Positive Psychology Flashcards

Vocabulary-style flashcards based on lecture notes for Positive Psychology For Dummies, covering key researchers, theories, and skills.

Positive Psychology

The scientific study of what enhances life, focusing on building positive experiences, positive traits, and positive organizations.

Averil Leimon

A leadership psychologist, international business coach, and one of the first people to undertake the Authentic Happiness Coaching programme with Martin Seligman.

Gladeana McMahon

A leading personal development and transformational coach in the UK who co-founded the Association for Coaching.

Martin Seligman

The former President of the American Psychological Association who initiated the scientific study of optimal human functioning.

The Pleasant Life

One of Seligman's three routes to happiness, which focuses on experiencing and maximizing positive emotions.

The Engaged Life

One of Seligman's routes to happiness, where individuals use their strengths to become deeply involved in their activities.

The Meaningful Life

One of Seligman's routes to happiness, involving the use of strengths to serve something larger than oneself.

Barbara Frederickson

Thinking and research professor who developed the broaden and build theory regarding the impact of positive emotions.

Broaden and Build Theory

The theory that positive emotions expand a person's focus and creativity, allowing them to build social, emotional, and intellectual resources.

Easterbrook Paradox

A concept from Gregg Easterbrook’s book noting that happiness levels haven't risen over the last $50$ years despite a higher standard of living.

Hedonic Treadmill

The law of diminishing returns where people must work harder and harder to achieve the same level of satisfaction from material possessions.

Christopher Peterson

A researcher who, along with Martin Seligman, produced the 'Classification of Strengths' to measure human virtues.

Signature Strengths

A set of $6$ clear virtues recognized globally: Wisdom and knowledge, Courage, Love, Justice, Temperance, and Transcendence.

Lord Layard

A researcher from the Centre for Economic Performance at LSE who studied how positive policies in local authorities impact resident wellbeing.

White Water Strategies

The leadership coaching firm founded by Averil Leimon that combines psychology and business knowledge.

£5.2 billion

The estimated annual saving for UK business if staff were properly thanked, as acknowledging achievements is perceived as a $1\%$ pay rise.

Type A

A behavior pattern characterized by being ambitious, driven, impatient, and 'hurry sick,' which is linked to heart disease.

Cortisol

A stress-related hormone released into the system during periods of negative emotions such as anger and stress.

The Nun Study

A longitudinal study of $678$ sisters of Notre Dame that investigated the relationship between emotional positivity and longevity.

$$6.9\text{ years}$$

The difference in lifespan found in the nun study between the most positive nuns and the least positive nuns.

David Snowdon

The researcher from the University of Kentucky who led the longitudinal study on the School Sisters of Notre Dame.

Resilience

The ability to bounce back from adversity, characterized by $7$ learnable skills including causal analysis and impulse control.

Self-efficacy

A skill of resilience that involves knowing one’s own strengths and using them to cope with difficult situations.

Reaching Out

A resilience skill involving the willingness to take appropriate risks and try new solutions rather than repeating old mistakes.

AIMing for Happiness

A three-step process proposed by Ed Diener for achieving wellbeing, consisting of Attending, Interpreting, and Memorising.

Ed Diener

Known as the JR Smiley Professor of Psychology at the University of Illinois, he focuses on the mechanics of health and wellbeing.

Social Comparison

A tendency of unhappy people to compare themselves with others and feel distressed if they perceive themselves as inferior.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

A psychological approach developed by Albert Ellis and Tim Beck that focuses on challenging faulty thinking patterns.

Over-generalising

A common thinking error where a single negative event is interpreted as a total disaster or failure.

Catastrophising

A thinking error where a person predicts the extreme worst-case scenario, such as viewing a single poor presentation as the end of a career.

Savouring

The practice of taking time to notice, enjoy, and extract the maximum pleasure from small, everyday incidents.

Flow

A state of optimal experience and being 'in the zone' that occurs during active and demanding tasks.

Gratification

The deep satisfaction that comes from reaching a goal through effort and the ability to delay immediate rewards.

Causal Analysis

A skill of resilience that involves looking at problems from all angles to understand the various factors at work.

Impulse Control

The ability to tolerate uncertainty and keep calm, taking time to think before behaving rashly in stressful situations.