Positive Psychology PDF

What Is Positive Psychology? CHAPTER OUTLINE Traditional Psychology Why the Negative Focus? Negative Aspects Perceived as More Authentic and “Real” Negatives as More Important The Disease Model Positive Psychology Health Psychology Focus on Research: Livi...

What Is Positive Psychology? CHAPTER OUTLINE Traditional Psychology Why the Negative Focus? Negative Aspects Perceived as More Authentic and “Real” Negatives as More Important The Disease Model Positive Psychology Health Psychology Focus on Research: Living Longer Through Positive Emotions—The Nun Study Clinical Psychology Developmental Psychology Survey Research and Subjective Well-Being Social/Personality Psychology and the Psychology of Religion Positive Psychology:Assumptions, Goals, and Definitions Life Above Zero Culture and the Meaning of a Good Life Why Now? Two Final Notes Positive Psychology Is Not Opposed to Psychology Positive Psychology and the Status Quo TRADITIONAL PSYCHOLOGY My major professor used to say that the surest way to become famous in psychology was to publish a study showing that human nature is even worse than we had imagined. His point was not to impugn the integrity of anyone who conducted such a study, but rather to note people’s fascination with the dark side of human nature. A case in point is the one study that nearly every college student in introductory psychology remembers, namely Stanley Milgram’s (1974) famous research on obedience to authority. In Milgram’s study, ordinary people delivered what they believed to be painful electric shocks to a middle-aged man as he made errors on a simple learning task. At the direction of a white-coated lab technician, people increased the level of “shocks” despite strident protests from the recipient. These protests included refusals to continue the experiment, agonizing screams, demands that he be let out of the study, and complaints that his heart was starting to bother him. The partic- ipants were visibly upset by the effects on the victim of what they believed to be genuine electric shocks. However, 66% still obeyed the commands of the experimenter, marched up the shock scale, and pulled the last switch at the highest shock level of 450 volts, despite clear markings on the control panel indicating that the shocks were dangerous. How bad is From Chapter 1 of Positive Psychology, First Edition. Steve R. Baumgardner, Marie K. Crothers. Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 1  What Is Positive Psychology? human nature? Milgram’s classic study suggests that aims to offset this negative image of human nature ordinary people will go against their own judgment with a more balanced view. and moral values under minimal pressure from a legitimate authority. Human nature, it appears, Why the Negative Focus? cannot be counted upon to insulate society from acts of brutality. NEGATIVE ASPECTS PERCEIVED AS MORE AUTHENTIC The connections between the Milgram study AND “REAL” Sigmund Freud is perhaps too easy a and real-life cases of people following orders to target for criticism regarding psychology’s emphasis commit acts of brutality are compelling. Adolph on negatives. Yet undoubtedly, Freud was influential Eichman, tried for crimes against humanity for his in promoting the belief that beneath the veneer of part in the Holocaust death camps run by the everyday politeness and kindness lurked more self- Nazis in World War II, said repeatedly in his own serving motives. Let’s say you sacrifice some of your defense that he was just following orders. own study time to help your roommate with a diffi- Captured in philosopher Hanna Arendt’s famous cult homework assignment. Looks positive and altru- phrase, “the banality of evil” (1963), those who istic on the surface, but some would argue that in carried out extraordinary acts of brutality in the actuality, you are just expressing your need to domi- systematic killing of Jews were utterly ordinary nate and feel superior to others. You give blood at a people—not pathological monsters. Like partici- university blood drive, but in actuality you were pants in Milgram’s study, they were just following motivated by sexual attraction to one of the blood orders. drive volunteers. You commit your life to helping A positive psychologist might ask, why aren’t others for low pay, but Freud might argue that you there equally dramatic studies showing the human are just trying to compensate for feelings of inade- capacity for goodness? It certainly is not because quacy and guilt caused by traumatic childhood expe- goodness does not exist in the world. History pro- riences. Freud believed that human behavior is vides countless examples. People risked their lives to motivated primarily by self-serving drives that must help Jews escape from Nazi Germany during World be controlled and channeled in productive ways for War II, and priests and ministers aboard the Titanic society to function effectively. Freud did not neces- sacrificed their own lives for others by giving their sarily believe self-serving behaviors were bad. From life preservers to fellow passengers. And, who can his perspective they simply express our biologically forget the imagery of heroic firefighters, police offi- inherited needs and impulses. The legacy of Freud’s cers, and ordinary citizens following the September 11 views within psychology, however, has been to per- terrorist attacks? A basic positive psychology prem- perpetuate a negative image of human nature. It is dif- ise is that the field of psychology is out of balance, ficult to deny that behaviors and traits that are with more focus on the negatives in human behavior seemingly positive on the surface are sometimes than on the positives. Positive psychology does not rooted in negative motives. However, positive psy- deny the negative, nor does it suggest that all of chology emphasizes that this is not always the case. psychology focuses on the negative. Rather, the From a positive psychology perspective, positive qual- new and emerging perspective of positive psychol- ities and motives are just as authentic as negative ones ogy embraces a more realistic and balanced view of and they affirm the positive side of human nature. human nature that includes human strengths In addition to the Freud-inspired suspicion and virtues without denying human weakness and that negative motives lie beneath the surface of pos- capacity for evil. Each of us confronts a share of itive behaviors, there is also a science-inspired skep- sadness and trauma in our life; but we also experi- ticism concerning the scientific legitimacy of topics ence our share of joy and happiness. Historically, studied in positive psychology—topics that some psychology has had more to say about the downs perceive as reminiscent of the popular psychology than about the ups. A large number of college stu- literature. Historically, psychologists have used pop dents complete a general psychology course as part psychology and self-help books as examples of the of their college education. Studies show that they folly of unscientific and empirically unsupported recall mostly the negatives of human behavior, such ideas about human behavior. Many psychologists as mental illness and the Milgram study (see view the success of the self-help industry as evi- Fineburg, 2004, for a review). Positive psychology dence of laypersons’ gullibility and the importance 2  What Is Positive Psychology? of a critical scientific attitude. Telling an empirically- are consequently given more attention (Gable & minded psychologist that his or her research smacks Haidt, 2005). of pop psych would be an extremely disparaging The fact that we attend more to the “bad” than criticism. to the “good” may also reflect an adaptive evolution- One of my students gave the following descrip- ary behavior (Reis & Gable, 2003). Aversive events tion of positive psychology: “Positive psychology is and negative behaviors may represent threats to our pop psychology with a scientific basis.” The student’s survival, therefore justifying, in an evolutionary sur- description is insightful because it acknowledges the vival sense, greater attention and impact. Evolution connections between the subject matter of positive may thus help explain the “attention-grabbing power psychology and many long-standing mainstays of of negative social information” described by Pratto pop psychology. Current topics in positive-psychology and John (1991). So, another reason for psychology’s include the study of happiness, love, hope, forgive- focus on the negative may be that psychologists are ness, positive growth after trauma, and the health- simply human, studying what attracts the greatest promoting benefits of a positive, optimistic attitude. attention and what has the greatest impact on human These topics read like a rundown of books in the pop behavior. psych section of your local bookstore. In summary, two reasons for psychology’s greater focus on nega- THE DISEASE MODEL Martin Seligman (2002a, 2002b, tive than positive phenomena are rooted in negative 2003) argues that the dominance of the disease model beliefs about the basic nature of humanity, and skep- within psychology has focused the field on treating ill- ticism about the scientific basis of positive psychol- ness and away from building strengths. The disease ogy’s subject matter. model has produced many successes in treating psy- chopathology. Based on the disease model, psychol- NEGATIVES AS MORE IMPORTANT Ironically, research ogy has built an extensive understanding of mental suggests that the greater weight and attention given to illness and a language to describe the various patholo- the negatives in human behavior compared to the pos- gies that affect millions of people. However, Ryff and itives may reflect a universal tendency (i.e., such a Singer (1998) argue that psychology should be more focus may be inherent in human nature). Generally, in than a “repair shop” for broken lives. The disease human behavior the “bad is stronger than the model is of limited value when it comes to promoting good” (Baumeister, Bratslavsky, Finkenauer, & Vohs, health and preventing illness. Psychologists know far 2001). Studies of impression formation show that infor- less about mental health than about mental illness. We mation about negative traits and behaviors contributes lack a comparable understanding or even a language more to how we think about others than does positive for describing the characteristics of mentally healthy information—a finding dubbed the “trait negativity people; yet it is clear that mental health is not simply bias” (Covert & Reeder, 1990; Rozin & Royzman, the absence of mental illness. Eliminating illness does 2001). Research has also shown that the presence of not ensure a healthy, thriving, and competent individ- conflict and negative behavior makes a greater contri- ual. This fact points out that another contributor to bution to relationship satisfaction (or lack thereof) than psychology’s focus on the negative has been the well- does the amount of positive behavior (Reis & Gable, intentioned desire to reduce human misery, guided by 2003). Studies strongly suggest that one negative com- the disease model. ment can undo many acts of kindness and one bad trait can undermine a person’s reputation. Part of the reason for the power of the nega- POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY tive is that we seem to assume that life is generally going to be good, or at least ok. This assumption Martin Seligman may have been the first contempo- may reflect our everyday experience, in which rary psychologist to call this new perspective “posi- good or neutral events are more frequent than bad tive psychology.” In his 1998 presidential address to ones. As a result, negative events and information the American Psychological Association, Seligman stand out in distinct contrast to our general expec- made a plea for a major shift in psychology’s focus tations. Research supports this idea that because (Seligman, l998), from studying and trying to undo positive events are more common in our experi- the worst in human behavior to studying and pro- ence, negative ones violate our expectations and moting the best in human behavior. He asked his 3  What Is Positive Psychology? audience why psychology shouldn’t study things refers to your first author’s positive psychology like “joy and courage.” Seligman supported his call class as “the happiness course.” for positive psychology by noting the imbalance in While there is no official or universally psychology we discussed earlier: too much atten- accepted definition, positive psychology draws on tion to weaknesses and reducing human misery, research and theory from established areas of psy- and not enough attention to strengths and promot- chology. Positive psychology is, in part, a mosaic of ing health. Seligman’s hope was that positive research and theory from many different areas of psychology would help expand the scope of psy- psychology tied together by their focus on positive chology beyond the disease model to promote the aspects of human behavior. Below is a brief sketch study and understanding of healthy human func- of research and theory from different areas of psy- tioning. The standing ovation at the close of his chology that have contributed most to positive psy- address indicated an enthusiastic response to chology. Hopefully, an overview of its relationship Seligman’s ideas. to more established and familiar areas of psychology New areas of psychology do not emerge in a will clarify what positive psychology is about. vacuum. The concerns and perspectives of positive psychology, given clarifying description by Seligman, Health Psychology have scattered representation throughout psychol- ogy’s history. Terman’s (1939) studies of gifted Positive psychology and health psychology children and determinants of happiness in marriage share much in common (Taylor & Sherman, 2004). (Terman, Buttenwieser, Ferguson, Johnson, & Health psychologists have long suspected that nega- Wilson, 1938) are early examples of research empha- tive emotions can make us sick and positive emo- sizing positive characteristics and functioning, as tions can be beneficial. However, only recently has noted by Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000). The a scientific and biological foundation been devel- origins of research on subjective well-being can be oped for these long-standing assumptions. Our found in early research starting in the 1920s and rein- understanding of the relationship between body forced by the polling techniques of George Gallup and mind has advanced dramatically in the last sev- and others (Diener, Lucas, & Oishi, 2002). Within eral decades. Research findings affirm the potential psychology’s recent history, the humanistic move- health-threatening effects of stress, anger, resent- ment may have been one of the stronger voices for a ment, anxiety, and worry (Cohen & Rodriguez, 1995; more positive psychology. Humanistic psychology (a Friedman & Booth-Kewley, 1987; Salovey, Rothman, popular perspective in the 1960s) also criticized the & Rodin, 1998; Taylor, 1999; Vaillant, 1997, 2000). tendency of traditional psychology to focus on nega- The pathways and mechanisms involved are com- tive aspects of human functioning. Humanistic psy- plex and are just beginning to be understood. They chologists Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers viewed involve the brain, the nervous system, the endocrine human nature as basically positive, insisting that system, and the immune system (Maier, Watkins, & every individual is born with positive inner poten- Fleshner, 1994). A variety of research shows that tials, and that the driving force in life is to actualize people going through long periods of extreme stress these potentials. Humanistic psychologists believed are more vulnerable to illness (Cohen, 2002; Kiecolt- that the goal of psychology should be to study and Glaser & Glaser, 1987; Ray, 2004; Vaillant, 1997). One promote conditions that help people achieve pro- reason that stress and negative emotions are bad for ductive and healthy lives. us is that they seem to suppress the functioning of What is new about positive psychology, the immune system and reduce our body’s ability to however, is the amount of research and theory it fight disease. has generated, and the scientific respectability it Positive psychologists are very interested in the has achieved. Psychologists can now study hope, most recent studies suggesting that positive emotions forgiveness, or the physical and emotional benefits may have effects equal to negative emotions, but in of positive emotions without feeling that they the opposite direction. While negative emotions are leaving their scientific sensibilities behind, compromise our health, positive emotions seem to and without being regarded as pop psychologists. help restore or preserve the health of both our minds One may still receive some good-natured ribbing, and our bodies. Positive emotions appear to set in however. For example, one of our colleagues motion a number of physical, psychological, and 4  What Is Positive Psychology? social processes that enhance our physical well- What led the researchers to believe that a per- being, emotional health, coping skills, and intellec- son’s emotional life might predict longevity? First of tual functioning. Summarized in Fredrickson’s (2001) all, prior research (reviewed in the article’s introduc- broaden-and-build theory, positive emotions like joy, tion) supports the connection between emotions and contentment, interest, love, and pride “all share the health. Negative emotions have been shown to sup- ability to broaden people’s thought-action reper- press the immune system and other aspects of physi- toires and build their enduring personal resources, ological functioning and thereby increase the risk of ranging from physical and intellectual resources to disease. Positive emotions seem to enhance these social and psychological resources” (p. 219). same processes and thus reduce the risk of disease. Our increasing knowledge of the physiological Second, temperament has shown long-term stability processes underlying emotions provides a biological over the life span. That is, emotional expressiveness, foundation for positive psychology. It seems reason- such as whether we have a positive and cheerful out- able to conclude that positive emotions have every look or a negative and more guarded outlook, tends bit as much biological and evolutionary significance to be fairly consistent over a person’s lifetime, from as the negative emotions that have attracted so childhood through adulthood. Third, temperament is much research attention. Consistent with the goal of known to influence how well a person copes with restoring balance to the field, positive psychology the stress and challenges of life. People with cheerful emphasizes examination of the value of positive temperaments and positive outlooks fare better than emotions in our lives. those with less cheerful and more negative outlooks. Finally, research has shown that writing about signifi- cant life events can capture a person’s basic emo- Focus on Research: Living tional outlook. When we write about things that are Longer Through Positive important to us, we express emotions that reflect Emotions—The Nun Study aspects of our basic temperament. Taken together, Do people who experience an abundance of posi- these findings of prior research made it reasonable to tive emotions in their lives—emotions like cheerful- assume that autobiographies written early in life ness, joy, and contentment—live longer than those would capture basic aspects of emotional expressive- whose emotional lives are less positive? Sounds rea- ness. Differences in emotional expressiveness might sonable, but how could you untangle all the com- then predict health and longevity. plex factors that affect people’s health to show that The nuns in Danner and colleagues’ study had emotions made the difference? The “Nun Study,” been asked to write a brief 2- to 3-page autobio- perhaps destined to become a classic in positive graphical sketch as part of their religious vows. psychology, took advantage of the unique features These sketches were written in the 1930s and 1940s of the religious life of sisters of the Catholic Church. when the sisters were about 22 years old and just The Nun Study was conducted by Danner, Snowdon, beginning their careers with the church. Researchers Friesen (2001) from the University of Kentucky. The were able to retrieve the autobiographies from study’s formal title was “Positive emotions in early church archives. Then, they coded each autobiogra- life and longevity: Findings from the Nun Study.” phy by counting the number of positive-, negative-, Danner and her colleagues examined the relation- and neutral-emotion words and sentences that it ship between positive emotions and longevity in a contained. Because few of the autobiographies con- sample of 180 nuns. Why nuns? Nuns were an tained negative emotions, the researchers concen- ideal group of people for such a study because many trated on the number of positive-emotion words, of the factors affecting physical health were con- positive-emotion sentences, and the number of dif- trolled or minimized. Nuns don’t smoke or drink ferent positive emotions expressed. Here are two excessively; they live in similar life circumstances; sample portions of autobiographies—one low in pos- they are childless, so they have the same reproduc- itive emotion and the other high in positive emotion. tive histories; and they eat the same bland diet. The Sister A—coded as low in positive emotion: “sameness” of their lives eliminated many of the variables that might confound an understanding I was born on September 26, 1909, the of which specific factors were responsible for a eldest of seven children, five girls and two long life. boys.... My candidate year was spent in 5  What Is Positive Psychology? the Motherhouse, teaching chemistry and was done in 2001, the surviving nuns were between Second Year at the Notre Dame Institute. 75 and 94 years of age. Forty-two percent of the sis- With God’s grace, I intend to do my best ters had died by the time of the follow-up study. for our order, for the spread of religion The results of the study were rather amazing. and for my personal sanctification.” Researchers found a strong relationship between longevity and the expression of positive emotion Sister B—coded as high in positive emotion: early in life. For every 1.0% increase in the number of autobiographical sentences expressing positive God started my life off well by bestowing emotion, there was a corresponding 1.4% decrease on me a grace of inestimable value. The in mortality rate. Comparisons of those nuns express- past year, which I spent as a candidate ing many different positive emotions with those studying at Notre Dame College has expressing only a few, showed a mean difference in been a very happy one. Now I look for- age of death of 10.7 years. The most cheerful nuns ward with eager joy to receiving the lived a full decade longer than the least cheerful! By Holy Habit of Our Lady and to a life of age 80, some 60% of the least cheerful group had union with Love Divine. died, compared to only 25% for the most cheerful sisters. The probability of survival to an advanced Scores resulting from the coding system pro- age was strongly related to the early-life expression vided numeric indices to describe the women’s early of positive emotions. Figure 1 shows the positive- emotional lives. These scores were then analyzed in emotion/survival relationship beginning at age 75. relation to mortality and survival data for the same The probability of survival to age 85 was 80% for the group of women 60 years later. At the time the study most cheerful nuns (Quartile 4 in Figure 1) and 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.7 Probability of Survival 0.6 0.5 0.4 Quartile 1 0.3 Quartile 2 Quartile 3 0.2 Quartile 4 0.1 0.0 75 80 85 90 95 Age FIGURE 1 Positive Emotions and Survival Probability of survival to different ages after age 75 as a function of positive emotions expressed early in life by 180 participants in the Nun Study. Positive emotional expression arranged in rank order from lowest (Quartile 1) to highest (Quartile 4). Source: Danner, D.D., Snowdon, D.A., & Friesen, W.V. (2001). Positive emotions in early life and longevity: Findings from the Nun study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80, 804–813. Copyright 2001 by the American Psychological Association. Reprinted by permission. 6  What Is Positive Psychology? 54% for the least cheerful (Quartile 1). The odds of potentially debilitating life challenges (Masten, 2001). survival to age 90 were 65% for the upbeat sisters, Cases of resilience—meaning “good outcomes in but only 30% for the less upbeat. By age 94, the sur- spite of serious threats to adaptation or development” vival odds were over half (54%) for the most positive (Masten, p. 228) —are more common than previously sisters and only 15% for the least positive. supposed. Research documenting the amazing According to the results of the Nun Study, the resilience of ordinary people facing difficult life cir- phrase, “don’t worry, be happy” is excellent advice. cumstances highlights a major theme of positive psy- You may live longer! chology, namely human strengths. Perhaps even more intriguing is the concept of posttraumatic growth (PTG) as a counterpoint to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Researchers Clinical Psychology have documented that positive growth can occur as The disillusionment of many clinical psychologists a result of traumatic experiences like serious illness, with sole reliance on the disease model has been loss of a loved one, or a major accident or disability another factor contributing to the development of (Ryff & Singer, 2003a). In the aftermath of such positive psychology. Mental health professionals are events, many people report a greater appreciation beginning to view the work of reducing psychologi- for life and their loved ones, an increased sense of cal misery as only part of their task. There will personal strength, and more clarity about what is always be clients in need of help, and it will con- most important in life. Studies of resilience and post- tinue to be an important mission of psychologists to traumatic growth underscore positive psychology’s provide such help. However, many clinicians have emphasis on human strengths and positive coping begun shifting from the single-minded purpose of abilities. treating psychopathology toward a perspective that includes prevention of illness and promotion of pos- Survey Research and Subjective itive mental health. Fundamental to this shift is the Well-Being need to develop models of positive mental health. That is, what personal characteristics and what type Public opinion polling has been a long-standing of life define the extreme opposite of mental illness— research tool for social psychologists and sociolo- a state Keyes and Haidt (2003) call “flourishing?” In gists. Beginning with national surveys of opinions the past, mental health was defined mostly in terms toward issues, groups, and political candidates, sur- of the absence of disease. One goal of positive psy- vey research subsequently branched out to include chology is to establish criteria and a language defin- quality-of-life measures. Ed Diener (2000) is a promi- ing the presence of mental health that parallels our nent contemporary researcher who studies happi- current criteria and language for describing and ness, defined as subjective well-being (SWB). diagnosing mental illness. Measures of SWB assess a person’s level of life satis- faction and the frequency of positive and negative emotional experiences. Studies of happiness have established a reliable pattern of intriguing findings Developmental Psychology (e.g., Diener, 2000; Diener, Suh, Lucas, & Smith, A long-standing focus of developmental psycholo- 1999; Myers, 2000a). The most noteworthy of these is gists has been examination of conditions that threaten that material success (i.e., money and wealth) bears healthy development. Following a deficit-focused only a weak relationship to happiness. Increases in model, it was assumed that most children growing up income and possession of consumer goods beyond under conditions of adversity (e.g., poverty, abuse, what is necessary to meet basic needs are not reli- parental alcoholism, or mental illness) would be at ably related to increases in happiness. You may heightened risk for deficits in social, cognitive, and dream of winning a multimillion dollar lottery, but emotional development compared to children not studies show that winners quickly return to their pre- subjected to such adversities. These assumptions lottery levels of happiness (see Csikszentmihalyi, began to change in the 1970s when many psychia- 1999 and Diener, 2000 for reviews). trists and psychologists drew attention to the amazing Survey research raises an interesting question. resilience of certain children and adults subjected to If money doesn’t buy happiness, what does? This 7  What Is Positive Psychology? question is one way to think about positive psy- form the foundation of health and happiness. These chology. Once basic needs are met, objective life studies include investigations of the genetic basis of circumstances (such as the amount of money you a happy temperament (e.g., Lykken, 1999) and per- make, or your age, race, or gender) do not have sonality traits related to individual well-being such much influence on your level of happiness. So, the as optimism (Peterson, 2000; Seligman, 1990), self- difference between happy and unhappy people esteem (Baumeister, 1999), extraversion (McCrae & must involve more psychological and subjective Costa, 1997), a positive life outlook (e.g., Taylor, factors. Positive psychology follows the lead of 1989; Taylor & Brown, 1988), and how the pursuit early survey research in examining the traits and of personally meaningful goals contributes to happi- states that help explain differences in the level of ness (Emmons, 1999b). happiness. Much of the research in positive psy- Both social and personality psychology chology is focused on traits, such as self-esteem, researchers have contributed to an understanding of physical attractiveness, optimism, intelligence, and the roles that religion and morality play in people’s extraversion, and on states, such as work situation, lives (e.g., Pargament, 1997; Spilka, Hood, involvement in religion, number of friends, marital Hunsberger, & Gorsuch, 2003). Religion has become status, and the quality of relationships. Taken an important topic within positive psychology together, these traits and states help explain one of because it is a significant foundation of well-being for the major questions of positive psychology: “Why most people. The study of virtue also has a promi- are some people happier than others?” nent position because the meaning of a good life and a life well-lived is strongly connected to human virtues, such as honesty, integrity, compassion, and Social/Personality Psychology wisdom (Peterson & Seligman, 2004). And, express- and the Psychology of Religion ing human virtues contributes to individual well- Social psychologists have provided extensive evi- being and the well-being of others. For example, acts dence of the critical importance of satisfying social of forgiveness (McCullough, 1999) and gratitude relationships and support from others for our health (Emmons & McCullough, 2004) tend to increase life and happiness (e.g., Baumeister & Leary, 1995; satisfaction for both givers and recipients. Ryff & Singer, 2000; Taylor, Repetti, & Seeman, 1997; Uchino, Cacioppo, & Kiecolt-Glaser, 1996). A satisfy- POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY: ASSUMPTIONS, ing life is founded on satisfying relationships, such GOALS, AND DEFINITIONS as a happy marriage and good friends. Social psy- chologists have also sensitized us to the different Martin Seligman’s call for a positive psychology was cultural understandings of well-being and happi- aimed at refocusing the entire field of psychology. He ness. Concepts of happiness in America and Japan, will likely be disappointed if positive psychology for example, are quite different. In addition to stud- becomes simply one more area of specialized ies across diverse cultures, social psychologists have research. It is encouraging, then, to find elements of investigated a potential dark side of affluence and positive psychology represented in so many different materialism among advanced consumer cultures areas of psychology, from physiological to clinical such as our own (e.g., Cushman, 1990; Kasser & psychology. Positive psychology is both a general Kanner, 2004). These latter studies show that materi- perspective on the discipline of psychology and a alistic people who sacrifice fulfillment of important collection of research topics focused on positive psychological needs in their pursuit of fame and for- aspects of human behavior. tune may also sacrifice their own happiness and life To sum up our discussion, we may point to satisfaction. Related research has contributed to an several common themes that run through much of understanding of the amazing process of human the developing literature in positive psychology. A adaptation that helps explain why increases in major assumption of positive psychology is that the income, like the sudden wealth of lottery winners, field of psychology has become unbalanced has only short-term effects (Diener & Oishi, 2005). (Simonton & Baumeister, 2005). A major goal of In short, why money does not buy happiness. positive psychology is to restore balance within the Studies by personality psychologists have discipline. This goal is reflected in two areas of identified positive traits and personal strengths that research and theory that need further development. 8  What Is Positive Psychology? First, there is a need for improved understanding of The engaged life is an aspect of happiness focused positive human behaviors to balance the negative on active involvement in activities (e.g., work and focus of much mainstream research and theory leisure) and relationships with others that express our (Sheldon & King, 2001). Related to this is the need for talents and strengths and that give meaning and pur- psychologists to overcome their skepticism about the pose to our lives. Such involvements promote a zest- scientific and “authentic” status of positive psychol- ful and healthy life. A meaningful life is an aspect of ogy’s subject matter. A second need is to develop an happiness that derives from going beyond our own empirically-based conceptual understanding and lan- self-interests and preoccupations. This is a deeper and guage for describing healthy human functioning that more enduring aspect of happiness that stems from parallels our classification and understanding of men- giving to, and being involved in, something larger tal illness (Keyes, 2003). It is arguably just as impor- than your self—what Seligman and his colleagues tant to understand the sources of health as it is to (2006) call “positive institutions.” Examples might understand the causes of illness, particularly if we are include a religious community, a personal philosophy interested in preventing illness by promoting healthy of life, your family, a charitable community organiza- lifestyles (Ryff & Singer, 1998). tion, or a political, environmental, or social cause. The The themes of positive psychology are cap- point is that a life well-lived means being connected tured in various attempts to define this new area of to something “larger than the self” (Seligman et al., psychology. Sheldon and King (2001) define positive 2006, p. 777). psychology as “nothing more than the scientific study of ordinary human strengths and virtues” Life Above Zero (p. 216). This definition reflects the emphasis on psy- chology’s lack of attention to people’s everyday In summary, you can think of positive psychology as lives, which are typically quite positive. Gable and the study of what we might call life on the positive Haidt (2005, p. 104) suggest that positive psychology side of zero, where zero is the line that divides illness is “the study of the conditions and processes that from health and unhappiness from happiness. contribute to the flourishing or optimal functioning Traditional psychology has told us much about life at of people, groups and institutions.” This definition and below zero, but less about life above zero. What has much in common with Seligman’s (2003) takes us from just an absence of illness and unhappi- description of the three pillars of positive psychol- ness to a life that is meaningful, purposeful, satisfy- ogy. Positive psychology is built on the study of (1) ing, and healthy—in short, a life worth living? Positive positive subjective experiences (such as joy, happi- psychology is all about the personal qualities, life cir- ness, contentment, optimism, and hope); (2) positive cumstances, individual choices, life activities, rela- individual characteristics (such as personal strengths tionships with others, transcendent purposes, and and human virtues that promote mental health); and sociocultural conditions that foster and define a good (3) positive social institutions and communities that life. By combining these factors with the criteria posi- contribute to individual health and happiness. tive psychologists have used to define a good life, we In a more specific formulation, Seligman and suggest the following definition of positive psychol- his colleagues have proposed that happiness as a ogy: Positive psychology is the scientific study of the central focus of positive psychology can be broken personal qualities, life choices, life circumstances, down into three components: the pleasant life, the and sociocultural conditions that promote a life well- engaged life, and the meaningful life (Seligman, lived, defined by criteria of happiness, physical and 2003, Seligman, Rashid, & Parks, 2006). These three mental health, meaningfulness, and virtue. aspects of happiness capture the two major themes in positive psychology, namely that positive psychol- Culture and the Meaning ogy is the scientific study of optimal mental function- of a Good Life ing and happiness. The pleasant life reflects the emphasis in positive psychology on understanding The particular meanings of a good life and a life the determinants of happiness as a desired state— well-lived are obviously shaped by one’s culture. what some people might call the “good life.” Conceptions of a good life are part of every culture’s Specifically, what life circumstances and personal ideals, values, and philosophic/religious traditions qualities make people happy, content, and fulfilled? (Ryff & Singer, 1998). Because positive psychology is 9  What Is Positive Psychology? largely a Western enterprise, it is appropriate to ask as Myers (2000b) describes it, is that many indicators whether its ideas about health and happiness reflect of distress and unhappiness have also gone up. a Western view and, therefore, do not apply to other The “misery index” includes rates of divorce, cultures. For positive psychologists this is largely an child abuse, childhood poverty, and adolescent sui- empirical issue, but one that has its share of contro- cide. Seligman (1998) notes that we are twice as rich versy. Certainly, researchers in the emerging field of as we were 40 years ago, but we are also 10 times positive psychology do not want to impose a “one- more likely to get depressed. According to many clin- size-fits-all” definition that suggests there is only one ical psychologists, depression in the United States is kind of good life. Instead, they want to tease out uni- currently at the epidemic level. Themes related to versal from culture-specific ideas and define a life the emptiness and dark side of affluence have also well-lived according to broad and flexible criteria found expression in movies and documentaries such that allow for individual and cultural differences. as American Beauty, Bowling for Columbine, and Studies comparing people from widely diverse cul- the PBS investigation titled, The Lost Children of tural backgrounds find both differences and com- Rockdale County (Frontline, 2002). The latter exam- monalities in their understanding of the meaning and ined a group of affluent teenagers in a suburb of general defining features of a good life. Through Augusta, Georgia, who grew up in “good homes” with intensive cultural comparisons, researchers have every advantage money could buy. In the absence of sought not only to respect differences, but also to adequate parental supervision, these teens lapsed identify the commonalities across cultures—that is, into exploitive and abusive group sexual relation- what all or most cultures share regarding their descrip- ships culminating in an outbreak of sexually transmit- tions of positive human qualities and the meaning of a ted diseases. When their troubled experiences were good life. discovered, these young people told painful stories of inner emptiness and unfulfilled lives. Perhaps the most fundamental idea in these descriptions of our culture is an old one—namely, Why Now? that money doesn’t buy happiness. Recognition of Why has positive psychology attracted so much the limits in the ability of affluence to bring personal enthusiastic interest from psychologists today? Calls satisfaction has raised questions about the sources for psychologists to give more attention to positive of a healthy and satisfying life. The fact that psychol- human behaviors have been made before. Why were ogy has historically offered no ready answers to they heard only recently? New ideas emerge in part these questions has contributed, in part, to the surge because they fit or capture some essential theme that of interest in positive psychology. In the aftermath is prominent at particular point in history. Historians of the September 11 terrorist attacks, our own safety often refer to this as the zeitgeist, which means the and security may have taken center stage. However, spirit of the times. Several authors (e.g., Keyes & the questions addressed by positive psychology are Haidt, 2003; Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000) enduring, and much of its subject matter is directly have argued that positive psychology gave expres- relevant to our current, uncertain times. sion to concerns and issues widespread in our cul- ture and in psychology that surfaced in the late 1990s and continue into the new millennium. TWO FINAL NOTES Foremost among these is the stark contrast Positive Psychology Is Not Opposed between unprecedented levels of affluence in our to Psychology society and increasing signs of subjective distress. Csikszentmihalyi (1999) captures this concern in the Any description of the issues and concerns that led to title of his article, “If we are so rich, why aren’t we the development of positive psychology necessarily happy?” In short, most indicators of material afflu- involves the question of how positive psychology is ence, from personal income and ownership of com- different from psychology as a whole. For purposes puters and DVD players to GNP, have gone up over of clarification, positive psychologists frequently con- the last 30 years. The 1990s are perhaps epitomized trast this new area with “traditional psychology.” in the bumper sticker stating, “the one with the most Describing what something is, inevitably involves toys wins.” However, the “paradox of affluence,” describing what it is not. We do not want to create the 10  What Is Positive Psychology? impression that positive psychology is somehow there are limits to people’s ability to maintain a pos- opposed to psychology. Psychologists have devel- itive attitude in the face of challenging life experi- oped an extensive understanding of human behavior ences. Poor people are less happy than those who and the treatment of psychopathology. Psychology’s are not poor, and certain traumas, like death of a history shows a steady advance in knowledge and in spouse, do have lasting effects on personal happi- effective treatments. Positive psychologists are not so ness (Diener, 2000). much concerned about what has been studied in psy- Second, most of the research on subjective well- chology, as they are concerned about what has not being involves people who are, economically speak- been studied. It is the relatively one-sided focus on ing, living relatively comfortable lives. For individuals the negatives that is of concern. Sheldon and King in this group, life satisfaction is more dependent on (2001) describe the fundamental message of positive psychological and social factors because basic needs psychology as follows: “Positive psychology is thus an have been met. The fact that most Americans seem rea- attempt to urge psychologists to adopt a more open sonably happy (Myers, 2000a) may reflect the optimism and appreciative perspective regarding human poten- and satisfaction that results from having the freedom to tials, motives and capacities” (p. 216). Positive psy- make personal choices and to pursue satisfying chology aims to expand—not replace—psychology’s endeavors. Both are made possible, in part, by relative understanding of human behavior. economic comfort. However, knowing that someone is economically well-off does not tell us whether he or Positive Psychology she is happy or satisfied with his or her life. One impor- and the Status Quo tant message of positive psychology is this: A shortage of money can make you miserable, but an abundance Research in positive psychology shows that our atti- of money doesn’t necessarily make you happy. tude toward life makes a significant contribution to Finally, questions concerning what makes us our happiness and health. But does this mean that life happy and questions about what is just and fair in the circumstances are not important? If you are poor, distribution of resources and in how people are living in a high-crime area, and have no job, is your treated, might best be answered separately. That is, happiness dependent on your attitude and not your whatever positive psychologists may discover about situation? If happiness is more a matter of attitude than the sources of happiness, issues of justice and fairness money, do we need to worry much about the amount will remain. The primary reasons for promoting equal- of poverty in our country? In other words, does posi- ity, equal opportunity, and equal treatment have to do tive psychology serve the status quo by helping to jus- with the foundational values of our country. Policies tify the unequal distribution of resources and power in to remove discriminatory barriers or to improve the our society? If our happiness is more a product of sub- equal distribution of resources do not require misery jective personal factors than it is of material factors, or unhappiness as justification. Discrimination and why should we be concerned about who gets what? inequality may create misery, but being treated fairly There are a number of reasons why positive and having equal opportunity are rights of every citi- psychology should not be seen as justifying the sta- zen regardless of how she or he may feel. No one tus quo. First, an individual’s external situation is should have to show that he or she is miserable and clearly important to the quality of his or her life; and unhappy to justify fair treatment or equal opportunity. Chapter Summary Questions 1. From the perspective of positive psychology, 4. How does the disease model promote a focus why does the Milgram study present an imbal- on negatives? anced view of human nature? 5. Why is positive psychology necessary according 2. Why are negative aspects of human behavior to Seligman, and how is positive psychology perceived as more authentic and real than posi- related to humanistic psychology? tive aspects? 6. What does recent evidence from health psychol- 3. Why are negative behaviors given more weight ogy suggest about the differing effects of positive than positive behaviors? and negative emotions on our physical health? 11  What Is Positive Psychology? 7. a. Why did researchers in the Nun Study 12. What is the major assumption and goal of posi- hypothesize that expressed emotions could tive psychology? predict longevity? 13. Describe the components of Seligman’s three- b. Briefly describe the study’s design and major part definition of happiness (i.e., pleasant, findings. engaged, and meaningful life). 8. Describe two reasons why clinical psycholo- 14. a. How may positive psychology be thought of gists are becoming interested in positive as the study of life above zero? psychology. b. How do your text authors define positive 9. How do developmental psychologists’ studies of psychology? resilience and posttraumatic growth contribute 15. What cultural changes and paradoxes have to positive psychology? contributed to the development of positive 10. What does survey research suggest about the psychology? importance of money to individual happiness? 16. How does positive psychology complement 11. How have social and personality psychology rather than oppose traditional psychology? contributed to positive psychology? Describe 17. Discuss the issue of positive psychology’s rela- three examples. tionship to the status quo. Key Terms bad is stronger than the subjective pleasant life good well-being engaged life disease model posttraumatic meaningful life growth paradox of affluence Web Resources Positive Psychology Pennsylvania. Contains recent research and “fun” www.positivepsychology.org Site for the Positive information. Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania. The Nun Study A wealth of information about positive psychology’s www.mc.uky.edu/nunnet/ University of Kentucky web goals, research, and theories. page for research related to the famous Nun Study. www.apa.org Web page for the American Psychological Association, with links to articles and Authentic Happiness books about positive psychology. www.authentichappiness.org Martin Seligman’s link www.pos-psych.com Site for the Positive Psychology to his popular 2002 book Authentic happiness. News Daily. Web site put together by graduates of Contains research summaries and positive psychol- the Master’s Degree program at the University of ogy self-assessment tests. Suggested Readings Argyle, M. (2001). The psychology of happiness (2nd ed.). and future directions for a positive psychology. Great Britain: Routledge. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Aspinwall, L. G., & Staudinger, U. M. (Eds.). (2003). A psy- Gable, S. L., & Haidt, J. (2005). What (and why) is positive chology of human strengths: Fundamental questions psychology? Review of General Psychology, 9, 103–110. 12  What Is Positive Psychology? Keyes, C. L. M., & Haidt, J. (Eds.). (2003). Flourishing: Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive Positive psychology and the life well-lived. Washington, psychology: An Introduction. American Psychologist, DC: American Psychological Association. 55, 5–14. Linley, P. A., & Joseph, S. (2004). Positive psychology in Sheldon, K. M., & King, L. (2001). Why positive psychology practice. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. is necessary. American Psychologist, 56, 216–217. Myers, D. G. (1992). The pursuit of happiness. New York: Snyder, C. R., & Lopez, S. J. (Eds.). (2002). Handbook of Avon Books. positive psychology. New York: Oxford University Press. 13 14  The Meaning and Measure of Happiness From Chapter 2 of Positive Psychology, First Edition. Steve R. Baumgardner, Marie K. Crothers. Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 15  The Meaning and Measure of Happiness CHAPTER OUTLINE Why a Psychology of Well-Being? Objective versus Subjective Measures Negative versus Positive Functioning What is Happiness? Two Traditions Hedonic Happiness Eudaimonic Happiness Focus on Research: Positive Affect and a Meaningful Life Subjective Well-Being:The Hedonic Basis of Happiness Measuring Subjective Well-Being Life Satisfaction Positive Affect, Negative Affect, and Happiness Focus on Research: Is Your Future Revealed in Your Smile? Issues in the Study of Affect Global Measures of Happiness Reliability and Validity of Subjective Well-Being Measures Experience Sampling Method Focus on Method: How Do We Spend Our Time? The Day Reconstruction Method Experience Sampling versus Global Measures of Subjective Well-Being Self-Realization:The Eudaimonic Basis of Happiness Psychological Well-Being and Positive Functioning Emotional Well-Being Psychological Well-Being Social Well-Being Need Fulfillment and Self-Determination Theory Focus on Research: What Makes a “Good” Day? Comparing Hedonic and Eudaimonic Views of Happiness Definition and Causes of Happiness and Well-Being Complementarity and Interrelationship I n this chapter, we begin an exploration of psychology’s answer to some ancient questions. What is a good life? What is a life worth living? What is the basis for happiness that endures beyond short-term pleasures? The ancient Greeks contemplated the answers to these ques- tions. Is a good life built on maximizing pleasures and minimizing pain, as the hedonic 16  The Meaning and Measure of Happiness philosophy of the Epicureans prescribed? Minimizing health insurance. A picture of mental health is pro- pain, as the Stoics believed? Or is happiness to be vided by statistics showing the percentage of people found in the expression of the true self, or daimon, as suffering from emotional problems like depression, described by Aristotle’s eudaimonic view of happiness? drug abuse, anxiety disorders, and suicide. An aggre- Every day we are asked, “how are you doing?” gate view of community and family well-being may be Few of us consult classical philosophy to address this seen in statistics on such things as divorce, single-par- question. Yet our answers reflect some assessment of ent families, poor families, unwed mothers, abused our well-being, even if only the temporary and fleeting children, serious crimes, and suicide. assessment of our feelings at a given moment. In the What kind of answer do these statistics offer to larger scheme of things, much depends on how we the question, “how are we doing?” Taken in total, describe and define happiness and “the good life.” they describe what we might call our country’s The kind of society we wish to have reflects our cul- “misery index.” That is, they give us information ture’s image of what a good life represents. The efforts about how many people are suffering from signifi- of parents, teachers, government, and religion are cant problems that diminish the quality of their lives. based on assumptions about the kind of qualities and To be poor, depressed, seriously ill without health behaviors that “should” be promoted and encouraged. insurance, unemployed, or coping with the suicide As individuals, we each have some notion of the life of a family member seems like a recipe for misery we hope to lead, and the goals and ambitions we and unhappiness. Most of us would agree that want to pursue. No matter how we describe the partic- decreasing the misery index is an important goal of ulars, most of us hope for a happy and satisfying life. governmental, social, and economic policy. Within What makes up a happy and satisfying life is the ques- psychology, a good deal of research and profes- tion. Positive psychology has addressed this question sional practice has been devoted to preventing and from a subjective psychological point of view. This treating the problems reflected in the misery index. means that primacy is given to people’s own judg- Positive psychologists agree that these problems are ments of well-being based on their own criteria for significant and applaud efforts to deal with them. evaluating the quality of life. We now consider why a However, a positive psychological perspective sug- subjective and psychological perspective is important. gests that national statistics provide an incomplete and somewhat misleading answer to the question, “how are we doing?” WHY A PSYCHOLOGY OF WELL-BEING? Objective versus Subjective We Americans collect a wealth of information related Measures to the question, “how are we doing as a society?” We count, rate, and measure many aspects of our collec- Researchers discovered early on that many economic tive and individual lives. Information collected by fed- and social indicators of a person’s “objective” life cir- eral, state, and local governments, along with cumstances (e.g., income, age, and occupation) were numerous private agencies, provides a statistical pic- only weakly related to people’s own judgments of ture of the “state” of different life domains. Economic their well-being (Andrews & Withey, 1976; Campbell, indicators assess our collective economic well-being. Converse, & Rodgers, 1976). In a major review of this They include statistics on the rate of unemployment, research, Diener (1984) argued that subjective well- the number of people defined as poor, average annual being (SWB), defined by ratings of life satisfaction income, new jobs created, home mortgage interest and positive emotional experience, was a critical com- rates, and performance of the stock market. A variety ponent of well-being that was missing from the equa- of social indicators assess the state of our health, fam- tion. Subjective well-being, or happiness, in everyday ilies, and communities (Diener, 1995; Diener & Suh, terms, reflects an individual’s own judgment about the 1997). A picture of our physical health is suggested by quality of his or her life. From a subjective well-being statistics describing such things as how long we live, (SWB) perspective, economic and social indicators are the number of people suffering from major illnesses incomplete because they do not directly assess how (like cancer, heart disease, and AIDS), levels of infant happy or satisfied people are with their lives (Diener & mortality, and the percentage of people who have Suh, 1997). Although these indicators describe the 17  The Meaning and Measure of Happiness “facts” of a person’s life, they do not tell us how a Negative versus Positive Functioning person thinks and feels about these facts. Personal, subjective evaluations are important Other researchers have argued that national statis- for several reasons. First, different individuals may tics are also incomplete because they fail to assess react to the same circumstances (as described by eco- human strengths, optimal functioning, and posi- nomic and social statistics) in very different ways tive mental health (Aspinwall & Staudinger, 2003; because of differences in their expectations, values, Keyes, Shmotkin, & Ryff, 2002; Ryan & Deci, and personal histories. Subjective evaluations help us 2001). For example, Ryff and Keyes (1995) interpret the “facts” from an individual’s point of view. described six aspects of positive functioning and Second, happiness and life satisfaction are important actualization of potentials as the basis for what goals in their own right. The “pursuit of happiness” is they called “psychological well-being:” autonomy, described in the Declaration of Independence as one personal growth, self-acceptance, life purpose, of Americans’ inalienable rights, and surveys show environmental mastery, and positive relations that people rank happiness high on the list of desir- with others. They argue that it is the presence of able life goals. For example, a survey of over 7,000 these strengths and realized potentials that define college students in 42 different countries found the well-being and a fully functioning person. From pursuit of happiness and life satisfaction to be among this perspective, national statistics (particularly students’ most important goals (Suh, Diener, Oishi, & those related to mental illness) are incomplete Triandis, 1998). Happiness is a central component of because they only examine the presence or people’s conception of a good life and a good society absence of illness and negative functioning, and (Diener, Oishi, & Lucas, 2003). How happy people are fail to take into account the presence of strengths with their lives is therefore an important part of the and positive functioning. Mental health statistics answer to the question, “how are we doing?” are focused on pathological symptoms of mental Economic and social indicators may be mislead- illness—not on positive markers of mental well- ing if we consider them to be sufficient indices of ness (Keyes, 2002; Ryff & Singer, 1998). As noted happiness and satisfaction. Research shows that a by Keyes (2003), the absence of mental illness person’s level of happiness depends on many factors does not necessarily indicate the presence of that are not measured by economic and social statis- mental health. tics. For example, the amount of money a person The major point of Keyes’ analysis is shown makes is only marginally related to measures of hap- in Figure 1. About 26% of American adults suffer piness (Csikszentmihalyi, 1999; Diener, Suh, Lucas, & from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given Smith, 1999). Over the last 50 years, average personal year. Does this mean that the other 74% are men- income has tripled. Yet, national surveys conducted tally healthy? Keyes’ research suggests that the during the same 50-year period showed that levels of answer is no. Only 17% of Americans were found expressed happiness did not go up, but remained to enjoy complete mental health or to be flourish- unchanged. Clearly, some social statistics do tell us ing, and 10% were estimated to be languishing. something about who is likely to be unhappy. The Languishing is a state of distress and despair, but it approximately 20% of Americans who are depressed is not severe enough to meet current mental ill- are, by definition, dissatisfied with their lives (Kessler ness criteria and so is not included in official et al., 1994). However, most national statistics tell us statistics. little about who is likely to be happy. If we knew a Positive psychologists argue that without meas- particular person had a good job and adequate ures of SWB and positive functioning, our answer to income, was married, owned a home, was in good the question “how are we doing?” is likely to be physical health, and was not suffering from a mental incomplete. In line with this conclusion, Diener and disorder, we would still not know if he or she was Seligman (2004) have recently provided a detailed also happy and satisfied. Diener and colleagues examination of the social policy implications of well- summarize the importance of happiness by arguing being research. They argue for the development of a that the measurement of happiness is an essential national indicator of well-being that would comple- third ingredient, along with economic and social indi- ment economic and social statistics. A national well- cators, for assessing the quality of life within a society being index would highlight important features of (Diener et al., 2003). our individual and collective lives that are not 18  The Meaning and Measure of Happiness 40 35 30 Percent of Population 25 26% 20 15 17% 10 10% 10% 5 0 All Disorders Mood Flourishing Languishing in Given Year Disorders (Keyes) (Keyes) for U.S. Adult Population FIGURE 1 Mental Illness and Mental Health Source: Mental disorders data from National Institute of Mental Health. The numbers count: Mental disorders in America, Rev. 2006. Retrieved August 2007 at http://www. nimh.nih.gov/publicat/numbers.cfm. Flourishing/languishing percentages from Keyes, C.L.M. (2007). Promoting and protecting mental health and flourishing: A complementary strategy for improving national mental health. American Psychologist, 62, 95–108. currently measured in any systematic way. Such an Hedonic Happiness index could have important and positive effects on social policies, and on how we think about the qual- Probably most of us would hope first for a long ity of our lives. Several countries in Europe have life—one that does not end prematurely. Suicide, already begun to address this issue. For example, the however, is a reminder that the quality of life is more German Socioeconomic Panel in Germany and the important to many people than the quantity of life. Eurobarometer in European Union nations are two As for quality of life, happiness might be number examples of government-sponsored programs that one on our list. Most people would likely hope for regularly collect information about life satisfaction a happy and satisfying life, in which good things and well-being. and pleasant experiences outnumber bad ones. Particularly in American culture, as we noted earlier, happiness seems to be an important part of how peo- WHAT IS HAPPINESS? TWO TRADITIONS ple define a good life. Defining the good life in terms From your own individual point of view, how of personal happiness is the general thrust of the would you answer the questions raised at the hedonic view of well-being (Kahneman, Diener, & beginning of this chapter? What is a good life? What Schwarz, 1999; Ryan & Deci, 2001; Waterman, 1993). is happiness? What defines a satisfying life or a life Hedonic psychology parallels aspects of the philoso- well-lived? What kind of life do you wish to lead? phy of hedonism. While there are many varieties of And in the end, how do you hope people will philosophical hedonism dating back to the ancient remember you? Greeks, a general version of hedonism holds that the 19  The Meaning and Measure of Happiness chief goal of life is the pursuit of happiness and of classical Greek philosophy was concerned with pleasure. Within psychology, this view of well-being these deeper meanings of happiness and the good is expressed in the study of SWB (Diener, 1984; life. Waterman (1990, 1993) describes two psycho- Diener et al., 1999). Subjective well-being takes a logical views of happiness distilled from classical broad view of happiness, beyond the pursuit of philosophy. Hedonic conceptions of happiness, dis- short-term or physical pleasures defining a narrow cussed above, define happiness as the enjoyment of hedonism. Subjective well-being is defined as life life and its pleasures. The hedonic view captures a satisfaction, the presence of positive affect, and a rel- major element of what we mean by happiness in ative absence of negative affect. Together, the three everyday terms: We enjoy life; we are satisfied with components are often referred to as happiness. how our lives are going; and good events outnum- Research based on the SWB model has burgeoned in ber bad events. the last 5 years (Ryan & Deci, 2001). Studies have In contrast, eudaimonic conceptions of happi- delineated a variety of personality characteristics and ness, given fullest expression in the writings of life experiences that help answer questions about Aristotle, define happiness as self-realization, meaning who is happy and what makes people happy. A the expression and fulfillment of inner potentials. major portion of this text is devoted to reviewing the From this perspective, the good life results from living research and theory on SWB. in accordance with your daimon (in other words, your true self). That is, happiness results from striving toward self-actualization—a process in which our tal- Eudaimonic Happiness ents, needs, and deeply held values direct the way we Is happiness enough for a good life? Would you be conduct our lives. “Eudaimonia” (or happiness) results content and satisfied if you were happy and nothing from realization of our potentials. We are happiest else? Consider a hypothetical example suggested by when we follow and achieve our goals and develop Seligman (2002a). What if you could be hooked to our unique potentials. Eudaimonic happiness has an “experience machine” that would keep you in a much in common with humanistic psychology’s constant state of cheerful happiness, or whatever emphases on the concepts of self-actualization positive emotion you desired, no matter what hap- (Maslow, 1968) and the fully functioning person pened in your life. Fitting the hedonic view, you (Rogers, 1961) as criteria for healthy development and would experience an abundance of happiness all optimal functioning. the time. Would you choose to be hooked up? We What kinds of experiences lead to eudaimonic might like it for awhile, but to experience only one happiness? Waterman (1993) argued that eudai- of our many emotions, and to have the same cheer- monic happiness results from experiences of per- ful reaction to the diversity of life events and chal- sonal expressiveness. Such experiences occur when lenges might actually impoverish the experience of we are fully engaged in life activities that fit and life. And some of what we would lose might be express our deeply held values and our sense of extremely valuable. For example, negative emotions who we are. Under these circumstances we experi- like fear help us make choices that avoid threats to ence a feeling of fulfillment, of meaningfulness, of our well-being. Without fear and other negative being intensely alive—a feeling that this is who we emotions we might make very bad choices. We’d be really are and who we were meant to be. happy, but we might not live very long. Seligman At this point, you might ask whether hedonic (2002a) argues that we would likely also reject the and eudaimonic views of happiness are very different. experience machine because we want to feel we are Aren’t activities that bring us pleasure also generally entitled to our positive emotions, and to believe the ones that are meaningful because they express our they reflect our “real” positive qualities and behav- talents and values? Waterman believes that there are iors. Pleasure, disconnected from reality, does not many more activities that produce hedonic enjoyment affirm or express our identity as individuals. than activities that provide eudaimonic happiness Above all, most of us would probably reject based on personal expression. Everything from alco- the experience machine because we believe that hol consumption and eating chocolate, to a warm there is more to life than happiness and subjective bath can bring us pleasure, but there are fewer activi- pleasure. Or as Seligman (2002a) describes it, there ties that engage significant aspects of our identity and is a deeper and more “authentic happiness.” Much give a deeper meaning to our lives. 20  The Meaning and Measure of Happiness To evaluate the similarities and differences well-being. In fact, “the good life,” from a eudaimonic between hedonic enjoyment and personal expres- perspective, suggests that the pursuit of pleasure may siveness (eudaimonic enjoyment), Waterman (1993) detract from a personally expressive and meaningful asked a sample of college students to list five activi- life. Pleasure is seen as a shallow and unsatisfying ties that addressed the following question: “If you substitute for deeper purposes in life. The potential wanted another person to know about who you are opposition between pleasure and meaning is one and what you are like as a person, what five activities reason for the scant research examining their potential of importance to you would you describe?” (p. 681). interrelation. However, King and colleagues’ study This question was meant to evoke activities that suggests that the line between positive affect and define and express a person’s personality, talents, meaning in life is not as clear as previously imagined. and values. Each activity listed was then rated on Positive affect may enhance people’s ability to find scales describing personal expressiveness and hedo- meaning and purpose in their lives. nic enjoyment of the activity. Expressive items As a basis for their study, King and her col- included questions about whether the activity gave leagues note the considerable research linking strong feelings of authenticity (who I really am), ful- meaning with positive psychological functioning. fillment and completion, intense involvement, and Experiencing life as meaningful consistently predicts self-activity-fit. Hedonic questions focused on health and happiness across the life span. Finding whether the activity produced good feelings such as a meaning in life’s difficulties contributes to positive warm glow, happiness, pleasure, or enjoyment. coping and adaptation. Meaning in life may stem Waterman found substantial overlap in expressive from a person’s goals, intrinsically satisfying activi- and hedonic ratings. Half to two-thirds of the time, ties, interpersonal relationships, self-improvement personally expressive activities also generated a com- efforts, or a transcendent philosophy or religion that parable level of hedonic enjoyment. However, the two provides a larger sense of understanding and coher- forms of happiness also diverged for some activities. ence to the journey through life. Whatever the basis Hedonic enjoyment was associated with activities that of their understanding, people are clearly capable of made people feel relaxed, excited, content or happy, making global judgments about the meaning and and that led to losing track of time and forgetting purpose of life. Researchers do not typically define personal problems. Feelings of personal expressive- “meaning in life” for study participants, but let each ness (eudaimonic happiness) were more strongly person use his or her own understanding. People’s related to activities that created feelings of challenge, self-described perceptions of meaning and purpose competence, and effort, and that offered the opportu- are highly related to well-being outcomes. nity for personal growth and skill development. How might positive affect contribute to meaning in life? King and her colleagues believe that positive emotions open up people’s thinking to more imagina- Focus on Research: Positive Affect tive and creative possibilities by placing current con- and a Meaningful Life cerns in a broader context. These effects of positive Until recently, Waterman was one of the few emotions may enhance meaning if they also cause researchers who examined the similarities and differ- people to think of their lives in terms of a larger ences between hedonic and eudaimonic conceptions system of meaning. For example, an enjoyable walk of happiness. However, in a recent study, Laura King in the mountains on a beautiful day or a fun evening and her colleagues have revisited this issue by exam- with friends may lead you to think of your place in ining the relationship between positive affect and nature’s scheme of things or the importance of rela- meaningfulness (King, Hicks, Krull, & Del Gaiso, tionships in a satisfying life. 2006). Positive affect is a summary term for pleasura- Positive emotions may also be markers of ble emotions such as joy, contentment, laughter, and meaningful events and activities. Progressing toward love. Meaningfulness refers to more personally important goals makes us feel good. Judgments expressive and engaging activities that may connect of global life satisfaction are enhanced by a current us to a broader and even transcendent view of life. or recent positive mood. Meaningful and expressive King and her colleagues note that histori- activities are typically accompanied by enjoyment. It cally, positive affect has been thought of as more cen- is likely that these connections between positive tral to hedonic than to eudaimonic conceptions of affect and meaning are represented in our memories 21  The Meaning and Measure of Happiness as well-learned linkages. In the same way that the the hedonic basis of happiness; and studies of sights, sounds, and smells of Christmas may bring optimal functioning, positive mental health, and back fond childhood memories, positive affect may flourishing have examined the underpinnings of give rise to a sense of meaning in life. Positive emo- well-being fitting the eudaimonic view. The defini- tions may be intimately bound to the meaning of tions and measures of well-being developed within meaning. each of these empirical traditions will be reviewed In a series of six studies, King and her colleagues separately. A comparative analysis will then exam- found positive affect to be consistently related to ine the overlapping and the distinctive features of meaning in life. Whether people were asked to make the hedonic and eudaimonic views. global life judgments or daily assessments, meaning and positive emotion were highly correlated. Taking a long-term view, people who characteristically experi- SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING: THE HEDONIC ence many positive emotions (i.e., trait positive affec- BASIS OF HAPPINESS tivity) report greater meaningfulness in their lives than Subjective well-being shares a common core of mean- people who typically experience more frequent nega- ing with the more everyday term happiness. The term tive emotions (i.e., trait negative affectivity). In day-to- “subjective” means, from the point of view of the indi- day life, the same relationship was found. A day vidual. That is, it refers to a person’s own assessment judged as meaningful included more positive than of his or her life, rather than assessment by an exter- negative emotional events. People’s ratings of state- nal observer or evaluator, or as might be inferred from ments such as, “Today, my personal existence was more objective measures of factors such as physical very purposeful and meaningful” or, “Today, I had a health, job status, or income. As Myers and Diener sense that I see a reason for being here” were signifi- (1995) put it, the final judge of happiness is “whoever cantly related to their daily diary entries describing lives inside the person’s skin” (p. 11). Diener (2000) positive emotional experiences occurring during the describes SWB as follows: “SWB refers to people’s day. And the effect of positive emotion was above and evaluations of their lives—evaluations that are both beyond that of goal progress assessments. Goal pur- affective and cognitive. People experience an abun- suits are a significant source of purpose in life. When dance of SWB when they feel many pleasant and few King and her fellow investigators factored out the unpleasant emotions, when they are engaged in inter- effects of individual goal assessments, positive affect esting activities, when they experience many pleas- was still significantly related to enhanced life meaning. ures and few pains, when they are satisfied with their Experimental manipulations of positive and negative lives” (p. 34). In short, a person with high SWB has a mood also supported the role of positive affect. pervasive sense that life is “good.” In our review, we People who were primed to think about, or induced will use the terms subjective well-being and happiness to feel positive emotions rated life as more meaningful interchangeably. and made clearer discriminations between meaningful and meaningless tasks, compared to participants in Measuring Subjective Well-Being neutral emotional conditions. Overall, King and her colleagues’ work sug- Early survey researchers assessed people’s sense of gests that meaning and positive emotion may share well-being directly. In national surveys, tens of thou- a two-way street. In other words, meaningful activi- sands of people responded to questions that asked ties and accomplishment bring enjoyment and satis- for an overall global judgment about happiness, life faction to life, and positive emotions may bring an satisfaction, and feelings (see Andrews & Withey, enhanced sense of meaning and purpose. As King 1976; Campbell et al., 1976, for reviews). Survey and her associates conclude, “the lines between researchers asked questions like the following: hedonic pleasure and more ‘meaningful pursuits’ “Taking all things together, how would you say should not be drawn too rigidly.” “... pleasure has things are these days—would you say you are very a place in the