Introducing Positive Psychology



Positive Psychology is the scientific study of the factors which make life worth living, be it a normal life or the life of people receiving healthcare or people who are into any kind of therapy. Positive Psychologists study the characteristics, conditions and processes which lead to flourishing of people. Positive Psychology has its roots in humanistic psychology. Humanistic Psychology typically held that people are inherently good. It adopted a holistic approach to human existence and paid special attention to such phenomena as creativity, free will, and human potential. It encouraged viewing ourselves as a "whole person" greater than the sum of our parts and suggested self exploration rather than the study of behavior in other people.

However, Positive Psychology has drifted away from the humanistic approach and instead focused on discovering empirical evidence for thriving and flourishing. It is not merely focused on evidence but on applications which can help people thrive and be happy. In fact, Positive Psychology is being referred to as,”Science of Flourishing” or the "Science of Well-being"

Brief History

Positive Psychology has its origins credited to the University of Pennsylvania in the US, where there exists a Positive Psychology Center. Professor Martin Seligman, professor of Psychology in the University effectively started the first debate on this new philosophy when he stated this in his inaugural address as a President of the American Psychological Association. Henceforth, many more academicians and practitioners started doing further research on this area.

 

Interestingly, the starting of Positive Psychology has an anecdote related to the life of Seligman. In 1995, an important conversation with his daughter, Nikki, helped change the direction of his research. While weeding in the garden, Seligman became perturbed and yelled at his daughter. In a keynote address to the North Carolina Psychological Association, Seligman described how his daughter sternly reminded him that she had not whined once since she had vowed to give up whining on her fifth birthday. If she was capable of giving up whining, she reasoned, her father should be able to “stop being a grouch.". His daughter, in effect had imbibed a positive emotion of deciding not to whine and this instigated Martin’s thoughts which finally culminated in the start of the positive psychology movement.

 

Basic concepts in Positive Psychology

 

Understanding Happiness and how it can help people live a normal life is the main thrust area of Positive Psychology. Martin Seligman, one of the leading researchers in positive psychology and author of Authentic Happiness, describes happiness as having three parts: pleasure, engagement, and meaning. Pleasure is the “feel good” part of happiness. Engagement refers to living a “good life” of work, family, friends, and hobbies. Meaning refers to using our strengths to contribute to a larger purpose. Seligman says that all three are important, but that of the three, engagement and meaning make the most difference to living a happy life.

Positive Psychologists have taken a lot of inspiration from Aristotle and eudemonic well being. According to Aristotle, merely pursuing pleasure is vulgar. He advocated eudemonism because he believed that true happiness is found in doing what is worth doing, not in merely having a good time. Eudemonic 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 greater than ourselves.

Seligman initially referred to Positive Psychology as a "Science of Happiness" but in his later narratives, he started using the term "well-being". Happiness is in a way, a narrow construct of defining what makes our life fulfilling while well-being has more elements to it. He coined a Theory of well-being, also known as the PERMA Model


PERMAis an acronym for Positive Emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning and Accomplishment). According to this model, if an individual is able to identify his/her PERMA and is able to enhance each and every element in a sustained fashion, he/she can create a flourishing life. 

In this blog, we will explain all the factors of PERMA in forthcoming posts

positivepsychologyindia.org is the blogging platform for The International Institute of Positive Psychology (www.iipp-edu.org). If you are interested to enroll in distance learning programs in Positive Psychology, please click here

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  4. Even if you were unaware of the positive psychology movement prior to this, you may have come across his name at some time. The well-known psychological theory of "learned helplessness," which has been supported by decades of research, was founded on Seligman's work in the 1960s and 1970s. This theory explains how humans and animals can learn to become helpless and feel they have lost control over what happens to them. Seligman made a connection between this behavior and depression, observing that many depressed persons also experience a sense of helplessness. His research on the issue inspired, generated, and supported several therapies for depressed symptoms as well as preventative measures for depression.

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