Happiness Theories and Engagement Concepts

Happiness Theories

• Hedonism: Active pursuit of maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain. Pleasure (physical, emotional, intellectual) is the ultimate goal.
• Peak-end theory: People evaluate experiences based on peak (most intense) and ending moments, regardless of duration.
• Eudaimonia: True happiness comes from living a meaningful life in accordance with one's virtues. It's about fulfilling inner potential and purpose.

Engagement/Flow

• Engagement/flow is a psychological state of complete immersion in an activity, characterized by energized focus, absolute involvement, and a sense of success.
• It's achieved when skills and challenges are in balance and the activity is engaging.

Desire Theory

• Happiness is about getting what one desires, whether or not it involves pleasure. This theory recognizes that challenging experiences are necessary to develop one's capabilities and achieve greater levels of satisfaction.

Hedonic Treadmill

• The hedonic treadmill is the tendency for individuals to return to a stable level of happiness despite positive or negative life events.
• Individuals possess a set point of happiness around which they fluctuate.

Variables Influencing Happiness

• Genetic factors: 50% of overall happiness.
• Circumstantial/material factors: 5%-10%
• Specific variables with high correlations:
  • High: having children, being married, income, frequency of sexual intercourse, level of leisure activity, intelligence, extraversion, number of friends, religiousness, being employed, self-esteem, gratitude, age, physical health, neuroticism, conscientiousness, time having positive affect, internal locus of control, happiness of identical twins.
  • Moderate: relationship satisfaction
  • Weak: intelligence, social class Correlation strength values are approximate.

Happiness Concepts

• Pleasant life: focuses on maximizing positive emotions and minimizing discomfort; seeking positive experiences.
• Engaged life: focused on engaging in activities that benefit one.
• Meaningful life: focused on finding purpose and belonging.

Behavioral Therapy

Classical Conditioning

• Classical Conditioning: a learning process where an existing reflex is associated with a neutral stimulus until the neutral stimulus alone elicits the response
• Before Conditioning:
• Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS): Triggers an involuntary reaction (e.g., food)
• Unconditioned Response (UCR): Involuntary reaction to the UCS (e.g., salivation)
• Neutral Stimulus (NS): Doesn't trigger a reaction (e.g., bell)
• During Conditioning: pairing UCS and NS repeatedly
• Conditioned Stimulus (CS): Previously neutral stimulus now elicits a response (e.g., bell)
• Conditioned Response (CR): Learned response to the CS (e.g., salivation)
• Extinction: Learned response disappears when CS is presented without the UCS
• Stimulus discrimination: learning to respond to a specific stimulus but not similar stimuli
• Stimulus generalization: Learning to respond to similar, but not identical, stimuli

Operant Conditioning

• Operant Conditioning: learning through consequences; behaviors followed by desirable outcomes are strengthened, while behaviors followed by undesirable outcomes are weakened
• Reinforcement: Increases behavior
• Positive reinforcement: Adding a desirable stimulus (e.g., praise)
• Negative reinforcement: Removing an undesirable stimulus (e.g., noise stops)
• Punishment: Decreases behavior;
• Positive punishment: Adding an undesirable stimulus (e.g., spank)
• Negative punishment: Removing a desirable stimulus (e.g., taking away phone)
• Schedules of reinforcement: Fixed/variable ratio/interval, continuous/partial

Behavioral Assessment

• Identify goals for change in concrete terms (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound – SMART goals).
• Operationalize behaviors and thoughts in observable, measurable terms.
• Separate traits from behaviors (focus on modifying behaviors).
• Obtain baseline data on target behaviors (e.g., frequency, intensity).
• Complete functional analysis (ABC model) – Antecedents, Behaviors, Consequences.

Treatment Planning

• Establish target behaviors (increase/decrease).
• Involve clients actively in the process.
• Develop a behavioral contract (agreement between therapist/client with measurable goals and consequences).
• Problem-solve obstacles; Periodically re-evaluate plans.
• ABC Model: Behavior, Antecedents, Consequences.

Defense Mechanisms

• Projection: Attributing unwanted feelings to another person.
• Displacement: Shifting feelings from one person/object to another.
• Sublimation: Substituting unacceptable impulses into socially desirable behaviors (e.g., channeling anger into sports).
• Regression: Retreating to earlier stages of development (e.g., bed-wetting after a stressful event).
• Rationalization: Creating false reasons for actions (e.g., justifying a poor grade by claiming the test wasn't fair).
• Reaction formation: Converting a feeling into its opposite (e.g., extreme friendliness toward someone one dislikes).
• Denial: Refusing to acknowledge reality (e.g., refusing to acknowledge a serious illness).

Psychosexual Stages (Freud)

• Oral (0-18 months): Pleasure from feeding.
• Anal (18 months–3 years): Bowel and bladder control; independence, self-control
• Phallic (3–5 years): Genital focus; Oedipus/Electra complexes (potentially unresolved conflicts in later life).
• Latency (6–12 years): Repression of sexual desires and focus on social activities, developing friendships.
• Genital (puberty onward): Development of mature sexuality.

Dreams (Freud)

• Manifest content: The actual events or imagery in a dream.
• Latent content: Unconscious desires and conflicts symbolized by manifest content (interpretation requires understanding symbolic meanings).

Implicit Thoughts

• Implicit thoughts are automatic, unconscious associations that influence behavior, developed through experiences or social conditioning (e.g., implicit biases, stereotypes).

Resistance & Transference

• Resistance: Internalized forces preventing clients from confronting or re-experiencing troubling or suppressed events.
• Transference: Clients' unconscious projection of feelings from past relationships onto the therapist (positive or negative).