Outline What is positive psychology? Major research areas Criticisms of the discipline Future directions Questions
Defining Positive Psychology… “Positive psychology is the scientific study of optimal human functioning [that] aims to discover and promote the factors that allow individuals and communities to thrive” (Seligman, 1999) Positive psychology focuses on well-being, happiness, flow, personal strengths, wisdom, creativity, resilience and characteristics of positive groups and institutions
Positive Eudaimonic Psychological Motivation & Coaching therapy approaches well-being goal theories Positive Happiness & Psychology of Flow education well-being time Applied pos. psychology Positive Hedonic business Positive approaches Psychology Positive Coping Positive coping with emotions choice Wisdom & Creativity knowledge Positive Emotional Emotions Resilience ageing intelligence Strengths & virtues Love & Post- Strengths of humanity traumatic Humour temperance growth Strengths of Strengths of Strengths of transcendence courage justice
Founding ‘Parents’ of Positive Psychology* • Martin Seligman • Clinical psychologist • President of the American Psychological Association (APA) • Ed Diener • Mihalyi Csikzentmihalyi • Christopher Peterson • Sonja Lyubomirsky • Barbara Fredrickson Abraham Maslow (1954)*
Why Positive Psychology? Three tasks of psychology prior to WWII 1) Cure mental illness 2) Enhance the lives of the normal population and 3) Study and identify geniuses “The message of the Positive Psychology movement is to remind our field that it has been deformed. Psychology is not just the study of disease, weakness, and damage ; it also is the study of strength and virtue . Treatment is not just fixing what is wrong ; it also is building what is right . Psychology is not just about illness or health; it is about work, education, insight, love, growth, and play. And in this quest for what is best, Positive Psychology does not rely on wishful thinking, self-deception or hand-waving; instead it tries to adapt what is best in the scientific method to the unique problems that human behavior presents in all its complexity.” Seligman (1998)
The aims of positive psychology 1) as concerned with strength as with weakness; 2) as interested in building the best things in life as in repairing the worst; 3) as concerned with making the lives of normal people fulfilling as with healing pathology; 4) should create interventions to make people happier
Asking a different question… “Why do these individuals fail?” “What makes some individuals succeed despite unfavorable circumstances?”
Posi%ve ¡psychology ¡vs. ¡Humanis%c ¡psychology ¡ Criticised for (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000) : Never developed a respectable empirical basis Inspiring subjective, self-help movements Encouraging narcissistic preoccupation with the self and self- improvement, at the expense of societal welfare Peterson (2006), however, states: “ …As positive psychology has evolved and more carefully examined allied perspectives, the whole dismissal of humanistic psychology now seems glib and mistaken”
Positive Psychology Timeline Annual Summer Positive Psychology Institute summit (2001-2005) Medici II (summer 2005, 2006, 2007): dozens of scientists and scholars in attendance 6 European Positive Psychology Conferences 2 International Positive Psychology Congresses Conferences in Australia, Singapore, Korea, Denmark… > 50 international research groups International Positive Psychology Association http://www.ippanetwork.org/ Several international MAPP programmes
UK Positive Psychology in 2012 Action for Happiness The Young Foundation New Economics Foundation (Happy planet index) UK government & Office for National Statistics UN Happiness convention (April 2012)
Major Global surveys Gallup World Poll: The most widely known global well-being poll, which boasts data from over 98% of the world’s population World database of happiness: The database contains information and results from nearly 30 years of scientific research on happiness across the globe World Values survey: Since 1981, this survey has collected information on changing values within 97 countries around the world Eurobarometer: In Europe, the European commission issues the Eurobarometer that is used to measure citizen’s perceptions of quality of life European Social Survey ( ESS): Another European social survey, funded by the European Commission’s framework programme, is the ESS, which aims to collect data from over 30 countries on their citizen’s beliefs, attitudes and behaviours (including well-being) Latinobarometer : In Latin America, the LatinoBarometro surveys over 400 million Latin Americas, from 18 countries, on several topics including trust in government and opinions (as cited in Buetnner, 2010)
Applications of positive psychology Health Education Workplace Individuals Therapy (Hefferon & Boniwell, In press)
Evidence supporting use of PPI’s Sin & Lyubomirsky’s (2009) meta-analysis 4000+ both normal and depressed populations benefited from participation in PPI’s Higher levels of depression at baseline reporting the greatest impact People who self selected for the studies had higher levels of improved well-being Younger individuals experience more benefits Method of delivery (individual or group therapy or self-administered) PPI’s that were longer than 4 weeks, but shorter than 12 weeks
Ways to well-being… Authentic • Good life • Engaged life • Meaningful life Happiness • Positive emotions • Engagement PERMA • Relationships • Meaning • Achievement • Career Well being • Relationship well being Gallup • Financial well being • Physical well-being • Community Well-being • Connect • Be active 5 ways • Take notice • Keep learning • Give
In Sum… Positive psychology: Gives us new perspectives on existing ideas Provides empirical evidence to support human flourishing Rebalances the deficit approach Connects different disciplines
Happiness What is the highest of all goals achievable by actions?...both the general run of man and people of superior refinement say it is happiness…but with regard to what happiness is, they differ. Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book 1,Chapter 4
Two Major Theoretical Positions Well-being Hedonic Eudaimonic Well-being Well-being
Hedonic well being High Low Subjective Satisfaction positive negative well being with life affect affect (SWB)
SWB Cognitive and Affective evaluations Discrepancy between: Present situation Ideal Experiencing self Reflective (Future) Self
Satisfaction with Life Scale
Distribution of happiness 1.1 million (across 45 nations) (Myers, 2000) Number of Surveys
Ubiquity of Happiness Assumption that most people view themselves as unhappy appears to be false (Myers, 2000) Most people (> 2/3) in most samples (across age, race, sex, measures) view themselves as ‘above average’ in happiness Exceptions: “Hospitalized alcoholics, newly incarcerated inmates, new therapy clients, students living under political suppression” (Myers, 2000)
Benefits of High SWB Higher levels of sociability, trust, helpfulness Better at task persistence and multi-tasking Better academic performance Less vulnerability to illness Less hostility and less self-centeredness Longevity (Diener & Biswas-Diener, 2009) http://s.psych.uiuc.edu/~ediener/index.html
Possible correlates/predictors of SWB Money Personality Age – (now more about life cycles; emotion intensity tends to decrease) Gender (no clear difference) Education (small positive effect; women) Work and employment Health Religion Certain life events (prolonged unemployment; widowhood)
Introducing the ‘Hedonic treadmill’ Adaptation theory/Set point theory (Lykken & Tellegen, 1996) Happiness ‘Set point’ (Set range) Lottery versus paraplegic study (Brickman et al. 1978) Social comparison Hedonic adaptation prevention model- manipulation of positive events and experiences (via interventions) (Lyubomirksy, In press)
Affective forecasting People tend to overestimate the impact of future events, assuming these would have a more intense and enduring hedonic impact Tenureship 3 month window reaction period to positive and negative experiences (Lykken & Tellegen, 1996) http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/97
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