Lecture 1- Introduction
Classification of strengths
Six selected virtues and 24-character strength:
o Wisdom and knowledge: creativity, curiosity, judgement, love of learning,
perspective
o Courage: bravery, perseverance, honesty, zest
o Humanity: love, kindness, social intelligence
o Justice: teamwork, fairness, leadership
o Temperature: forgiveness, humility, prudence, self-regulation
o Transcendence: appreciation of beauty and excellence, gratitude, hope,
humour, spirituality
Introduction to positive psychology
What is positive psychology (pp)?
o A science based on investigating the good life, happiness, personal growth &
wellbeing.
o PP aims to “understand, test, discover & promote the factors that allow
individuals & communities to thrive” (Sheldon, 2000)
Concentrates positive experience at 3-time points.
o Past (wellbeing, satisfaction
o Present (happiness, flow) &
o Future (optimism, hope)
Separates subject area into 3 nodes.
o Subjective node (positive experiences)
o Individual node (characteristics of a good person, strength)
o Group node (altruism)
PP provides a new perspective and empirical evidence on existing ideas – challenged
and rebalanced the deficit approach to living.
PP is not just a focus on positive thinking or positive emotions.
Authentic happiness and the good life
o Philosophers have mused on this for thousands of years.
o PP = AH mix of hedonic and eudemonic wellbeing
Hedonic – high positive effect (pleasure) and low negative affect, and
high life satisfaction
Eudemonic – meaning and purpose in life.
Feel good and function well.
Seligman: Authentic happiness = pleasurable life, engaged life, meaningful life
o Pleasurable life = feelings of positive emotions (joy, pride, awe, gratitude,
etc).
o Engaged life = flow, engagement, absorption
o Meaningful life = service to something higher than the self
o What is the ideal % balance between the three?
PERMA – Theory of wellbeing
Positive emotions
Engagement
Positive relationships
Meaning
Accomplishment
Theory of wellbeing
Variations: PERMA +4 Wellbeing at work
Te Whare Tapa Wha Māori Health Model
Represents health & wellbeing as a wharenui (meeting house) with four walls.
Leading Māori health advocate, Sir Mason Durie developed the model in 1984.
The wharenui walls are made up of:
o Taha tinana – physical wellbeing
o Taha hinengaro – mental wellbeing
o Taha whanau – family, community, and social wellbeing
o Taha wairua – spiritual wellbeing
o The whenua (land) forms the foundation.
The origins of modern-day positive psychology
Founder = Martin Seligman (and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi)
1999 APA presidential address
Psychology as usual (pre-1999) – not “negative psychology)
Pre-World War two:
o Cure mental illness
o Enhance the lives of normal population
o Study geniuses
Post-World War two
o Many psychologists impaired soldiers
o Thus, research funding focused on point 1 above – ‘cure mental illness’.
Pre = what makes individuals succeed? (what’s right with people)
Post = why do individuals fail? (what’s wrong with people
Disease model debate
What is positive mental health?
Marie Jahoda (1958)
o Efficient self-perception
o Realistic self-esteem and acceptance
o Voluntary control of behaviour
o True perception of the world
o Sustaining relationships and giving affection
o Self-direction and productivity
Dual continua model
Core keys
o Absence of mental illness does not equate to mental health
o The two are on different continums
History of positive psychology
One criticism is that PP is not new
o Greeks (e.g., Aristotle)
o Utilitarianism (e.g., Bentham, Mill) – theory of morality advocates actions thar
foster happiness or pleasure – oppose actions that cause unhappiness or harm.
o William James – connected emotions and expressions together – said emotions
come after physical action.
o Humanistic psychology (e.g., Maslow – coined term “positive psychology)
Can we measure happiness?
o PP a science not a self-help technique
o Scientific measurement tools now created and tested
o Work on Wellbeing
o VIA strengths
o ED Diener & organisation for economic control and dev & national accounts
of wellbeing
Where is positive psychology today?
Many national and international conferences (IPPA, European Congress, NZAPP)
NZAPP
Many journals
o Journal of Positive Psychology
o International Journal of Wellbeing
o Journal of Happiness Studies
o Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being
Book publishing boom – both academic and popular press
Many qualification providers, mooc’s (free massive online open courses), and PP
courses are very popular.
Three waves of Positive Psychology
Thesis-antithesis-synthesis-analysis
Psychology before PP (thesis)
First wave – focus on positive (antithesis)
Second wave – include the negative (synthesis)
Third wave – focus on groups, systems, interdisciplinary, multicultural,
methodologies beyond just psychology (analysis)
Tracing the size, reach, impact, & breadth of positive psych (Reading: Rusk & Waters)
Gable and Haidt
Heejin Kim – Kathryn Doiron – Meg A, Warren – Stewart I. Donaldson
Learning messaged
Positive psychology has a rich history but has mainly developed as a result of
dissatisfaction with ‘psychology as usual’ or a deficit/disease approach.
Positive psychology is the study of topics such as happiness, optimism, subjective
wellbeing, and personal growth. It is the science of wellbeing and optimal
functioning. It uses the scientific method to understand human thoughts, emotions and
behaviours.
Readings – Week One
Textbook – Chapter 1 Bonniwell, I. & Tunariu, A. D. (2019). 2nd edition. Positive
psychology: Theory, research and applications. London: Open University Press.
Rusk,R.,&Waters,L.(2013).Tracing the size, reach, impact and breadth of positive
psychology. Journal of Positive Psychology, 8(3), 207-221
Gable,S.,&Haidt,J.(2005).What(and why)I s positive psychology? Review of General
Psychology, 9(2), 103-110
Kim,H.,Doiron,K.,Warren,M.A.,&Donaldson,S.I.(2018).The international landscape of
positive psychology research: A systematic review. International Journal of Wellbeing, 8(1),
50-70. doi:10.5502/ijw.v8i1.651
