2. Positive Psychology in a Nutshell
• The Psychology of Human Flourishing
• Optimal Functioning and Well-being
• Why not study people at their best?
• Examples of Positive Psychology Research Areas:
– Happiness
– Flow
– Creativity
– Engagement
– Hope
– Positive Emotions
– Meaning in Life
– Character Strengths & Talents
3. What is a Strength?
• When you might experience flow,
engagement, success, inner drive, positive
emotion
• Traits of character (consistent traits people
universally express across all areas of their life
-- home, family, social life, work).
4. What is a Strength?
• An ability to consistently produce a positive
outcome through near-perfect performance in
a specific task (Gallup)
• Composed of
– Skills- your basic abilities, acquired through
training and practice
– Knowledge- acquired through education
– Talents – ways in which you naturally think, feel,
and behave. We each have unique talents within
us.
5. Identifying Strengths
• Yearnings- an internal force, magnetic attraction that leads
you to a particular activity or environment again and again
• Rapid Learning- acquiring skill or knowledge seems easy
• Satisfaction- Psychological Fulfillment
• Timelessness- becoming so engrossed you lose track of
time
• Glimpses of Excellence- flashes of outstanding
performance
6. Identifying Strengths
• Two Assessments:
• Gallup Strengthsfinder
– http://www.strengthsfinder.com/home.aspx
• Values in Action (VIA)
– http://www.viacharacter.org
7. VIA
• The VIA is the positive psychology counterpart
to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders (DSM) used in traditional
psychology.
• Created by Christopher Peterson and Martin
Seligman
• A 240 item measure
8. Character Strengths & Virtues
• 24 Character Strengths Under 6 Virtues:
– Wisdom and Knowledge
– Courage
– Love and Humanity
– Justice
– Temperance
– Spirituality and Transcendence
9. Character Strengths & Virtues
• Creativity • Citizenship
• Curiosity • Fairness
• Open-mindedness • Leadership
• Love of Learning • Forgiveness and mercy
• Perspective • Humility
• Bravery • Prudence
• Persistence • Self Control
• Integrity • Appreciation of Beauty
• Zest • Gratitude
• Love • Hope
• Kindness • Humor
• Social Intelligence • Spirituality
11. My Strengths
• VIA
– Creativity, Originality
– Curiosity, Interest in the world
– Authenticity, Integrity, honesty
– Perspective, wisdom
– Bravery, valor
• Strengthsfinder
– Achiever
– Significance
– Learner
– Command
– Strategic
12. What I Am Tracking
• How often do I really utilize my strengths?
• Are there certain strengths that give me more
benefits in terms of well-being?
• Is there a dark side to any of my strengths?
• What kinds of activities am I doing where I feel I
am using my strengths? With who?
13. Why?
• Lifestyle Design and Optimization
– Get a better understanding for how I operate
• Prediction, treatment
– Enhance mood, energy
– Do more or less of certain activities
– Spend more or less time with certain people
14. How?
• PACO
– Personal Analytics Companion
– Android –Based Self-Experimentation App
– Experience Sampling Method (ESM)
– Created by Bob Evans
15. How?
• Signals me 6 times a day, at semi-random times
• Asks me
– What I am doing?
– What is my mood?
– What is my energy level?
– Who am I with?
– Where am I?
– What Strengths, if any, I am using?
– Etc.
42. Last Thoughts and Key Takeaways
• Consider Incorporating Strength Tracking into
your own QS stuff
• Very Powerful for Lifestyle Design
– To test assumptions
– To identify what, where, when, with who
– Fun to see how it relates to mood and energy
variables
– What else would be interesting to test?
43. Thank You
Questions?
Jeff Fajans
Jeffrey.fajans@cgu.edu
214-766-3908