MNGT 360B- Exam 2- Positive Psychology

1st of 4 pivotal moments in Positive Psychology

1934 - Simon Kuznetsk suggests us to create and official statistic for economy (GDP)

2nd of 4 pivotal moments in Positive Psychology

2002- Danny Kahneman, first psychologist to win the Nobel prize in economics- are people irrational or are they really just emotional (emotional economy)

3rd of 4 pivotal moments in Positive Psychology

Jim Clifton- what if we go build those official statistics to understand the emotional side and what it means to make a great life (Gallup World Poll- 150 Countries)

4th of 4 pivotal moments in Positive Psychology

Jeff Sachs, etc. - Visibility in reporting

Question from the World Happiness Report

Rate your life 1-10 where 10 is the best possible life and 1 is the worst possible life

Happiest Country

Finland

Who is newest on the World Happiness Report top 10

Costa Rica and Mexico

Record Low:

Afghanistan, 1.364

Where is the USA

24th

One of the biggest things we see that causes our happiness to decline

being unemployed

one of the biggest correlates of seeing what makes life great

wallet seen as very likely to return (Community)

before the pandemic and three years after the pandemic the entire world started to see an ___ of people with an overwhelming sense of generosity. However there is currently a ____ of people with an overwhelming sense of generosity

increase; decrease

___% of the worlds population did at least one kind thing in the last month

doing nice things helps both the recipient and the doer feel ____

happier

Acts of generosity predict happiness even more than ____

earning a higher salary

When giving people money and telling some to spend it on themselves and some to spend it generously, who feels higher levels of happiness

people assigned to spend generously report feeling higher levels of happiness

an example of an empathy gap

Almost every place drastically underestimated the likelihood of the wallet being returned by a stranger

Dr. Lara Aknin

professor of social psychology at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia and an editor of the World Happiness Report.

Aknin's 3 C's (the best ways to perform benevolent acts to get the boost of happiness)

connect, choice, clear sense of positive impact

Connect (3 C's)

In your kind acts, you should connect with others

Choice (3 C's)

it feels better when you act in a kind or generous way because you want to, not because you feel obligated to do so

Clear sense of positive impact (3 C's)

Doing something you can see the impact of or donating to a cause that you can see the benefit of is likely to give you the most fulfillment

Ron-Levey

managing director of the public sector at Gallup

Even when accounting for household size, eating alone is linked to ____

lower lifestyle satisfaction

One in _____ Americans reported eating all their meals alone the previous day

Four

Why did the USA drop 8 spots?

Young people are struggling

If Gallup only surveyed the oldest age group USA would be

10th

If Gallup only surveyed the youngest age group USA would be

62nd

Jon Clifton

CEO of Gallup

How does gallup survey

go to over 140 countries, 1/3 call them on the phone, 2/3 go into their homes

What is the biggest driver in why people rate their life high

money

1966: The Theory of the Dipper and the Bucket

Don Clifton-the power of positive emotions we, as individuals, are at our best when our buckets are "full and overflowing."

provided tips on how to become better workers, parents, neighbors and citizens basis for How Full Is YourBucket?

Who said "What will happen when we think about what is right with people rather than fixating on what is wrong with them?"

Don Clifton

Father of Strengths-Based Psychology and Grandfather of Positive Psychology

Don Clifton

invited his colleagues across disciplines to visit Lincoln and study "Positive Psychology"

Gallup hosted several summits to gather leading scholars and invest in the next generation of thought leaders

Happy individuals are more likely than their less happy peers to have

fulfilling marriages and relationships, high incomes, superior work performance, community involvement, robust health, and a long life

Traditional View of happiness and success

when i cross that threshold I will be happy

happiness advantage view of happiness and success

happiness leads to success

Stress management approach through the lens of positive psychology

-Make a list of stressors

-Categorize into can and cant control

-Work on one you can control

-Nudges you into a productive positive mindset

Shawn Achor

Author of Happiness Advantage

Sonja Lyubomirsky

Author of The How of Happiness

The How of Happiness sources of happiness

50% - Genetics

40% - Intentional Activity

10% - Circumstances

Barbara L. Fredrickson

Author of "Positivity: Top-Notch Research Reveals the 3 to 1 Ratio That Will Change Your Life"

____% of Americans fall short of the 3-to-1positivity ratio that predicts flourishing

80

Hope is the belief that

the future will be better than the present, and that you have the power it takes to make it so.

Hope is a positive motivational state that:

-Starts with a goal

-Requires agency (goal-directed energy;"the willpower")

-Pursues pathways (planning to meet goals;"the waypower")

Shane J. Lopez

Author of Making Hope Happen

Fred Luthans, Carolyn M Youssef, and Bruce J. Avolio

Authors of "Psychological Capital"

H-(Develop the HERO within)

Hope: Having the will and the way.

E-(Develop the HERO within)

Efficacy: Having confidence and belief.

R-(Develop the HERO within)

Resiliency: Bouncing back and beyond.

O-(Develop the HERO within)

Optimism: Positive attributions and future expectations.

Mihayli Cziksentmahuyli

Author of "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience"

When are you in "Flow"

High Challenge Level and High Skill Level

Arthur C. Brooks

Author of "From Strength to Strength" and "The Art of Happiness"

Fluid intelligence

-Decontextualized ability to solve abstract problems; ability to reason and think flexibly

-Raw smarts, associated with reading and mathematical ability

Crystallized intelligence

-A person's knowledge gained during life by acculturation and learning

-The ability to use a stock of knowledge learned in the past

An Equation for a Happy Life

Happiness Habits = Faith + Family + Friends + Work

Meaningful work involves:

Earning Your Success and Serving Others

David Brooks

Author of "The Second Mountain"

Four Commitments that define a life of meaning and purpose:

1. Spouse and family

2. Vocation

3. Philosophy or faith

4. Community

Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz

Authors of "The Good Life"

What makes for a happy life, a fulfilling life?

Relationships

Tom Rath

Author of "Life's Great Question"

Although Seligman believes that psychology's focus on the "disease model" has had drawbacks, he's also proud of what the field has accomplished over the past 60 years. What does Seligman identify as the main achievements?

-14 disorders are now treatable

-there is a real science around mental illness

-We've been able to make miserable people less miserable

Seligman suggests that extremely happy people differ from the rest of us in one significant way:

they're extremely social

According to Seligman, what are the drawbacks to "the pleasant life" and our experiences of positive emotion?

We get accustomed to it and its effects diminish over time

We can't significantly change our individual capacity to experience positive emotion

How does Seligman define "the meaningful life"?

Using your strengths in the service of something larger than you are

Which countries were surprise entrants into the top 10 happiest countries in the World Happiness Report?

Mexico and Costa Rica

Living in a society with a strong sense of community - measured by a belief that having a lost wallets returned and experiencing acts of generosity - predicts life evaluation even more strongly than doubling of income.

True

What does Shawn Achor believe is the result of studying average cross-sections of groups?

By studying what is average, we will not progress beyond that average

What did Shawn Achor discover in his eight years counseling students at Harvard?

Shortly after beginning their academic careers at Harvard, freshmen began to have a negative focus and lost their initial happiness of getting into the school

Which of the following is NOT a way to train your brain to become more positive?

Setting increasingly higher goals for success

The Happiness Advantage proves that hard work leads to success, which ultimately makes us happy.

False

While circumstances factor into our overall level of subjective well-being, they don't matter as much or as long as people think. We tend to recover relatively quickly from major positive (e.g., winning the lottery) and negative (e.g., the loss of a spouse), returning to our previous baseline.

True

People often feel like they never have enough, largely because they quickly get used to their circumstances and need more to make them happy again.

What term do psychologists use to describe this phenomenon?

hedonic treadmill

What's the secret to satisfaction, according to the Dalai Lama?

We need to learn how to want what we have, not to have what we want in order to get steady and stable satisfaction.

According to Arthur Brooks' research, what makes work meaningful?

serving others and earning your success

Michael Norton's study of lottery winners found which of the following to be true?

lottery winners took on more debt

lottery winners had worse relationships

In a study of personal and prosocial spending with Canadian undergraduate students, Michael Norton found:

people who spent the money on others got happier

people who spent on themselves stayed about the same

Which of the following is the largest source of happiness, according to research?

genetic set point

Martin Seligman

researcher known for work on learned helplessness and learned optimism as well as positive psychology

Consequences of traditional psychology approach

-Psychologists became victimologists

-Ignored improving normal lives and nurturing talent

-Failed to develop interventions for building happiness

Pleasant life

positive emotions and pleasures

Good life

engagement and flow

Meaningful life

using strengths in service of something larger

What is "subjective well-being"

A scientific term for happiness, focusing on overall life satisfaction rather than fleeting moods.

What is the first equation for happiness?

Subjective well-being = Genes + Circumstances + Habits

Why don't circumstances have a lasting effect on happiness?

Due to psychological homeostasis — people adapt quickly to both good and bad changes.

Which component of subjective well-being is most under our control?

Habits

What is the second equation for happiness?

Habits = Faith + Family + Friends + Work

What is the third equation related to happiness?

Satisfaction = What you have ÷ What you want

According to Arthur Brooks, what three elements make up happiness?

Enjoyment, purpose, and satisfaction.

What false sources of happiness does Brooks identify?

Money, fame, power, and social media followers.

What is the "Happiness 401K Plan"?

Daily deposits into faith, family, friends, and work.

What did global Gallup data show about giving money to charity?

In most countries, people who donated to charity reported higher happiness than those who didn't.