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A relative newcomer to the psychology scene, positive psychology represents a marked break from theories and approaches of the past. In an era where mental health awareness is crucial, founders of the positive psychology movement focus on enhancing positive attributes rather than 'fixing' mental health disorders.
what does that mean?!
what does that mean?!
Before moving down the page, stop and have a think about what you think the PURPOSE of psychology is. Particularly, think about counselling and clinical psychology - what are the goals of psychologists here?
We know that psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behaviour but isn't it strange that we only ever seem to focus on NEGATIVE behaviours and mental disorders?
TRADITIONAL APPROACHES
TRADITIONAL APPROACHES
In traditional psychological approaches, there's a tendency to focus on pathology. Within psychology, pathology is the study of the causes, components, course, and consequences of psychological disorders. These are characterized by abnormality and dysfunction.
TLDR: Traditional approaches tend to focus on 'fixing' dysfunction / abnormality
POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
Positive psychology on the other hand takes a different approach. Rather than reducing negatives positive psychology studies strengths, virtues, and the factors that contribute to a full and meaningful life.
TLDR: Traditional psychology focuses on negatives, positive psychology focuses on enhancing and promoting positives!
“Probably the biggest insight is that happiness is not just a place, but also a process. Happiness is an ongoing process of fresh challenges and . . . it takes the right attitudes and activities to continue to be happy.”
– Ed Diener
activity
activity
Have a read of the article below (or watch the video below but I recommend the article!). You'll probably want to read the whole thing but for now, make sure you've read up to and including "A Quick Introduction".
Take 5 minutes to write down (in your own words)
A brief summary of the change in focus of psychology before and after WWII. (What was their focus, how did it change?)
Some evidence (number of journal articles) to support this
What do you think the sentence "Any science that deals with the fundamental questions of human life is incomplete if it only focuses on the negative" means?
What do you think the growth of the positive psychology movement will do to the overall balance of focus within psychology? I.E. will it be closer to the pre-war focus?
Psst! The subtitles in the video default to Spanish! You can change it to (auto-generated) English in the setting
Positive psychology researchers
Positive psychology researchers
Literally hundreds of psychologists have contributed to our understanding of positive psychology as an independent approach within psychology. You can see a current list of key contributors in the linked article as well as their specialist areas of focus within positive psychology.
Below, you'll be introduced to 2 key contributors to the field of positive psychology, you need to pick ONE to focus on and write about
Below, you'll be introduced to 2 key contributors to the field of positive psychology, you need to pick ONE to focus on and write about
martin seligman
martin seligman
"Martin Seligman is not called the “father of positive psychology” for no reason. To many, he is one of the leading researchers in the whole field of psychology. "
Though ethically sketchy, Seligman's seminal work on learned helplessness provided invaluable insight into how people can fall into a hopeless mental state
carol dweck
carol dweck
"Dweck conducted research on the notion of growth vs. fixed mindset. It has been used with parents, teams, students, entrepreneurs, and business leaders. It is a positive psychology tool that is used widely and praised highly, bringing people more interest to the world of positive psychology."
Check your understanding with this quick quiz!
There are some questions related to the PERMA model in here so read the PP in a nutshell article further up this page if you haven't already.
write it up!
write it up!
Given the focus and goals of Positive Psychology, it should be quite easy to see the links to real-life... This link might also help...
Pick one of the positive psychology researchers above to focus on. After you've checked out the materials, write up a summary of their key contributions to the field of positive psychology. You should aim to keep it short and sweet (< 100 words) - provide the names of any specific models or theories they have come up with and describe briefly how it works / what it's all about.
Finally, consider how the contribution(s) you've talked about (or positive psychology as a whole) can be applied in every day life. This should be obvious but sometimes it's hard to see the trees for the forest.
You'll be asked to discuss your answers next week!
The activity below isn't a requirement. However, if you are interested in positive psychology or plan to study it in future, it would be super-handy to get to grips with this simple yet robust model!
additional reading / ACTIVITY
additional reading / ACTIVITY
The article linked above mentions something called the PERMA model. The PERMA model is just one of many models but it's a pretty good starting point. It shows us the key areas of focus for Positive Psychology.
See if you can:
a) Note down the three characteristics that make each of these areas important to our mental well-being
b) List the 5 areas of focus and see if you can write a sentence which will help to remind you what the area means. This doesn't need to be lengthy but likewise, if you find it interesting, feel free to note down more info!
^ This lends itself to a mind-map or something visual, this is your opportunity to get creative!
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