Positive Psychology PDF

Positive psychology Positive states / emotions 1  Subjective level Positive states or emotions Dimensions of Individual level positive Individual traits psychology...

Positive psychology Positive states / emotions 1  Subjective level Positive states or emotions Dimensions of Individual level positive Individual traits psychology Group level Positive institutions 2  The subjective level Positive emotional states (experiences): subjective well-being Happiness, or subjective well-being  By all means marry: If you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher (Socrates)  Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory (Albert Schweitzer) 4 Subjective well-being What is the highest of all goals achievable by actions?...both the general run of man and people of superior refinement say it is happiness…but with regard to what happiness is, they differ. Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book 1, Chapter 4 5 Perspectives on well-being: hedonic and eudaimonic paradigms Well-being Hedonic Eudaimonic Actualisation Happiness Psychological Pleasure of human (SWB) well-being potential 6 Hedonic paradigm (subjective well- being)  Hedonic well-being – the study of what makes experiences and life pleasant or unpleasant ◦ Can be traced back to Aristippus, De Sade, Utilitarian philosophers, etc ◦ Defined in terms of maximization of pleasure (positive affect) and minimization of pain (negative affect) ◦ Current measures of well-being reflect the broad conception of hedonism (Ryan & Deci, 2001) 7 Subjective well-being Positive emotional Positive state emotions Feeling Hedonic Low Low level of negative neuroti- affectivity(emotions) cism SWB Satisfac- Global judgment tion with life Cognitive process 8 Subjective well-being SWB = high SWL + high PA + low NA  Life Satisfaction – cognitive component, rating the way your life turned out to be. Refers to discrepancy between the present situation and what is thought to be the ideal or deserved standard (Veenhoven, 1991).  Affect – emotional side of well-being. Refers to both moods and emotions associated with experiencing of momentary events (Diener et al, 1999) 9 SWB  Are people more happy or unhappy? (time-happiness file, swb-97 countries) Happiness=S+C+V S=set-point C=life circumstances V=volitional activity (Lyubomirsky, Sheldon, Schkade, 2005) 10 SWB “pie” (Lyubomirsky, Sheldon, Schkade, 2005) Intentional activity (40%) Life “Set point” circumstances (50%) (10%) SWB 11 Bottom-up and Top-down theories Well- General tendency of being Positive positive experience interpretation 2 of experience Positive Well-being experience 1 12 Top-down and Bottom-up theories  Bottom-up theory – Well-being is a summation of the positive experiences in a person’s life; (situational factors important)  Top-down theory – SWB is more related to a general tendency to evaluate and interpret experiences in a positive way; (personality traits important) 13 Variations in happiness scores Situational factors Personality factors (23% variation) (52% variation) 14  Bottom-up and Top-down theories Satisfaction with specific Well- General tendency of aspects of life being Positive positive experience interpretation 2 of experience Satisfacti Positive on with Well-being “life in experience 1 general” 15 Predictors of SWB  Positive self-esteem  Sense of perceived control  Extroversion  Optimism  Positive social relationships  A sense of meaning and purpose in life  Resolution of inner conflicts (low neuroticism) 16 Benefits of SWB  Creativity enhancement  Task persistence, multi-tasking, being systematic  Optimism  Longevity  Less vulnerability to illness  Sociability, trust, helpfulness  Less hostility and self-centeredness 17 Happy individuals experience later success in domains of life  Marriage  Friendship  Employment  Income  Work performance  Mental health  Psychological health 18  Positive correlations with happiness and life satisfaction Zero to small Moderate Large Age Number of friends Gratitude Gender Being married Optimism Education Religiousness Being employed Social class Level of leisure activity Frequency of sexual intercourse Income Physical health % of time experiencing positive affect Having children Conscientiousness Test-retest reliability of happiness measures Ethnicity (majority vs Extraversion Happiness of identical minority) twins self esteem Intelligence Neuroticism (negative correlation) Physical attractiveness Internal locus of control 19 Is there more to happiness than just feeling good?  Ryff & Keyes (1995): ◦ Failure to answer the question of what does it actually mean to be well psychologically? ◦ Lack of debate in the field ◦ SWL and affect measures are data driven & not based on any conceptual framework ◦ Meaning and purpose are ignored (also McGregor and Little, 1998; King & Napa, 1998)  Ryan and Deci (2001): ◦ Questionable validity of SWB as an operational definition of well-being (rather than hedonism) ◦ Types of activities and goals theorized to promote well-being may be misleading.  Vitterso (2003): ◦ Ignorance of the complexity of philosophical conceptions of happiness ◦ Failure to explain the dimension of personal growth 20