positive psych exam 4 (final)

transcendence

psychologically moving beyond ordinary status of awareness

human capacity of thought and experience

self-transcendence

people’s abilities to surmount their own egocentric concerns

(move beyond a state of themselves to something larger)

2 domains of transcendence

1. meaning and purpose in life

2. religion and spirituality

when you do meaningful things…

a meaningful life comes after

(you don’t need a meaningful life first to do meaningful things)

meaning

subjective sense that the world is orderly, predictable, and has patterns

a cognitive experience

purpose

aspirations and objectives that guide our lives in a particular direction

a motivational experience

significance

subjective appraisal of degree to which our lives matter

an evaluative experience

when does developing meaning in life begin?

in adolescence as one starts to question their identity

younger adults tend to gain meaning through…

pursuit of future goals

older adults tend to gain meaning by…

reflecting on past accomplishments

steger, et al (2009) study on meaning throughout the lifespan

online study with 8,756 participants in 4 developmental age categories

1. emerging adulthood (18-24)

2. young adulthood (25-44)

3. middle age (45-64)

4. older adulthood (65+)

gave meaning in life questionaire (MLQ), which measured search for and presence of meaning

findings:

• presence of meaning scores were lower among younger participants and higher among participants in later life stages

• search for meaning scores were higher among younger participants and lower among older participants

• classic interaction

victor frankl’s views on meaning

“one should not search for an abstract meaning of life”

searching for meaning is not a path to well-being

instead, meaning in life should emerge as a side effect of active engaging with valued goals and activities in everyday life

(engagement first, meaning comes after- similar to behavioral activation where action comes first, positive emotions comes after)

steger et all (2009) + frankl’s views

results of the study support the claim

greater search scores on the MLQ were correlated with lower psychological well-being

greater presence scores on the MLQ were correlated with higher well being

we should aim to finding meaning in the present moment

religion

fixed system of ideas, beliefs, or ideological commitments

spirituality

personal, subjective and transcendent experience

a bit more flexible/individual

why do we group religion + spirituality together in research

to remove bias of either one being good or bad

many people experience both simultaneously

measures often overlap

intrinsic religious orientation

sincerely believing in one’s religion and living life accordingly

“ends religiousity”

extrinsic religious orientation

religion as a means to other ends- using it to pursue goals like status, social connection, or personal success

“means religiosity”

quest religious orientation

treating religion as a search for answers rather than a set of already answered questions

culture + transcendence

ability to transcend and connect with something larger than oneself exists across all cultures

between group variation: thailand more likely to identify with Buddhism; italy more likely to be Catholic

within-group variation: in us, several groups consider themselves as Christian

religion & well-being: cultural restrictions hayward and elliot (2014)

world values survey with 317,109 participants from 88 nations

results:

• religiosity was positively correlated with self-report happiness and physical health

• but, in cohesively religious groups-high restriction of personal and religious freedom linked to lower levels of happiness (ex: China represses many religions)

nuanced/critical view of positive psych

positive emotional experiences, well-being and resilience contribute to personal inner peace, but may also have negative consequences for other individuals, communities, and nations

goal of positive peace psychology

to foster well-being and resilience at the “global community” level

to promote peace in the wider world starting by kindness, prosocial behavior, etc at a smaller level

what is peace psychology?

a subdiscipline that seeks to understand psychology and social factors that contribute to conflict and violence, promoting peaceful relationships and societies

what is peace?

the absence or minimization of violence and the presence of harmonious relationships

what does a peaceful society value

harmony, happiness, freedom, love, well-being, life satisfaction

negative peace

absence of harm to humans by the intentional use of force

positive peace

absence of harm to humans by unjust structures, promoting political, social, and economic structures that enable us to flourish and fulfill our potential

“the dark side of happiness”

personal happiness may lead to self-centered, low empathy views that underestimate danger or risks for the self/other people

one person/group’s flourishing might harm other people/put others down

hurtful people can still achieve a pleasant, good, meaningful life

logotherapy

• victor frankl

• people have a will to meaning; a deep need to find meaning

• meaning exists objectively in the world and is found through acting on values

• creative, experimental, attitudinal values, existential vaccuum

terror management theory (TMT)

• jeff greenberg, tom pyszcynski, sheldon solomon

• people have the cognitive capacity to realize that they will eventually die, a thought that can provoke terror

• when people behave in ways considered meaningful in their culture, they experience self-esteem and are buffered against terror associated with mortality. thus, meaning is relative, differing by culture

• terror, culture, self-esteem

sense of coherence (SOC)

• aaron antonovsky

• people seek to establish a sense of coherence in order to cope and achieve desired outcomes in life

• people establish a sense of coherence by attempting to comprehend and manage their enviornments in order to pursue personally meaningful ends

• comprehensibility, manageability, meaningfulness

four needs for meaning

• roy f baumeister

• there is no single reason people seek meaning. instead, people have four basic needs for meaning

• people answer the question “who am I'“ by connecting their pasts, presents, futures, and diverse roles, values, skills into life stories centering around four needs for meaning

• four needs: purpose, value, efficacy, self-worth

conflict theory phases

1. nonviolent intergroup conflict

2. organized intergroup violence

3. post violence

nonviolent conflict phase

opportunity to:

• constructively manage the conflict

• engage in complex reasoning

• arrive at mutually beneficial agreements

• build a relationship of understanding

now is the time to address a problem

can be applied to domestic violence, family conflict, criminal justice, etc

its preventative

• must address both proximal (here and now) and root (systemtic, organizational, etc) causes of conflict

organized intergroup violence

peace psych reacts by identifiying conditions of ripeness (chances to deescalate violence and engage the other)

stop the harm and get away

3 components:

1. motivational to escape the conflict

2. optimism about the possibility of reaching a mutually acceptable agreement through negotation

3. pressure to negotiate exerted by powerful third parties

post violence phase

peace psych can be clinical- uses interventions (ptsd, depression, grief, etc)

building intergroup trust, cooperation, forgiveness, reconcilation, and social cohesion are goals to stop violence cycles

connecting positive and peace psych

• key: resilience

• resilience is both personal and enviornmental

• both risk and protective factors reside within the person or in the enviornment

community resilience

ability of a community to establish, maintain, or regain expected or satisfactory level of community capacity in the face of adversity and positive challenge

reccomendations from cohrs et al (2013)

greater consideration of national and global well being in positive psychology

community resilence (global, etc)

global resilience

concern for the well being of other individuals, families, groups, communities, nations

includes those who face oppression

pathways to peace (niemiec, 2024)

• positive and peace psych links remain elusive

• via character strengths proposed as a link

• pilot study with over 25,000 people

• strategies for using strengths across levels of peace discussed

what character strengths were in the top 10 across all three levels for peace study

perspective, kindness, honesty

peace psych is thriving

• dedicated journals

• 2000 published artickes

• APA division

• peace centers at universities

construct of harmony

• inner peace

• balance

• contentment

• psychophysical well-being

peace is too idealisitic

counter:

• approach peace realisitically

• no one answer to creating peace, but there are factors that support peace and help us overcome conflict

peace seems amorphous

counter:

• it is complex, but

• we can identify types of peace (positive, negative, etc)

• we can identify levels of peace (personal, relational, intragroup) which can be scientifically understood

• we can use level, type, context to inform necessary actions and protocols

peace can be solved permanently/its all encompassing

counter:

• all or nothing thinking obstructs progress

• peace is transitory- periods of peace dont get rid of it forever

• peace can be found in moments and created by experiences

• peace is mindset, intervention, emotion, behavior, etc that we use in times of need

• tool to adapt to the natural occurance of conflict

peace is only attainable for the economically advantaged/ fortunate

counter:

• peace is universal, cross cultural

• can be purused globally

• unifies humans

• its for everyone

peace is outdated/ left over from war generations

counter:

• negative peace focuses on reducing violences, and thats still relevant today

• peace expands to positive peace too, not just concrete/short terms goals of reducing violence

• focus on building collobration, equity, harmony, strengths

peace is inactive, soft, weak, static, not forward thinking

counter:

• its the opposite

• related to active and engaged present moment focus and staying calm under pressure

• goal oriented, hopeful, firm tough minded

• takes courage, thought, activity

character strengths and peace: 3 levels

1. character strengths: each of the 24 has a capacity to contribute in a meaningful way toward peace

2. unique character profile: person uses their most authentic and understood qualities to increase harmony in life

3. integration of character strengths: combining two strengths may be synerigisitic (more positive effect than one alone)

misuse of character strengths

intentionally using strengths to manipulate or harm another person or group

ex: creativity to develop new ways to charge consumers extra banking fees

pilot study

sample and procedure

• convience sample of people taking VIA inventory of strengths (via survey) online a question about character strengths and peace

character strengths across three levels of peace importance to categories of peace

personal/inner peace, relational peace, negative peace

reltional peace

harmony in close relationships

negative peace in via study

mangement of diffrences/conflict

inner peace via study

harmony in balance within yourself