DB-5 Contains unread posts Angie Espinal posted Jun 29, 2022 8:11 PM Subscribe ​ The purpose of positive psychology is to help individuals learn how to build personal strength. Positive psychology tries to encourage flourishing – high levels of emotional, psychological, and social well-being that grow out of continuous self-growth, high-quality relationships, and a purposive and meaningful life (Reeve, 2017, p. 384). Utilizing heuristic methods to help individuals to understand the meaning of life; the field of positive psychology is growing fast. Although positive psychology is not considered a subfield of humanistic psychology. Even though humanistic psychology and positive psychology have similar subjective matters, positive psychology have a strong hypothesis-testing, and scientifically evidences. However, What could be? Is one of the methods used by positive psychology to interpret the individual strength, mental health, and the quality of their lives. Therefore, positive psychology uses peoples strengths to use them as the subject of the study, and to cultivate the individual strengths, the therapy offers different types of exercises such as engagements, positive emotions, and gratitude visits. ​Reference Reeve, J. (2017). Understanding motivation and emotion, seventh edition. Wiley. · image_54131187821656555080952.gif · (43 Bytes) Life-Long Learning.html Life-Long Learning We conclude this course with a question: what exactly does studying the many facets of psychology mean? The study of psychology is a continuum that realistically has no end point. As a science, psychology continues to evolve (as we saw with positive psychology) while growing more and more towards a greater understanding of the behaviors of individuals, groups and society as a whole. Wise, Sturm, Nutt, Rodolfa, Schaffer, and Webb (2010) provide a rationale for why life-long learning is so important. From their perspective, it is important to maintain competence within one’s respective profession. However, maintaining the appropriate competence in an evolving profession is only one aspect in the dynamics of life-long learning. For a psychology major, there is an "ah-ha" moment when learning moves from something that is required or necessary for success in school to something that is desired for personal fulfillment. It is that desire that promotes an individual to move successfully not only through the bachelor’s degree program but through further education and training such as graduate school and beyond.Additional Materials View a Pdf Transcript of References media/week5/Wk5_References.pdf References American Psychological Association. (2010). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/principles.pdf Aspinwall, L. G., & Tedeschi, R. G. (2010). The value of positive psychology for health psychology: Progress and pitfalls in examining the relation of positive phenomena to health. Annals of Be ...

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Angie Espinal posted Jun 29, 2022 8:11 PM
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The purpose of positive psychology is to help individuals learn
how to build personal strength. Positive psychology tries to
encourage flourishing – high levels of emotional, psychological,
and social well-being that grow out of continuous self-growth,
high-quality relationships, and a purposive and meaningful life
(Reeve, 2017, p. 384). Utilizing heuristic methods to help
individuals to understand the meaning of life; the field of
positive psychology is growing fast. Although positive
psychology is not considered a subfield of humanistic
psychology. Even though humanistic psychology and positive
psychology have similar subjective matters, positive psychology
have a strong hypothesis-testing, and scientifically evidences.
However, What could be? Is one of the methods used by
positive psychology to interpret the individual strength, mental
health, and the quality of their lives. Therefore, positive
psychology uses peoples strengths to use them as the subject of
the study, and to cultivate the individual strengths, the therapy
offers different types of exercises such as engagements, positive
emotions, and gratitude visits.
Reference
Reeve, J. (2017). Understanding motivation and emotion,
seventh edition. Wiley.
· image_54131187821656555080952.gif
· (43 Bytes)
Life-Long Learning.html
Life-Long Learning

2. We conclude this course with a question: what exactly does
studying the many facets of psychology mean? The study of
psychology is a continuum that realistically has no end point.
As a science, psychology continues to evolve (as we saw with
positive psychology) while growing more and more towards a
greater understanding of the behaviors of individuals, groups
and society as a whole.
Wise, Sturm, Nutt, Rodolfa, Schaffer, and Webb (2010) provide
a rationale for why life-long learning is so important. From
their perspective, it is important to maintain competence within
one’s respective profession. However, maintaining the
appropriate competence in an evolving profession is only one
aspect in the dynamics of life-long learning. For a psychology
major, there is an "ah-ha" moment when learning moves from
something that is required or necessary for success in school to
something that is desired for personal fulfillment. It is that
desire that promotes an individual to move successfully not only
through the bachelor’s degree program but through further
education and training such as graduate school and
beyond.Additional Materials
View a Pdf Transcript of References
media/week5/Wk5_References.pdf
References
American Psychological Association. (2010). Ethical principles
of psychologists and code of
conduct. Retrieved from
http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/principles.pdf
Aspinwall, L. G., & Tedeschi, R. G. (2010). The value of
positive psychology for health

3. psychology: Progress and pitfalls in examining the relation of
positive phenomena to
health. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 39(1), 4-15.
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12160-
009-9153-0
Azar, B. (2011). Positive psychology advances, with growing
pains. Monitor on Psychology,
42(4). Retrieved from
http://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/04/positive-psychology.aspx
Gable, S. L., & Haidt, J. (2005). What (and why) is positive
psychology? Review of General
Psychology, 9(2), 103-110.
Krentzman, A. R. (2013). Review of the application of positive
psychology to substance use,
addiction, and recovery research. Psychology of Addictive
Behaviors, 27(1), 151-165.
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0029897
Matthews, M. D. (2008). Toward a positive military
psychology. Military Psychology, 20(4),
289-298. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08995600802345246
National Institute of Drug Abuse. (2012). The science of drug
abuse and addiction. Retrieved
from http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/media-

4. guide/science-drug-abuse-addiction
Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive
psychology: An
introduction. American Psychologist, 55(1), 5-14.
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0003-
066X.55.1.5
http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/principles.pdf
http://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/04/positive-psychology.aspx
http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/media-guide/science-
drug-abuse-addiction
http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/media-guide/science-
drug-abuse-addiction
Seligman, M. E. P., Steen, T. A., Park, N., & Peterson, C.
(2005). Positive psychology progress:
Empirical validation of interventions. American Psychologist,
60(5), 410-421.
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.60.5.410
Silver, J., Levy, M., & Kazanjian, H. (Producers), & Brambilla,
M. (Director). (1993).
Demolition man [Motion picture]. U.S.A.: Warner Bros.
Waterman, A. S. (2013). The humanistic psychology–positive
psychology divide: Contrasts in
philosophical foundations. American Psychologist, 68(3), 124-
133.

5. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0032168
Wise, E. H., Sturm, C. A., Nutt, R. L., Rodolfa, E., Schaffer, J.
B., & Webb, C. (2010). Life-long
learning for psychologists: Current status and a vision for the
future. Professional
Psychology: Research and Practice, 41(4), 288-297.
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0020424
Positive Psychology.html
Positive Psychology
The phrase positive psychology was first explained during the
1998 American Psychological Association convention by Martin
Seligman (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). Gable and
Haidt (2005) bring up a good point that positive psychology
doesn't imply that the other side is "negative" psychology. What
positive psychology implies is the positive growth of an
individual may increase the individual's resilience.
The implication that psychological theories tend to focus
heavily on the negative side may not be too out of touch with
reality. For example, examine the abundance of research and
journal articles on various topics such as addictions, family
dysfunction, social problems, and mental disorders. Research
can seem to focus almost entirely on abnormal or deviant
behaviors rather than normative or positive behaviors. Keep in
mind that the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of
Conduct states that our goal is ”…to improve the condition of

6. individuals, organizations, and society" (American
Psychological Association, 2010, p. 3). Therefore, we examine
the abnormal in order to find ways to restore normal (e.g.,
through new therapies, etc.).Additional Materials
View a Pdf Transcript of Positive Psychology
>
media/week5/Wk5_Positive Psychology.pdf
Positive Psychology
Trying to understand the positive side of human behavior is not
actually new. We can look at the
contributions of Alfred Adler, Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow,
and Albert Bandura to help us understand
the positive aspects of psychology. Humanistic psychology
emerged in the early 1960s as a reaction to
behaviorist and psychodynamic perspectives, which tended to
focus on behavior from the abnormal
point of view.
Fast forward some decades and the new kid on the block is

7. called positive psychology. Could it be that
positive psychology is just a reboot of humanistic psychology
designed to combat the medical model of
mental health treatment (i.e. medications)? If positive
psychology is simply déjà vu of humanistic theory
50 years later, then why is it labeled differently? To answer that
question, we first have to examine (or
reexamine) what positive psychology is and what it is not.
Seligman, Steen, Park, and Peterson (2005) provided an overall
definition/explanation of positive
psychology.
Positive psychology is an umbrella term for the study of
positive emotions,
positive character traits, and enabling institutions. Research
findings from positive
psychology are intended to supplement, not remotely to replace,
what is known
about human suffering, weakness, and disorder. The intent is to
have a more
complete and balanced scientific understanding of the human
experience—the
peaks, the valleys, and everything in between. We believe that a
complete science
and a complete practice of psychology should include an
understanding of
suffering and happiness, as well as their interaction, and
validated interventions
that both relieve suffering and increase happiness—two
separable endeavors. (p.
410).
This explanation puts into perspective that positive psychology

8. provides a balance to the other
components of psychology so that the understanding of human
behavior can be examined from many
different perspectives—not just the negative. Gable and Haidt
(2005) expand a bit on the explanation
above by including that positive psychology is the study of how
individuals, groups, and institutions
flourish or function optimally.
Application of positive psychology
As previously mentioned, positive psychology is not a new
concept. Humanistic psychology seems to
have similar parallels, but as Waterman (2013) mentions, there
are some philosophical differences. In a
clinical setting, identification of presenting issues (such as
depression) is one aspect of understanding
and effectively treating the individual. The other aspects
include improving the individual's quality of
life, and if needed, improving skills like social and coping.
Another aspect is improving resilience. In
general terms, resilience is the capacity to cope or withstand
stressors. All these aspects of applied
psychology have been used for some time, so the question is—
how does the application of positive
psychology differ from prior practice?
One example is the use of positive psychology to improve the
resilience of military personnel. Matthews
(2008) provided some insight on how positive psychology can

9. be utilized to improve an individual's
ability to deal with stressors associated with military life. The
areas suggested included developing
training to build resilience to combat-related stressors and
improving the coping strategies to deal with
issues related to returning from deployments.
Addictions may be another area where positive psychology may
flourish. At first it would be difficult to
reconcile that addictions, such as substance use disorder, are not
directly associated with negative
issues. According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse
(2012), addiction is "a chronic, relapsing brain
disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and
use, despite harmful consequences" (para.
1). How can positive psychology provide effective treatment to
an individual with an addiction? The key
is the concept of the strengths perspective, or in other words, a
focus on the well-being of the individual
in terms of "strengthening" their ability to improve their quality
of life without the addiction.
The strengths perspective is in essence grounded in the concepts
of positive psychology. Krentzman
(2013) conducted a literature review of research on addictions
and positive psychology. Her findings
indicated that although much research has been done and there
have been some positive results, much
still needs to be done to gain a better understanding of positive
psychology and its impact on the
successful treatment of addictions.
Positive Psychology in Perspective.html

10. Positive Psychology in Perspective
To put it into perspective, psychology is, in part, about
improving the quality of life of an individual, the cohesiveness
of a group, or the effectiveness of an organization. In those
situations, the utilization of positive psychology makes sense.
On the other hand, positive psychology is not meant to be a one-
size-fits-all approach and, like any other theory, has critics.
Azar (2011) expounded on the magnitude of articles on positive
psychology both supporting and outlining the pitfalls of positive
psychology in dealing with issues such as self-esteem or
anxiety. Likewise, Aspinwall and Tedeschi (2010) provide a bit
more depth into being cautious regarding the stated benefits of
positive psychology that have been professed without scientific
research to support them.
· w5discussion
· Contains unread posts
· Melissa Brown posted Jun 27, 2022 1:14 PM
· Subscribe
· Hello All,
· Describe the aspects of positive psychology and explain its
impact on the study and application of psychology.
· Positive psychology is not about how there is a positive or a
negative side of psychology. It is about how psychology focuses
on how to improve a person's life in a positive way (Seligman &
Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). By making a person's life more
positive they can become more resilient to the stressors in their
lives and learn how to deal with them accordingly. Yet, there
are many studies and research that focuses on the negative
issues of disorders. But if we don't find out the causes of the
abnormal issues than we cannot help a person begin to improve
their negative issues into a positive. According to the APA
ethics code the goal of psychology is to improve the conditions
of a person's life (APA, 2010).
· It is important to implement positive psychology because
discovering what leads to a more meaningful life for people can
determine how to create better strategies for managing their

11. mental illness, correcting negative behaviors, and can also
increase a person's happiness and livelihood. This can affect a
person in a positive way by helping their self-esteem which can
improve their relationships with others and give someone a
better outlook on life. It helps in ways to understand how to
focus on problem solving instead of just complaining about an
issue. It also helps to build better and more quality relationships
with others who are supportive and to leave negativity behind.
Positive psychology focuses not only on the positive ways of
improving someone's life but also the negative parts of it. The
negative needs to be addresses so the positive aspects of it can
be explored and used to get rid of the negative.
· Melissa Brown
· References:
· American Psychological Association. (2010). Ethical
principles of psychologists and code of conduct. Retrieved from
http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/principles.pdf
· Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive
psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55(1), 5-
14. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0003- 066X.55.1.5
·