Positive psychology is the scientific study of what makes life most worth living, focusing on both individual and societal well-being. It studies "positive subjective experience, positive individual traits, and positive institutions...it aims to improve quality of life."[2] It is a field of study that has been growing steadily throughout the years as individuals and researchers look for common ground on better well-being.[3]
Positive psychology began as a new domain of psychology in 1998 when Martin Seligman chose it as the theme for his term as president of the American Psychological Association.[5][6] It is a reaction against past practices, which have tended to focus on mental illness and emphasized maladaptive behavior and negative thinking. It builds on the humanistic movement by Abraham Maslow, Rollo May, James Bugental, and Carl Rogers, which encourages an emphasis on happiness, well-being, and positivity, thus creating the foundation for what is now known as positive psychology.[6]
Positive psychology focuses on eudaimonia, an Ancient Greek term for "the good life" and the concept for reflection on the factors that contribute the most to a well-lived and fulfilling life. Positive psychologists often use the terms subjective well-being and happiness interchangeably.[7]
Positive psychologists have suggested a number of factors may contribute to happiness and subjective well-being. For example, social ties with a spouse, family, friends, colleagues, and wider networks; membership in clubs or social organizations; physical exercise; and the practice of meditation.[8] Spirituality can also be considered a factor that leads to increased individual happiness and well-being. Spiritual practice and religious commitment is a topic researchers have been studying as another possible source for increased well-being and an added part of positive psychology.[9] Happiness may rise with increasing financial income, though it may plateau or even fall when no further gains are made or after a certain cut-off amount.[10]
Definition and basic assumptions[edit]
Definition[edit]
Martin Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi define positive psychology as "the scientific study of positive human functioning and flourishing on multiple levels that include the biological, personal, relational, institutional, cultural, and global dimensions of life."
Basic concepts[edit]
Positive psychology is concerned with eudaimonia, a Greek word meaning "good spirit". It is considered an essential element for the pursuit of happiness and a good life.[11] It emphasizes cherishing that which holds the greatest value in life and other such factors that contribute the most to having a good life. While not attempting a strict definition of what makes up a good life, positive psychologists agree that one must be happy, engaged, and meaningful with their experiences. Martin Seligman referred to "the good life" as using your signature strengths every day to produce authentic happiness and abundant gratification.
Positive psychology complements, without intending to replace the traditional fields of psychology. Emphasizing the study of positive human development, could enhance our application and understanding in other fields. More specifically, those which are more clinical and scientific-based. Since they may produce a limited perspective and understanding. Positive psychology has also placed a significant emphasis on fostering positive self-esteem and self-image. Although positive psychologists, with a less humanist direction, focus less on such topics.[13]
The basic premise of positive psychology is that human beings are often driven by the future more than the past. It also suggests that any combination of positive experiences/emotions, past or present, lead to a pleasant, happy life.[14] Another aspect of this may come from our views outside of our own lives. Author of Grit, Angela Duckworth, might view this as having a prosocial purpose, which could have a positive psychological effect on our lives.[15] Seligman identified other possible goals: families and schools that allow children to grow, workplaces that aim for satisfaction and high productivity, and teaching others about positive psychology.[16] Psychologist Daniel Gilbert has also written extensively on the effects of time perception and happiness.[17]
Those who practice positive psychology attempt psychological interventions that foster positive attitudes toward one's subjective experiences, individual traits, and life events. The goal is to minimize pathological thoughts that may arise in a hopeless mindset and to develop a sense of optimism toward life. Positive psychologists seek to encourage acceptance of one's past, excitement and optimism about one's future experiences, and a sense of contentment and well-being in the present.[18]
Related concepts are happiness, well-being, quality of life, contentment,[19] and meaningful life.
- Happiness: Has been sought after and discussed throughout time. Research has concluded that happiness can be thought of in the way we act and how we think in relative terms to it.[20]
- Well-Being: Has often been referred to what is inherently good for an individual both physically and mentally, though other aspects could be added in to define well-being.[21][citation needed]
- Quality of life: Quality of life encompasses more than just physical and mental well-being; it can also include socioeconomic factors. However, there is a cultural difference with this term, as it can be perceived differently in different cultures and regions around the world. In the simplest of terms, this is how well you are living and functioning in life.[22]
Research topics[edit]
According to Seligman and Peterson, positive psychology addresses three issues: positive emotions,[23] positive individual traits,[24] Positive Psychology Center positive institutions.[25] Positive emotions are concerned with being content with one's past, being happy in the present and having hope for the future.[25][26] Positive individual traits focus on one's strengths and virtues. Finally, positive institutions are based on strengths to better a community of people.[16]
According to Peterson, positive psychologists are concerned with four topics: positive experiences, enduring psychological traits, positive relationships, and positive institutions. He also states that topics of interest to researchers in the field are states of pleasure or flow, values, strengths, virtues, talents, as well as the ways that these can be promoted by social systems and institutions.[27]
History[edit]
To Martin Seligman, psychology [particularly its positive branch] can investigate and promote realistic ways of fostering more well-being in individuals and communities.
While the formal discipline of positive psychology has only existed since 2000, the concepts that form the basis of it have been the subject of empirical study since at least the 1980s,[28][29] and present in religious and philosophical discourse for thousands of years.[30] It has been influenced by humanistic as well as psychodynamic approaches to treatment. Predating the use of the term “positive psychology”, researchers within the field of psychology had been focusing on topics that would now be included under this new denomination.[31]
The term positive psychology dates back at least to 1954, when Maslow's first edition of Motivation and Personality was published with a final chapter titled "Toward a Positive Psychology."[32] In the second edition published in 1970, he removed that chapter, saying in the preface that "a positive psychology is at least available today though not very widely."[32] There have been indications that psychologists since the 1950s have been increasingly focused on the promotion of mental health rather than merely treating mental illness.[33][34] From the beginning of psychology, the field has addressed the human experience using the "Disease Model," specifically studying and identifying the dysfunction of an individual.
Positive psychology grew as an important field of study within psychology in 1998 when Martin Seligman chose it as the theme for his term as president of the American Psychological Association.[35] In the first sentence of his book Authentic Happiness, Seligman claimed: "for the last half century psychology has been consumed with a single topic only – mental illness," expanding on Maslow's comments.[a] He urged psychologists to continue the earlier missions of psychology of nurturing talent and improving normal life.
Development[edit]
The first positive psychology summit took place in 1999. The First International Conference on Positive Psychology took place in 2002. More attention was given by the general public in 2006 when, using the same framework, a course at Harvard University became particularly popular.[39] In June 2009, the First World Congress on Positive Psychology took place at the University of Pennsylvania.[40]
The field of positive psychology today is most advanced in the United States and Western Europe. Even though positive psychology offers a new approach to the study of positive emotions and behavior, the ideas, theories, research, and motivation to study the positive side of human behavior is as old as humanity.[41]
Influences[edit]
Several humanistic psychologists, most notably Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, and Erich Fromm, developed theories and practices pertaining to human happiness and flourishing. More recently, positive psychologists have found empirical support for the humanistic theories of flourishing. In addition, positive psychology has moved ahead in a variety of new directions.
In 1984, Diener published his tripartite model of subjective well-being, positing "three distinct but often related components of wellbeing: frequent positive affect, infrequent negative affect, and cognitive evaluations such as life satisfaction."[42] In this model, cognitive, affective and contextual factors contribute to subjective well-being.[43] According to Diener and Suh, subjective well-being is "based on the idea that how each person thinks and feels about his or her life is important."[44]
Carol Ryff's Six-factor Model of Psychological Well-being was initially published in 1989, and additional testing of its factors was published in 1995. It postulates six factors which are key for well-being, namely self-acceptance, personal growth, purpose in life, environmental mastery, autonomy, and positive relations with others.[45]
According to Corey Keyes, who collaborated with Carol Ryff and uses the term flourishing as a central concept, mental well-being has three components, namely hedonic [c.q. subjective or emotional[46]], psychological, and social well-being. Hedonic well-being concerns emotional aspects of well-being, whereas psychological and social well-being, c.q. eudaimonic well-being, concerns skills, abilities, and optimal functioning.[48] This tripartite model of mental well-being has received extensive empirical support across cultures.[48][46][49][50]
Aristotle Greek Philosopher
Influences in Ancient History[edit]
While the formal title "positive psychology" has only been in common use since around 2000, the concepts that form the basis of this field have been present in religious and philosophical discourse for thousands of years. The field of psychology predating the use of the term positive psychology has seen researchers who focused primarily on topics that would now be included under the umbrella of positive psychology.[31] Some view positive psychology as a meeting of Eastern thought, such as Buddhism, and Western psychodynamic approaches.[51] The historical roots of positive psychology are found in the teachings of Aristotle, whose Nicomachean Ethics teach the cultivation of moral virtue as the means of attaining happiness and well-being, which he referred to as eudaimonia.[52]
Core theory and methods[edit]
There is no accepted "gold standard" theory in positive psychology. However, the work of Seligman is regularly quoted.[53] So too the work of Csikszentmihalyi and older models of well-being, such as Carol Ryff's Six-factor Model of Psychological Well-being and Diener's tripartite model of subjective well-being.
Initial theory: three paths to happiness[edit]
In Authentic Happiness [2002] Seligman proposed three kinds of a happy life that can be investigated:[53]
- Pleasant life: research into the Pleasant Life, or the "life of enjoyment," examines how people optimally experience, forecast, and savor the positive feelings and emotions that are part of normal and healthy living [e.g., relationships, hobbies, interests, entertainment, etc.]. Despite the attention given, Martin Seligman says this most transient element of happiness may be the least important.[55]
- Good Life: investigation of the beneficial effects of immersion, absorption, and flow felt by individuals when optimally engaged with their primary activities, is the study of the Good Life, or the "life of engagement." Flow is experienced when there is a positive match between a person's strength and their current task, i.e., when one feels confident of accomplishing a chosen or assigned task.[b]
- Meaningful Life: inquiry into the Meaningful Life, or "life of affiliation," questions how individuals derive a positive sense of well-being, belonging, meaning, and purpose from being part of and contributing back to something larger and more permanent than themselves [e.g., nature, social groups, organizations, movements, traditions, belief systems].[56]
In Flourish [2011] Seligman argued that the last category of his proposed three kinds of a happy life, "meaningful life," can be considered as 3 different categories. The resulting summary for this theory is Seligman's PERMA acronym: Positive Emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning and purpose, and Accomplishments.[53] It is a mnemonic for the five elements of Martin Seligman's well-being theory:[53][57]
- Positive emotions include a wide range of feelings, not just happiness and joy. Included are emotions like excitement, satisfaction, pride and awe, amongst others. These emotions are frequently seen as connected to positive outcomes, such as longer life and healthier social relationships.[26]
- Engagement refers to involvement in activities that draws and builds upon one's interests. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi explains true engagement as flow, a state of deep effortless involvement,[53] feeling of intensity that leads to a sense of ecstasy and clarity.[59] The task being done needs to call upon higher skill and be a bit difficult and challenging yet still possible. Engagement involves passion for and concentration on the task at hand and is assessed subjectively as to whether the person engaged was completely absorbed, losing self-consciousness.
- Relationships are essential in fueling positive emotions,[60] whether they are work-related, familial, romantic, or platonic. As Christopher Peterson puts it simply, "other people matter."[61] Humans receive, share, and spread positivity to others through relationships. They are important not only in bad times, but good times as well. In fact, relationships can be strengthened by reacting to one another positively. It is typical that most positive things take place in the presence of other people.[62]
- Meaning is also known as purpose, and prompts the question of "why." Discovering and figuring out a clear "why" puts everything into context from work to relationships to other parts of life.[63] Finding meaning is learning that there is something greater than one's self. Despite potential challenges, working with meaning drives people to continue striving for a desirable goal.
- Accomplishments are the pursuit of success and mastery. Unlike the other parts of PERMA, they are sometimes pursued even when accomplishments do not result in positive emotions, meaning, or relationships. That being noted, accomplishments can activate the other elements of PERMA, such as pride, under positive emotion.[64] Accomplishments can be individual or community-based, fun- or work-based.
Each of the five PERMA elements was selected according to three criteria:
- It contributes to well-being.
- It is pursued for its own sake.
- It is defined and measured independently of the other elements.
Character Strengths and Virtues[edit]
The development of the Character Strengths and Virtues [CSV] handbook [2004] represented the first attempt by Seligman and Peterson to identify and classify positive psychological traits of human beings. Much like the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [DSM] of general psychology, the CSV provided a theoretical framework to assist in understanding strengths and virtues and for developing practical applications for positive psychology. This manual identified 6 classes of virtues [i.e., "core virtues"], underlying 24 measurable character strengths.
The CSV suggested these 6 virtues have a historical basis in the vast majority of cultures; in addition, these virtues and strengths can lead to increased happiness when built upon. Notwithstanding numerous cautions and caveats, this suggestion of universality hints threefold: 1] The study of positive human qualities broadens the scope of psychological research to include mental wellness, 2] the leaders of the positive psychology movement are challenging moral relativism, suggesting people are "evolutionarily predisposed" toward certain virtues, and 3] virtue has a biological basis.
The organization of the 6 virtues and 24 strengths is as follows:
Recent research challenged the need for 6 virtues. Instead, researchers suggested the 24 strengths are more accurately grouped into just 3 or 4 categories: Intellectual Strengths, Interpersonal Strengths, and Temperance Strengths,[67] or alternatively, Interpersonal Strengths, Fortitude, Vitality, and Cautiousness.[68] These strengths, and their classifications, have emerged independently elsewhere in literature on values. Paul Thagard described examples, which included Jeff Shrager's workshops to discover the habits of highly creative people.[69] Some research indicates that well-being effects that appear to be due to spirituality are actually better described as due to virtue.[70]
In the 1970s, Hungarian-American psychologist Csikszentmihalyi began studying flow, a state of absorption where one's abilities are well-matched to the demands at-hand. It is what he often calls and refers to as "optimal experience".[71] Flow is characterized by intense concentration, loss of self-awareness, a feeling of being perfectly challenged [neither bored nor overwhelmed], and a sense that "time is flying." Flow is intrinsically rewarding; it can also assist in the achievement of goals [e.g., winning a game] or improving skills [e.g., becoming a better chess player].[72] Anyone can experience flow and it can be felt in different domains, such as play, creativity, and work. Flow is achieved when the challenge of the situation meets one's personal abilities. A mismatch of challenge for someone of low skills results in a state of anxiety and feeling overwhelmed; insufficient challenge for someone highly skilled, results in boredom.[72] A good example of this would be an adult reading a children's book. They would not feel challenged enough to be engaged or motivated in the reading. Csikszentmihalyi created a organized explanation of this using various combinations of challenge and skills to predict psychological states. These four states included following:[73]
- Apathy: low challenge and low skill[s]
- Relaxation: low challenge and high skill[s]
- Anxiety: high challenge and low skill[s]
- Flow: high challenge and high skill[s]
So the adult reading the children's book, as mentioned above, would most likely be in the relaxation state. The adult has no need to fear or worry that the task will be more than they could possibly handle. Challenge is a well founded explanation for how one enters the flow state and employ intense concentration. However, it does not stop there. There may be other underlying factors contributing. For example, one must be intrinsically motivated to participate in the activity/challenge. If the individual is not interested in the task, then there is no possibility of being absorbed into the flow state.[74]
Benefits[edit]
Flow can be extremely beneficial when it comes to parenting children. When flow is enhanced between parents and their children, the parents are more capable of thriving in their role as a parent. A parenting style that is positively oriented will also result in children that experience lower levels of stress and overall improve the child's well-being.[75]
It is also beneficial in a school-setting. There are innumerable examples of interventions or studies that have taken place with flow in school.[citation needed] The desire for most teachers, parents [etc.] is that the students become more engaged and interested in the classroom. Many may jump to the conclusion that students struggle and therefore only need help understand. That is the obstacle the students face. However, the true obstacle in the way learning is that they are not engaged enough. The design of the education system did not and was not able to account for such needs.[76] One school implemented a program called PASS. They acknowledged that students needed more challenge and individual advancement; they referred to this as sport culture. This PASS program integrated an elective class where students could immerse themselves into. Such activities included, self-paced learning, mastery-based learning, performance learning, and so on.[77]
Flow is also beneficial in our general well-being. It is a positive and intrinsically motivating experience. It is known to "produce intense feelings of enjoyment".[74] That is why it can improve our lives by making them happier and more meaningful. This can eventually lead to positive affect in the long run. This is because Csikszentmihalyi discovered that our personal growth and development generates happiness. That is why flow is positive experience because it promotes that opportunity for personal development.[78]
Negatives
In positive psychology there can be several misunderstandings on what clinicians and individuals define as positive. In certain instances, it can be said that positive qualities, such as optimism, can be detrimental to health, and therefore appear as a negative quality.[79] Alternatively, negative processes, such as anxiety, can be conducive to health and stability and thus would appear as a positive quality.[79] Due to this short-coming from the initial wave of positive psychology, there has since been a second wave that has further identified and characterized "positive" and "negative" complexes through the use of critical and dialectical thinking.[79] Researchers in 2016 chose to identify these characteristics via two complexes: post-traumatic growth and love as well as optimism vs pessimism.[79]
Research advances and applications[edit]
Topical and methodological development has expanded the field of positive psychology. These advances have enabled the field of positive psychology to grow beyond its core theories and methods. Positive psychology is now a global area of study, with various national indices tracking citizens' happiness ratings.
Research findings[edit]
Research in positive psychology, well-being, eudaimonia and happiness, and the theories of Diener, Ryff, Keyes and Seligman cover a broad range of topics including "the biological, personal, relational, institutional, cultural, and global dimensions of life." A meta-analysis on 49 studies in 2009[80] showed that Positive Psychology Interventions [PPI] produced improvements in well-being and lower depression levels, the PPIs studied included writing gratitude letters, learning optimistic thinking, replaying positive life experiences and socializing with others. In a later meta-analysis of 39 studies with 6,139 participants in 2012,[81] the outcomes were positive. Three to six months after a PPI the effects for subjective well-being and psychological well-being were still significant. However the positive effect was weaker than in the 2009 meta analysis, the authors concluded that this was because they only used higher quality studies. The PPIs they considered included counting blessings, kindness practices, making personal goals, showing gratitude and focusing on personal strengths. Another review of PPIs published in 2018 found that over 78% of intervention studies were conducted in Western countries.[82]
In the textbook Positive Psychology: The Science of Happiness, authors Compton and Hoffman give the "Top Down Predictors" of well-being as high self esteem, optimism, self efficacy, a sense of meaning in life and positive relationships with others.[83] The personality traits most associated with well being are extraversion, agreeability and low levels of neuroticism.
In a study published in 2020, students were enrolled in a positive psychology course that focused on improving happiness and well-being through teaching about positive psychology.[84] The participants answer questions pertaining to the 5 categories known as PERMA. At the end of the semester those same students reported significantly higher scores in all categories [p