Is the study of the strengths and virtues that allow people and communities to thrive?

What Is Positive Psychology?

Positive psychology is the study of optimal functioning. It examines the psychological resources and characteristics that allow people to function adaptively in the face of the many demands of life. An orienting principle of this approach is that removing the factors that lead to pathology, deficits, or failure is not sufficient to build mental health or promote flourishing. Instead, this requires an understanding of the factors that make life worth living such as happiness, success, and virtue. Positive psychology adopts a strengths perspective, examining what each individual does well. This approach, however, does not replace preexisting paradigms; instead it offers a complement to help promote understanding of the determinants and consequences of living well.

The central tenets of positive psychology include the following: (1) positive and negative aspects of functioning do not lie on a bipolar continuum but instead represent unique dimensions (i.e., happiness is not the opposite of unhappiness), (2) hypothetically moving from a + 2 to a + 5 requires different techniques than moving someone from a - 5 to a - 2, (3) working on strengths is more beneficial than working on weaknesses, and (4) psychology needs to understand what allows people to flourish just as it aims to understand the characteristics and factors that predispose individuals to languish. Positive psychology research following from these tenets can be organized in three broad areas.

The Emerging Movement of Positive Psychology

Positive psychology (PP) is a movement or a current of thought within psychology, the aim of which is to study what is good in life and why it is worth living. Psychology has always studied potentially positive aspects (i.e., intelligence, talent, love, altruism, etc.) but, in many instances, these issues have been targeted only indirectly as a way to analyze the other side of the coin (i.e., mental retardation, disability, submission, emotional vulnerability, etc.) rather than as a true interest on the healthy or adaptive features of those positive aspects.

PP is not a branch of psychology, or a new paradigm or a new discipline. It is even less a new science. It is simply psychology that focuses its interest on the analysis of what is good in life from birth to death (Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). To cover that aim, PP uses, or should use, the same methodological tools and conceptual frameworks as standard psychological research (Sheldon et al., 2011).

The term ‘Positive Psychology’ was proposed by Martin Seligman in his inaugural address as president of the American Psychological Association (Seligman, 1999). In a brief communication, he reflected that one of the areas in which psychology of the late twentieth century had to contribute to making the lives of people better was “…what I call “positive psychology”, that is, a reoriented science that emphasizes the understanding and building of the most positive qualities of an individual: optimism, courage, work ethic, future mindedness, interpersonal skill, the capacity for pleasure and insight, and social responsibility” (Seligman, 1999).

The term ‘PP’ has not been entirely devoid of controversies. The terms ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ carry implicit value meanings. Yet, positive and negative are not, in any way, synonyms of good and evil (Vázquez, 2013a). The distinctive feature of the PP approach is to pay more attention to the optimal functioning of human beings without denying that ‘negative’ aspects that are intrinsic domains of our experience. The aim of this approach is to promote research and applications in areas of experiences and functioning that had been somehow clouded by other priorities.

PP is not blind to the pain and adversity of human experience. First, many leading figures of this movement have a long track record of academic and professional contributions to the alleviation of human suffering (e.g., Seligman, 1975). Furthermore, some of the best research done in areas like optimism or resilience, for instance, is being conducted precisely in the context of reactions to highly adverse situations (e.g., trauma, illnesses, or losses) where some of our best strengths emerge (Vázquez, 2005, 2013b). The truth is that far from the charge of neglecting human suffering, this has always been a prominent part of the agenda of PP. Examples are areas such as resilience and posttraumatic growth (Paez et al., 2011; Vázquez et al., 2014a; Cho and Park, 2013), the protective role of certain positive traits in the occurrence of physical and psychological disorders (Peterson, 2006; Emmons and McCullough, 2003), positive intervention programs for disadvantaged people (Marujo and Neto, 2009), or interventions in clinical problems (Fava and Ruini, 2003; Seligman et al., 2006; Lyubomirsky et al., 2011).

Publisher Summary

Positive psychology is the scientific study of optimal human functioning, the goals of which are to better understand and apply those factors that help individuals and communities to thrive and flourish. Perusal of the literature on positive psychology reveals many potential applications of the emerging research for a diversity of people within a wide variety of settings. There seems to be no better fit, however, for positive psychology than within the therapy room. Indeed, research to date supports the notion that client conceptualizations and the incorporation of exercises informed by positive psychology can provide lasting positive outcomes for therapy clients. In this text, this chapter provides strategies and exercises that therapists can use to begin incorporating positive psychology into their work with clients.

5.6.2 Colleague Challenges

Because positive psychology is a relatively new area of study in psychology, many mental health practitioners remain unfamiliar with what positive psychology has to offer within the context of counseling and therapy. Due to this lack of information, some colleagues may make light of such positive psychological interventions or refer to positive psychology as nothing more than “naiveté,”“over-optimism,”“happiology,” or a “fluffy science.” It may be difficult to practice positive psychology in the face of such unwarranted criticism from colleagues, especially if one values the relationship between oneself and his or her colleagues. In order to circumvent this challenge, therapists are encouraged to provide their colleagues with a variety of scholarly resources (e.g., the references used to support the ideas proposed throughout this text) for learning more about positive psychology beyond that which they may have come across in magazines, newspapers, or on television that have been created for laypeople. Indeed, in the popular media, positive psychology is often portrayed in rather non-scientific terms and the scholarship behind the ideas presented is not reviewed.

Another way to overcome such challenges from colleagues is to listen to what they have to say and if the literature does not support their concerns, to proceed without consideration of their criticisms in order to see for oneself how the positive psychological approach works. Although positive psychology is not a panacea, the progress one typically observes in clients and the positive feedback one often receives from clients when implementing positive psychological interventions can serve as motivation to continue such practices even if colleagues continue with their criticisms.

Positive Psychology?

Dr. Martin Seligman, a former head of the American Psychological Society, became famous in the 1970s for “shocking the living daylights” out of rats. This was not because he was a sadist, but rather to prove a point. Seligman found that if the rats were warned by a light that they were going to be shocked through the iron grills of a cage floor, and were able to learn a task to avoid that shock, they stayed happy and healthy (in rat terms, of course). However, if the ability to escape was taken away from them, they gradually became agitated, then catatonic, then just gave up trying until they eventually died. Seligman called this “learned helplessness,” and this was the title of his seminal book (Seligman, 1976). His thesis was that stress per se is not such a bad thing—in fact, it can even be invigorating. It is an organism’s ability to react to that stressor which is important.

Fast forward to the 1990s and Dr. Seligman has a road to Damascus moment. He realizes that rats and people are different. He also appreciates that studying helplessness, anxiety, and depression only helps one relieve these symptoms—it does not do the more positive things that make people happy. Hence he was converted (along with many other psychologists of the time) to positive psychology, or the study of human happiness.

Seligman’s Positive Psychology Center (www.ppc.sas.upenn.edu) defines positive psychology as “the scientific study of the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive.” Positive psychology focuses on positive affect (contentment with the past; happiness in the present; hope for the future) and individual strengths and virtues such as the capacity for love and work, courage, compassion, creativity, curiosity, resilience, and integrity. It also aims to create positive families, communities, schools, and other social institutions.

Positive psychology has three main characteristics that distinguish it from other forms of psychopathology:

It works on an individual’s underlying strengths and virtues, rather than concentrating on weaknesses;

It is aimed mainly at untroubled or mildly troubled people, not the pathological; and

It works on making people happy, not just on making them less miserable.

There are a number of practical applications involved in doing this (see www.authentichappiness.com). These include:

Finding and working on signature strengths: A questionnaire designed to identify signature strengths and, based on the handbook of signature strengths (Pearson and Seligman, 2004), it offers a short cut to identifying an individual’s five most prominent strengths. Strengths include such things as the ability to find humor, summon enthusiasm, appreciate beauty, be curious, and love learning. The idea of the exercise is that using one’s “signature” strengths may be a way to become engaged in satisfying activities. One or more strengths is then applied each day in a different way.

Counting blessings: At the end of each day, patients are advised to think of three good things that have happened that day and analyze why they have occurred. This enables them to focus on the good things that happen, which might otherwise be forgotten because of daily disappointments.

Expressing appreciation: Patients are advised to find someone who has done something helpful at some stage, and for whom proper appreciation was never given, and to thank them for this. This increases attention to good relationships and the good things that have happened in life, in contrast to the bad.

Other practical techniques include:

Savoring the pleasing things in life, such as a warm shower or a good breakfast;

Writing down what one may want to be remembered for, to help bring daily activities in line with what is really important;

Regularly practicing acts of kindness for strangers; and

Thinking about the happiest day in one’s life over and over again, without analyzing it.

The general idea is to improve self-image and promote good interactions with others. Participants who perform a variety of acts, rather than repeating the same ones, have been shown in published research to have an increase in happiness, even a month after the experiment ended. Those who kept on doing the acts on their own did better than those who did not.

Summary of Chapter 11

•

The positive psychology and positive psychotherapy movements have gained momentum in recent years.

Positive psychology emphasizes that:

levels of happiness can be enhanced;

“signature strengths” can be identified;

these can be used to cope with difficulty and to create meaning; and

flow, lovingkindness, and improved relationships can result.

Positive psychotherapy uses these principles with clinical populations.

There are many similarities between positive psychology and the strategic solution focused approach.

Many of positive psychology's concepts can be used in strategic solution focused therapy.

Many parts of the strategic solution focused approach can become part of the methodology for positive psychotherapy.

Although there has not yet been much dialogue between the two approaches, the potential for collaboration exists and can be encouraged.

Areas for Future Study

Positive psychology, a relatively nascent field that examines human flourishing and thriving, includes a theoretical framework that extends to embrace spirituality in children and adolescents. Kelly and Miller have shown that life satisfaction in children is highly related to daily spiritual experience of a transcendent and personal nature. Among the dimensions of personal spirituality and religions to have been examined by researchers, an ongoing daily relationship with the Divine appears the most robust in relation to life satisfaction, well exceeding the contribution of secular variables such as social class, education, and parental support. We encourage further study in this critical area as a means to better understand and better foster resilience in children and adolescents.

Acknowledging religiosity as a contributing factor in much of the current strife and cultural animosity seen in today's world, further research which expands upon the beneficial aspects of the spiritual lives of adolescents offers great promise. The unifying factors of religious and spiritual life must be incorporated with a greater emphasis on cross-cultural study. This offers the promise of a healthier, better adjusted youth, as well as a potential common ground for understanding.

8.13.2.6.2 Dispositional Optimism

Another positive psychology concept that has been examined in relation to heart disease literature is the concept of optimism. To the lay public, optimists are those who expect good things to happen, and pessimists are those who expect bad things to happen. The notion that optimistic attitudes are associated with positive health outcomes has long been suggested (Avvenuti et al., 2016). However, in current research, optimism is discussed using the term “dispositional optimism” and refers to a generalized, relatively stable tendency to expect good outcomes across important life domains (Scheier and Carver, 2018).

A recent meta-analysis of the effects of dispositional optimism on cardiovascular health (Rozanski et al., 2019) found that in 15 studies comprising more than 200,000, optimism was significantly associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular events and a lower risk of all-cause mortality. Another review of 15 studies focused on optimism and cardiovascular diseases, dispositional optimism is associated with improved cardiovascular health, decreased mortality risk, and better well-being (Boehm et al., 2018). These findings have been reported in populations such as initially healthy community samples, CHD patients, patients with heart failure, and patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery, and patients with heart failure (Huffman et al., 2016; Matthews et al., 2004; Kubzansky et al., 2001; Giltay et al., 2006; Scheier et al., 1999; Kim et al., 2014). In patients with CHD, higher levels of optimism were associated with positive health behaviors such as physical activity (Huffman et al., 2016), and with outcomes such as CHD morbidity and mortality, fewer hospitalizations, improved functional status, and reduced symptoms.

Optimism is suggested to impact both mental health and overall physical health by helping an individual attain goals through influencing cognitions and behaviors. Behavioral mechanisms as well as physiological mechanisms may account for the positive health effects of dispositional optimism. In this regard, health behaviors such as physical activity, diet, and cigarette smoking are associated with dispositional optimism (Boehm et al., 2018). Optimism is also associated with a variety of potential pathophysiological mechanisms such as Reduced inflammation, and better metabolic function, lower blood pressure, and reduced HPA activity during stress (Rozanski et al., 2019).

2.1.1 The Four-Front Approach

To put positive psychology into action in the therapy room, therapists must first begin by taking the stance that all clients have both strengths and weaknesses as well as both opportunities and destructive forces in their environments (Wright and Lopez, 2003). Furthermore, they seek information about their clients on all four of these fronts. Typically, therapists attend to client weaknesses and psychosocial and environmental problems because most clients enter therapy with identified problems or concerns in their lives. Strengths and environmental resources, however, are often overlooked, as they are not as salient as the problems with which clients present. Failure to start the therapeutic process with this belief system intact will likely result in the clinician overlooking completely or failing to utilize fully the strengths and resources of the client. For those who take this stance, however, assessment and thereby client conceptualizations according to this four-front approach become possible.

There are a variety of reasons why therapists may overlook strengths and environmental resources in their work, including issues related to the current assessment system set up by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM; American Psychiatric Association, 2000, which is utilized by many mental health agencies and required by most insurance companies for reimbursement purposes), biases in human thinking, and lack of instruction about the importance of such an approach in the formal training of clinicians. These issues are explored more fully in the following sections.

Conclusion

The emergence of positive psychology at the beginning of the new millennium led to a movement that focused on the constructive approaches to understanding the psychological, social, and contextual factors that impact interpersonal and intergroup conflict. Individuals who manage conflict well in their personal lives and in the workplace can expect to establish and maintain important relationships that are both growth enhancing and rewarding. Conflict is inevitable and dynamic. “Understanding the consequences of destructive conflict and the rewards of positive conflict (winning solutions) offers the opportunity for people to build relationships, empower others, and transform lives….The time is right, and the opportunities are unlimited” (Ryle, 2008, p. 38).