Positive Psychology PDF

7. Positive Individual Level DSM → a term used by psychologists and psychiatrists working with mental illness. Assumptions underlying the VIA Classification: a. Human strengths are not secondary to weaknesses, illusory or epiphenomenal. b. Human strengths are am...

7. Positive Individual Level DSM → a term used by psychologists and psychiatrists working with mental illness. Assumptions underlying the VIA Classification: a. Human strengths are not secondary to weaknesses, illusory or epiphenomenal. b. Human strengths are amenable to scientific understanding. c. Human strengths are individual differences that people may possess to a greater or lesser degree d. Human strengths are considered human traits, but that may also be influenced by environmental factors. Three Conceptual Levels of Human Strengths Classification a. Virtues → the core characteristics valued by moral philosophers and religious thinkers. b. Character strengths → psychological processes or mechanisms that define the virtues. c. Situational themes → specific habits that allow people to deploy their strengths within a given situation Character strengths are defined as positive traits and individual differences such as curiosity, kindness, and gratitude. Signature strengths are the positive traits that an individual owns, celebrates, and frequently exercises. CRITERIA CHARACTER SIGNATURE Widely recognized (universality) A sense of ownership and authenticity “this is real me” vis-a-vis a strength Manifested in individual’s behaviors, Excited in displaying it, particularly at thoughts, feelings, and actions, first generalizable across situations and time Morally valued, irrespective of what Rapid learning curved as themes and benefit it may lead to practiced Displaying strengths does not diminish Continuous learning of new ways to others, but may benefit them enact the strength Contributes to the fulfillment of good A sense of yearning to act in life for self and others. accordance with the strength  Should have an adjective, verb, and A feeling of inevitability in using the noun strength, as if one cannot be stopped Measurable Invigoration rather than exhaustion Has paragon (strikingly embodied in The creation and pursuit of some individuals) fundamental projects that evolve around the strength Has prodigies (shown by children and Intrinsic motivation youth) Can be selectively absent If the opposite can be good, it is not considered as a strength Larger society provides institutions and associated rituals to cultivate strengths and virtues. SIX CORE VIRTUES AND THEIR RELATED STRENGTHS WITHIN THE VIA CLASSIFICATION Virtues Definition Strengths Wisdom Acquisition and use of Creativity, originality, knowledge curiosity, love of learning, judgment, personal intelligence, perspective Courage Exercise of will to Authenticity, enthusiasm, accomplish goals in the zest, industry, face of adversity perseverance, valour, persistence, bravery Humanity Interpersonal strengths Kindness, loving, and being loved, social intelligence Justice Civic strength Fairness, leadership, teamwork, loyalty Temperance Protection against Modesty, humility, excesses of all kinds prudence, self-control, forgiveness  Transcendence Strengths that connect Awe, gratitude, hope, us to something larger optimism, playfulness, than ourselves spirituality The way strengths contribute to lead a positive life: 1. Using one’s strength is considered to be concordant with one’s intrinsic interests and values. 2. Using one’s strength is considered to serve well-being and basic psychological needs. 3. Using one’s strength is considered to be acting in accordance with our actualizing tendency and our organismic valuing process. VALUE OF STRENGTHS CLIFTON & ANDERSON PETERSON & SELIGNMAN Encourages insights and perspective Build resilience Generate optimism The heart of succesful psychological therapies Develop confidence Buffer against certain types of dysfunction and mental disorder Provides a sense of direction Associated with a sense of vitality  DEFINITION OF GRATITUDE AS AN EMOTION AS A AS A CHARACTER PSYCHOLOGICAL STRENGTH STATE a moment of realizing A felt sense of wonder, The feeling of being someone has gone out thankfulness, and aware of the good of their way for you, or appreciation for life things that happen to simply feeling you, and you never overwhelmed with your take them for granted. heart opening, after being moved in some way Cicero, Pro Plancio → “Gratitude is not only the greatest virtues, but the parent of all others.”  Gratitude can be directed toward impersonal and nonhuman sources, such as God, nature, life, but it cannot be directed toward the self. Gratitude is positively related to life satisfaction, vitality, happiness, self-esteem, optimism, hope, empathy, and willingness to support other people. Ungratefulness is related to anxiety, depression, envy, materialism, and loneliness. Virtue → a good habit that reflects excellent character, helps life thrive, and shows a person reaching their highest potential. GRATITUDE AS MORAL AFFECT Gratitude depends on the perception We feel grateful to people when we of intentional benevolence and so see they’ve helped us. The more effort functions as a moral barometer or sacrifice it took them, the more gratitude we show, even if we value their intention more than the act itself ("it’s the thought that counts"). Gratitude encourages people to Grateful people are more likely to help behave prosocially (including toward their benefactor and others, creating a us), and so functions as a moral positive cycle of gratitude and motive kindness. Gratitude encourages people to be When we show gratitude, people are helpful to us again in the future, and more likely to help us again. However, so acts as a moral reinforcer if someone we help shows ingratitude, we’re much less likely to help them in the future.  BENEFIT OF EXPERIENCING GRATITUDE a. Feel connected to something much larger b. Have a wider human relational universe c. Leading a more meaningful and fulfilled life  8. Positive Character Traits Excellence → acquisition of extraordinary skill in a specific area of expertise. Development of excellence: a. Cognitive skills Large knowledge in specific domain Memory skills Facilitating information acquisition through shortcut strategies and schemas b. Commitment Determined to succeed and can preserve in spite of difficulties c. Practice Begin practice earlier Be consistent Deliberate practice (focused, planned, concentrated, and effortful  THE PURPOSE OF AESTHETIC - Appreciation for the natural world’s beauty - Remind the places we have been or the people we love - Stimuli for positive emotion - Help to learn interesting patterns, colours, stimulate curiosity - Media to express emotions/feeling , intuitions, and meaning that cannot be expressed using words Art as an aid to healing a. Music - Help patients heal faster after surgery - Help cancer patients in healing process - Help Alzheimer’s patients remember their past events - Help people cope better with severe pain - Boost immune system Art as a boost to intelligence a. Music - Help children raise test scores  - Increase brain size - Children who learned piano scored 34% higher on abstract reasoning test than those who were taught computer skills. TYPES OF CREATIVITY PROCESS CREATIVITY PRODUCT CREATIVITY More personal and psychological type What most people think of when use the term creativity Increased openness to experiences The process of finding highly original and inventive solutions to problems Willingness to accept and relish change Ability to improvise and adapt quickly to situations  A greater than average ability to think in unexpected directions Small-C Creativity → superior problem-solving skills Big-C Creativity → Genius → makes lasting contributions to a field of study or a culture  Understanding the Creative Process - Freud: Creativity comes from "Primary process thinking," the unconscious and irrational thoughts linked to dreams, fantasies, and spontaneous ideas. - Jung: Creativity taps into the "Deeper unconscious," where archetypal symbols and the collective unconscious exist.  - Psychodynamic Orientation: Combines Freud and Jung’s ideas, showing that creativity involves both unconscious and preconscious thinking, with the preconscious holding ideas just below conscious awareness. Preconscious thinking refers to thoughts, memories, and ideas that are not currently in your conscious awareness but can be easily brought to mind when needed. It acts as a middle ground between the conscious (what you're actively aware of) and the unconscious (deep, inaccessible thoughts). For example, recalling your favorite childhood toy when someone asks about it involves accessing preconscious thought. PREPARATION INCUBATION ILLUMINATION VERIFICATION Information Attempts to find a Initiated when a The creative gathered creative solution creative solution breakthrough emerges often must be worked rapidly and into its final form unexpectedly as an insight (e.g. emerging from a  dream) First attempt to Handled at an solve problem “unconscious” level of processing Variety ideas Can last hours or tossed around years The stage is set for creative solution Convergent Thinking: - Focused on finding a single, correct solution to a problem. - Logical, analytical, and systematic. - Often used in tasks like multiple-choice tests, math problems, or situations requiring a clear, definitive answer. - Example: Solving a math equation or identifying the capital of a country. Divergent Thinking: - Focused on generating multiple ideas, solutions, or possibilities for a problem. - Creative, open-ended, and exploratory. - Often used in brainstorming, creative writing, or innovation tasks. - Example: Thinking of as many uses as possible for a paperclip or coming up with different story endings. Convergent thinking narrows options, while divergent thinking expands possibilities.  WAYS TO INCREASE CREATIVITY 1. Everyone is creative 2. The left brain tends to deal with numbers, words, logic, etc. The right brain tends to deal with shapes, colors, rhythm, etc. Real creativity involves both sides of the brain. 3. Speed of thought → Exercise the brain with sudoku, crosswords, puzzles, and chess, and try to do them as fast as possible. 4. Originality of thought → think out of the box. 5. Flexibility of thought → discover and explore as many perspectives as possible. 6. Imagination & association → find new connections between things. Genius → someone who shows extraordinary levels of creativity and inventiveness. “Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration” - Thomas A. Edison 9. Positive Character Traits: Optimism  Altruism → the motivation underlying behavior that is designed to enhance the welfare of another and that has no specific gain attached to one’s own welfare. Sources of altruistic motivation: - Empathy → other-oriented emotional response elicited (created) by and congruent (compatible) with the perceived welfare of someone else. - Relational need → the sense of acting to resolve the suffering - Two other motives from Batson et al. (2002) - Collectivism → the motivation to benefit the group as a whole. - Principlism → the motivation that we act with the ultimate goal of upholding some universal and impartial moral principle. Optimism → mood or attitude associated with the expectation of a desirable, advantageous, or pleasurable future. Dispositional optimis → global expectation that good thins will be plentiful in the future and the bad things scarce. LITTLE OPTIMISM BIG OPTIMISM Specific expectations about positive Larger and less specific expectations outcomes The product of an idiosyncratic Biologically given tendency filled in by (exceptional, very special) learning culture with a sociably acceptable history content. Predisposes (memberikan Produces a general state of vigor and kecenderungan kepada) are specific resilience actions that are adaptive in a given situation   Optimists have been shown to adapt better to a range of negative events including coronary artery bypass surgery, breast cancer, abortion, bone marrow transplantation, and AIDS.  OPTIMISTS PESSIMISTS Exert continuing effort Distract themselves with activity that do not solve the problem Tend not to give up Tend to give up trying Tend to use problem-focused and Believing that whatever they do will positive re-framing coping strategies not help Not denial or distancing the problem Better equipped to rebuild their world following a trauma Optimists rarely believe that they are at personal risk, which leads to them engaging in more risk-taking behaviors. Dimensions of explanatory style: - Internality → the cause of the event was within my control - Stability → the cause of the event will always be present - Globality → the cause of the event will not only influence that event, but all other events OPTIMISTIC EXPLANATORY STYLE → making attributions that are internal, stable, and global for good and external, unstable, and specific for bad events.  10. Positive Institutions Types of social grouping a. Aggregation → an assembly of individuals physically in the same place For example: pedestrians, Christmas shoppers, and cyclists. b. Collectivity → two or more individuals who can be discussed as a whole. All aggregation are collectivities, but not all collectivities are aggregates. For example: students with black eyes, voters at age 35-45.  c. Group → a set of interacting individuals who mutually influence each others. For example: therapy groups, famailies, dance bands. d. Organization → an enduring and structured group that usually has traditions and customs, members think as a whole, members have differentiated and specialised roles, members may be replaced by others. For example: IBM, National footbal league. e. Institution → a set of like organizations with especially sustained and pervasive influences within a society or even the world as a whole. For example: education, religion, marriage, free press. The good institution → the one that enables the good life for its members (not simply code for money, status, or pleasure). WIDELY VALUED INSTITUTIONAL-LEVEL VIRTUES a. Purpose → shared vision of the organization’s moral goals, reinforced by remembrances and celebrations. b. Safety → protection against threat, danger, and exploitation. c. Fairness → equitable rules governing rewards and punishment d. Humanity → mutual care and concern e. Dignity → treatment of all people in the organization regardless of their position THE GOOD FAMILY: - Love - Roles of family members (parents) - Parenting style: THE GOOD SCHOOL: - Provides safe environment for students  - Prepares students an effective learner throughout life - Guide students to have social and emotional competence (caring, responsible, ultimately productive members of society - Enforcing discipline policies that focus on correction and skills building rather than just punishment - Strong and effective school governance - Increase student’s feeling of belonging and connectedness (contact between students and teachers) THE GOOD WORKPLACE: - Culturally congruent with their workers -  HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF GOOD SOCIETY: - Ancient Rome - Confucius - Philosophical debates (The Utopia) Roman Municipal Virtues: - Equity → fair dealing with the society - Good Fortune → Remembrance of positive events - Justice → Sensible laws and governance - Patience → the ability to weather crises - Providence → the sense that a society has a destiny - Safety → public healths and welfare 11. Psychological Well-Being Health → a state of complete physical. Mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.  Subjective Well-Being → happiness, hedonic Psychological Well-Being → eudaimonic Eudaimonic Well-Being: -  - The umbrella itself symbolizes Eudaimonia. It's sheltering us from the metaphorical rain, which could represent life's challenges or negative experiences. - The umbrella's shape and the way it covers the ground suggest that Eudaimonia is a comprehensive concept, encompassing various aspects of well-being. - The raindrops falling outside the umbrella represent the things that can hinder our well-being, such as stress, negative emotions, or difficult circumstances. The Elements Under the Umbrella: - SDT: This stands for "Self-Determination Theory." It's a psychological theory that emphasizes the importance of autonomy, competence, and relatedness for well-being. - PWB: This likely refers to "Psychological Well-Being." It encompasses various components like positive emotions, positive relationships, and a sense of purpose. - Flow, Pleasure, and Meaning: These are different types of positive experiences that contribute to Eudaimonia. Flow is a state of complete absorption in an activity, pleasure is the experience of enjoyment, and meaning is a sense of purpose and significance in life. - The sprout emerging from the ground represents growth and flourishing. It symbolizes how Eudaimonia can lead to personal development and a fulfilling life. Psychological Well-Being → positive aspects of psychological functioning based on formulations on human development and existential challenges of life. Components of psychological well-being: a. b. c. d. e. f.  12. Coping Strategies