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Positive PsychologyChapter 1 An Introduction to Positive Psychology
Founding father is Seligman. Positive psychology is about psychological well-being and strengths. It
is to understand the positive, adaptive, creative and emotionally fulfilling elements of human behavior.
It is about the things that enable individuals to thrive.
Dimensions of Positive Psychology
Subjective level: positive subjective states/ positive emotions, such as happiness, but also hope.
Individual level: positive individual traits/ positive behavioral patterns, such as courage or creativity.
Societal level: development and maintenance of positive institutions, such as virtues or families.
It’s about positive human functioning and flourishing.
Basic Themes of Positive Psychology
One important theme are the elements and predictors of the good life. In popular usage, it’s about
wealth and power. Correctly used, it comes from speculations about what holds the greatest value in
life, the most important good, which are the factors that contribute to a fulfilling life. Here, the good
life is a combination of 3 elements:
1. Positive connections to others
Individual behaviors that may help: ability to love, ability to forgive.
2. Positive individual traits
Such as a sense of integrity, ability to play and be creative
3. Life regulation qualities
They allow us to regulate our day-to-day behavior, so that we can accomplish goals, such as a
sense of individuality, or self-control
Another theme is positive emotions (PE). PE and adaptive behaviors are important to live a productive
life. Until recently, it was believed that it was only important for psychology to study negative aspects.
Research suggests that PE can help fight problems though. Positive forms of therapy are equally
helpful as therapy that focuses on the negative. Success leads to happiness, but also vice versa.
A third theme is that people can flourish and thrive, by doing something correctly in life. Older
theories suggest that people are driven by their biology and environment, but positive psychology
suggests that people can adjust to difficulties and that they are not simply driven. People try. Important
premise: people are drawn by the future more than they are driven by the past. Some people don’t
simply adjust, but they adapt extraordinarily well. People can be 4 things in life:
- Some are flourishing: they score high on well-being and low on mental illnesses.
- Some are struggling: they score high on well-being and mental illness. They are doing
generally well, but they are in distress.
- Some are floundering: high on mental illness and low on well-being
- Some are languishing: low on mental illness and low on well-being. No significance.
Complete mental health (Keyes and Lopez) is a combination of:
- High emotional well-being: people are satisfied with life
- High psychological well-being: people feel competent; they have a purpose
- High social well-being: people have positive attitudes towards others. 5 dimensions:
o Social acceptance, actualization, contribution, coherence, integration
- Low mental illness.
Because of the 5 dimensions, this says there could be 12 classifications, not just 4.
A fourth theme is positive social relationships. We need them, since we live in social contexts.
Important recognition: everyone searches for happiness, but in differs per culture what happiness is.
Strengths and virtues are also important for the good life. It is unclear what virtues are important.
For a long time it was believed that human beings were driven by selfish motivations, or aggression.
Theories and studies were created based on this. We lived in groups, because of selfish goals.
However, compassion and empathy are also important and might be innate, like helping.
Another theme is the relationship between positive emotions (PE) and negative emotions (NE). It was
long believed that they were dependent on each other. IF NE were reduced, PE would increase or the
other way around. Schimmack however found that they were independent.
- Example: depression is feeling sad + anhedonia (= not being able to feel PE).
, Positive Psychology
They have other causes and can co-occur. Keyes found that interventions to eliminate mental illness
don’t automatically enhance well-being. He argued for a two continua model of mental health and
illness. Just because someone has no stress or anxiety, doesn’t mean he or she experiences courage, or
compassion. Dynamic model of affect (DMA) proposes that this independence depends on situation.
Normally, there is independence. When someone is stressed, they fuse and become dependent.
Even though positive psychology focuses on the positive as well, negative emotions are still important.
It also includes that tragic elements can enrich our experiences and are vital to self-understanding.
Happiness is not enough for the good life. It’s too vague.
A Short History of Well-Being In The Western World
The oldest approach is from the ancient Greeks who had Hedonism. Focus on maximizing pleasure,
the basic component of the good life, and to avoid pain. However, positive moments are short and they
don’t affect our well-being or personal growth (chocolate). It’s impossible to avoid pain, so this can’t
be universal. Important Greeks:
- Socrates: believed one must know the good, but there is no knowledge
- Plato: can’t trust sensory experience happiness is found in things beyond the sensory
experiences. Can still be found nowadays (deeper meaning)
- Aristotle: the Golden Mean. Believed in a balance between 2 extremes:
Excess The Golden Mean Deficit
Cowardice Courage Rashness
Sloth Ambition Greed
Humility Modesty Pride
- Eudaimonia, a condition of meaning and self-realization, of flourishing and completeness, of
enduring joy. One who is truly happy, has what is worth having a life. It’s about the meaning
of life. Important virtues to grow toward a state of eudaimonia:
o Courage, liberality, pride, friendliness, wittiness, justice, temperance, magnificence,
good temper, truthfulness, shame, and honor.
- This theory is a naturalistic conception of happiness. We must recognize and cultivate our
innate potentials to find happiness. This is the virtue theory, which states that the cultivation
and development of these virtues can lead one toward the greatest well-being and the good
life.
- Other Greek group: Epicureans, who believed we must withdraw from the world
- The Stoics believed everything could change: accept one’s place without complaining
The early Hebrews and their Judaism searched for happiness with the divine command theory of
happiness. It states that happiness is found by living in accord with the rules set by a Supreme Being.
It was related to religion. Follow commands get rewards. Still important.
Then we have early Christianity: the way to happiness is in the message of the life of Jesus: love and
compassion. They believed that men always had an internal battle, and it was hard to deal with this.
Therefore, the religion came up with doctrines to show them how to get a good life. They gave them:
- 7 deadly sins: anger, envy, sloth, pride, lust, intemperance, greed
- 4 cardinal virtues: justice, prudence, fortitude, temperance
This is also linked to the virtue theory.
Then, we came to the Renaissance where they talked about the importance of the independent thought.
Some changes that followed:
- Creativity and the rise of the artists: rise of individualism
- The rise of science; truth, logic and objectivity
- The rising importance of the social world: utilitarianism (happiness for all is the ultimate
aim). Here, they also came up with the hedonic calculus (Bentham): quantify happiness by
examining the ratio of positive to negative experiences in one’s life.
Then we have Romanticism in the 19th century. They talked about the growing importance of personal
emotional expression for living a full life. Also rising individualism, growing importance of love in
this time and an adoration of childhood experience.
The 20th century can be split in 2. Before WW2, there were some important thinkers:
, Positive Psychology
- William James: The Emotions
How to awaken human potential?
- Alfred Adler: individual psychology
Any child can learn anything. Optimism
- Carl Jung: Analytic psychology
Capacity for personal growth in 2nd half of lifespan
Mid-20 century we had Humanistic Psychology. This had the same goal as positive psychology has
th
now. Important person here is Maslow (Pyramid). There came a turning point later. Psychology
became more about treatment and prevention. Less holistic and more negative. More about people’s
shortcomings and people’s potentials. Later, it became more holistic again, more positive. However,
humanistic psychology didn’t have a big impact, because of a lack of evidence.
Points of humanistic psychology:
1. Individuals’ behavior is primarily determined by their perception of the world around them
and their personal meanings
2. Individuals aren’t solely the product of their environment or their genes
3. Individuals are internally directed and motivated to fulfill their human potential
they have a choice and responsibility for their own destiny
They overly focused on theory without testing them properly, which is why it didn’t become
important.
, Positive Psychology
Chapter 2 Foundations: Emotion, Motivation, and The Nature of Well-Being
Emotions:
- Psychological state defined by subjective feelings but also characteristic patterns of
physiological arousal, thoughts and behaviors
- Emotions are coordinated, biologically-based responses to internal or external cues that are
perceived as relevant to an organism’s needs or goals
- Immediate responses to a specific object or situation: Emotional weather.
- Different facets:
o Appraisals – evaluations of the emotional event
o Bodily reaction
o Action tendency
o Facial expression
o Feeling
Basic Emotions
They are the foundation for all other emotions’; the innate ones. We have 7 according to Paul Ekman:
- Sadness, joy, fear, disgust, anger, surprise and contempt
Theories differ in how many emotions there are and whether they are universal.
It does seem to be the case that we have fewer basic positive emotions than other basic emotions.
Also, positive and negative emotions seem to be independent from each other.
Circumplex model of emotions (adapted from Carr)
James Russell and Feldman Barrett talked about core affect, an elemental and primitive emotional
reaction that is connected to how positively we evaluate something.
Predominant focus on negative emotions, which is currently changing.
Components of Emotion
- Conscious experience
Appraisal of the situation to determine which emotion we experience and how intensely
- Physiological arousal
Triggered by the autonomic nervous system
- Expressive behaviors
Facial expressions, movements, gestures
Biological component of Emotions
- The “Happy brain” or the part activated when happy is the left prefrontal cortex. Associated
with greater ability to recover from NE and ability to suppress negative emotions.
The precuneus of the medial parietal lobe – happiness and life satisfaction.
Mechanisms cravings ≠ mechanisms rewards
- Neurotransmitters of the experience of happiness:
o Dopamine = pleasure neurotransmitter
Movement, motivation, craving, desire and happiness. Wanting vs. lining; addictions.
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