resilience and flourishing

1. Positive Psychology III
Resilience and Flourishing
Going Beyond the Smiley face
Peter Gowers
IT Supervisor, and
amateur positive
psychology student

2. Positive Psychology
recap
• “Scientific Study of optimal human functioning that aims to
discover and promote the factors that allow individuals and
communities to thrive” Martin Seligman, founder of PP
• Reaction to Normal Psychology
• Positive Psychology looks to help people nurture talent and
improve normal lives
• A very large collection of loosely coupled positive constructs.
• Data Driven – large Studies, placebo controlled.
Martin Seligman

3. Resilience
• To start – a question – Show of hands please
• Who has heard of PTSD?
• Who knows what it stands for?
POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER
• Conversely, how many have heard of
POST TRAUMATIC GROWTH?

4. “What does not kill
me, makes me
stronger”
Friedrich Nietzsche, 1888

5. Response to Trauma
• How do we respond to Trauma?
PTSD
SUICIDE POST
TRAUMATIC
GROWTH
RESILIENCE
MOST PEOPLE

6. Forms of Post Traumatic Growth
PTG
Spiritual
Changes
Personal
Strength
Relating to
Others
Appreciation
of Life
New
Possibilities

7. Resilience
• What is resilience?
“the capacity to rebound or bounce back from
adversity, conflict, failure, or even positive events,
progress, and increased responsibility” (Luthans et al, 2007,
p.112)
• Natural Resilience – Who is resilient?
– A clear strong value system
– Strong social support network
– Confidence, hope and optimism
• Can you Teach it?

8. Resilience
• What is resilience?
“the capacity to rebound or bounce back from
adversity, conflict, failure, or even positive events,
progress, and increased responsibility” (Luthans et al, 2007,
p.112)
• Natural Resilience – Who is resilient?
– A clear strong value system
– Strong social support network
– Confidence, hope and optimism
• Can you Teach it?
“...George Vaillant (1977,
2000), the Director of the
Study of Adult Development
at Harvard medical School,
has clearly demonstrated that
people he studied became
markedly more resilient over
their lifetimes [as they got
older],” (Luthans, et al, 2007,
p.124).
Waite and Richardson (2004)
have produced empirical
support for resilience training
effectiveness in the
workplace.

9. Resilience Training
Dr. Karen Reivich
Dr Jane E. Gillham

10. Resilience Training – Schools - PRP
• Start with the ABC Model from learned
Optimism (see PP1 presentation)
• 15 controlled studies to date. Children aged 8
to 15
• Promotes resilience and prevents depression
often for years
• 18-24 60 minute lessons
• Teaches negotiation, decision-making, social
problem-solving, and relaxation

11. • Resiliency training on a big scale 1.1m
• Physical – Emotional – Social – Family – Spiritual
4 Pillars
GAT MRT CRM’s Institutional
Global Assessment
Tool
15 mins – 105 Q’s
Large DB
Master Resilience
Trainers
Graduates of
UPENN 10 day
course.
Drill Sergeants
Comprehensive
Resilience Modules
Targeted Online
training modules
Institutional
Resilience Training
Targeted career
based trainingKorea – 50% soldiers trained. 85% suicides in the
other 50%

12. Flourishing
• Marty Seligman again
• New theory of well-being
• Goal of PP – increase flourishing, not just
happiness
• More of a balanced perspective
• Elements that meet criteria:
– Contribution to Well-being
– Pursued for its own sake
– Independently measurable

13. Martin Seligman
• Seligman RSA Flourishing video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weVPtrX
MMx8
• Watch from start for 3 minutes or so for intro.

14. PERMA
• Positive Emotion
• Engagement
• (Positive) Relationships
• Meaning
• Accomplishment

15. A PERM
Credit – Stuart Wakefield

16. Accomplishment
• Pursued for its own sake
– Not for a payoff
• Success and mastery
• Not a moral judgement – Explaining Human
behaviour
• Valued in society since records began
• Wider benefits for society
– Others gain wellbeing from achievement.
• Accomplishment = Skill X Effort
– Effort/Time on Task out performs IQ

17. Grit
• 70% went for 1 now
• Those that could resist had higher academic
performance later in life
– The power of self-regulation
• “Perseverence and Passion for Long Term Goals”
• Imagine you’re a kid again.
NOW!,
or could you wait?

18. Positive Emotion
• Still important but downgraded 1/5 of flourishing
• Happiness and Life satisfaction – Subjective
measures
• Positive Emotions – from Fredrickson
– Joy
– Gratitude
– Serenity
– Interest
– Hope
– Pride
– Amusement
– Inspiration
– Awe
– Love
• Fleeting
– Increase quantity, frequency and savour

19. Positive Emotion and Performance
• Lots of correlation, but now some causation
– complex 3-hr in-basket task
• High positive emotion – performed better.
– Studies showing happy people make more efficient and
better decisions
• Improves Risk behaviour
– Longitudinal studies showing less fired, promotion, more
income
• Sometimes negative moods help
– Instances of threat or not going well – less frequent
– Focuses thinking
• So if you want to perform better, maybe focus on being
happier

20. Losada Ratio
• “Companies with better than a 2.9:1 ratio for
positive to negative statements are
flourishing. Below that ratio, companies are
not doing well economically.” This is called
the Losada ratio.
• Over 13:1 can impact performance in the
other direction.

21. Engagement
• Flow
– Positive Psychology 2 presentation
– Quick reminder from the man himself

22. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
• Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Creativity, fulfillment
and flow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjliwSJGDi
U&feature=related
• Watch video 1:25 to 4 minutes

23. Flow
• Use Signature Strengths
• Select Tasks for Intrinsic Motivation
– What is your vitally absorbing interests?
• Develop Skills in a challenging activity.
E.g. work
• Create flow experiences
– Goals, chance of completion, control, feedback
etc.

24. Positive Relationships
• With a marriage you need 5:1 Losada Ratio to
flourish
• 0.7:1 or lower is heading for divorce
• Traditional marriage counselling targets
problem resolution, arguments
• How do you celebrate?

25. Positive Relationships
Active Passive
Constructive
Destructive
Can you Guess which is best
at improving relationships? 

26. Meaning
• “Belonging to and serving something greater
than yourself”
• Visibly low people can still have lots of
meaning
• 3 elements (think about work)
– Connectedness
– Purpose
– Growth

27. Sources
of
Meaning
Meaning
Achievement
Acceptance
Relationship
IntimacyReligion
Self -
Transcendence
Fairness

28. Flourishing
• Seligman hypothesises about losing money and
what would happen.
–Positive Emotion – Expect to drop – buy emotion
–Engagement – Depends what you do, but can be ok
– (Positive) Relationships – May even do more things
together
–Meaning – No reason this can’t remain
–Achievement – lower base but may even achieve
more

29. Quick Plug
• I’d love to get more activity in the Positive
Psychology group on Yammer, all welcome.

30. Any Questions?

31. References
• Flourish: A New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being - and How To
Achieve Them by Martin E. P. Seligman (Paperback - 5 May 2011)
• Positive Psychology [Paperback], Kate Hefferon (Author), Ilona Boniwell
(Author)
• Positivity: Discover the Groundbreaking Science to Release Your Inner
Optimist and Thrive by Barbara Fredrickson (Paperback - 1 Jan 2010)
• Comprehensive Soldier Fitness - http://csf.army.mil/faq.html
• Seligman RSA Flourishing video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weVPtrXMMx8
• Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Creativity, fulfillment and flow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXIeFJCqsPs
– Summary - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjliwSJGDiU&feature=related
• PP1 Podcast (PGOWERS) – http://x.ford.com/podcasts
• PP1 and 2 presentations (PGOWERS) http://x.ford.com/stress