looking at positive psychology's application for Consulting Psychologists

1. Positive Psychology Principles Applied To
Consulting Psychology At The Individual
And Group Level
Toni-Jan Ifill
CCP-500
March 17, 2012
Dr. Makesha Evans

2. Consulting Psychology:
“a practice that focuses on consultation
to, with, or for individuals and
organizations at individual, group, and
organizational/system-wide levels
rooted in multiple areas of substantive
expertise”
(APA, 2007, p. 980).

3. BEFORE WE BEGIN:
Housekeeping
What Is Positive Psychology, And What Is Is It Not?
Positive psychology is the scientific study of what
makes life most worth living.
It is a call for psychological science and practice to
be as concerned with strength as with weakness; as
interested in building the best things in life as in
repairing the worst; and as concerned with making
the lives of normal people fulfilling as with healing
pathology.
It is not to be confused with untested self-help,
footless affirmation, or secular religion-no matter
how good these may make us feel. Positive
psychology is neither a recycled version of the
power of positive thinking nor a sequel to the
secret.
Christopher Peterson, Ph.D.
psychologytoday.com

4. Currently
Founder at Success at Work
Faculty at College of Executive Coaching
Past
Consulting Associate Professor at Stanford University
Former Secretary, SCP at Society of Consulting Psychology
Currently
Past-President at APA Div 13
Fellow at Society of Consulting Psychology, American
Psychological Association
professor at Southeast Missouri State University
Past
Past-President at Society of Psychologists in
Management
INTRODUCING OUR AUTHORS
Dr. Sandra Foster, MPEC
Paul J. Lloyd, SCP

5. Dr. Martin Seligman
The father of positive psychology and its efforts to
scientifically explore human potential.
Dr. David Cooperrider
Widely recognized as the "thought leader" of
appreciative inquiry
OTHER KEYNOTE PRESENTERS
Dr. Donald O. Clifton (1924-2003),
Honoured by the American Psychological Association
Clifton with a Presidential Commendation as the Father
of Strengths-Based Psychology.

6. Dr. Barbra Fredrickson
Director of the Positive Emotions and
Psychophysiology Laboratory (a.k.a., PEPLab).
“Broaden and Build Theory”
Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
(Pronounced: "ME-high CHICK-sent-me-high-ee," )
Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Management
Founding Co-Director, Quality of Life Research Centre

7. Aim of Article
• An attempt to show that positive psychology has a
respectable empirical basis and that consulting
psychologists may obtain useful applications from
this body of knowledge.

8. Authors’ main proposals
1. Regarding the findings of positive psychology as valuable to
practitioners is a small step in the direction as the focus of consulting
psychology (the development of those in the workplace and the
imparting of the tenants of leadership)
2. Incorporating specific elements from positive psychology can further
enhance the interventions of consultant psychology.
3. Integrate the research with suggested applications for individuals
and teams with whom the consultant psychologist is working

9. Support for Proposals
1. Although the existing research on the application of positive psychology is
currently limited, there is a noteworthy investigation done by Marcial Losada &
Emily Heaphy (2004). (p. 31)
2. Foster & Lloyd have also done some ‘testing’ of the applications they propose,
and have found them to be useful in the area of consulting psychology. (P. 32,
33, 36, 38)

10. Dr. Marcial Losada
Emily Heaphy
The Role of Positivity and Connectivity in the Performance of
Business Teams: A Nonlinear Dynamics Model.
INVESTIGATION SUMMARY
Study was run with 60 management teams who were designing their
business missions and strategic plans. Losada and team tracked every single
utterance of speech on three dimensions:
Positive/negative
Inquiry/ Advocacy
Self/Other
High, medium/ low performance rated against three criteria: profitability,
customer satisfaction ratings and evaluation by superiors, peers and
subordinates.
Results:
High performance teams stood out with unusually high positivity
ratios,; also had higher connectivity; asked questions as much as they
defended their own views and cast their attention outward as much as
inward. low performance teams had very low ratios with mixed
performance teams sat just above them, and had far lower connectivity,
asked almost no questions and showed almost no outward focus.

11. Introducing Our First Keynote speaker:
Dr. Martin Seligman
Founded and directed the Positive Psychology Network (2002, p. 271-272) which
focuses on three areas of inquiry : (P.31-32)
The study of positive traits: emphasising strengths and virtues as well as
intelligence and athleticism
The study of positive institutions such as “democracy, strong families, and
free inquiry” (Seligman, 2002, p. xiii)
The empirical study of positive emotion
With the aid of Christopher Peterson he designed the VIA (values in Action)
strengths Inventory; which is mentioned in the article as one of two instruments
designed to help clients identify their strengths
This instrument is seen as one of the many elements from positive
psychology can further enhance the interventions of consulting psychology
when applied in conjunction with the appreciative inquiry method… (pp. 31,
32)
Authors
infer that Dr.
Seligman is
the
foundation
of their
writing. (pp.
30)

12. F
Authors
state that his
Appreciative
Inquiry
method for
organisations
resonates
with them as
one area of
positive
psychology
Introducing Our Second Keynote speaker:
Dr. David Cooperrider
“Appreciative Inquiry is about the coevolutionary search for the best in people,
their organizations, and the relevant world around them. In its broadest focus, it
involves systematic discovery of what gives “life” to a living system when it is most
alive, most effective, and most constructively capable in economic, ecological, and
human terms.”
Cooperrider & Whitney, 2005
Cooperrider’s model urged organisations to shift from their problem-based
attempts at change and instead , to focus on the identification of what is
functioning well and then address the problems. (p32)
Asks clients first about what s working which allows them to be more hopeful
about the future and less resistant to changes that may be required.
Foster & Lloyd, in their experience using this model, found that clients felt more
energised by the elaboration of what was going well in their work; and hence are
better able to create solutions for challenges faced in their organisation. (p. 32)

13. Authors’
see this
assessment
as one of the
important/
practical ways
of empirically
applying
positive
psychology
principles
Introducing Our Third Keynote speaker:
Dr. Donald O. Clifton (1924-2003),
In 1998, the Father of Strengths Psychology, Donald O. Clifton, Ph.D. along with
Tom Rath and a team of scientists at Gallup, created the online Strengths Finder
assessment. In 2004, the assessment's name was formally changed to "Clifton
Strengths Finder" in posthumous honour of its chief designer.
Clifton Strengths Finder is a web based talent assessment instrument that
provides and statistical assessment based on positive psychology principles
The Strengths Finder is intended for development based upon existing capacities
and not for clinical assessment of diagnosis of psychiatric disorders (p.32)
The goal is desired behavioural change resulting from the strengths based
development (p.32)

14. Authors
were
encourage by
their use of
strategies
based on
Fredrickson’
research.
Introducing Our Fourth Keynote speaker:
Dr. Barbra Fredrickson
Fredrickson’s “broaden and build” model advocates the use of positive emotions
in the workplace. In her studies, the use of positive words broadened the repertoire
of those in the workplace. That is, when people were in an environment
characterized by positive emotions and words, they became more generative and
creative their actions, more tolerant of others, and more receptive to new ideas.
Her Model won the 2000 first-place Templeton Positive Psychology Prize.
Foster & Lloyd applied the theory (first case study where n=10) and found that
the theory (as small interventions) helped consulting clients think more broadly
and creatively. (p. 34)

15. “the
excellence of
daily life
depends not
only upon
what we do
but how we
do it.” (p. 34)
Introducing Our Fifth Keynote speaker:
Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Well known for his notoriously difficult name, in terms of pronunciation for those
who do not speak Hungarian.
Best known for his theory of FLOW
“flow” is the term he coined to name this state which is described as:
Feeling like effortless action;
Involving goals that demand specific responses and where clear, relevant
feedback is available;
Involving activities that require high levels of skill and concentration;
Generating a “paradox of control,” meaning the feeling of being nearly out
of control—yet feeling exhilarated at the completion of the task because one
was able to maintain control over one’s movements or the environment; and
Losing self-consciousness—while untroubled by worry about what others
may think.
(P. 35)
 “Therefore, what we pay attention to, throughout our waking hours, becomes an
important variable in how we experience the quality of our lives.” (p.34)

16. “the
excellence of
daily life
depends not
only upon
what we do
but how we
do it.” (p. 34)
Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Continued...
He designed the Experience Sampling Method (ESM)
The ESM is an attempt to provide a valid instrument to describe variations in self-
reports of mental processes. It can be used to obtain empirical data on the
following types of variables:
a) frequency and patterning of daily activity, social interaction, and changes
in location;
 b) frequency, intensity, and patterning of psychological states, i.e.,
emotional, cognitive, and conative (instinctive) dimensions of experience;
c) frequency and patterning of thoughts, including quality and intensity of
thought disturbance.
Larson &. Csikszentmihalyi (1987)
 Foster & Lloyd applied this method to a case study with a client and found that
The ESM information allowed him to identify ways to redirect his focus and rediscover
the rewards for behaving like a leader even when his boss would be unlikely to
take notice. (pp. 36)

17. Authors‘ Conclusion & Recomendations
Conclusion
As consulting psychologists, we have the opportunity to assist leaders and
teams in besting the competition and, at the same time, creating the
atmosphere that urges those in business to examine their business practices,
and exhorts them to transform what they are doing and how they are doing
it. (p. 38)
Perhaps we can begin with ourselves first as practitioners. If we take time
to look carefully and mindfully at how we are spending our time, the
information can be revealing. We can use the ESM, logs, or feedback from
significant others with whom we live to help us look at what is actually
occurring in our daily lives. With this information, we can begin to ask what
we would like to have happen more often. (p. 38)

18. Authors‘ Conclusion & Recomendations
Recomendations
The authors encourage us (as consulting psychologists) to consider (even)
some principles of positive psychology in our strategising of intervention.
Foster and Lloyd propose a few applications that we (as consulting
psychologists) can test to see how feasibile they would be:
Positive Enquiry
Clifton Strengths Finder
VIA Strengths Inventory
Broaden and Build theory application (see their testing)
ESM Method and Observation of Flow

19. TAKING IT HOME….To JA!
• With all the pessimism circulating our economic status, lack of jobs and discontent
in the workplace, Foster and Lloyd provide a more refreshing and uplifting
alternate ending. The question is, are we willing to try?
• The authors do not guarantee success and are not ‘pushing views’ but rather
suggesting possible options for a successful outcome.
• These principles and methods would make for great research here in the Jamaican
and Caribbean workplace context.

20. REFERENCES
 Cooperrider, D & Whitney, D (2005). Appreciative Inquiry: A Positive Revolution in Change .
San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler
www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/history-of-happiness/martin-seligman/
www.strengths.org/clifton.shtml
http://strengths.gallup.com/default.aspx
http://www.spring.org.uk/2008/12/discover-your-character-strengths-in- 15.php
Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Larson, R. (1987). Validity and reliability of the Experience-Sampling
Method. The Journal of nervous and mental disease, 175(9), 526-536. Lippincott
Williams & Wilkins.
http://www.spring.org.uk/2008/12/discover-your-character-strengths-in- 15.php
http://fredrickson.socialpsychology.org