POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY: (W25):

‘fix-what’s-wrong’ → main mission: assessment, understanding + treatment (problem managing + healing)

  • advances in illnesses leads to the dependence of treatment

  • ‘build-what’s-strong’ → compliments above approach

    • problems + positive emotions, managing + promoting, healing + flourishing

HISTORY:

  • early philosophy = Ancient Greece → good life related to hedonism (pleasure as base component), eudaimonia (pursuing strenghts, living well)

  • humanistic psychology = Rogers (1961) - health + creativity to discover true self, Maslow’s hierach + self-actualisation

  • contemporary = Bnadura, self-efficacy, broad concepts of intelligence

  • positive psychology = study of positive experiences + positive traits, and helping develop them

DIMENSIONS:

  • subjective = positive states + emotions

  • individual = positive traits + behaviour

  • group/society = positive institutions

    • all needed for flourishing dimensions of life

HAPPINESS:

  • INDIVIDUALISTIC: HEDONISM:

    • seeking pleasure, comfort, freedom from worries, maintaining balance

    • subjective well-being, positive emotions + satisfaction

  • COLLECTIVIST: EUDAIMONISM:

    • pursuing complex goals, achieve continuous growth for higher reason (meaningful to individual + society)

    • happiness as an ongoing process

SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING:

  • ‘a persons cognitive + affective evaluations of their life’

  • individual evaluation of life is essential to thier definition of a good life → dependent on own standards

  • self-report methods:

    • positive + negative attitude scale (PANAS)

      • assess positive + negative states

    • satisfaction with life scale (SWLS)

      • evaluates the degree of satisfaction with life

PREDICTORS OF SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING:

  • TOP-DOWN APPROACH:

    • extraversion + agreeableness, negatively correlated with neuroticism

    • self-esteem, mindfulness + LOC

  • BOTTOM-UP APPROACH:

    • wealthier nations (blue zones), bigger impact of money in poorer areas

BLUE ZONES: FLOURISHING:

  • ultimate target - it goes beyond well-being and happiness

  • living a good life - multidimensional concept

  • PERMA model =

    • Positive emotions (past, present + future)

    • Engagement

    • Relationships (support)

    • Meaning (serving something bigger, e.g. religion)

    • Achievement

  • can be cultivated + improved

  • promotes resilience

CHARACTER STRENGTHS:

  • 24 core strengths

  • identifying strengths leads to = higher self-confidence, productivity, bigger liklihood to achieve goals

FLOW - BEING ‘IN THE ZONE’:

  • interviewed over 200 people, involved in tasks with unlimited time but no rewards

    • gave rich + compellings descriptions of the moment

  • centring on attention, feeling control + happiness

  • flow reported in unhealthy activities → like gambling, internet disorders

MEASURING/UNDERSTANDING FLOW:

  • self-report flow scales = trait + state, gaming, physical activity

  • how people think during their daily lives

  • randomly assessed through a normal week

MINDFULNESS:

  • ‘awareness that arrives when paying attention, on purpose, to the present moment + not judging’

  • qualities = non-judging, patience, trust + acceptance, letting go

BENEFITS:

  • healthier eating behaviours, lowered stress + anxiety

  • better attention + memory

APPLICATION:

EDUCATION:

  • PERMAH (health) sleep, exercise, diet

  • VIA systems → people aware of strengths develop more self-confidence + self-awareness

  • 10-12 year olds - learn positive psychology = lower depression + anxiety rates

CLINICAL:

  • reducing symptoms is only part of the solution → root of illness + happiness

  • strength-based therapy = psychotherapy based on internal strengths

  • mindfulness based stress therapy (MBST, MBCT)

WORKPLACE:

  • psychological capita (PSYCAP) = improves health + perforemance

    • can be developed, hope, self-efficacy

  • strength-based leadership, wellness, innovative behaviour

CRIMINOLOGY: