2. Positive Psychology
“Positive psychology is the scientific study of what
makes life most worth living” (Peterson, 2008).
- Positive psychology is a scientific approach to studying
human thoughts, feelings, and behavior, with a focus on
strengths instead of weaknesses, building the good in life
instead of repairing the bad, and taking the lives of
average people up to “great” instead of focusing solely on
moving those who are struggling up to “normal”
(Peterson, 2008).
- Positive psychology was founded by Martin Seligman in
1998.
3. Positive psychology focuses on the positive events and influences
in life, including:
- Positive experiences (like happiness, joy, inspiration, and love).
- Positive states and traits (like gratitude, resilience, and compassion).
- Positive institutions (applying positive principles within entire
organizations and institutions).
4. The PERMA Model
- The PERMA model is a widely recognized and influential model in positive
psychology. Seligman proposed this model to help explain and define wellbeing in
greater depth.
- “PERMA” is an acronym for the five facets of wellbeing according to Seligman:
- P - Positive-emotions : Even though seeking positive emotions alone is not a very
effective way to boost your wellbeing, experiencing positive emotion is still an
important factor. Part of wellbeing is enjoying yourself in the moment, i.e.,
experiencing positive emotions;
- E – Engagement: Having a sense of engagement, in which we may lose track of
time and become completely absorbed in something we enjoy and excel at, is an
important piece of wellbeing. It’s hard to have a developed sense of wellbeing if you
are not truly engaged in anything you do;
- R – (Positive) Relationships: Humans are social creatures, and we rely on
connections with others to truly flourish. Having deep, meaningful relationships with
others is vital to our wellbeing;
5. - M – Meaning: Even someone who is deliriously happy most of the time may not
have a developed sense of wellbeing if they do not find meaning in their life. When
we dedicate ourselves to a cause or recognize something bigger than ourselves, we
experience a sense of meaning that there is simply no replacement for;
- A – Accomplishment / Achievement: We all thrive when we are succeeding,
achieving our goals, and bettering ourselves. Without a drive to accomplish and
achieve, we are missing one of the puzzle pieces of authentic wellbeing.
- These five aspects of the PERMA model are measurable, and also vital for an
overall sense of wellbeing.
- Happiness is related to experiencing more positive feelings than negative ones.
However, sustainable well-being does not mean individuals have to be happy and
always feel good, it recognizes painful emotions, including disappointment, grief, and
failure, as a part of anybody’s normal life.
6. Flourishing
- “flourishing” refers to the state we are in when we pay attention to each aspect of the
PERMA model and build up a solid sense of wellbeing. We flourish when we
cultivate our talents and strengths, develop deep and meaningful relationships, feel
pleasure and enjoyment, and make a meaningful contribution to the world.
- We flourish when we find fulfillment in life along with achieving more traditional
objectives related to success when we are truly living the “good life” (Seligman,
2011).
Flow
- Concept of flow was first scientifically explored and defined by Mihaly
Csikszentmihalyi (our second “founding father” of positive psychology).
- In the last few decades of the 1900s, Csikszentmihalyi noticed that many artists fell
into a particular state while they were working; this state was characterized by a
particularly intense focus and great concentration on the task at hand, to the point of
losing track of time for hours at a time.
7. He observed six factors that characterize a flow experience:
- Intense and focused concentration on the present moment;
- The merging of action and awareness, or being fully present in your actions;
- A loss of reflective self-consciousness (lack of attention to the self);
- A sense of personal control or agency in the situation;
- A distorted sense of time passing;
- Experiencing the activity or situation as intrinsically rewarding (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975).
- Those who enter into a state of flow are totally immersed in what they’re doing. This
immersion arises when the challenges of the activity in front of us are significant and roughly
equal to our skill at this activity.
- When we have high skill and low challenge, we are bored. When we have a high challenge
and low skill, we are overwhelmed. When we have “low skill and low challenge,” we are
apathetic. It is only when both our skill and our challenges are high that we enter into a flow
state.
8. Three Levels of Positive Psychology
•Subjective level: the subjective level centers around feelings of
happiness, well-being, optimism, and similar emotions or feelings as
they relate to your daily experience.
•Individual level: the individual level combines the subjective level
feelings of well-being with the qualities or virtues that make you a well-
rounded person, such as forgiveness, love, and courage.
•Group level: the group level focuses on positive interaction with your
community, and includes traits like altruism, social responsibility, and
other virtues that strengthen social bonds.
9. Values Strengths Principles
Protecting the safety of clients and others. Honesty
Beneficence/non-
maleficence
Alleviating personal distress and suffering. Fairness Responsible, Caring
Ensuring the integrity of practitioner-client relationships.
Social
intelligence
Respect for people’s right
and dignity
Appreciating the diversity of human experience and culture. Teamwork Trustworthiness
Fostering a sense of self that is meaningful to the person(s) concerned. Kindness Justice
Enhancing the quality of professional knowledge and its application. Prudence Autonomy
Enhancing the quality of relationships between people. Perspective
Increasing personal effectiveness. Judgement
Striving for the fair and adequate provision of counselling,
psychotherapy and coaching services.
Self-
regulation
10. According to Martin Seligman’s goal of positive psychology,
- To refocusing the entire field of psychology.
- To find elements of positive psychology represented in so many different areas of psychology, from
physiological to clinical psychology.
- To restore balance within the discipline of Psychology which was too much focused on negative
aspects.
- To catalyze a change in psychology from a preoccupation only with repairing the worst things in life to
also building the best qualities in life.
- To improve understanding of positive human behaviors to balance the negative focus of much
mainstream research & theory.
- To develop an empirically-based conceptual understanding and language for describing healthy human
functioning that parallels our classification and understanding of mental illness.
- To boost present well being.
- To prevent future problems.
- To make life worthwhile.
11. Practices/Applications of Positive Psychology
Positive psychology can be applied across many different situations, life roles and
environments. It can be used to strengthen relationships at home, work and school. It
can boost enjoyment in personal pursuits, expanding the range of one’s leisure
activities. Positive psychology can also be used by supervisors, administrators, and
other leaders in creating happier workplaces.
- The practice of keeping a gratitude journal.
- Making a gratitude visit.
- Focusing on building personal strengths instead of weaknesses.
- Wellbeing therapy.
- Positive psychotherapy.
12. The practice of keeping a gratitude journal :
A gratitude journal offers individuals a method of identifying and reflecting on all of the good
things in their lives—all the things they have to be grateful for. Interventions often involve
prompting people to write down three things they are grateful for each day, with the only
stipulation being that they need to be different each day. Within a week, many people
experience a boost in wellbeing along with an Increase in gratitude.
Making a gratitude visit :
A gratitude visit (or letter) is an exercise in which an individual identifies a person to whom he
or she is grateful and why; once they have these in mind, they can write a letter to this person
expressing and explaining their gratitude.
If the person lives close enough to visit, they are encouraged to drop off the letter in person
and visit with them; if not, a phone call, video chat, or simply dropping the letter in the mail
can work as well. This exercise provides a significant boost to both gratitude and wellbeing.
13. Focusing on building personal strengths instead of weaknesses :
One of the most significant differences between many other forms of coaching and
counseling and one based in positive psychology is the focus on strengths instead of
weaknesses.
Positive psychology is based on the idea that building on our strengths is often a more
effective path to success than trying to force excellence in areas we are simply not suited
for. In practice, this technique involves identifying one’s strengths and working to provide
yourself with more opportunities to use them.
Wellbeing therapy :
This holistic approach to therapy is similar to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) but
focuses on both promoting the positive and alleviating the negative in the client’s life.
It is founded on Carol Ryff’s model of wellbeing, which recognizes six facets or factors of
wellbeing: mastery of the environment, personal growth, purpose in life, autonomy, self-
acceptance, and positive relationships (Harvard Health Publishing, 2008).
14. Positive psychotherapy :
Positive psychotherapy is similar to wellbeing therapy, but generally packages several
techniques and exercises into one treatment. Its focus is on building positive emotions,
character strengths, and a sense of meaning in life. Twelve exercises are generally
practiced in this form of therapy, including exercises on using your signature strengths,
keeping a gratitude journal, making a gratitude visit
15. Other settings that influence individual, group and organizations :
- Positive psychology is important because discovering what leads people to live more
meaningful lives can translate to better strategies for managing mental illness,
correcting negative behaviors, and increasing our happiness and productivity.
- Hospital
- Juvenile Homes
- Jails
- Old age homes
- schools