Positive psychology is a recent branch of scientific psychology that "studies the strengths

and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive.” People have been

discussing the question of human happiness since at least Ancient Greece.

Martin Seligman, who is considered as "the father of positive psychology" has pointed

out how psychology has been primarily dedicated to addressing mental illness rather than

mental "wellness" (Seligman, 2002). Several humanistic psychologists—such as

Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, and Erich Fromm—developed successful theories and

practices that involved human happiness, despite a lack of solid empirical evidence at the

time behind their work, and especially that of their successors, who chose to emphasize

phenomenology and individual case histories. Positive psychology refers to cultivation of

a more appreciative view of human nature. It advises psychologists to scientifically study

the positive qualities, motives and capacities of human beings. It came into being as a

protest against the predominant negative bias of traditional psychology.

General overview

Some researchers (Seligman, 2002) in this field posit that positive psychology can be

delineated into three overlapping areas of research:

Research into the Pleasant Life or the "life of enjoyment" examines how people

optimally experience, forecast, and savor the positive feelings and emotions that

are part of normal and healthy living (e.g. relationships, hobbies, interests,

entertainment, etc.).

The study of the Good Life or the "life of engagement" investigates the beneficial

affects of immersion, absorption, and flow that individuals feel when optimally

engaged with their primary activities. These states are experienced when there is a

positive match between a person's strength and the task they are doing, i.e. when

they feel confident that they can accomplish the tasks they face.

Inquiry into the Meaningful Life or "life of affiliation" questions how individuals

derive a positive sense of well-being, belonging, meaning, and purpose from

being part of and contributing back to something larger and more permanent than

themselves (e.g. nature, social groups, organizations, movements, traditions,

belief systems).

History of Positive Psychology

Psychology overall has had a rocky history of studying the good aspects of life. Seligman

(2005) writes, “Before World War II, psychology had three distinct missions: curing

mental illness, making the lives of all people more productive and fulfilling, and

identifying and nurturing high talent.” But after the war, the latter two missions – making

lives more fulfilling and nurturing talent – fell away, and curing mental illness became

the primary and almost entire mission of practicing and academic psychologists.

(Psychology’s focus switched to mental illness for two strong economic reasons – in

1946, the Veterans Administration was founded and psychologists started to practice by

counseling post-war veterans, and in 1947, the National Institute of Mental Health was

founded and academic psychologists learned that grants were more forthcoming to

studies of pathology and mental illness.)The “positive” in Positive Psychology refers to

strengths, optimal functioning, and flourishing. Gable and Haidt (2005) write, “However,

positive psychology does not imply that the rest of psychology is negative, although it is

understandable that the name may imply that to some people.” Seligman and

Csikszentmihalyi (2000) and Seligman (2005) say, and as Shapiro (2001) further

emphasizes, there were many predecessors to the idea of studying positive psychology.

Not only did Aristotle and other Greek philosophers lay out the groundwork thoughts of

what Positive Psychology still regards as the foundation of the good life and happiness,

but also past APA presidents Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow had focused on what

makes people be at their best. Abraham Maslow actually coined the term Positive

Psychology when he used it as chapter title in his 1954 book, Motivation and Personality.

In short, as Peterson (2006) writes, Positive Psychology has a very short history (less than

a decade) and a very long past. Peterson further describes some studies of the Greeks, the

Eastern philosophers including Confucius and Lao-Tsu, the religious figures who

advocate a life of meaning and service to others, Rogers and Maslow, Neill, Albee,

Cowan, Bandura, Winner, Gardner, Sternberg, and many others who studied the best in

people long before 1998. Psychology is not just the study of weakness and damage; it is

also the study of strength and virtue. Treatment is not just fixing what is broken; it is

nurturing what is best within us. Positive psychology science and practice are situated for

the identification and understanding of human strength and virtues as well as for helping

people to live happier and more productive lives.

Why a Positive Psychology Movement, and Why Now?

Why do we need a movement in positive psychology? The answer is straightforward.

The science of psychology has made great strides in understanding what goes wrong in

individuals, families, groups, and institutions, but these advances have come at the cost of

understanding what is right with people. For example, clinical psychology has made

excellent progress in diagnosing and treating mental illnesses and personality disorders

(e.g., American Psychiatric Association, 1994). Researchers in social psychology have

conducted groundbreaking studies on the existence of implicit prejudice and negative

outcomes associated with low self-esteem (e.g., Josephs, Bosson, & Jacobs, 2003;

Wittenbrink, Judd, & Park, 1997). Health psychology has shown us the detrimental

effects that environmental stressors have on our physiological systems (e.g., Dickerson &

Kemeny, 2004). And cognitive psychology has illuminated the many biases and errors

involved in our judgments (e.g., Gilovich, Vallone, & Tversky, 1985). These are all

important findings in our field, but it is harder to locate corresponding work on human

strengths and virtues.2

So why has our field been so much more interested in foibles than in strengths? We see

three reasons. The first is compassion. Those who are suffering should be helped before

those who are already doing well. We certainly agree with this notion; however, we also

think that an understanding of human strengths can actually help prevent or lessen the

damage of disease, stress, and disorder. For example, research on coping has

demonstrated that appraisals of negative life events that put them into perspective with

one’s own capabilities for meeting the challenge mediate the actual experience of distress

(e.g., Folkman & Lazarus, 1988). And Taylor and colleagues (Taylor, Kemeny, Reed,

Bower, & Gruenwald, 2000) have provided per-assuasive evidence that beliefs such as

optimism and a sense of personal control are protective factors for psychological and

physical health.

2 One can point to inspiring work such as the jigsaw classroom of Aronson, Blaney,

Stephan, Sikes, and Snapp (1978), which brought out the best in students, but such cases

are few and far between.

Western Perspective on Positive Psychology:

Hope has been a powerful underlying force in Western civilization. Although

hope has remarkable and pervasive power, we are often unaware of its presence. Perhaps

this is because hope is embedded in many related ideas. The story pf Pandora box

revealed the Greek’s attitude towards hope. The presence of hope in religion (of Western

civilization) is illustrated in bible at many places, e.g.

" ...... there was hope that creation itself would one day be set free from its slavery to

decay and would share the glorious freedom of the children of God: (Romans 8:18,

20,21)

During the Pre Renaissance and Renaissance period people began to view themselves as

individuals rather than as representatives of a class and interest emerged in the merits of

personal achievement led to focus on doing things related to life and unlike Medieval

people, who searched their soul, Renaissance citizens looked outward and forward to

achieve here and now goals that were based on their abilities and personal interests.

Industrial revolution made the hope of the Renaissance possible for most people through

development and easy living.

Hedonist Philosopher Epicurus Was Right about Happiness (Mostly)

"If a little is not enough for you, nothing is." --Epicurus

Philosophers down the ages have been keen to tell the rest of us how to live and how

to be happy. Certainly their advice comes to us with the luster of intellectual

achievement; it is both high-brow and high-powered, but can we understand any of it

and how does it fare against modern psychological research?

Eastern Perspectives on Positive Psychology.

How to Be Happy, Confucian Style

"The one who would be in constant happiness must frequently change." --

Confucius

in China two and half thousand years ago one man, Kong Qui, and his followers,

synthesized the traditions of the Chinese people to create what they believed were

the fundamental principles of humanity. Of course what Westerners now call

Confucianism has changed over the years, just like the other major philosophies that

have flourished in the East: Buddhism and Taoism. But to have survived this long,

these systems of thought must have at their cores a useful set of principles that help

people live the 'good life'.

The concept of a good life has existed within the eastern tradition for many centuries.

Contrary to the western cultures idea of optimal functioning as occurring

intrapsychically, eastern cultures hold that an optimal life experience is a spiritual

journey involving transcendence and enlightenment. It parallels the westerner’s

hopeful pursue for a better life on earth.

Buddhism: Seeking the good of others is woven throughout the teachings of “The

master” or “The Enlighten one” “that is the Buddha. Like the other eastern

philosophies Buddhism gives an important place to virtue, which is described in

several catalogues of personal qualities.

Hinduism: The main teachings of the Hindu tradition emphasize the

interconnectedness of all things. The idea of a harmonious union among all

individuals is woven throughout the teachings of Hinduism that refer to a single

unifying principle underlying all the earth.

Topics Studied in Positive Psychology

Martin Seligman and Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi wrote that positive psychology is the

study of positive subjective experiences, positive traits, and positive institutions. Peterson

writes, “Positive psychology is the scientific study of what goes right in life, from birth to

death and at all stops in between.”

INDIVIDUALS:

What is the purpose of positive emotions such as joy, awe, happiness? (Fredrickson,

Haidt, Isen)

What are the inherent positive strengths of people? (Peterson, Park, Seligman)

What makes people happy? (Diener, Myers, Seligman)

How can people be happier? (Lyubomirsky, Peterson)

How can people make great decisions? (Gilbert)

Does happiness lead to success or success to happiness? (Diener, Lyubomirsky,

King)

What can people do to live long, healthy lives?

How can people use self-talk to succeed? (Seligman, Reivich, Gillham)

WORK:

How can people do what they most enjoy and do best at work? (Clifton, Rath)

How can people get more involved in their activities? (Csikszentmihalyi,

Nakamura)

How can one’s work be a calling, a career, or a job? (Wriznewski)

How can people use appreciative inquiry at work? (Cooperrider)

The study of Positive Psychology is just beginning, and so the topics and main areas of

focus can certainly change in a large way and very quickly.

Building strength, Resilience and Health in young people.

But an underlying question remains: How can we prevent problems like

depression, substance abuse, schizophrenia, AIDS, or injury in young people who are

genetically vulnerable or who live in worlds that nurture these problems? It has

discovered that there is a set of human strengths that are the most likely buffers against

mental illness: Courage, optimism, interpersonal skills, work ethic, hope, honesty and

perseverance. Much of the task of prevention will be to create a science of human

strength whose mission will be to foster these virtues in young people. Positive

psychology believes that a mindful approach to everyday living will reveals then power

of positive emotions and human strengths and healthy processes which are Life

Enhancement Strategies. These strategies help attain life's three most important

outcomes: connecting with others, pursuing meaning and experiencing some degree of

pleasure and satisfaction. Specifically love, work and play have been referred to as three

great realms of life (Seligman, 1998e). Freud defined normalcy as the capacity to love,

work and play and psychological researches have referred to this capacity as "mental

health" (Cederblad, Dahlin, Hagnell & Hansson 1995). Developmental researches have

described these as normal tasks associated with human growth (Icard, 1996) and as keys

to successful aging (Vaillant 1994).

Happiness & Joy:

Understanding and facilitating happiness and subjective well- being is the central;

objective of positive psychology (Seligman 2002). Thus it complements rather than

replaces traditional clinical psychology. Seligman (2002) classified positive emotions

into three categories: those associated with past, present and the future. Joy appears to

open us up to many new thoughts and behaviors, where as negative emotions dampen our

ideas and actions. Joy increases our; likelihood of behaving positively towards other

people, help develop more positive relationships and induces playfulness.

Subjective Well-being:

Subjective wellbeing involves the subjective evaluation of ones current status in the

world. Diener (2002) defines subjective well being as a combination of positive affect (in

the absence of negative affect) and general life satisfaction (i.e. subjective appreciation of

life’s rewards).

Self-efficacy:

Bandura (1997) defines self-efficacy as people’s beliefs in their capabilities to produce

desired effects by their own actions. Maddux (2002) describes self-efficacy as “what I

believe I can do with my skills under certain conditions.”

Self efficacy is a learned human pattern of thinking. It begins in infancy and continues

throughout the life span. It is based on the premises of social cognitive theory which

holds that humans actively shape their lives rather than passively reacting to

environmental factors.

Learned Optimism:

Abramson, Seligman and Teasdale (1978) define learned optimism as the adaptive causal

attributions to explain negative experiences or events. The optimist makes external

variable and specific attributions for failure like events rather than internal stable and

global attributions of the pessimist. Seligman places great emphasis upon negative

outcomes in determining one’s attributional explanations.

Hope:

Snyder defines hope as goal directed thinking in which the person utilizes path ways

thinking (the perceived capacity to find routes to desired goals) and agency thinking (the

requisite motivations to use other routes). Pathways thinking have been shown to relate to

the production of alternate routes when original ones are blocked for example positive

self talk. High hopers have positive emotional sets and a sense of zest that stems from

their histories of success in goal pursues, where a low hopers have negative emotional

sets and a sense of emotional flatness that stems from their histories of having failed in

goal pursues.

Wisdom and Courage:

Wisdom and courage both exemplify human excellence; they involve challenge they

require sound decision making, and they typically contribute to the common good.

According to some theorists wisdom and intelligence are similar. Intelligence provides

the basic knowledge for accomplishing daily life supporting tasks for oneself and others,

whereas wisdom includes know how judgment and flexibility to resolve major life

problems for the common good.

Courage is a core human virtue comprised of such strengths as valor (taking physical,

intellectual and emotional stances in the face of danger), authenticity (representing one’s

self to others and the self in a sincere fashion), enthusiasm/zest (thriving/ having a sense

of vitality in a challenging situation), and industry/perseverance (undertaking tasks and

challenges and finishing them) (Peterson & Seligman, 2004).

Mindfulness:

It is a flexible state of mind openness to novelty, a process of actively drawing novel

distinctions. When we are mindful we become sensitive context and perspective, we are

situated in the present. When we are mindless we are trapped in rigid mindsets oblivious

to context and perspective and our behavior is rule and routine governed (Langer, 2002).

Mindfulness develops meditation that is the development of deep inside into the nature of

mental processes, consciousness, identity and reality and the development of optimal

states of psychological well-being and consciousness.

Flow: in search of Absorption

When people are engaged in challenging but controllable tasks that are intrinsically

motivating they experience a unique psychological state referred to as flow. For flow

experiences to occur we must have a good chance of completing these tasks. There must

be clear goals and immediate feedbacks. These tasks require total concentration so we

become deeply and effortlessly involved in them so much so that we no longer think of

worries and frustrations of everyday life. Our sense of sense disappears when involved in

these tasks and paradoxically the sense of self emerges as strengthened after the task is

completed. Time perception is altered during flow experiences. Flow experiences may

occur during reading, sports, involvement in creative arts and music or involvement in

certain types of works.

Prosocial behavior:

Prosocial behavior includes the following:

Empathy

Egotism

Altruism

Gratitude

Forgiveness

Empathy: Empathy is an emotional response to the perceived plight of another person.

Egotism: Egotism is the motive to pursue some sort of personal gain or benefit through

targeted behavior.

Altruism: Altruism is behavior that is aimed at benefiting another person.

Gratitude: Gratitude is showing feelings of being obliged. It emerges upon recognizing

that one has obtained a positive outcome from another individual.

Forgiveness: Forgiveness is a freeing from a negative attachment to the source that has

transgressed against a person. Forgiveness reflects increases in pro-social motivation

towards another person.

Attachment, Love and Flourishing Relationships:

We see people from all walks of life, which talks about feelings of loneliness, a sense of

alienation, stem from relationships that have soured. When our basic needs of love,

belongingness and perfection are not met, we feel lonely and worthless. Attachment, love

and flourishing relationships are stressed by positive psychology. Attachment and love

are necessary components of flourishing relationships but they are not sufficient for

maintenance of such relationships. It must be accompanied by what we refer to as

purposeful positive relationship behaviors.

Attachment is a process that probably starts during the first moment of an infant’s life. It

is the emotional link that forms between a child and a caregiver, and it physically binds

people together over time. Maladaptive parental behaviors (chaotic unplanned attempts to

meet a child’s needs) inconsistency in responses to children and insecure attachment

system leads to frustration and anxiety that hurdle flourishing relationships and positive

love.

In the field of close relationships, many studies have examined how couples respond to

each other’s misfortune (e.g., social support) or bad relation-ship behavior (e.g., criticisms

and infidelities), but little is known about how couples respond to each other’s triumphs

(e.g., savoring positive events) or good relationship behavior (e.g., compliments and

displays of affection; see Reis & Gable, 2003). And there are volumes of work examining

how couples and families resolve conflict but very few studies examining them having

fun and laughing together. In the area of morality, there are thousands of published studies

on the negative moral emotions.

Classifications and Measurements of Human Strengths and Positive

Outcomes.

In the 21st century, two classifications of illness have attained the world wide acceptance.

First the world health organization’s International Classification of Diseases (ICD) in 10th

edition and second American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual

(DSM) and DSM –iv- TR. But currently no classification of human strengths or positive

outcomes has achieved worldwide use or acceptance.

Positive psychology is the scientific study of positive experiences and positive individual

traits, and the institutions that facilitate their development. A field concerned with well-

being and optimal functioning, positive psychology aims to broaden the focus of clinical

psychology beyond suffering and its direct alleviation. The proposed conceptual

framework parses happiness into three domains: pleasure, engagement, and meaning. For

each of these constructs, there are now valid and practical assessment tools appropriate

for the clinical setting. Additionally, mounting evidence demonstrates the efficacy and

effectiveness of positive interventions aimed at cultivating pleasure, engagement, and

meaning. We contend that positive interventions are justifiable in their own right.

Positive interventions may also usefully supplement direct attempts to prevent and treat

psychopathology and, indeed, may covertly be a central component of good

psychotherapy as it is done now. Some classifications and measures however have been

created, refined and broadly disseminated in the last decade.

These three classification systems are as follows.

1. 34 Clifton Strengths Finder Themes:

Over his 50- year career at University of Nebraska, Selection Research Incorporated and

The Gallup Organization Donald Clifton studied success across a wide variety of

business and education domains and identified about three dozen themes of talent

involving enduring positive human qualities and developed an online measure of strength

fining. He selected items on the basis of construct, criterion and content validity and in

1999 launched it. The themes he used are as follows:

Achiever

Activator

Adaptability

Analytical

Arranger

Belief

Command

Connectedness

Consistency

Context

Deliberative

Developer

Discipline

Empathy

Harmony

Ideation

Includer

Individualization

Input

Intellection

Learner

Relator

Responsibility

Restorative

Self-Assurance

Significance

Strategic

Woo

Communication

Competition

Focus

Futuristic

Maximizer

Positivity

2. The Values in Action (VIA) Clasification of Strengths (Peterson & Seligman, 2004)

The VIA Signature Strength Survey is a 240 question survey that has been taken by

hundreds of thousands of people. The VIA Signature Strengths Survey measures 24

character strengths that are taken from Character Strengths and Virtues: The 24 character

strengths are listed below. The results page will show you your 5 greatest character

strengths.

Creativity (originality, ingenuity): Thinking of novel and productive ways to

conceptualize and do things.

Curiosity (interest, novelty-seeking, openness to experience): Taking an interest in

ongoing experience s for its own sake; exploring and discovering

Open-mindedness (judgment, critical thinking): Thinking things through and

examining them from all sides; weighing all evidence fairly.

Love of learning: Mastering new skills, topics, and bodies of knowledge, whether on

one’s own or formally.

Perspective (wisdom): Being able to provide wise counsel to others; having ways of

looking at the world that make sense to oneself and to other people

Bravery (valor): Not shrinking from threat, challenge, difficulty, or pain; acting on

convictions even if unpopular.

Persistence (perseverance, industriousness): Finishing what one starts; persisting in a

course of action in spite of obstacles.

Integrity (authenticity, honesty): Presenting oneself in a genuine way; taking

responsibility for one’s feeling and actions

Vitality (zest, enthusiasm, vigor, energy): Approaching life with excitement and

energy; feeling alive and activated

Love: Valuing close relations with others, in particular those in which sharing and caring

are reciprocated.

Kindness (generosity, nurturance, care, compassion, altruistic love, “niceness”):

Doing favors and good deeds for others.

Social intelligence (emotional intelligence, personal intelligence): Being aware of the

motives and feelings of other people and oneself.

Citizenship (social responsibility, loyalty, teamwork): Working well as a member of a

group or team; being loyal to the group.

Fairness: Treating all people the same according to notions of fairness and justice; not

letting personal feelings bias decisions about others.

Leadership: Encouraging a group of which one is a member to get things done and at the

same maintain time good relations within the group.

Forgiveness and mercy: Forgiving those who have done wrong; accepting the

shortcomings of others; giving people a second chance; not being vengeful

Humility / Modesty: Letting one’s accomplishments speak for themselves; not regarding

oneself as more special than one is.

Prudence: Being careful about one’s choices; not taking undue risks; not saying or doing

things that might later be regretted.

Self-regulation (self-control): Regulating what one feels and does; being disciplined;

controlling one’s appetites and emotions.

Appreciation of beauty and excellence (awe, wonder, elevation): Appreciating beauty,

excellence, and/or skilled performance in various domains of life.

Gratitude: Being aware of and thankful of the good things that happen; taking time to

express thanks.

Hope (optimism, future-mindedness, future orientation): Expecting the best in the

future and working to achieve it.

Humor (playfulness): Liking to laugh and tease; bringing smiles to other people; seeing

the light side.

Spirituality (religiousness, faith, purpose): Having coherent beliefs about the higher

purpose, the meaning of life, and the meaning of the universe.

Search Institute's 40 Developmental Assets

These are concrete, common sense, positive experiences and qualities essential to raising

successful young people. These assets have the power during critical adolescent years to

influence choices young people make and help them become caring, responsible adults.

The 40 Developmental Assets for Adolescents

It was originally conceptualized in 1980s in response to the question “what protects

children from today’s problems” The list below describes the 40 Developmental Assets

for Adolescents (ages 12-18).

Asset Type Asset Name & Definition

EXTERNAL ASSETSSupport Family support Family life provides high levels of love and

support.

Positive family communication

Young person and her or his parent(s) communicate positively, and young person

is willing to seek advice and counsel from parent(s).

Other adult relationships

Young person receives support from three or more no parent adults.

Caring neighborhood

Young person experiences caring neighbors.

Caring school climate

School provides a caring, encouraging environment.

Parent involvement in schooling

Parent(s) are actively involved in helping young person succeed in school.

Empowerment Community values youth

Young person perceives that adults in the community value youth.

Youth as resources

Young people are given useful roles in the community.

Service to others Young person serves in the community one hour or more per week.

Safety Young person feels safe at home, at school, and in the neighborhood.

Boundaries and Expectations

Family boundaries Family has clear rules and consequences, and monitors the young person's whereabouts.

School boundaries School provides clear rules and consequences.

Neighborhood boundaries

Neighbors take responsibility for monitoring young people's behavior.

Adult role models Parent(s) and other adults model positive, responsible behavior.

Positive peer influence

Young person's best friends model responsible behavior.

High expectations Both parent(s) and teachers encourage the young person to do well.

Constructive Use 

of Time

Creative activities Young person spends three or more hours per week in lessons or practice in music, theater, or other arts.

Youth programs Young person spends three or more hours per week in sports, clubs, or organizations at school and/or in community organizations.

Religious community

Young person spends one hour or more per week in activities in a religious institution.

Time at home Young person is out with friends "with nothing special to do" two or fewer nights per week.

INTERNAL ASSETSCommitment to Learning

Achievement motivation

Young person is motivated to do well in school.

School engagement

Young person is actively engaged in learning.

Homework Young person reports doing at least one hour of homework every school day.

Bonding to school Young person cares about her or his school.

Reading for pleasure

Young person reads for pleasure three or more hours per week.

Positive Values Caring Young person places high value on helping other people.

Equality and social justice

Young person places high value on promoting equality and reducing hunger and poverty.

Integrity Young person acts on convictions and stands up for her or his beliefs.

Honesty Young person "tells the truth even when it is not easy."

Responsibility Young person accepts and takes personal responsibility.

Restraint Young person believes it is important not to be sexually active or to use alcohol or other drugs.

Social Competencies

Planning and decision making

Young person knows how to plan ahead and make choices.

Interpersonal competence

Young person has empathy, sensitivity, and friendship skills.

Cultural competence

Young person has knowledge of and comfort with people of different cultural/racial/ethnic backgrounds.

Resistance skills Young person can resist negative peer pressure and dangerous situations.

Peaceful conflict resolution

Young person seeks to resolve conflict nonviolently.

Positive Identity Personal power Young person feels he or she has control over "things that happen to me."

Self-esteem Young person reports having a high self-esteem.

Sense of purpose Young person reports that "my life has a purpose."

Positive view of personal future

Young person is optimistic about her or his personal future.

All these are used for identifying and measuring the primary strengths of a person.

The Opposite of mentally breaking people

Donald O’Clifton, who died several years ago, can be seen as one of the founders of

positive psychology. As early as in the nineteen fifties, he realized that focusing on what

people do well, is the core of making them flourish. What convinced him was a study

done by William E. Mayer about American prisoners of war in the Korean War (Rath &

Clifton, 2004). American prisoners of war were exposed by the Koreans to a regime that

at first glance did not seem to be so cruel because they got food, water and shelter and

were not physically tortured. Mayer tried to find out what was the reason that still so

many prisoners died (38%, the highest percentage in American military history). When

the prisoners had been set free they turned out be mentally broken. They were no longer

interested in calling relatives and there were no friendships between them. Mayer found

out that the Koreans had mentally broken the prisoners by using four tactics: 1) inform:

prisoners were rewarded with things like cigarettes when they betrayed each other; 2)

self-criticism was encouraged. In groups each man had to confess all the bad things he

had done and all the good things he had failed to do, 3) loyalty to country, family and

among them and towards their leadership was broken down systematically and step-by

step, 4) emotional support was kept from them by withholding positive letters by relatives

and by consequently letting through all negative letters (for instance about deaths in the

family or remarriage of a spouse). In particular, this last tactic was very effective in

breaking the moral of the prisoners and made them lose all hope and the lust for life.

Donald O’Clifton was deeply impressed by these findings and decided to spend his career

to the opposite of what the Korean soldiers had done. His core question was: if the

Koreans, by their negative tactics succeeded in breaking the people mentally, can positive

tactics because the opposite, make them flourish? The short answer to this question, after

years of research, is 'yes'. Research done by Gallup has show that managers worldwide

focus mainly on negative attributes and shortcomings. The most effective managers,

however, do the opposite: they focus primarily on what is going right and encourage

people to build on their strengths.

Psychopathology:

The psychopathology in positive psychology consists of lower level on all the positive

aspects of life (which are mentioned earlier e.g. self esteem, hope, courage etc). and

INTERVENTION lies in enhancing those positive aspects of life.

First of all positive psychologist focus on not having “Negative Thinking” because they

give it more weightage rather than having Positive Thinking.

Secondly, they focus on healthy developmental patterns of life and focus on having

positive relations, positive environments

They are basically concerned with developing Positive Change in people. Throughout the

life cycle we all develop psychologically. We develop new skills, competencies and

strengths; we confront opportunities for growth and development and challenge that

Place demands on our capacity for coping. For example leaving security of family and

living alone or with friends offers the opportunity to develop confidence and

independence but we may also face the challenges of rejection by others, loneliness,

poverty and so forth. Positive psychology focuses bringing strengths to bear on

opportunities and challenges.

Stages of Positive Change:

The change process gets completed through six stages:

Precontemplation:

In this stage we deny that we have a problem e.g. we may say ‘Smoking is not a

problem for me. I don’t to wish to give it up. It does no harm at all.

Contemplation:

Here we move from denying that we have a problem in a particular area to

accepting that there may be a problem, which may address within the foreseeable

future (lets say next six months). We might say, ‘Smoking is a problem for me,

sometimes I’m short of breath and worry about my long term health. There are

pros and cons of stop smoking. I enjoy it but it may be harming my health’.

Planning:

Here the commitment to change in the next month is made. We say things like

this ‘I am going to give up cigarettes very soon. I must get some nicotine patches

and set a date for my last cigarette.

Action:

We actually change our behavior by putting our plan into action. However, there

are pitfalls to avoid. For example sometimes we do insufficient planning or

proceed from contemplation to action without any real planning, which is really

essential to set a useful course of action and to translate a decision into a logical

sequence of steps that will lead to a solution. Sometimes action plan fails because

they are based on the idea that there is a magical bullet which on its own can

solve our problems.

Maintenance:

Here we take active steps to make sure we don’t replace or slip back into old

habits. Social pressure, internal changes, special situations and testing our will

power can all lead to relapse. (special situations are those that include

opportunities and cues to return to old problem behaviors.

Termination:

In the last stage we experience no wish to relapse and complete confidence that

we can mange our difficulties. For many life challenges this rarely occurs and we

commit to a lifetime of maintenance. Also a process of recycling is not

uncommon, where we return periodically to earlier stages of change and then

progress through some of the stages again.

Positive behavior support:

Positive behavior support is an approach that lends values by the rights of the people with

disabilities with a practical science that how learning a behavior change occurs.” Its

overall goal is to enhance the quality of life of the individual by providing support. The

key aim is to create right set of circumstances.

Literature review of Researches:

Hirsch, Duberstein, Chapman and Lyness (2007) examined the association of positive

affect and suicide ideation in 462 primary care patients ages 65 and older. Positive affect

distinguished suicide ideators from non-ideators, after controlling for age, gender,

depression, negative affect, illness burden, activity, sociability, cognitive functioning and

physically functioning. There was a trend toward age moderation of this relationship.

Clinical and theoretical formulation of late life suicide should consider the role of

positive affect, including the possibility that its protective effects grow more pronounced

with age. They hypothesized that the trait positive affects would distinguish suicide

ideators and nonideators, over and above the effects of sociodemographic characteristics,

medical burden of illness, cognitive and functional status, trait negative effect, severity of

depression and trait sociability along with trait positive affect.

Participants [N = 462; 290 {63 percent women}] were sixty five years of age and older

[M = 79.4, SD = 6.53] with a mean of 14.3 of education {SD= .32}. 53{11 percent} were

single, 137{30 percent} were widowed. 158{34percent} lived alone and 73 {16percent}

were employed. Participants were recruited from private hospitals. NEO five factor

inventory {NEO-FFI}, NEO personality Inventory and Structured Clinical Interview {for

suicidal ideation} was used. Kanofsky Performance Status Scale for functional status and

Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression were used. Results revealed significant positive

correlations between suicide ideation and depression severity, trait negative affect and

functional status and burden of illness {that was covariate with main factors}. Suicide

ideation was also inversely associated with positive affect. High levels of trait positive

affect reduce the odds of suicide ideation {odds ratio = .78, 95percent confidence of

interval= .66_.94, p< .01, B=-025, SE=.09} but trait sociability and trait activity did not.

It was also noticed that effects of trait positive effect became pronounced with increasing

age {odds ratio=0.54, 95 percent, confidence interval = .28-1.05, p= .07, B=.61, SE=.33}

Malik & rehman (2003) explored the effect of occupational role stress on the

psychological well being and work motivation of medical professionals and associated

variables like impact of nature, private public and structure of the organization and

demographic variables like age.

Convenient purposive sampling was used to collect 100 medical professionals,

(performing multiple occupational roles) from private and government hospitals, age

group 30_64.

Occupational Role Stress Scale (ORSS), Psychological Well Being Scale (CPI)

and Work Preference Inventory (WPI) were used to collect data.

The scores of well being were found to be significantly negatively correlated with

Extrinsic motivation(r= -.26, p<.01) indicating those professionals who believed in

outward rewards and compensation appear to be low in their general psychological well

being. Where as no significance between psychological well being and intrinsic

motivation was found.

The scores of ORSS were negatively correlated with both extrinsic and intrinsic

motivation. Further public and private sector medical professionals were not much

different in their perception of occupational role stress and their well being, but they do

differ significantly in work motivation. Findings also suggest that that more experienced

professional have low occupational role stress and high psychological well being.

Findings also indicate that there exist significant difference in the scores of young and old

professionals on ORSS (t=3.4, p<.001) indicating that young professionals have more

perceived ORSS as compared to older professionals.

Practical applications

Positive psychology include helping individuals and organizations correctly identify their

strengths and use them to increase and sustain their respective levels of well-being.

Therapists, counselors, coaches, and various other psychological professionals can use

the new methods and techniques to build and broaden the lives of individuals who are not

necessarily suffering from mental illness or disorder .Positive psychology is about

scientifically informed perspectives on what makes life worth living. It focuses on

aspects of the human condition that lead to happiness, fulfillment, and flourishing

Positive Psychology studies what is right with people and how people live the good life.

we look forward to the future time in the psychology when the positive is as likely as the

negative to be used in assessing the people and helping them to lead more satisfying

existences.

CONCLUSION

positive psychology presently is in the period of expansion, not so much in terms of the

relative percentage of the entire field that it represents but rather in terms of the influence

of these ideas in gaining the attention of the psychology community in particular and

society in general. In a relatively short time positive psychology has gotten off to a good

start in gaining attention both inside and outside of psychology. Media attention to the

positive runs counter to the old maxim ‘bad news sells newspaper’. Positive psychology

offers a free good antidote to the trails of tragedy left by acts of nature and human hands.

Positive psychology is a worldwide spread phenomenon now in a recent survey of major

edited volumes on positive, the percentage of scholars outside the United States has

varied from a low of 7% to a high of 37%. Nearly hundred universities and colleges have

instituted undergraduate and graduate courses that introduce students to principles of

positive psychology. A chief task of positive psychology in the coming decades will be to

integrate or research and insights with the mainstreams of science more generally. And it

will further cultivate the mutual exchange of knowledge between scholars in different

parts of the world.

We want to take our science, knowledge and arts about positive psychology, states,

feelings and experiences to the next level-- to scientifically explore, elucidate, codify, and

create a unified, interwoven, integrated paradigm which collects together existing models

so as to evolve a useful, practical Positive Science which spawns a collection of tools,

technologies and techniques for optimizing human and social functioning, performance,

health and happiness.

In a world where there are hundreds of thousands of studies and meetings on what is

negative, on what to move away from and eliminate experts on what's wrong-- we need a

positive vision-- somewhere and something to move towards. We need to create a science

of things positive-- of Positivity.

 

This site's goal is to get similar minded people connecting, talking, sharing ideas and

energies about what works, about the Positive Sciences fields-- from psychology and

psychoneuroimunology to anthropology, neurobiology, physiology, education,

technology, the arts, entertainment, sociology, medicine, spirituality. We need to do with

the positive arts and sciences what has been done with computers; software and new

technologies-- create commercial incubators for companies which make a viable business

of compassion, caring, happiness, fun, etc.

How far can we go with positive approaches? Can we heal anger, depression, anxiety,

fear, etc by solely teaching positive behaviors, responses, actions, strategies? Or can we

boost the strength of interventions based on treating pathology by adding positive

approaches? We know so little about how far positive efforts alone can go. This is worth

exploring