Tag Archives: Positive Psychology

Arts, Mental Health, Psychology, Science

Positive emotions create additional personal resources

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

In Scripture, we read: ‘A joyful heart is good medicine.’ – Proverbs 17:22

Positive psychology’s leading researcher in the field of positive emotions is Barbara Fredrickson. She has devoted her academic career to investigating the nature and purpose of positive emotions and testing out her theories under laboratory conditions. We’ve all come across the “fight-or-flight” response which accompanies negative emotions. This automatic response mechanism has the effect of narrowing down our thoughts and behaviours to very specific, self-protecting actions; in the case of anger it’s to fight, and in the case of fear, to run. But positive emotions are relatively under-researched and not as well understood. There are thousands of academic psychology papers devoted to the experience of fear, for example, and only hundreds on the subject of positive emotions such as compassion.

Fredrickson’s goal has been to find out if positive emotions have a purpose apart from making us feel good. Her “broaden and build” theory suggests that, in contrast to negative emotions which focus us, positive emotions lead to more expansive and creative thoughts and behaviour which create additional personal resources over time. These are identified in four main categories:

. Intellectual – for example, developing our problem solving skills

. Physical – for example, developing our physical strength and cardiovascular health

. Social – such as facilitating the quality and quantity of our friendships and other relationships and connections

. Psychological – Developing resilience and optimism.

In short, the experience of positive emotions creates “upward spirals” of thought and action which prepare you for future challenges.

Other psychologists suggest that experiencing positive emotions also allows you to seek out and work towards new goals.

Fredrickson’s research shows that positive emotions don’t just feel good, they do us good too.

. Positive emotions good, negative emotions bad?

No one should fall into the trap of thinking that positive emotions are always good and that negative emotions are always bad, as this is simply not the case. For example, getting angry at an injustice can spur you into action. Recent research in positive psychology has started to stress the importance of understanding context.

In the early days positive psychologists were excited by Fredrickson and Losada’s discovery of the so-called “3:1 Positivity Ratio”, that is the ratio of positive to negative emotions above which flourishing occurs, and below which we languish. However, more recent research at the University of East London have demonstrated that the science on which the Positivity Ratio was based is flawed, much to the disappointment of many positive psychologists. All we can say at the moment is that positive emotions are generally more fleeting whereas negative emotions are more “sticky”, experiencing more positive emotions is better (but we cannot put a number on it) and that the frequency of positive emotions is more important than their intensity.

(Podcast ends)

LET’S now think of ways in which we can increase the number of positive emotions we experience. Psychologist Michael Frisch suggests creating a playlist of all the activities which interest you and which you’ve enjoyed in the past. His work lists over 200 simple activities including writing poetry, singing or dancing by yourself, getting up early in the morning, playing board games, and doing something outside.

You might also like to consider keeping a well-being journal noting down when you were creative, when you didn’t worry, where you have learned something new or contributed to your community. Recording your most positive experiences, in particular those which give you a boost, will greatly help as you develop your “upward spirals”. These are crucial for positive emotional stability.

– Good luck to Scotland in the Six Nations tournament 2023 which begins today
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Health, Psychology, Research, Science

Positive Psychology: Happiness

WHAT IS HAPPINESS?

ONE of the criticisms often levelled at positive psychology is that it’s all about the “big H”: happiness. Some may argue that happiness is a frivolous topic and certainly not one worthy of serious scientific endeavour. Yet, when you start digging deeper, it becomes clear that happiness is not at all straightforward. In fact, it’s a pretty complex concept. This article explores some of the components of happiness (or well-being as it’s often called), how they’re measured and why they matter.

. Previously About ‘Positive Psychology’

Probably the simplest way to get a handle on happiness is to divide it initially into two basic components:

. Hedonic well-being

. Eudaimonic well-being

The distinction between these two aspects of happiness dates to the ancient Greek philosophers Aristippus (c. 435–356 BCE), who championed hedonism, and Aristotle (384–322 BCE), who advocated eudaimonism.

According to Aristippus, the goal of life is to maximise pleasure and minimise displeasure or pain. In positive psychology hedonic well-being is often used to refer to the happiness you get from feeling pleasure in the moment; it is the variety of happiness which usually springs to mind when you’re asked what happiness is. It is, though, typically short-lived. We must keep topping up our reserves in order to maintain its effects. One of the problems with defining happiness solely in terms of sensory pleasure is that, paradoxically, some human desires, even if they are pleasure-producing in the short term, are not good for you in the long term.

And what about eudaimonic well-being? If happiness can ever have a serious side, this is certainly it. As suggested, some people believe that pleasure on its own isn’t sufficient to describe the totality of human well-being. According to Aristotle, merely pursuing pleasure is vulgar; he advocated eudaimonism because he believed that true happiness is found in doing what is worth doing, not in just having a good time. Eudaimonic well-being is a broad term used by positive psychologists to refer to the happiness we gain from having meaning and purpose in our lives, fulfilling our potential and feeling that we are part of something bigger than ourselves.

But even eudaimonic well-being is not problem-free. Some psychologists dislike its moral overtones; they argue that it isn’t psychology’s job to prescribe what is good for people. And, as a matter of fact, eudaimonic well-being may not provide any pleasurable feelings at all: it may involve considerable personal hardship and effort over the longer term. Yet, it is suggested that eudaimonia leads to greater life satisfaction than pure pleasure alone (Huta, V., Park, N., Peterson, C. & Seligman, M. [2003]).

In practice, positive psychologists do not agree on the definition of eudaimonic well-being – terms which include “self-actualisation”, “personal expressiveness”, “meaning”, “personal growth”, and “engagement and flow”. Nor do they agree on how it should be measured, and often the term eudaimonic well-being is used as a catch-all for any type of happiness that isn’t hedonic. But even if we’re not yet sure how to define eudaimonic well-being, most people would acknowledge that there’s more to true happiness than a game or round of 9-hole golf at the weekend. Psychology research concurs with this: a recent study of over 13,000 people suggests that pursuing engagement or meaning is more strongly related to well-being than pursuing pleasure (Schueller, S. M., & Seligman, M. P. [2010]).

Another area of disagreement for positive psychologists is whether happiness is a subjective or an objective phenomenon. Some definitions of eudaimonic well-being suggest that there is an objective standard against which people’s lives can be judged. On the other hand, there are psychologists who insist that happiness is a subjective phenomenon. They argue that it can only be measured by asking people to rate their own happiness. This leads us to another definition of happiness often used in positive psychology – Subjective Well-Being (SWB) – which is expressed in the following formula:

Satisfaction with Life + Positive Emotion – Negative Emotion

In simple terms this means that subjective happiness consists of three elements, one cognitive (or evaluative) and two affective.

Using Subjective Well-Being as the measure suggests that to increase our level of happiness overall, we should focus on minimising our negative mood and maximising our life satisfaction and positive mood.

. A positive psychology model of well-being

In his most recent book, Flourish, Martin Seligman, one of the founding fathers of the positive psychology movement, describes his new theory of well-being. His model (PERMA), which consists of five separate elements, draws on aspects of both hedonic and eudaimonic well-being:

P (Positive emotion) is exactly what it says – the experience of positive mood and feelings which are uplifting. Psychologists use various types of questionnaire which can be used to measure positive (and negative) emotional states.

E (Engagement) or ‘flow’ as it’s often called, refers to the well-being you get from being totally absorbed in the task in hand, so much so that you lose track of time and feel completely at one with what you’re doing. When sports people talk about “being in the zone”, they’re referring to their experience of flow. Flow is usually measured by asking people to reflect back on their day and record flow experiences or by having them carry an electronic beeper which randomly prompts them to think about and record what they’re doing at that moment in time.

R (Relationships) are included in Seligman’s model because research suggests that good, caring and supportive interpersonal connections are essential to your well-being at any age in life.

M (Meaning) is important because it provides both a stable foundation and a sense of direction in life. Pursuing meaningful activities has been found to be more strongly related to happiness than pursuing pleasurable ones. There are many different measures of meaning, although it’s still a relatively under-researched area. The Sources of Meaning and Meaning in Life Questionnaire (SoMe) measures 26 different sources, including self-transcendence (such as spirituality), self-actualisation (such as challenge and knowledge), order (such as tradition and holding on to values), and well-being and caring for others (such as community and love).

A (Accomplishment) is the latest psychological component in Seligman’s well-being model. It’s another broad category which includes everything from achievement, success and mastery at the highest level possible to progress towards goals and competence.

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Health, Psychology, Society

Positive Psychology

INTRODUCTION

. What is positive psychology?

Positive psychology is the scientific study of optimal human functioning and what makes life worth living. In other words, it is the psychology of characteristics, conditions and processes which lead to flourishing. Researching what goes right for individuals, communities and organisations is every bit as important to us as understanding what goes wrong.

When positive psychology was originally launched over a decade ago, it distanced itself from other branches of psychology. However, there is no doubt that it has its roots in the work of William James in the late 19th century, humanistic psychology of the mid-20th century, as well as in the work of ancient philosophers such as Aristotle and Plato. The main difference is that, as a science, it focuses on discovering the empirical evidence for thriving. But it’s not science for its own sake – it’s the application that is of interest to psychologists. So, how can empirical research be used to improve our own well-being?

It is fair to say that some of the research topics which now fall under the umbrella of positive psychology are not new; some even pre-date it. Topics such as optimism, motivation and emotional intelligence had been studied for many years before positive psychology came along. There are, of course, many other areas of optimal functioning which were under-researched, and about which we knew very little, such as gratitude, hope and curiosity.

The vast majority of psychology studies carried out over the past 40+ years have focused on the negative sides of life, such as anxiety, depression, low self-esteem and post-traumatic stress disorder. Positive psychology redresses this imbalance by focusing on the human traits and circumstances which lead to thriving. Although some of the research evidence may seem like common sense, there is a great deal which is new, surprising, and even counter-intuitive.

. Where does positive psychology come from?

Positive psychology originated from the University of Pennsylvania in the United States, where there is now a Positive Psychology Centre. One of the founders is psychology professor Martin Seligman, who is well known for his pioneering work on learned helplessness and later on learned optimism. The positive psychology movement began around 1998, when Seligman chose it as the theme for his inaugural address as President of the American Psychological Association. Since then, thousands of new research articles and books on the subject have been written, several new academic journals published – for example, the Journal of Positive Psychology, the Psychology of Wellbeing, the Journal of Happiness Studies, and the International Journal of Wellbeing. Also established is the international professional association, the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA).

As yet, over a decade after positive psychology appeared as a formal branch of psychology, there is no sign that our interest in the topics of happiness, wellbeing and flourishing is diminishing. In fact, the growth in the field, whether in university research projects, conferences and academic degree courses, or in books, blogs and workshops for the general public, gives every indication that positive psychology is here to stay. Even in the last few years, successive British governments have been interested in the idea of developing public policy for wellbeing, and since 2010 the Office for National Statistics has had a “Measuring National Wellbeing” programme which was set up to produce accepted and trusted measures of the wellbeing of the nation. The first ever UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on Wellbeing Economics has also been established to challenge GDP as the government’s main indicator of national success and to promote new measures of societal progress.

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