Positive Psychology: M.A. Psychology Paper PDF

M. A. PSYCHOLOGY SEMESTER - II (CBCS) PSYCHOLOGY PAPER- COURSE VIII (CORE COURSE) POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY SUBJECT CODE : PAPSY204  © UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI Prof. Suhas Pednekar Vice Chancello...

M. A. PSYCHOLOGY SEMESTER - II (CBCS) PSYCHOLOGY PAPER- COURSE VIII (CORE COURSE) POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY SUBJECT CODE : PAPSY204  © UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI Prof. Suhas Pednekar Vice Chancellor University of Mumbai, Mumbai. Prof. Ravindra D. Kulkarni Prof. Prakash Mahanwar Pro Vice-Chancellor, Director University of Mumbai. IDOL, University of Mumbai. Programe Co-ordinator : Prof. Anil R. Bankar, Head, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, IDOL, University of Mumbai Course Co-ordinator : Dr. Naresh Tambe Assistant Professor (Psychology), IDOL, University of Mumbai. Editor: Compiled SLM by : Dr. Naresh Tambe Assistant Professor (Psychology), IDOL, University of Mumbai. May 2022, Print I Published by Director Institute of Distance and Open Learning, ipin Enterprises University of Mumbai, TantiaMumbai Vidyanagari, Jogani Industrial - 400 098. Estate, Unit No. 2, Ground Floor, Sitaram Mill Compound, J.R. Boricha Marg, Mumbai - 400 011 DTP COMPOSED AND PRINTED BY Mumbai University Press Vidyanagari, Santacruz (E), Mumbai - 400098.  CONTENTS Unit No. Title Page No 1. Introduction To Positive Psychology 1 2. Positive Subjective States 16 3. Positive Individual Traits 38 4. Positive Institutions 70 *****  PSYCHOLOGY MA Semester System (CBCS) Revised Course 2022-23 Semester II, Course VIII Core course: 4 credits, 60 Hours Positive Psychology: PAPSY204 Objectives: 1. To introduce concepts of positive psychology 2. To acquaint students with positive subjective states and processes 3. To enable students to appreciate importance of human strengths and virtues Unit 1. Introduction to Positive Psychology a. Need for a science of human strengths and virtues b. Deconstruction of illness ideology and inclusion of human strengths c. Positive Psychology: Assumptions, Goals and Definitions d. Three pillars of positive psychology Unit 2. Positive subjective states a. Subjective well-being b. Positive emotions c. The flow experience d. Optimism and Hope Unit 3. Positive individual traits a. Self efficacy b. Creativity c. Wisdom d. Empathy and altruism Unit 4. Positive Institutions a. Positive schooling b. Aging well and role of family c. Psychology of forgiveness for healthy society d. The Me/We balance: Building better communities Books for study Snyder, C. R.; & Lopez, S. J. (2002). Handbook of Positive Psychology. New York: Oxford University Press. Snyder, C. R.; Lopez, S. J.; & Pedrotti, J. T. (2011). Positive Psychology: The Scientific and Practical Explorations of Human Strengths. New Delhi: Sage South Asia Edition. References: Seligman, M. E. P (1991). Learned Optimism. NY: Knopf. Seligman, M.E.P. & Csikszentmihalyi, (2000). Positive Psychology: An Introduction. American Psychologist. 55 (1), 5 14. Carr, A. (2004). Positive Psychology a science of happiness and human strengths. NY: BR Publishers Peterson C. (2006). A Primer in Positive Psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Lopez, S. J. (Ed) (2013). The Encyclopedia of Positive Psychology. UK: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Seligman, M. E. P.; Steen, T. A.; Park, N.; & Peterson, C. (2005). Positive Psychology Progress: Empirical Validation of Interventions. American Psychologist, 60 (5), 410-421. Evaluation Internal Evaluation: 40 marks Semester end Examination: 60 marks Paper Pattern: 7 questions to be set of 15 marks each out of which 4 are to be attempted. One of these could be short notes question which could combine more than one unit. *****  1 INTRODUCTION TO POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY Unit Structure 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Need for a Science of Human Strengths and Virtues 1.3 Deconstruction of Illness Ideology and Inclusion of Human Strengths 1.4 Positive Psychology: Assumptions, Goals, and Definitions 1.5 Three Pillars of Positive Psychology 1.6 References 1.1 INTRODUCTION Positive psychology has been described in many ways and with many words, but the commonly accepted definition of the field is this: ―Positive psychology is the scientific study of what makes life most worth living‖ (Peterson, 2008). To push this brief description a bit further, positive psychology is a scientific approach to studying human thoughts, feelings, and behavior, with a focus on strengths instead of weaknesses, building the good in life instead of repairing the bad, and taking the lives of average people up to ―great‖ instead of focusing solely on moving those who are struggling up to ―normal‖ 1.2 NEED FOR A SCIENCE OF HUMAN STRENGTHS AND VIRTUES While the formal discipline of positive psychology has only existed since 2000, the concepts that form the basis of it have been the subject of empirical study since at least the 1980s, and present in religious and philosophical discourse for thousands of years. It has been influenced by humanistic as well as psychodynamic approaches to treatment. Predating the use of the term ―positive psychology‖, researchers within the field of psychology had been focusing on topics that would now be included under this new denomination The term positive psychology dates back at least to 1954, when Maslow’s first edition of Motivation and Personality was published with a final chapter titled ―Toward a Positive Psychology.‖ In the second edition published in 1970, he removed that chapter, saying in the preface that ―a positive psychology is at least available today though not very widely.‖ 1 There have been indications that psychologists since the 1950s have been Introduction To Positive Psychology increasingly focused on the promotion of mental health rather than merely treating mental illness. From the beginning of psychology, the field has addressed the human experience using the ―Disease Model,‖ specifically studying and identifying the dysfunction of an individual. Positive psychology grew as an important field of study within psychology in 1998 when Martin Seligman chose it as the theme for his term as president of the American Psychological Association. In the first sentence of his book Authentic Happiness, Seligman claimed: ―for the last half century psychology has been consumed with a single topic only – mental illness,‖ expanding on Maslow’s comments. He urged psychologists to continue the earlier missions of psychology of nurturing talent and improving normal life. Several humanistic psychologists, most notably Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, and Erich Fromm, developed theories and practices pertaining to human happiness and flourishing. More recently, positive psychologists have found empirical support for the humanistic theories of flourishing. In addition, positive psychology has moved ahead in a variety of new directions. In 1984, Diener published his tripartite model of subjective well-being, positing ―three distinct but often related components of wellbeing: frequent positive affect, infrequent negative affect, and cognitive evaluations such as life satisfaction.‖ In this model, cognitive, affective and contextual factors contribute to subjective well-being. According to Diener and Suh, subjective well-being is ―based on the idea that how each person thinks and feels about his or her life is important.‖ Carol Ryff’s Six-factor Model of Psychological Well-being was initially published in 1989, and additional testing of its factors was published in 1995. It postulates six factors which are key for well-being, namely self- acceptance, personal growth, purpose in life, environmental mastery, autonomy, and positive relations with others. According to Corey Keyes, who collaborated with Carol Ryff and uses the term flourishing as a central concept, mental well-being has three components, namely hedonic (c.q. subjective or emotional), psychological, and social well-being. Hedonic well-being concerns emotional aspects of well-being, whereas psychological and social well-being, c.q. eudaimonic well-being, concerns skills, abilities, and optimal functioning. This tripartite model of mental well-being has received extensive empirical support across cultures 1.3 DECONSTRUCTION OF ILLNESS IDEOLOGY AND INCLUSION OF HUMAN STRENGTHS 2  Positive The short history of clinical psychology suggests that change will not Psychology come easily. With the founding of the first ―psychological clinic‖ in 1896 at the University of Pennsylvania, Lightner Witmer started the field of clinical psychology (Reisman, 1991). Witmer and other early clinical psychologists worked primarily with children who had learning or school problems—not with ―patients‖ with ―mental disorders‖ (Reisman, 1991; Routh, 2000). Thus, they were influenced more by psychometric theory and its emphasis on careful measurement than by psychoanalytic theory and its emphasis on psychopathology. Following Freud’s 1909 visit to Clark University, however, psychoanalysis and its derivatives soon came to dominate both psychiatry and clinical psychology (Korchin, 1976). Other developments encouraged clinical psychologists to devote their attention to psychopathology and to view people through the lens of the disease model. First, although clinical psychologists’ academic training took place in universities, their practitioner training primarily occurred in psychiatric hospitals and clinics (Morrow, 1946, cited in Routh, 2000) where they worked mostly as psycho-diagnosticians under the direction of psychiatrists. Second, after World War II (1946), the Veterans Administration joined the American Psychological Association in developing training centers and standards for clinical psychologists. Because these early training centers The short history of clinical psychology suggests that change will not come easily. With the founding of the first ―psychological clinic‖ in 1896 at the University of Pennsylvania, Lightner Witmer started the field of clinical psychology (Reisman, 1991). Witmer and other early clinical psychologists worked primarily with children who had learning or school problems—not with ―patients‖ with ―mental disorders‖ (Reisman, 1991; Routh, 2000). Thus, they were influenced more by psychometric theory and its emphasis on careful measurement than by psychoanalytic theory and its emphasis on psychopathology. Following Freud’s 1909 visit to Clark University, however, psychoanalysis and its derivatives soon came to dominate both psychiatry and clinical psychology (Korchin, 1976). Other developments encouraged clinical psychologists to devote their attention to psychopathology and to view people through the lens of the disease model. First, although clinical psychologists’ academic training took place in universities, theirpractitioner training primarily occurred in psychiatric hospitals and clinics (Morrow, 1946, cited in Routh, 2000) where they worked mostly as psycho-diagnosticians under the direction of psychiatrists. Second, after World War II (1946), the Veterans Administration joined the American Psychological Association in developing training centers and standards for clinical psychologists. Because these early training centers. The ancient roots of the term clinical psychology continue to influence our thinking about the discipline long after these roots have been forgotten. Clinic derives from the Greek klinike, or ―medical practice at the sickbed,‖ and psychology derives from the Greek psyche, meaning ―soul‖ or ―mind‖ (Webster’s Seventh New 3 Collegiate Dictionary, 1976). How little things have changed since the Introduction To Positive Psychology time of Hippocrates. Although few clinical psychologists today literally practice at the bedsides of their patients, too many of its practitioners (―clinicians‖) and most of the public still view clinical psychology as a kind of ―medical practice‖ for people with ―sick souls‖ or ―sick minds.‖ It is time to change clinical psychology’s view of itself and the way it is viewed by the public. Positive psychology provides a long-overdue opportunity for making this change. How Clinical Psychology Became “Pathological”: The short history of clinical psychology suggests, however, that any such change will not come easily. The field began with the founding of the first ―psychological clinic‖ in 1896 at the University of Pennsylvania by Lightner Witmer (Reisman, 1991). Witmer and the other early clinical psychologists worked primarily with children who had learning or school problems— not with ―patients‖ with ―mental disorders‖ (Reisman, 1991; Routh, 2000). Thus, they were influenced more by psychometric theory and its attendant emphasis on careful measurement than by psychoanalytic theory and its emphasis on psychopathology. Following Freud’s visit to Clark University in 1909, however, psychoanalysis and its derivatives soon came to dominate not only psychiatry but also clinical psychology (Barone, Maddux, & Snyder, 1997; Korchin, 1976). Several other factors encouraged clinical psychologists to devote their attention to psychopathology and to view people through the lens of the disease model. First, although clinical psychologists’ academic training took place in universities, their practitioner training occurred primarily in psychiatric hospitals and clinics (Morrow, 1946, cited in Routh, 2000). In these settings, clinical psychologists worked primarily as psychodiagnosticians under the direction of psychiatrists trained in medicine and psychoanalysis. Second, after World War II (1946), the Veterans Administration (VA) was founded andsoon joined the American Psychological Association in developing training centers and standards for clinical psychologists. Because these early centers were located in VA hospitals, the training of clinical psychologists continued to occur primarily in psychiatric settings. Third, the National Institute of Mental Health was founded in 1947, and ―thousands of psychologists found out that they could make a living treating mental illness‖ (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi,2000, p. 6).By the 1950s, therefore, clinical psychologists had come ―to see themselves as part of a mere subfield of the health professions‖ (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000, p. 6). By this time, the practice of clinical psychology was characterized by four basic assumptions about its scope andabout the nature of psychological adjustment and maladjustment (Barone, Maddux, & Snyder,1997). First, clinical psychology is concerned with psychopathology—deviant, abnormal, and maladaptive behavioral and emotional conditions. Second, psychopathology, clinical problems, and clinical populations differ in kind, not just in degree, from normal problems in living, nonclinical problems and nonclinical populations. 4  Positive Third, psychological disorders are analogous to biological or medical Psychology diseases andreside somewhere inside the individual. Fourth, the clinician’s task is to identify (diagnose) the disorder (disease) inside the person (patient) and to prescribe an intervention (treatment) tha twill eliminate (cure) the internal disorder (disease).Clinical Psychology Today: The Illness Ideology and the DSM Once clinical psychology became ―pathologized,‖ there was no turning back. Albee (2000) suggests that ―the uncritical acceptance of the medical model, the organic explanation of mental disorders, with psychiatric hegemony, medical concepts, and language‖ (p. 247), was the ―fatal flaw‖ of the standards for clinical psychology training that were established at the 1950 Boulder Conference. He argues that this fatal flaw ―has distorted and damaged the development of clinical psychology ever since‖ (p. 247). Indeed, things have changed little since 1950. These basic assumptions about clinical psychology and psychological health described previously continue to serve as implicit guides to clinical psychologists’ activities. In addition, the language of clinical psychology remains the language of medicine and pathology— what may be called the language of the illness ideology. Terms such as symptom, disorder, pathology, illness, diagnosis, treatment, doctor, patient, clinic, clinical, and clinician are all consistent with the four assumptions noted previously. These terms emphasize abnormality over normality, maladjustment over adjustment, and sickness over health. They promote the dichotomy between normal and abnormal behaviors, clinical and nonclinical problems, and clinical and nonclinical populations. They situate the locus of human adjustment and maladjustment inside the person rather than in the person’s interactions with the environment or in sociocultural values and sociocultural forces such as prejudice and oppression. Finally, these terms portray the people who are seeking help as passive victims of intrapsychic and biological forces beyond their direct control who therefore should be the passive recipients of an expert’s ―care and cure.‖ This illness ideology and its medicalizing and pathologizing language are inconsistent with positive psychology’s view that ―psychology is not just a branch of medicine concerned with illness or health; it is much larger. It is about work, education, insight, love, growth, and play‖ This pathology-oriented and medically oriented clinical psychology has outlived its usefulness. Decades ago the field of medicine began to shift its emphasis from the treatment of illness to the prevention of illness and later from the prevention of illness to the enhancement of health (Snyder, Feldman, Taylor, Schroeder, & Adams, 2000). Health psychologists acknowledged this shift over two decades ago (e.g., Stone, Cohen, & Adler, 1979) and have been influential ever since in facilitating it. Clinical psychology needs to make a similar shift, or it will soon find itself struggling for identity and purpose, much as psychiatry has for the last two or three decades (Wilson, 1993). The way to modernize is not to move even closer to pathology-focused psychiatry but to move closer to mainstream psychology, with its focus on understanding human behavior in the broader sense, and to join the positive psychology movement to build a more positive clinical psychology. Clinical psychologists always 5 have been ―more heavily invested in intricate theories of failure than in Introduction To Positive Psychology theories of success‖ (Bandura, 1998, p. 3). They need to acknowledge that ―much of the best work that they already do in the counseling room is to amplify strengths rather than repair the weaknesses of their clients‖ (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). Building a more positive clinical psychology will be impossible without abandoning the language of the illness ideology and adopting a language from positive psychology that offers a new way of thinking about human behavior. In this new language, ineffective patterns of behaviors, cognitions, and emotions are problems in living, not disorders or diseases. These problems in living are located not inside individuals but in the interactions between the individual and other people, including the culture at large. People seeking assistance in enhancing the quality of their lives are clients or students, not patients. Professionals who specialize in facilitating psychological health are teachers, counselors, consultants, coaches, or even social activists, not clinicians or doctors. Strategies and techniques for enhancing the quality of lives are educational, relational, social, and political interventions, not medical treatments. Finally, the facilities to which people will go for assistance with problems in living are centers, schools, or resorts, not clinics or hospitals. Such assistance might even take place in community centers, public and private schools, churches, and people’s homes rather than in specialized facilities. The Social Deconstruction of the DSM: As with all icons, powerful sociocultural, political, professional, and economic forces built the illness ideology and the DSM and continue to sustain them. Thus, to begin this iconoclasm, we must realize that our conceptions of psychological normality and abnormality, along with our specific diagnostic labels and categories, are not facts about people but social constructions— abstract concepts that were developed collaboratively by the members of society (individuals and institutions) over time and that represent a shared view of the world. As Widiger and Trull (1991) have said, the DSM ―is not a scientific document.... It is a social document‖ The illness ideology and the conception of mental disorder that have guided the evolution of the DSM were constructed through the implicit and explicit collaborations of theorists, researchers, professionals, their clients, and the culture in which all are embedded. For this reason, ―mental disorder‖ and the numerous diagnostic categories of the DSM were not ―discovered‖ in the same manner that an archaeologist discovers a buried artifact or a medical researcher discovers a virus. Instead, they were invented. By describing mental disorders as inventions, however, I do not mean that they are ―myths‖ (Szasz, 1974) or that the distress of people who are labeled as mentally disordered is not real. Instead, I mean that these disorders do not ―exist‖ and ―have properties‖ in the same manner that artifacts and viruses do. For these reasons, a taxonomy of mental 6  Positive disorders such as the DSM ―does not simply describe and classify Psychology characteristics of groups of individuals, but... actively constructs a version of both normal and abnormal... which is then applied to individuals who end up being classified as normal or abnormal‖ (Parker, Georgaca, Harper, McLaughlin, & Stowell-Smith, 1995, p. 93). The illness ideology’s conception of ―mental disorder‖ and the various specific DSM categories of mental disorders are not reflections and mappings of psychological facts about people. Instead, they are social artifacts that serve the same sociocultural goals as our constructions of race, gender, social class, and sexual orientation— that of maintaining and expanding the power of certain individuals and institutions and maintaining social order, as defined by those in power (Beall, 1993; Parker et al., 1995; Rosenblum & Travis, 1996). Like these other social constructions, our concepts of psychological normality and abnormality are tied ultimately to social values—in particular, the values of society’s most powerful individuals, groups, and institutions—and the contextual rules for behavior derived from these values (Becker, 1963; Parker et al., 1995; Rosenblum & Travis, 1996). As McNamee and Gergen (1992) state: ―The mental health profession is not politically, morally, or valuationally neutral. Their practices typically operate to sustain certain values, political arrangements, and hierarchies or privilege‖ (p. 2). Thus, the debate over the definition of ―mental disorder,‖ the struggle over who gets to define it, and the continual revisions of the DSM are not searches for truth. Rather, they are debates over the definition of a set of abstractions and struggles for the personal, political, and economic power that derives from the authority to define these abstractions and thus to determine what and whom society views as normal and abnormal. Medical philosopher Lawrie Resnek (1987) has demonstrated that even our definition of physical disease ―is a normative or evaluative concept‖ (p. 211) because to call a condition a disease ―is to judge that the person with that condition is less able to lead a good or worthwhile life‖ (p. 211). If this is true of physical disease, it is certainly also true of psychological ―disease.‖ Because they are social constructions that serve sociocultural goals and values, our notions of psychological normality-abnormality and health-illness are linked to our assumptions about how people should live their lives and about what makes life worth living. This truth is illustrated clearly in the American Psychiatric Association’s 1952 decision to include homosexuality in the first edition of the DSM and its 1973 decision to revoke homosexuality’s disease status (Kutchins & Kirk, 1997; Shorter, 1997). As stated by psychiatrist Mitchell Wilson (1993), ―The homosexuality controversy seemed to show that psychiatric diagnoses were clearly wrapped up in social constructions of deviance‖ (p. 404). This issue also was in the forefront of the controversies over post-traumatic stress disorder, paraphilic rapism, and masochistic personality disorder (Kutchins & Kirk, 1997), as well as caffeine dependence, sexual compulsivity, low-intensity orgasm, sibling rivalry, self-defeating personality, jet lag, pathological spending, and impaired sleep-related 7 painful erections, all of which were proposed for inclusion in DSM-IV Introduction To Positive Psychology (Widiger & Trull, 1991). Others have argued convincingly that ―schizophrenia‖ (Gilman, 1988), ―addiction‖ (Peele, 1995), and ―personality disorder‖ (Alarcon, Foulks, & Vakkur, 1998) also are socially constructed categories rather than disease entities. 1.4 POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY: ASSUMPTIONS, GOALS, AND DEFINITIONS Martin Seligman & Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi define positive psychology as ―the scientific study of positive human functioning and flourishing on multiple levels that include the biological, personal, relational, institutional, cultural, and global dimensions of life. Sheldon and King (2001) define positive psychology as ―nothing more than the scientific study of ordinary human strengths and virtues‖ Gable and Haidt (2005) defined positive psychology is ―the study of the conditions and processes that contribute to the flourishing or optimal functioning of people, groups and institutions.‖ ―Positive psychology is the scientific study of what makes life most worth living‖ (Peterson, 2008) According to American Psychological Association (APA), Positive Psychology is a field of psychological theory and research that focuses on the psychological states (e.g., contentment, joy), individual traits or character strengths (e.g., intimacy, integrity, altruism, wisdom), and social institutions that enhance subjective well-being and make life most worth living. Seligman’s (2003) three pillars of positive psychology 1. Positive subjective experiences (such as joy, happiness, contentment, optimism, and hope) 2. Positive individual characteristics (such as personal strengths and human virtues that promote mental health); 3. Positive social institutions and communities that contribute to individual health and happiness. Assumptions of Positive Psychology: A major assumption of positive psychology is that the field of psychology has become unbalanced. (Simonton & Baumeister, 2005). Human goodness and excellence are as authentic as disorders and distress and therefore deserve equal attention from mental health practitioners. Its time to challenge the disease model (Maddux,2002) Human beings have the potential for good and that we are motivated to pursue a good life (Linley & Joseph,2006) 8  Positive he most basic assumption of positive psychology is that human goodness Psychology and excellence are as authentic as disorders and distress and therefore deserve equal attention from mental health practitioners. The discipline of positive psychology is primarily focused on the promotion of the good life. The good life refers to those factors that contribute most predominately to a well lived life. Qualities that define the good life are those that enrich our lives, make life worth living and foster strong character (Compton, 2005). Seligman (2002) defines good life as a combination of three elements: Positive connection to others or positive subjective experience; Positive individual traits and; Life regulation qualities. Positive connection refers to aspects of our behaviour that contribute to positive connectedness to others. It is the positive subjective experiences that includes the ability to love, forgive, and the presence of spiritual connections, happiness and life satisfaction that combine to help and create a sense of deeper meaning and purpose in life. Positive individual traits may include such things as a sense of integrity, the ability to be creative, and the presence of virtues such as courage and humility. Life regulation qualities are those qualities that allow us to regulate our day to day behaviour in such a way that we can accomplish our goals. Some of these qualities include a sense of individuality or autonomy, a high degree of a healthy self-control and wisdom to guide behaviour. According to positive psychology, the good life must also include the relationship with other people and the society as a whole (Park & Peterson, 2008; Duckworth, Steen & Seligman, 2005). A primary goal of what could be termed as the positive psychology movement is to be a catalyst for change in the focus of psychology from a preoccupation with repairing the worst things in life to also building positive qualities (Joseph & Linley, 2006). This is especially relevant to the therapeutic context, since positive psychologists would argue that the role of the therapist is not to simply alleviate distress and leave the person free from symptomatology, but also to facilitate wellbeing and fulfilment which is not only a worthwhile goal in its own right, it also serves as a preventive function that buffers against future psychopathology and even recovery from illness (Joseph & Linley, 2006). Contributions to Happiness: The concept of happiness is the corner stone of the assumptions of positive psychology. Happiness is characterised by the experience of more frequent positive affective states than negative ones as well as a perception that one is progressing toward important life goals (Tkach & Lyubomirsky, 2006). Identifying factors that contribute to happiness has proven to be challenging. Interestingly though, one thing that does stand out in the research to date is that the attainment and pursuit of pleasure may not always lead to happiness. 9 Certain kinds of environmental factors or conditions have been found to Introduction To Positive Psychology be associated with happiness and include such things as; individual income, labour market status, health, family, social relationships, moral values and many others (Carr, 2004; Selim, 2008; Diener, Oishi & Lucas, 2003). Ultimately, in the pursuit of understanding happiness, there are two main theoretical perspectives which focus on addressing the question of what makes people feel good and happy. These are the hedonic and eudaimonic approaches to happiness (Keyes, Shmotkin, & Ryff, 2002). Positive Psychology views happiness from both the hedonistic and eudaimonic view in which they define happiness in terms of the pleasant life, the good life and the meaningful life (Norrish & Vella-Brodrick, 2008). Peterson et al. identified three pathways to happiness from the positive psychological view: Pleasure is the process of maximising positive emotion and minimising negative emotion and is referred to as the pleasant life which involves enjoyable and positive experiences. Engagement is the process of being immersed and absorbed in the task at hand and is referred to as the good life which involves being actively involved in life and all that it requires and demands. Thus the good life is considered to result from the individual cultivating and investing their signature strengths and virtues into their relationships, work and leisure (Seligman, 2002) thus applying the best of self during challenging activities that results in growth and a feeling of competence and satisfaction that brings about happiness. Meaning is the process of having a higher purpose in life than ourselves and is referred to as the meaningful life which involves using our strengths and personal qualities to serve this higher purpose. The meaningful life, like the good life, involves the individual applying their signature strengths in activities, but the difference is that these activities are perceived to contribute to the greater good in the meaningful life. Ultimately, it is a combination of each of these three elements described above that positive psychology suggests would constitute authentic and stable happiness Goals of Positive Psychology: According to Martin Seligman’s goal of positive psychology was  To refocusing the entire field of psychology.  To find elements of positive psychology represented in so many different areas of psychology, from physiological to clinical psychology.  To restore balance within the discipline of Psychology which was too much focused on negative aspects. 10  Positive  To catalyze a change in psychology from a preoccupation only with Psychology repairing the worst things in life to also building the best qualities in life.  To improve understanding of positive human behaviors to balance the negative focus of much mainstream research & theory (Sheldon & King, 2001).  To develop an empirically-based conceptual understanding and language for describing healthy human functioning that parallels our classification and understanding of mental illness (Keyes, 2003)  To boost present well being.  To prevent future problems.  To make life worthwhile. Positive psychology is concerned with eudaimonia, a Greek word meaning ―good spirit‖. It is considered an essential element for the pursuit of happiness and a good life. It emphasizes cherishing that which holds the greatest value in life and other such factors that contribute the most to having a good life. While not attempting a strict definition of what makes up a good life, positive psychologists agree that one must be happy, engaged, and meaningful with their experiences. Martin Seligman referred to ―the good life‖ as using your signature strengths every day to produce authentic happiness and abundant gratification. Positive psychology complements, without intending to replace the traditional fields of psychology. Emphasizing the study of positive human development, could enhance our application and understanding in other fields. More specifically, those which are more clinical and scientific- based. Since they may produce a limited perspective and understanding. Positive psychology has also placed a significant emphasis on fostering positive self-esteem and self-image. Although positive psychologists, with a less humanist direction, focus less on such topics. The basic premise of positive psychology is that human beings are often driven by the future more than the past. It also suggests that any combination of positive experiences/emotions, past or present, lead to a pleasant, happy life. Another aspect of this may come from our views outside of our own lives. Author of Grit, Angela Duckworth, might view this as having a prosocial purpose, which could have a positive psychological effect on our lives. Seligman identified other possible goals: families and schools that allow children to grow, workplaces that aim for satisfaction and high productivity, and teaching others about positive psychology. Psychologist Daniel Gilbert has also written extensively on the effects of time perception and happiness. Those who practice positive psychology attempt psychological interventions that foster positive attitudes toward one’s subjective experiences, individual traits, and life events. The goal is to 11 minimize pathological thoughts that may arise in a hopeless mindset and Introduction To Positive Psychology to develop a sense of optimism toward life. Positive psychologists seek to encourage acceptance of one’s past, excitement and optimism about one’s future experiences, and a sense of contentment and well-being in the present. Related concepts are happiness, well-being, quality of life, contentment, and meaningful life.  Happiness: Has been sought after and discussed throughout time. Research has concluded that happiness can be thought of in the way we act and how we think in relative terms to it.  Well-Being: Has often been referred to what is inherently good for an individual both physically and mentally, though other aspects could be added in to define well-being.  Quality of life: Quality of life encompasses more than just physical and mental well-being; it can also include socioeconomic factors. However, there is a cultural difference with this term, as it can be perceived differently in different cultures and regions around the world. In the simplest of terms, this is how well you are living and functioning in life.[ Positive psychology has also been a subject of criticism and accused of advancing misleading ideas about positivity. As a result, the principles of positive psychology are sometimes dismissed as bearing more in common with self-help tactics than scientifically-proven theories. However, positive psychology techniques are now being utilized in other traditional aspects of therapy, with confirmed results supporting its effectiveness. The practice of well-being therapy, developed by psychologist Giovanni Fava from the University of Bologna, focuses on the self-observed well-being of the patient, rather than solely on their self- reported distress. Carol Kauffman, director of the Coaching and Positive Psychology Initiative At Harvard University’s McLean Hospital, outlined four techniques for integrating positive psychology into traditional therapy methods in the Harvard Mental Health Letter. These techniques mainly involve reversing the focus of therapy from negative events and emotions to more positive ones, developing a language of strength, balancing the negative and positive aspects of certain actions or situations, and building strategies that foster hope, such as identifying skills to tackle a particular problem and shifting focus to those skills. Though the principles of positive psychology suggest that success can be built on personal strengths, it’s also important to work on your weaknesses and achieve a healthy balance, so that you can attain a more fulfilled life. 1.5 THREE PILLARS OF POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 12  Positive Positive Psychology has three central concerns: Psychology 1. positive experiences, 2. positive individual traits, and 3. positive institutions. Understanding positive emotions entails the study of contentment with the past, happiness in the present, and hope for the future. Understanding positive individual traits involves the study of strengths, such as the capacity for love and work, courage, compassion, resilience, creativity, curiosity, integrity, self-knowledge, moderation, self-control, and wisdom. Understanding positive institutions entails the study of the strengths that foster better communities, such as justice, responsibility, civility, parenting, nurturance, work ethic, leadership, teamwork, purpose, and tolerance. Positive psychology is an emerging approach developed by leading psychologists, most notably Martin Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. The focus of positive psychology is on encouraging positive and effective behaviors that help to bring out desired behaviors and applies well to many business and technical situations. Dr. Seligman noted in his writings that there are essentially three pillars that make up the scientific endeavor of positive psychology. The first two relate to individual behavior and the third is the study of positive institutions, which Seligman suggested was ―beyond the guild of psychology.‖ This article will focus on that third pillar, which is within the realm of organizational psychology and of great interest to anyone who wants to be part of an effective organization. The first two pillars of positive psychology focus on positive emotion and positive character, each of which contribute to the development of a sense of self-efficacy and personal effectiveness; these are both very important to individual success. Organizations, not unlike the people who comprise them, often have unique and complex personalities. Individuals who join the army or the police force certainly experience the culture of the organization in a very real way. When people fail in their jobs, it is sometimes due to factors beyond their direct control; perhaps they could not fit into the culture and the expectations of the organization itself or the organization’s culture made success very difficult to attain. What are the traits that we might want to highlight when looking at an organization from a positive psychology perspective? Organizations that encourage curiosity, interest in the world, and a general love of learning provide an environment that is consistent with what Dr. Seligman had in mind with his first cluster, which he termed wisdom. Technology professionals could understand these traits in terms of organizations that encourage learning new technologies and frameworks and provide opportunities for professionals to constantly improve their 13 skills. Judiciousness, critical thinking, and open-mindedness along with Introduction To Positive Psychology ingenuity, originality, and practical street smarts are also attributes found among employees in effective organizations. Social, personal, and emotional intelligence describes organizations that encourage their members to respectfully understand both individual and group differences, including cultural diversity. Organizations that encourage employees to feel safe when speaking up or taking the initiative can be understood to exhibit valor and courage, which is the cluster that Seligman termed bravery. Integrity and honesty, along with perseverance and diligence, are also grouped with these positive traits. The degree to which these characteristics and their active expression are valued in an organization will significantly impact that firm’s functioning and results. Positive organizations encourage their employees to take initiative and ensure that employees feel safe, even when reporting a potential problem or issue. Dysfunctional organizations punish the whistleblower, while effective organizations recognize the importance of being able to evaluate the risks or problems that have been brought to their attention and actively solicit such self-monitoring efforts. The cluster of humanity and love consists of kindness, generosity, and an intrinsic sense of justice. Organizations that encourage a genuine sense of delivering value to customers and also the idea of giving back to their community model these behaviors and are more likely to see employees living these values on a daily basis. Of paramount importance is good citizenship and teamwork as well as a strong culture of leadership. While many organizations may have individuals who exhibit these strengths, highly effective organizations make these values a cultural norm, which, in turn, becomes the personality of the organization itself. The cluster of temperance includes self-control, humility, and modesty, all of which can be understood in terms of delivering quality to all stakeholders, including ensuring real value to stock-holders instead of simply advertising and marketing hype. Gratitude is a fundamental trait of many successful organizations; this involves modeling positive behaviors and actively participating in helping the communities that support them. These are often the same organizations that have a strong sense of hope and optimism and are mindful of the future; again all traits found in Seligman’s view of positive psychology. Some organizations have a culture that exhibits spirituality, faith, and even religiousness, which aligns with their personality. Most importantly, playfulness and humor, along with passion and enthusiasm, all make for a corporate environment that breeds successful and loyal employees. Over the years, many organizations have unfortunately become associated with greed and dysfunctional behavior. However, the study of positive psychology provides an effective, comprehensive, and attainable model to understand those companies that exhibit cultures that encourage and 14  Positive nurture the positive behaviors that research indicates leads to success and Psychology profitability. 1.6 REFERENCES  Snyder, C. R.; & Lopez, S. J. (2002). Handbook of Positive Psychology. New York: Oxford University Press.  Snyder, C. R.; Lopez, S. J.; & Pedrotti, J. T. (2011). Positive Psychology: The Scientific and Practical Explorations of Human Strengths. New Delhi: Sage South Asia Edition. ***** 15  2 POSITIVE SUBJECTIVE STATES Unit Structure 2.1 Introduction and Historical Development 2.2 Subjective Well-Being {Swb} 2.2.1 Theoretical Approaches To Swb 2.2.2 Correlates of Subjective Well-Being 2.2.3 Culture and Swb 2.3 Positive Emotions 2.3.1 Historical Development Of Positive Emotions 2.3.2 The Broaden-And-Build Theory Of Positive Emotions 2.4 The Flow Experience 2.5 Optimism and Hope 2.6 References 2.1 INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT Subjective well-being (SWB) is defined as ‗a person‘s cognitive and affective evaluations of his or her life‘ (Diener, Lucas, & Oshi, 2002). There are two factors of SWB – cognitive and affective. The cognitive factor refers to one‘s evaluations about his or her life satisfaction in the specific areas of life such as family or work and life satisfaction as a whole. The affective factor refers to the emotional responses to the various life-events. SWB comprises of three components – positive affect, negative affect and life satisfaction. A person experiences high SWB when he experiences positive affect, low level of negative affect and high life satisfaction. Positive affect refers to experience of pleasant emotions, moods and feelings (joy, pride, gratitude) Negative affect refers to experience of unpleasant emotions (anger, disgust, fear). Various philosophers and researchers have contributed to the understanding and development of the concept of SWB. To begin with, the Utilitarian focused on understanding the physical, mental and emotional aspects of pleasure and pain, experienced by individuals. According to Jeremy Bentham, the essence of a good life is presence of pleasure and absence of pain. Flugel (1925) recorded and studied the emotional reactions of the people to various events and categorized them. George Gallup, Gerald Gurin and Hadley Cantril initiated the use of surveys as assessment method on a 16  Research large scale. After the World War II, various researchers started using Methodology For surveys with general public regarding their happiness and life satisfaction. Psychology Norman Bradburn (1969) showed that the positive and negative affect have different correlates, are independent and merely not just opposites of each other; thus, implying that these two affects must be studied separately to gain broader understanding of its implication on the SWB. Thus, just as elimination of pain does not guarantee experience of pleasure similarly reducing the experience of negative affect will not necessarily increase the experience of positive affect. Since the mid-1980‘s, the study of SWB has grown rapidly and emerged as a scientific discipline. SWB emphasizes on the individuals and their evaluations about their life events. With the shift in trend from collectivism to individualism, the significance of SWB has increased. People all over the world have become concerned about their quality of life and not merely about the ‗material‘ possessions. Development of various scientific methods has helped in development of an applied discipline. 2.2 MEASURING SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING {SWB} The earlier survey questionnaires were simplistic concerning single question about happiness and life satisfaction of the people. The scores obtained from these questions about the overall evaluation of people‘s life were found to be well converged (Andrew & Withey, 1976). Over the time, the multi-item scales were developed. These multi-item scales had greater validity and reliability as compared to the single-item scales. Factors like life satisfaction, pleasant affect, unpleasant affect and self-esteem were found to be distinct from each other by Lucas, Diener & Suh (1996). One important issue with the use of self-report instruments is the validity. The use of other methods of assessment like the expert ratings based on the interviews with participants, reporting feelings at random moments in day-to-day life, memories for positive and negative events of the participants‘ lives, reports obtained from family and friends and smiling were found to converge with the self-report measures by Sandvik, Diener & Seidlitz (1993). Use of multi-method battery to assess the SWB will be more beneficial rather than merely relying on multi-item questionnaires. Combination of various assessment methods like that of participants‘ reports and experience sampling can supplement the information obtained through the questionnaires and can also aid in understanding how people construct their judgments about SWB. Schwarz & Strack (1999) concluded that people‘s judgments about life satisfaction are not fixed and that they use the latest information to construct their judgments about life satisfaction. Certain information could be more important for some people and not so much for others. Thus, 17 different people will base their judgments depending on what information Philosophy And Ethics Of Psychological Research seems important to them at that specific point in time. People from individualistic cultures, are more likely to base their judgments on the level of their self-esteem; whereas people from collectivistic cultures are more likely to base their judgments on the opinions of the other people (Diener& Diener, 1995). People‘s judgments about their life satisfaction may differ depending upon the type of information they seek to base their judgments. Some people may focus more on the positive/ pleasant aspects of their lives whereas others may focus more on the negative/problematic aspects. People also differ in terms of how much importance they assign to their emotions in basing their life satisfaction judgments (Suh & Diener, 1999). Thus, people‘s judgments about life satisfaction depend on different information that they consider important and this information may change over the time. Thomas & Diener (1990) found that the judgments of life satisfaction and happiness are influenced by their current mood, their beliefs about happiness and how easily they can retrieve the positive or the negative information. Researchers have also differentiated between people constricting the judgements about life satisfaction on the basis of momentary thoughts and feelings or global assessment of the same. According to Kahneman (1999), the momentary evaluations offer more accurate judgments of SWB as they are less likely to be distorted by biases. On the other hand, the global evaluations are also important as they offer an insight into how an individual summarizes his or her life experiences as a whole. Thus, these two types of evaluations - specific and global – offer two distinct sets of information, pertaining to specific aspects of people‘s life and global judgments about their life satisfaction. 2.2.1 Theoretical Approaches to SWB: The various theories of happiness can be categorized into three groups: i. Need and goal satisfaction theories ii. Process or activity theories iii. Genetic or personality theories Need and Goal Satisfaction Theories: The central idea of the need and goal satisfaction theories is that happiness is experienced when there is elimination of pain and gratification of the biological and psychological needs. These theories believe that the individuals attain higher life satisfaction as they attain their goals or needs and move towards their ideal state. Omodei & Wearing (1990) found that there was a positive correlation between the satisfaction of needs in individuals and their degree of life satisfaction. 18  Research The concept of pleasure principle put forth by Sigmund Freud and Methodology For Maslow‘s theory of hierarchy of motives represent this category of Psychology theories. These theoretical approaches posit that reduction in the amount of tension and satisfaction of the various biological and psychological needs and goals of an individual, causes happiness. Thus, according to these theories happiness is an end state that is achieved when the needs are met and goals are fulfilled. Process or Activity Theories: These theories posit that engagement in an activity can be a source or cause of happiness. Csikszentmihalyi (1975) suggested that people are happy when they are involved in activities that interest them and match their level of skill sets. This match between the activities and that of the skills lead to a state of mind ‗flow‘ and further said that people who experience this flow are the ones who experience high degree of happiness. Having significant life goals and being able to pursue them can lead to SWB (Emmons, 1986 & Little, 1989). It was found that people experience more happiness when they are involved in activities for intrinsic reasons (Sheldon, Ryan & Reis, 1996). Individuals who have significant goals in life are more likely to experience positive emotions, are more likely to be energy-driven and feel that their life is more meaningful (McGregor & Little, 1998). Genetic or Personality Theories: These approaches believe that there is a component of stability in the levels of well-being and happiness experienced by people and that SWB is strongly influenced by the genetic or personality factors. An individuals‘ judgments about SWB reflect the cognitive and emotional reactions of his life circumstances, these life situations can be relatively stable or short- lived. Hence, the researchers have to study both the aspects of SWB; long- term and momentary. Diener & Larsen (1984) found that people‘s reactions change according to the change in circumstances and those changes in reactions are reflected in their momentary SWB. The stable patterns of an individuals‘ SWB can be predicted through the average of the momentary reports across various situations. They further found that people have specific emotional responses to various life circumstances and that these emotional responses are moderately to strongly stable over the period of time. The stability and the consistency of the SWB can be attributed to the genetic factors; certain people are prone to be happy or unhappy. Certain personality traits have been lined to SWB. Lucas & Fujita (2000) found that Extraversion is correlated strongly with pleasant affect and Neuroticism is associated with negative affect. Tellegen et al. (1988) studied the genetic influences on SWB. They studied and compared monozygotic twins who were reared apart to dizygotic twins who were 19 reared apart and also with the monozygotic and dizygotic twins who were Philosophy And Ethics Of Psychological Research reared together. They found that 40% of the variability in the positive affect and 55% of variability in the negative affect could be predicted by genetic variation. The results could be attributed to the environmental influences as well but genetic factors play an important role in influencing the characteristic emotional responses to the various life circumstances (Tellegen et al., 1988) Besides theses theoretical explanations, the differences in the SWB can be attributed to various other factors as well. The stable individual differences in how people think about the world can lead to differences in SWB. Some people recall and process the pleasant aspects of the life better than the unpleasant aspects. Some other factors like the cognitive dispositions, optimism, the expectancy for control seem to influence the judgments of SWB. 2.2.2 Correlates of Subjective Well-Being: Demographic Correlates of SWB: Although genetic factors and temperamental predisposition have an impact on the SWB; the other factors related to an individual also play an important role. This section explores the demographic correlates of SWB. Wilson (1967) found that the personality factors and the demographic factors both have an influence on the SWB. Campbell, Converse & Rodgers (1976) found that the demographic factors like that of the age, income and education do not account for much variance in the judgments of SWB. Diener & Diener (1996) and Diener et al. (1999) analysed the demographic correlates of SWB and came to following conclusions – Demographic factors like age, sex and income are related to SWB, the influence of these demographic factors is usually small, and most of the people are moderately happy. Thus, it can be concluded the demographic factors can distinguish between people who are extremely happy and people who are moderately happy. An individual‘s goals and needs must be taken into consideration when understanding the relation between income and SWB. If the person‘s material needs keep increasing rapidly than the income then the benefits of the rising income will be diminished or negligible. Age and Gender are also related to SWB even if the effects are small; depending on what component of the SWB is being measured. Other demographic factors like subjective perception of one‘s physical health, marital status and religious faith are also positively correlated to SWB. However, the way people perceive their health is more important than the objective reality, the effect of marital status varies for men and women, similarly the effect of religious activities will depend on the specific religious inclinations. Hence, it is important to study the 20  Research individual components of SWB to understand its correlates (Diener et al., Methodology For 1999). Psychology 2.2.3 Culture and SWB: Not just the demographic factors, the cultural factors also play an important role in SWB. In collectivistic cultures, self-esteem is not strongly associated with SWB (Diener & Diener, 1995) also extraversion seems to be less strongly associated with pleasant affect (Lucas et al., 2000). Cultural differences in the significance of personality congruence plays an important role in SWB. Personality Congruence is the extent to which the behaviour of a person is consistent with his feelings, across various situations. The collectivistic cultures are less congruent than the individualistic cultures, thus the personality congruence is less strongly associated with SWB in collectivistic cultures than the individualistic cultures (Suh, 1999). In the collectivistic cultures the opinions and the wishes of a person‘s significant others; rather than his own emotions plays an important role in determining the level of life satisfaction (Suh et al., 1998). The cultural norms also exert an influence on the demographic correlates of SWB. Wealth can lead to greater SWB in poorer countries, when the basic needs are not met. People in the richer countries are more likely to be happier, but this could either be because they have more luxuries and also high levels of equality, longevity and human rights. Marriage is also an important correlate of SWB that is influenced by the cultural factor. Unmarried couples are happier than the married couples in the individualistic countries, whereas married couples are happier than the unmarried couples in the collectivistic cultures because of the social approval that comes with marriage (Diener et al., 2000). Since, SWB is crucial for the being happy hence, several interventions are designed to boost the SWB and eventually the happiness of an individual. Fordyce (1977, 1983) evaluated a program based on the idea that the SWB can be increased if the people learn to imitate the characteristics of people who are happy and have high SWB. Characteristics of happy people include being organized, occupied, more socialization, having positive outlook and healthy personality. The study found lasting effects of this intervention. The programs for enhancing SWB can be effective, given that more efforts have to be directed for development, implementation and evaluation of such interventions. 2.3 POSITIVE EMOTIONS 2.3.1 Historical Development of Positive Emotions: Positive Emotions refer to the pleasant or desirable responses to the situations ranging from emotions like joy, contentment, interest, gratitude, love etc. Positive emotions also indicate absence of negative emotions like hate, anger, disgust, fear etc. Positive emotions are capable of producing 21 optimal functioning in an individual not just momentarily but for longer Philosophy And Ethics Of Psychological Research period of time. Positive emotions essentially play a very significant role in our lives. Hence, we must work towards cultivating positive emotions in us and also promoting in those among other people around us. Experiencing positive emotions is not an end state rather it is a means to achieve and improve physical and psychological health and thereby greater life satisfaction. Given the significant role the positive emotions play in our life and happiness; we need to focus on conducting research in this area. Before that we also need to look into the historical development of the research conducted in the area of positive emotions. Neglected Relative to Negative Emotions: Traditionally, the focus of research in psychology has been to understand the problem behaviours (disorders) and to understand the causes and remedies for theses problem behaviours. As a result of this, the focus has always been on understanding the negative emotions rather than the positive emotions. When negative emotions are experienced extremely, inappropriately and over longer periods of time may cause development of behaviours characterized by anxiety, phobias, aggression, depression etc. Another reason why positive emotions were given secondary importance is because most of the models assume that the emotions are associated with or followed by specific action tendencies. These specific action tendencies were assumed to be adaptive in nature and evolved over generations as they helped for survival. Most of the specific action tendencies that were researched were the ones associated with the negative emotions. For example, fear is associated with escape and anger is associated with physical aggression. The action tendencies that are associated with the positive emotions are not specific in nature rather they are non-specific and vague in nature. For example, joy is associated with activation and contentment is associated with inactivity; theses action tendencies are too general than specific (Fredrickson & Levenson, 1998). Confused with related Affective States: The distinction between positive emotions and the other affective states like the sensory pleasure and positive mood has always been quite fuzzy. Various forms of sensory pleasure are confused with that of the positive emotions because both involve physiological changes and pleasant subjective feel; moreover, sensory pleasure and positive emotions often co-occur. However, emotions are different from that of the physical sensations. Emotions require some form of cognitive appraisal – assigning meaning to the event. As against that, pleasure can be caused merely by a change in the physical environment. Another distinction is that, pleasure relies on the 22  Research body stimulation whereas, emotions can occur even in the absence of the Methodology For external physical stimulation. Psychology Emotions and mood are conceptually quite different from each other. Emotions occupy the foreground of the consciousness, are short-lived, and have an object. Mood on the other hand occupy the background of the consciousness, are long-lasting and objectless or free-floating in nature (Oatley & Jenkins, 1996; Rosenberg, 1998). Functions identified as Approach Behavior or Continued Action: The previous experiences of positive emotions, causes an individual to interact with their environment and engage in activities that are adaptive in nature from an evolutionary aspect. The connection between the positive emotions and activity engagement lead people to experience positive affect (Diener & Diener, 1996). Without this experience of positive affect, people would be disengaged or unmotivated to interact with their environment. Thus, the most common function of the positive emotions is to facilitate approach behaviour or continued action. The other positive affective states like that of the sensory pleasure and the positive mood also play a role in approach behaviour or continues action. The sensory pleasure motivates people to approach or continue engaging in activities that are biologically useful to them, similarly the positive moods motivate the people to approach or continue to engage in the thoughts and action that was initiated (Cabanac, 1971; Clore, 1994). 2.3.2 The Broaden-And-Build Theory of Positive Emotions: Fredrickson (1998) put forth the Broaden-and-Build theory of Positive Emotions stating that the positive emotions broaden the people‘s thoughts and actions and help them build their personal resources. The traditional approaches of positive emotions largely confused them with the other affective states, trying to fit them into the general models of emotions and focusing on approach or continuation as their basic function. This new model is based on the specific action tendencies, which can best describe the function of the negative emotions. A specific action tendency can be described as the consequence of a psychological process that helps narrow down the thought-action sequence by urging the person to act in a particular way. In a life-threatening situation, such narrowed thought- action sequence helps the person to make quick decisions and facilitates immediate actions. Such specific action tendencies triggered by the negative emotions, have helped our ancestors for their survival. Positive emotions do not or very rarely occur during the life-threatening situations, hence a specific action tendency to narrow the thought-action sequence in order to facilitate quick decision and action may not be required. On the contrary, the positive emotions have a completely opposite effect; they broaden the people‘s thought-action sequence, thus opening up a wide array of thoughts and actions. For instance, joy 23 stimulates creativity, interest stimulates exploration and contentment Philosophy And Ethics Of Psychological Research stimulates integration. Each of these sequences, explains the ways in which positive emotions broaden the thought-action sequences. The specific action tendencies triggered by the negative emotions have direct and immediate benefits, that are adaptive for us in life-threatening situations. The specific action tendencies triggered by the positive emotions are indirect and long-term in nature, as the broadening helps us to build enduring resources. The positive emotions facilitate the building up of personal resources that ranges from physical, social, cognitive, emotional and psychological resources (Fredrickson, 1998 & 2000). This theory explains that, through the experience of positive emotions people can evolve. As the following figure 1 explains; the experiences of positive emotions broaden the thought-action repertoires, which helps people build enduring personal resources, that transforms people into becoming more knowledgeable, creative, resilient, socially adaptable and physically and psychologically healthy individuals. The theory further explains that the initial experiences of positiveemotions create upward spirals towards further experiences of positive emotions. The Broadening Hypothesis: The broaden-and-build theory explains that the experiences of positive emotions, broaden the person‘s momentary thought-action tendencies. To put it in simple words, the positive emotions widen the array of our thoughts and actions. Isen et.al. (1985) found that positive emotions can impact the thoughts to become more inclusive, flexible, creative and receptive; and can produce more creative and variable actions. The broadening hypothesis posits the win hypotheses, that the positive emotions broaden the people‘s thought-action repertoire and the negative emotions narrow the people‘s thought-action repertoires. The positive emotions widen the array of thoughts and actions whereas, the negative emotions narrow down the array of thoughts and actions. Fredrickson & Branigan (2001) conducted an experiment to test the twin hypotheses. They induced the specific emotions of joy, contentment, fear and anger by showing the participants emotionally evocative short film clips. Participants were also shown non-emotional film clip for the neutral condition for comparison. Immediately following each of the film clip, the breadth of the participants‘ thought-action repertoires was measured. They were asked to imagine themselves in situation where similar feelings (emotions) would arise, and then to list what things they would do in such situations. The results showed that, the participants in the two positive emotions condition (joy and contentment) identified significantly more things that they would do compared to the participants in the two negative emotions condition (fear and anger) and the participants in the neutral condition. The participants in the negative emotions condition named significantly 24  Research fewer things than those in the neutral condition (Fredrickson & Branigan, Methodology For 2001). Psychology The Building Hypothesis: The broaden-and-build theory explains further that the experiences of positive emotions broaden the person‘s momentary thought-action tendencies which helps the person to build enduring personal resources. Positive emotions build enduring personal resources in terms of physical, intellectual and social resources. The evidence suggestive of link between positive emotions and intellectual resources comes from the individual differences in attachment styles. The children who receive secure attachment from their caregivers tend to be more flexible, persistent and resourceful problem-solvers compared to their peers (Arend et. Al. 1978; 1979). They are more likely to seek exploration of novel places and thus develop better cognitive maps of the places (Hazen & Durrett, 1982). These intellectual resources acquired in the childhood extend into their adulthood as well. The experience of positive emotions, broaden the thought-action repertoires, build enduring personal resources which together results in improved well-being of an individual. With improved personal resources people learn better coping strategies and resilience that will be helpful in the face of adversities and stressful situations. This theory proposes that the positive emotions and the broadened thinking influence each other in a reciprocal manner, thus creating upward spiral towards enhanced resilience and coping. Fredrickson and Joiner conducted a study to understand the building hypothesis and concluded that over the time, positive emotions and broad- minded coping build on each other mutually. The broaden-and-build theory explains that experiences of positive emotions can build enduring psychological resilience and trigger the upward spirals towards psychological and emotional well-being. Thus positive emotions not only make people feel good at the present moment but also increases the likelihood of people being happy in the future. The Undoing Hypothesis: The broaden-and-build theory states that the experiences of positive emotions broaden the person‘s momentary thought-action repertoires whereas the negative emotions narrow down the thought-action repertoires; and hence, the positive emotions can also function in ways to ‗undo‘ the effects of the negative emotions. This is called the undoing hypothesis (Fredrickson & Levenson, 1998). The key components of the positive and the negative emotions cannot coexist simultaneously because a person‘s momentary thought-action repertoire cannot be simultaneously narrow and broad. The mechanism responsible for this incompatibility could be the ‗broadening‘. The positive emotions broaden the person‘s thought-action repertoire which 25 will loosen the hold gained by the negative emotions on the person‘s mind Philosophy And Ethics Of Psychological Research and body, by undoing the preparation for specific action. Fredrickson et al., (2000) conducted an experiment to test the undoing hypothesis. The participants were first induced a high arousal negative emotion and then by random assignment; immediately induced mild joy, contentment, neutrality or sadness by showing short, emotionally evocative film clips. The results showed that the participants in the mild joy and contentment (two positive emotion conditions) exhibited faster cardio-vascular recovery than those in the neutral control condition and faster than those in the sadness condition. The positive and the neutral films do not differ in what they do to the cardio-vascular system, they differ in what they can undo within the cardio-vascular system. The two distinct types of positive emotions (mild joy and contentment) were capable of undoing the cardio-vascular effects of the negative emotions because the positive emotions broaden the people‘s thought-action repertoire. There are individual differences in the ability to make use of the undoing effect of the positive emotions. Block & Kremen (1996) found that people who score high on the self-report measures of psychological resilience show faster cardio-vascular recovery after the negative emotional arousal as compared to the people who score low of psychological resilience. Highly resilient people experience more positive emotions than the less resilient people. The experience of the positive emotions helps them bounce back from the negative emotional arousal. Thus, the resilient people are experts in harnessing the undoing effect of the positive emotions. Intervention Programs: There are no techniques or interventions directly based on the broaden- and-build theory for increasing the prevalence of positive emotions. However, the broaden-and-build theory can explain the effectiveness of the existing techniques that can be reframed to increase the prevalence of the positive emotions. There are no direct methods for inducing emotions among people. All the emotion inducing techniques are indirect in nature; they often focus on one component of the multi-component system. Emotions typically arise from the appraisals of the personal meaning of the of a specific event thus, the most useful emotion inducing technique is to shape the person‘s appraisals of a situation. The most effective technique is to recalling situations that elicit certain emotions. The other emotion-inducing techniques include a facial or a muscle configuration, a physiological state or a mode of thinking. The interventions that have been discussed in this section are practicing relaxation and increasing pleasant activities. 26  Research Practicing Relaxation: Methodology For Psychology The various relaxation techniques range from meditation and yoga to imagery exercises and progressive muscle relaxation. These techniques have shown to produce relaxation and help treat problems caused or exacerbated by the negative emotions. The relaxation techniques are highly effective as they initiate the positive emotion of contentment (Fredrickson, 2000). Contentment is a positive emotion that elicits cognitive changes rather than the physical changes. It integrates the present moment with the experiences into an enriched appreciation of one‘s place in the world (Fredrickson, 1998 & 2000). The relaxation techniques create conditions for experiencing the positive emotions by inducing the key components of contentment. The Mediation exercises induce a state of mindfulness (full awareness of the present moment) that resemble the characteristic of contentment. The use of Imagery exercises, focus on specific situations (nature, previous experiences) known to be frequent precursors of contentment. Use of Progressive Muscle Relaxation creates tension-release sequence which gives way for relaxed contentment. The various relaxation techniques induce the components of contentment which further increases the probability of multi-component experience of contentment. The relaxation techniques are effective in treating problems caused by negative emotions because of the undoing effect of the positive emotions (Fredrickson, 2000). In the long term, the use of relaxation techniques can be useful for psychological growth and well-being. Increasing Pleasant Activities: The behavioural theories suggest that depression is caused due to deficit in response-dependent positive reinforcement. The interventions focusing on increasing the pleasant activities are based on the behavioural theories. The various interventions include; increasing the engagement of pleasant activities like being physically active (exercising), being creative, being close to the nature and socializing. These interventions place emphasis on pleasant activities and not on pleasant subjective experiences (positive emotions). Although pleasant activities are capable of producing positive emotions, to what extent it happens depends on the subjective meanings attached by the individuals to those activities. The effectiveness of these interventions can be accelerated by increasing the pleasant activities and connecting it to the broadening and building effects of the positive emotions (Fredrickson, 2000). Folkman (1997) suggested that positive emotions result from finding positive meaning. People find positive meaning in the activities and events of day-to-day life by reattaching those events and activities with positive values. In this context, engaging in physical activity can be viewed as personal achievement, attending a social event can be viewed as an opportunity to connect with other people and being close to the nature can 27 be seen as a shift from the monotonous activities. Finding positive Philosophy And Ethics Of Psychological Research meaning in such ways can produce experiences of contentment, joy, love and other positive emotions. Finding positive meaning can produce significant therapeutic effects and can cause improvement in physical as well as psychological health and well-being. Fredrickson (2000) argued that finding positive meaning produces positive emotions that broaden the modes of thinking and build enduring personal resources. The intervention strategies focusing on increasing the pleasant activities can be used to focus more directly on finding positive meaning and experiencing positive emotions. The broaden-and-build theory emphasizes on the ways in which positive emotions are significant elements of optimal functioning and hence essential aspect of positive psychology. The important contribution that this theory makes is that it is important to cultivate positive emotions un our lives and those around us, which can transform us into better persons, leading better lives. 2.4 THE FLOW OF EXPERIENCE Studying the creative process in the 1960s (Getzels & Csikszentmihalyi, 1976), Csikszentmihalyi was struck by the fact that when work on a painting was going well, the artist persisted single-mindedly, disregarding hunger, fatigue, and discomfort—yet rapidly lost interest in the artistic creation once it had been completed. Flow research and theory had their origin in a desire to understand this phenomenon of intrinsically motivated, or autotelic, activity: activity rewarding in and of itself (auto self, telos goal), quite apart from its end product or any extrinsic good that might result from the activity. Significant research had been conducted on the intrinsic motivation concept by this period (summarized in Deci & Ryan, 1985). Nevertheless, no systematic empirical research had been undertaken to clarify the subjective phenomenology of intrinsically motivated activity. Csikszentmihalyi (1975/2000) investigated the nature and conditions of enjoyment by interviewing chess players, rock climbers, dancers, and others who emphasized enjoyment as the main reason for pursuing an activity. The researchers focused on play and games, where intrinsic rewards are salient. Additionally, they studied work—specifically, surgery—where the extrinsic rewards of money and prestige could by themselves justify participation. They formed a picture of the general characteristics of optimal experience and its proximal conditions, finding that the reported phenomenology was remarkably similar across play and work settings. The conditions of flow include:  Perceived challenges, or opportunities for action, that stretch (neither overmatching nor underutilizing) existing skills; a sense that one is engaging challenges at a level appropriate to one‘s capacities 28  Research  Clear proximal goals and immediate feedback about the progress that Methodology For Psychology is being made. Being ―in flow‖ is the way that some interviewees described the subjective experience of engaging just-manageable challenges by tackling a series of goals, continuously processing feedback about progress, and adjusting action based on this feedback. Under these conditions, experience seamlessly unfolds from moment to moment, and one enters a subjective state with the following characteristics:  Intense and focused concentration on what one is doing in the present moment Merging of action and awareness  Loss of reflective self-consciousness (i.e., loss of awareness of oneself as a social actor)  A sense that one can control one‘s actions; that is, a sense that one can in principle deal with the situation because one knows how to respond to whatever happens next  Distortion of temporal experience (typically, a sense that time has passed faster than normal)  Experience of the activity as intrinsically rewarding, such that often the end goal is just an excuse for the process. When in flow, the individual operates at full capacity (cf. de Charms, 1968; Deci, 1975; White, 1959). The state is one of dynamic equilibrium. Entering flow depends on establishing a balance between perceived action capacities and perceived action opportunities (cf. optimal arousal, Berlyne, 1960; Hunt, 1965). The balance is intrinsically fragile. If challenges begin to exceed skills, one first becomes vigilant and then anxious; if skills begin to exceed challenges, one first relaxes and then becomes bored. Shifts in subjective state provide feedback about the changing relationship to the environment. Experiencing anxiety or boredom presses a person to adjust his or her level of skill and/ or challenge in order to escape the aversive state and reenter flow. The original account of the flow state has proven remarkably robust, confirmed through studies of art and science (Csikszentmihalyi, 1996), aesthetic experience (Csikszentmihalyi & Robinson, 1990), sport (Jackson, 1995, 1996), literary writing (Perry, 1999), and other activities. The experience is the same across lines of culture, class, gender, and age, as well as across kinds of activity. Flow research was pursued throughout the 1980s and 1990s in the laboratories of Csikszentmihalyi and colleagues in Italy (e.g., Csikszentmihalyi & Csikszentmihalyi, 1988; Inghilleri, 1999; Massimini & Carli, 1988; Massimini & Delle Fave, 2000). The research in Italy employed the Experience Sampling Method (ESM), using pagers to randomly sample everyday experience. It yielded several refinements of the model of experiential states and dynamics in which the flow concept is embedded. The ESM and the theoretical 29 advances that it made possible are discussed in the section on measuring Philosophy And Ethics Of Psychological Research flow. During the 1980s and 1990s, the flow concept also was embraced by researchers studying optimal experience (e.g., leisure, play, sports, art, intrinsic motivation) and by researchers and practitioners working in contexts where fostering positive experience is especially important (in particular, formal schooling at all levels). In addition, the concept of flow had growing impact outside academia, in the spheres of popular culture, professional sport, business, and politics. In the 1980s, work on flow was assimilated by psychology primarily within the humanistic tradition of Maslow and Rogers (McAdams, 1990) or as part of the empirical literature on intrinsic motivation and interest (e.g., Deci & Ryan, 1985; Renninger, Hidi, & Krapp, 1992). In recent years, a model of the individual as a proactive, self-regulating organism interacting with the environment has become increasingly central in psychology (for reviews, see Brandsta ¨dter, 1998; Magnusson & Stattin, 1998). This is highly compatible with the model of psychological functioning and development formed in concert with the flow concept (Csikszentmihalyi & Rathunde, 1998; Inghilleri, 1999). A key characteristic that the flow model shares with these other contemporary theories is interactionism (Magnusson & Stattin, 1998). Rather than focusing on the person, abstracted from context (i.e., traits, personality types, stable dispositions), flow research has emphasized the dynamic system composed of person and environment, as well as the phenomenology of person-environment interactions. Rock climbers, surgeons, and others who routinely find deep enjoyment in an activity illustrate how an organized set of challenges and a corresponding set of skills result in optimal experience. The activities afford rich opportunities for action. Complementarily, effectively engaging these challenges depends on the possession of relevant capacities for action. The effortless absorption experienced by the practiced artist at work on a difficult project always is premised upon earlier mastery of a complex body of skills. B