aspects, domain-specific versus global characteristics, the necessity for careful claims regarding what we do and do not know in this area, progress in measurement, the need for interventions, the attention to communal matters, their natural bridges with health, and the overlap among them. In addition to exploring issues related to the present virtues of love, forgiveness, gratitude, humility, wisdom, control, and hope, additional virtues are noted. It is suggested that the interface of clinical, counseling, social, personality, and health psychology could profitably turn its attention to the study of virtues within the positive psychology paradigm.