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Positive psychology is the scientific study of human happiness. The history of psychology as a science shows that the field has been primarily dedicated to addressing mental illness rather than mental wellness. Its research programs and application models have dealt mainly with how people are wrong rather than how they are right. The need to correct this bias was anticipated in psychological writings as early as those of the American psychologist and philosopher William James. In his 1902 book, The Varieties of Religious Experience, James argues that happiness is a chief concern of human life and those who pursue it should be regarded as "healthy-minded." Several humanistic psychologists -- such as Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, and Erich Fromm -- developed successful theories and practices that involved human happiness despite there being a lack of solid empirical evidence behind their work. However, it is the pioneering research of Martin Seligman, Ed Diener, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Christopher Peterson, and many others that promises to put the study of human happiness onto a firm scientific foundation and add some positivity to the predominantly negative discipline of psychology.
Research
Positive psychology can be delineating into three overlapping areas of research:
- 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.).
- The study of the Good Life or the "life of engagement" investigates the beneficial affects of immersion, absorption, and flow that individuals feel when optimally engaged with their primary activities. These states are experienced when there is a positive match between a person's strength and the task they are doing, i.e. when they feel confident that they can accomplish the tasks they face.
- 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).
Application
The development of the Character Strengths and Virtues (CSV) handbook represents the first attempt on the part of the research community to identify and classify the positive psychological traits of human beings. Much like the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) of general psychology, the CSV provides a theoretical framework to assist in developing practical applications for positive psychology. This so-called "Manual of the Sanities" identifies six classes of virtue (i.e. "core virtues") made up of twenty-four measurable character strengths.There is a suggestion in the introductory portion of the CSV that these six virtues are so consistently identifiable across cultures and throughout history that they may, in theory, be universal in nature. Notwithstanding numerous cautions and caveats, this suggestion of universality hints that in addition to trying to broaden the scope psychological research to include mental wellness, the leaders of the positive psychology movement are challenging moral relativism and suggesting that virtue has both a biological and a cultural basis. This suggestion and others like it show some alignment between positive psychology and evolutionary psychology. The organization of these virtues and strengths is as follows:
- Wisdom and Knowledge: creativity, curiosity, open-mindedness, love of learning, perspective
- Courage: bravery, persistence, integrity, vitality
- Humanity: love, kindness, social intelligence
- Justice: citizenship, fairness, leadership
- Temperance: forgiveness and mercy, humility and modesty, prudence, self-regulation
- Transcendence: appreciation of beauty and excellence, gratitude, hope, humor, spirituality
Practical applications of positive psychology include helping individuals and organizations correctly identify their strengths and use them to increase and sustain their respective levels of happiness. Therapists, counselors, coaches, and various other psychological professional can use the new methods and techniques to build and broaden the lives of individuals who are not necessarily suffering from mental illness or disorder.
Endnotes
References
- Peterson, C. and Seligman, M.E.P. (2004). Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification. Washington, D.C.: APA Press and Oxford University Press.
- Argyle, Michael (2001). The Psychology of Happiness. Routledge.
- Gilbert, Daniel (2006). Stumbling on Happiness. Knopf.
See also
External links
- Positive Psychology Center
- Master of Applied Positive Psychology Program - University of Pennsylvania
- Authentic Happiness: Using the new Positive Psychology
- Debating Human Happiness - a conversation between Martin Seligman, Robert Wright, and Steven Pinker
- European Network for Positive Psychology
- Italian Society of Positive Psychology Webpage
- Positive Psychology & the Buddhist Path of Compassion by Lorne Ladner Ph.D
- Positive Psychology Lectures at Harvard - taught by Tal Ben-Shahar
- Lesson For A Psychologist - about how Martin Seligman came to the idea of a Positive Psychology movement.
"Positive psychology"