positive-psychology-notes.pdf

lOMoARcPSD|16065492 Positive Psychology Notes Positive Psychology (Western Sydney University) Scan to open on Studocu Studocu is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university Downloaded by lyza lim (lyzal...

lOMoARcPSD|16065492 Positive Psychology Notes Positive Psychology (Western Sydney University) Scan to open on Studocu Studocu is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 LECTURE WEEK 1 – THE WHAT AND WHY OF HAPPINESS Learning Outcomes: - Motivation for studying the unit - Definition of happiness o Hedonia and Eudomainia - What determines your Happiness - The challenges to happiness and wellbeing - Course structure (Motivation) Why study positive psychology? 1. The core missions of psychology were to study three things a. Cure mental illness b. Enhance the lives of normal population c. Study geniuses 2. It feels good to be happy… and its valued highly across various cultures Happiness is important at different levels in different countries Happiness is more valuable than money 3. Happiness comes with benefits Success  Happiness Three concrete acts: - Happiness is seen by most people as the single most important pursuit in life. - We’re not as happy as we could be - Our happiness directly affects many other aspects in life, including our performance at work or university.  happiness is valued more highly than money across different cultures (Definition) What is happiness? Happiness = pleasure + meaning The PERMA model (Martin Seligman) Positive emotion P = the experience of positive mood and feelings which are uplifting Engagement E = being totally absorbed in the task in hand Relationships R = good, caring and supportive interpersonal connections Meaning M = pursuit of purposeful and meaningful activities Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 Accomplishments A = achievement, success and mastery to progress towards goals and competence Eudaimonia Hedonism Pop quiz:  According to the lecture, happiness is valued more highly than money across different cultures – True  Which is not a core mission of psychology – Improving the productivity of the work environment  _______ talked about ideas of hedonism – Aristippus  _______ talked about ideas of eudaimonia – Aristotle  Which of the following is an example of eudaimonia – a person who is deeply involved in solving a difficult and meaningful problem, and feels satisfied when a creative solution is found. What determines your happiness? How much of the difference in happiness is determined by genetics – 50% How much of the difference in happiness is determined by circumstances – 10% How much of the difference in happiness is determined by intentional activity – 40% LECTURE WEEK 2 – FACTORS AFFECTING WELLBEING Does happiness lead to success - Correlation studies - Longitudinal studies - Experimental studies Mistaken desires: A closer look at circumstances and happiness - If only I was more beautiful - If only I got better grades - If only I met somebody Reasons - Affecting forecasting - Refence points - Psychological immune system Does happiness lead to success Correlation studies  There is a consistent positive correlation between happiness and various success outcomes. E.g., Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 o Happiness and marriage (Mastekaasa, 1994) o Happiness and a comfortable income (Diener & Biswas-Diener, 2002) o Happiness and superior mental health (Koivumaa-Honkanen et al., 2004). Limitations; - With correlation there are three possible causal explanations; o X cause Y o Y causes X o Another variable causes the relationship between X and Y Longitudinal studies  Longitudinal studies consistently find that happiness precedes various success outcomes. E.g., o Happiness and productivity (Staw et al., 1994) o Happiness and social support (Staw et al., 1994), and o Happiness and better health (Graham et al, 2004) o Happiness and a long life (Danner, Snowdon, & Friesen, 2001) - A researcher is examining the relation between two variables: variable X and variable Y. If she is conducting a correlational study, the researcher manipulates variable X and measures variable Y. - It is difficult to draw casual inferences in correlational research because; we often can't tell which variable causes the other Experimental studies  There is consistent evidence that happiness leads to various success outcomes. e. g., o Happiness leads to better health (Smith et al., 2004), o Happiness leads to better conflict resolution (Baron et al., 1990), o Happiness leads to more flexible thinking (Carnevale & Isen, 1986), o Happiness increases willpower (Tice & Wallace, 2000), o Happiness increases performance (Jundt & Hinsz, 2000) - The correlation between income and life satisfaction o 0.1 - Happiness is NOT strongly related to life circumstances involving such things as education, race, gender and climate Mistaken desires: A closer look at circumstances and happiness If only I was more beautiful  Hypothesis: models experience less well-being  1597 adolescent females from are presentative Norwegian sample over a 13-year period Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492  4.9% of these individuals had cosmetic surgery If only I got better grades If only I met somebody  A computer program informed participant an opposite-sex student would choose them over another student for a hypothetical date.  Participants learned they were part of a pilot program to ensure that people left the study in the same mood Reasons Why do we have some of these mistaken desires?  Affective forecasting and the ‘impact bias’ o Focalism o Neglect that we have a psychological immune system  The reference points we choose Affective forecasting  People’s prediction about their affect (emotional state) in the future  Research on affective forecasting shows that people tend to overestimate the impact that future events will have on their emotions o An error called the ‘impact bias’  Research shows that people tend to overestimate the effect that future events will have on their emotions. This error is called - One reason for this error is focalism o Focalism is when we make a prediction of the impact of an event and ignore the fact that other events will occur that influence happiness - Another reason is immune neglect (psychological immune system) o when we have unconscious psychological processes, which cushion the effects of a negative event. Psychological immune system  When it comes to imagining the emotional impact that future events will have on us, humans are poor predictors for a number of reasons.  We have unconscious psychological processes such as ego defense, dissonance reductions, self-serving biases, etc. that will cushion the effects of a negative event. Reference points Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 - upward social comparison o Comparing your accomplishments in school to students who you know are performing better than you - Downward comparison - comparing your accomplishments in school to a student who you know are performing worse than you - Happiness is a causal mechanism for many things that society values (health and creativity) - Relationship between income and happiness; income increases happiness, increases income or another variable influences the relationship between income and happiness LECTURE WEEK 3 – COUNTER THE NEGATIVETY BIAS The negativity bias - What is it - Why does it occur Antidote #1 to the negativity bias Empirical evidence supporting antidote #2 - Psychological benefits - Physical and social benefits Potential mechanisms (cognitive framework and Psycho-social framework The negativity bias  People tend to over consider the negative side of things, the negative side is key to survival  Strong pull that negative stimuli exert on our attention  The speed and intensity of conditioned taste aversion Impacts on thoughts and behaviour  Bias in relationships o Forming impressions and leading us to expect the worst in others  Decision making o Primacy of loss aversion  Learned patterns of thinking and missed opportunities o Brains are adapting and learning something that may consider quite important As humans, we’re not hard-wired to focus on the good Two ways to look at life: Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 Lens of scarcity What life is denying Life as a burden Lens of abundance What life is offering Life as a gift Gratitude - When they affirm that something good has happened to them, and they recognize that someone else is largely responsible for this benefit o Trait gratitude o State gratitude - Gratitude increases wellbeing in these possible mechanisms o Cognitive framework o Psycho-social framework Cognitive framework - Positive attentional bias, interpretation bias and memory bias Positive Interpretation Bias (through reducing the negativity bias):  Negativity bias is thought to underlie several forms of psychopathology, including anxiety and depression (Clark & Wells 1995).  Gratitude interventions can also reduce cognitive symptoms (compared to conventional cognitive therapy (Geraghty et al. 2010) Positive Interpretation Bias (through positive reframing):  Those who are practicing a gratitude intervention (or have high levels of trait gratitude) are more likely to see life as more manageable, meaningful and coherent (Lambert et al. 2012)  The positive association between gratitude and sense of coherence was mediated by self-reported positive reframing ability (Lambert et al. 2009). Positive Interpretation Bias (through increased self-esteem):  Experiencing high levels of trait gratitude may be similarly associated with positive internalized self-perceptions and higher self-esteem (Emmons and Mishra 2011)  A 4-week gratitude intervention led to increases in self-esteem (Rash et al. 2011) Positive Attentional Bias  Individuals with affective disorders such as anxiety and depression demonstrate a heightened attentional bias towards threat-relevant and other negative stimuli (Bar- Haim et al. 2007), which may also exacerbate and reinforce these disorders (Clark and Wells 1995). Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492  We know that people with trait gratitude (and also practice gratitude interventions) have lower incidence of anxiety and depression Psycho-social framework Increased social support  Trait gratitude positively predicts amount of social support.  Saying thanks increases social support to the person saying, ‘thank you’. A concept known as reciprocal altruism (e.g. Grant & Gino, 2010)  Also increases upstream altruism (i.e. me saying thank you to you increases your social support to others)  Reciprocity starts to create increased relationship quality and satisfaction  which then can increase wellbeing and health.  Leads to an increase in the quality of our relationships which then increases our wellbeing Increased prosocial behaviour  Spend more time helping others (Bartlett & DeSteno, 2006)  More prosocial behaviour may be beneficial in the long-term  Leads to increased relationship quality (and increased social support) and better health and wellbeing Gratitude has been shown to be one of the strongest correlates of emotional wellbeing, and experimental studies have supported the theory that gratitude enhances happiness (Watkins, Van Gelder, & Frias, 2009) LECTURE WEEK 4 – BROADEN AND BUILD THEORY Broaden and Build theory of positive emotions - Evidence for the Broaden part of the theory Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 - Evidence for the Build part of the theory Applications of the Broaden and Build theory - People under stress o E.g., The Undoing Effect (Barbara Frederickson & Robert Levenson) Broaden and Build Theory (Barbara Frederickson 1999) The broaden and build theory by Barbara Frederickson (1999) proposes that positive emotions broaden people's thought-action tendencies and build their enduring personal resources that are important for our survival.  The ‘broaden’ part of the Broaden and Build theory proposes that o Positive emotions expand an individual’s attention  The ‘build’ part of the Broaden and Build theory proposes that o Positive emotions build resources Evidence for the Broaden in the Broaden and Build Theory  Global vs Local Processing (Fredrickson, 2005)  People are more creative as measured by the Remote Associates Test (Isen, Daubman, & Nowicki, 1987)  Positive and negative affective states have opposing influences on the informational bandwidth of perceptual encoding (Anderson, et al., 2009). Positive emotions change how our minds work – it broadens our cognition, allows us to draw flexibly on higher-level connections and wider-than-usual ranges of percepts, ideas, and action urges. They create behavioural flexibility. The broadening effect  The broaden effect of positive emotion has the ability to build a. cognitive resources b. intellectual resources c. social resources Evidence for the ‘Build’ in the Broaden and Build Theory An example of joy 1. Physical resources: develop coordination, strength, and cardiovascular health 2. Psychological resources: develop resilience and optimism, sense of identity and goal orientation 3. Social resources: solidify bonds, make new bonds 4. Cognitive resources: develop problem-solving skills, learn new information  Broaden one's awareness and encourage new actions and thoughts.  It overall builds skills. Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492  Positive emotions serve as markers of flourishing, or optimal well-being Evidence for build; 1. Positive emotions fuel psychological resilience (Fredrickson, Tugade, Waugh, & Larkin, 2003) 2. Open hearts build lives (Fredrickson et al., 2008) 3. Positive emotions undo the effects of negative emotions (Fredrickson, Mancuso, Branigan, & Tugade, 2000) 1. Positive emotions fuel psychological resilience (Fredrickson, Tugade, Waugh, & Larkin, 2003) Are positive emotions critical, active ingredients within trait resilience? Hypothesis 1 Measured things like; - Resilience - Optimism - Life satisfaction Hypothesis 2 Measured things like; - Resilience - Optimism - Life satisfaction - Depressive symptoms Hypothesis 1: resilient people are buffered from depression by positive emotions - Resilience predicts depression through… Psychological = -.24* Depressive Resilience Symptoms Hypothesis 2: resilient people thrive through positive emotions Psychological =.27* Increases in Resilience Psychological Resources 2. Open hearts build lives (Fredrickson et al., 2008) Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 Hypothesis: Becoming skilled in LKM will, over time, increase people’s daily experiences of positive emotions, which, in turn, build a variety of personal resources that hold positive consequences for the person’s mental health and overall life satisfaction. LKM: a technique used to increase feelings of warmth and caring for the self and others (Salzberg, 1995). “May you be safe. May you be happy. May you be at peace.” N = 139 working adults, randomly assigned to 7 weeks of loving-kindness meditation (LKM) or to a control condition Real World Application of the Broaden and Build Theory Positive emotions are a useful tool to incorporate into clinical interventions (Tanner, 2010) - E.g. Broadminded Affective Coping Procedure (BMAC) o Has been used with people suffering PTSD or trauma (e.g. Panogioti et al. 2011) 1 hr 2hr 2 days Fill out the BMAC Calmness Happiness No significant effects found Sad/ defeat 2 hours and 2 days after PTSD Hopeless Recall a personal memory (control) Two reasons the incorporation of BMAC this might be useful for PTSD or trauma victims 1- Reduce feelings of anhedonia 2- Boost resilience The undoing effect; Barbara Frederickson & Robert Levenson The undoing effect occurs when the initial negative emotion generates a clear pattern of heightened sympathetic cardiovascular reactivity that is typical of anxiety, fear, and other health-damaging negative emotions. Second, the undoing effect is not limited to women, but occurs for men as well. Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 Positive emotions (PE) and negative emotions (NE) PE; Thought action tendency broadens attention, cognition, and action PE carry adaptive significance not in the immediate moment but later through the building of resources  PE= love, happiness, joy Why we need PE  PE are more than "happy feelings"  PE broaden and build resources for future and our thought-action repertoire  Although PE are fleeting, they also: expand cognition, increase creativity, increase number of potential behavioural options, and benefits last into future  Fredrickson did another study: breadth of momentary thought - action repertoire showed people different video clips causing different emotions: amusement, contentment, no emotion, anger/disgust, and fear/anxiety  Another study: own-race bias → easier to recognize emotions of own race better White people recognize black emotions less than white people NE;  Thought-action tendency narrows  NE carry adaptive significance in the moment they are experienced  Negative emotions have received more attention in psychology than positive emotions  Linked to the activation of the autonomic nervous system- blood pressure, heartbeat, perspiration  Helps reproduce genes  Anger: urge to attack  Fear: urge to escape  Disgust: urge to expel (gross food)  Benefits are immediate: negative emotions lead to immediate decisions/responses  Prepare body physically/psychologically to act in quick and specific ways LECTURE WEEK 5 – RESILIENCE Cognitive behaviour therapy Learn our ABCs Unhelpful thinking traps… that affected out wellbeing and resilience How you can use the ABC model in your life Resilience; the ability to bounce back from adversity or to thrive despite negative life circumstances What factors influence resilience? - Biology Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 - Self-awareness - Self-regulation - Flexible thinking - Optimism - Self-efficacy/ mastery - Relationships - Institutions Cognitive behaviour therapy Fathers of CBT– Albert Ellis and Aaron Beck Albert Ellis - He argued that people can upset themselves by thinking irrationally - Started Rational Emotive Therapy (RET) and later changed to Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) - Today this approach is widely used by mental health practitioners around the world Aaron Beck - He argued that distorted thinking patterns contribute to depression, anxiety, and other psychological problems. - Focus was to recognise and change distorted thinking patterns and self-defeating behaviour Albert Ellis’s A-B-C model of emotional reactions and Beck’s different cognitive distortions The ABCs Model Cs A B Consequences (Emotion) Activating event or beliefs or thoughts about adversity event or adversity Consequences (Behaviour) What is the difference between thoughts and beliefs? - Thoughts are more transient - Beliefs are more stable - Many of our behaviours serve to support or reinforce our existing cognitions (beliefs / thoughts). Some examples include; o Avoiding social situations o Not being assertive Initiate social contact o Fearing a situation Being assertive o Perfection Confront Complete tasks to less perfection Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 ABC MODEL SUMMARY Activating events influences the consequences but is mediated by your beliefs or your thoughts on the situation. ABC – scenario #1 Adversity: A fellow student criticized my response to a question in front of the class Belief: She's right; it was a dumb response. I don't have much of an imagination, and now the entire class can see how stupid I am. I should never have spoken up! Consequences: I felt stupid and didn't speak up for the rest of the meeting. I don't want to attend any of the other team classes this week and have already made an excuse to avoid tomorrow's meeting. Dispute: My response wasn’t dumb – the student tends to criticise students in general – none of the other students were phased by my response, it wasn’t a big deal – other students have provided similar responses in the past and I didn’t see them any differently, maybe that’s the same in my situation. Introducing D; Dispute Unhelpful thinking traps Mental Filter: You focus on one small detail instead of the overall situation. You dwell on the negatives and ignore the positives. For example, “I can’t go on any interviews because I still haven’t found the right shoes to go with my black suit.” Jumping to conclusions: We assume that we know what someone else is thinking (mind reading) and when we make predictions about what is going to happen in the future (predictive thinking). An example of mind reading would be “Since I said, ‘call me any time’ he/she probably thinks I’m desperate.” Personalisation: You blame yourself for something you weren’t entirely responsible for. For example, “The professor seemed to be in a hurry to get out of the classroom. He must have thought my question was really dumb.” Catastrophising: You predict negative future outcomes. For example, “If I don’t find a partner by the time I get out of university, I’ll have to spend the rest of my life alone.” Black and white thinking. You look at things in absolute, black-and-white categories, seeing only two options. For example, “If I am not the best at what I do then I am a failure.” Should’ing and must’ing. You have rigid beliefs about how you and others should behave. You criticise yourself or other people with “shoulds” or “shouldn’ts,” “musts,” “oughts,” and “have tos”. For example, “A ‘good’ daughter should call her mother every day and report everything that she has done in the last 24 hours.” Overgeneralising. You make a general conclusion about yourself based on one situation or event. i.e., you view a negative event as a never-ending pattern of defeat. For example, “I didn’t do well in that interview. I’m not a ‘people person’ I guess.” Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 Labelling. You attach labels to self and others then block evidence that contradicts the label. You identify with your shortcoming. Instead of saying “I made a mistake,” you tell yourself, “I’m a jerk,” or “a fool,” or “a loser.” For example, “She’s too stuck-up to go out with a loser like me.” Emotional reasoning. You believe something because you feel it is true when evidence suggests it is not. You reason from how you feel: “I feel like an idiot, so I really must be one.” Or “I don’t feel like doing this, so I’ll put it off.” An example of this is “Even though he hasn’t called me, my heart tells me that we’re meant to be together.” Magnifying or minimising. You blow things way out of proportion or you shrink their importance inappropriately. i.e., you exaggerate the negative or minimise the positive. For example, “Since I missed class today, it won’t matter that I have as on the exams. The professor will fail me because he/she can see how irresponsible I really am.” Common B and C connections Violation of your right’s Anger Real-world loss Sadness or depression Violation of another's rights Guilt Future threat Anxiety or fear -ve comparison to others Embarrassment Thinking traps/ examples Mental filtering/ Selective abstraction  you often here that you are trim, but you fixate in that one time you were called fat All or nothing thinking  chocolate is bad for you and you should NEVER eat it Over-generalised  processed meat increases the changes of bowel cancer, but you conclude meat causes cancer Fortune telling  you refuse to go to the gym because you know people will look at you funny Magnifying/ Minimising  you have a great, well-written speech but you believe that your lack of eye contact ruined it Labelling  people who use drugs are criminals Emotional reasoning  you are in the normal weight range, but you can’t help but feel that your fat Mind reading  I’m going to quit the soccer team. I know my teammates are thinking I shouldn’t be there Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 Catastrophising  you tore your ACL and can’t compete in the finals; you believe your life is over Should and shouldn’t  I should eat 5 serves of vegetables a day Pop quiz I had a close call with a crazy motorist who failed to give way to me as they were entering the M5. I gave the motorist a strong hand gesture and shouted at them. I was thinking to myself “@#!! stupid idiot” - According to the lecture a strong belief is generalising this self-talk According to the lecture, anger is most often preceded by a - Violation of your rights belief An example of behaviour influencing emotion is - Calling a friend and then feeling better Two of the most influential thinkers in CBT were - Aaron Beck and Albert Elli In the lecture, avoiding social situations was an example of - Behaviours influencing emotions indirectly via cognitions The thinking error consists of (A) mind reading where you assume that people are reacting negatively to you when there’s no definite evidence AND (b) fortune telling when you arbitrarily predict that things will turn out badly - Jumping to conclusions We make an assumption based only on the negative or positive aspects of a situation - Mental filter This occurs when we “blow things out of proportion”, and we view the situation as a terrible, awful, dreadful, and horrible, even though the reality is that the problem itself is quite small - Catastrophising We assume blame for problems or situation for which we are primary not responsible - Personalising You look at things in absolute, all or nothing categories - Black or white thinking  In Meichenbaum's cognitive behaviour modification, what is given primary importance? o inner speech  In the strengths-based CBT four step model to build resilience, a key to the fourth stage of therapy is that the client: o be resilient in the face of challenges  The correct components of the A-B-C theory of personality are: o Activating belief, behaviour, consequence Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492  The main idea of __________ is that active incorporation of client strengths encourages clients to engage more fully in therapy and often provides avenues for change that otherwise would be missed. o strengths based CBT Examples of learned responses Withdrawing our hand when we accidently touch a hot stove. This does not involve any thinking, because it does not even involve the mind, just the spinal cord using a spinal reflex. Slamming on the car brakes when a child accidently walks onto the road in front of the car. This is a learned behaviour. It may not have taken you much time to slam on the brakes - it may feel as though you were unthinking when you slammed on the brakes, yet it is actually a well-learned association that you have acquired over time. John's reaction when his friend pops a balloon behind John's back and scares the daylights out of John. This is a startle response that occurs at the sub-cortical level. While emotions can influence this it is not likely something we want to change as this has served a strong evolutionary advantage. John feels depressed because a potential date has not replied to his text quickly. Eventhough this may feel like an automatic response, it is in fact a learned behaviour. For example, John may have a belief such as "if a date doesn't reply to my text quickly then they don't like me." By becoming aware of this belief John is more able to potentially change this sub-optimal belief or thinking (if he deems it worth the effort). LECTURE WEEK 6 – DESIGNING YOUR LIFE OPTIMALLY Two types of attention - conscious attention (deliberate) - habitual attention (unconscious) Modes of thinking System 1 and System 2 Thinking - much more perception, memory and behaviour occur without conscious deliberation or will. - Both systems are active when you’re awake - S1 continuously generates suggestions for S2; impressions, institutions, intentions, and feelings o If S2 endorses the impressions and institutions, then these turn into beliefs o If S2 endorses the impulses them these turn into voluntary actions - When S1 runs into difficulty, it calls on S2 - S2 monitors your own behaviour Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 - S2 is activated when an event is detected that violates the model of the wold that S1 maintains - System 1 operates automatically and quickly, with little or no effort and sense of voluntary control, and system two operates allocates attention to the effortful mental activities that demand it, including complex computations. System 1 thinking; - operates automatically and quickly - little effort and no sense of voluntary control - prone for biases and systematic errors- hard to turn off - ALWAYS ON, runs in the background System 2 thinking; - allocates attention - often associated with subjective experience of agency, choice and concentration - Monitoring the appropriateness of your behaviour in a social situation - focusing on the voice of a particular person in a loud and crowded room Going with the grain Happiness by design - Align S1 thinking with S2 thinking for ‘happiness by design’ Used context focussed approaches - Priming - Defaults - Commitments - Others Priming  Priming (or activation of any sort) of knowledge in memory makes it more accessible and therefore more influential in processing new stimuli (Richardson-Klavehn & Bjork, 1988).  Words can act as primes.  Sights can act as primes (e.g. subliminal primes & situational cues)  Smells can act as primes  When priming is linked to limited attention it is conceivable that a large number of decisions are made without consciously knowing about them (Wilson, 2002) Example; - The word NURSE is recognised more quickly following the word DOCTOR than following the word BREAD E.g., natural and artificial light Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 - Blue light has a powerful effect on circadian rhythms via increased alertness and reduced melatonin - Increase blue light in the morning and throughout the day – optimise alertness - Reduce blue light in the night – set up a lot of lights where you’re working Defaults - People have a strong tendency to go along with the status quo or the default option. This is known as the status quo bias. o Loss aversion o Mere exposure effect - Setting default options can have huge effects on outcomes. Example; - If my internet browser opens up fb it is going to be much harder for me to limit my time on fb Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 Commitments Increase likelihood of behaviour  We tend to procrastinate and delay taking decisions that are likely to be in our long- term interests (O’Donoghue & Rabin, 1999).  Companies will often play on commitment with a number of strategies. For example  The low balling - the seller of a product starts by quoting a price well below the actual sales price.  Foot-in-the-door technique - we start with a small request before making a bigger one. Example; - Tell a friend you will stop smoking, and you are more likely to do so Persuasion techniques Norm of reciprocity – involves the expectations that when others treat us well, we should respond in kind Door-in-the-face technique - a persuader makes a large request, expecting you to reject it and then presents a smaller request Foot-in-the-door technique – a persuader gets you to comply with a small request first and later presents a larger request Lowballing – a persuader gets you to commit to some action and then; before you actually perform the behaviour, he or she increases the ‘cost’ of that same behaviour The principle of liking – when we like people, we are more likely to be persuaded by them Routes to persuasion  Peripheral route of persuasion: Much of consumer behaviour- such as a spontaneous decision, while shopping to pick up some ice-cream of a particular brand is made unthinkingly Central route of persuasion: Magazine computer ads, bigger purchases like package holidays. Detecting and resisting persuasion techniques Conformity  refers to the tendency of people to alter their behaviour as a result of group pressure – the Asch studies on conformity Says the wrong answer to avoid clashing against others We conform due to: - Normative social influence – conforming to obtain the rewards of the group that come from being accepted by other people while at the same time avoiding their rejection (Bond, 2005) Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 - Informational social influence – following the opinions or behaviours of others because we believe they have accurate knowledge and that what they are doing is right. Social norms drive different types of social influence  Social norms affect your behaviour through your unconscious attention and your automatic inclination to put people into groups (Bargh & Williams, 2006)  Many psychologists have differentiated among norms and the role they play in social influence. For example  Descriptive norms are ‘the norms of what is,’ a sort of informational summary of how a group behaves (Cialdini et al., 1991).  The process of conforming to descriptive norms has been called ‘informational social influence’ (McDonald & Crandall, 2015)  Injunctive norms are “the perception of what most people approve or disapprove of” (Cialdini et al., 1991, p.203).  The process of conforming to injunctive norms has been called ‘normative social influence’ (McDonald & Crandall, 2015) Pop quiz The gorilla study illustrates two important facts about minds; - We can be blind to the obvious, and that we can be blind to our blindness Focusing on the video of a particular person in a crowded and noisy room monitoring the appropriateness of your behaviour in a social situation are examples of; - System 2 thinking We can change people’s behaviour by changing their context cues. In the lecture, following contextual cues were discussed - Priming, default, commitments, others When the word NURSE is recognised more quickly following the word DOCTOR than following the word BREAD; this is an example of - Priming An individual reported that he had thought to question why everyone was standing there but he didn’t want to seem too ‘uptight’ because others might not like him - This is an example of normative social influence If the first behaviour (exercise before work) creates a spill over behaviour to eat more healthily the rest of the day then this is known as a spill over behaviour - Promoting People have a strong tendency to go along with the status quo or the default option. In the lecture a couple of reasons were mentioned, these were - Loss aversion and the mere exposure effect The power of commitment is seen in a number of persuasion techniques such as the - Foot in the door technique and low-ball technique Using an example of the sigh “most people take the stairs” is an example of using - Descriptive norms to change behaviour Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 Context approach to behaviour – exercise more LECTURE WEEK 7 – CULTIVATING OPTIMISM History of learned optimism Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 Differences between an optimism and a pessimist (explanatory styles) The 3P’s of attribution The art of disruption Two types (theory) of optimism: Martin Seligman 1. Dispositional optimism 2. Learned optimism 1. Dispositional optimism: - The dispositional approach to optimism emphasises a person’s expectancies of good or bad outcomes in the future. o Perceptions about ability – move towards goals o Move away from things we don’t like - “How do I feel about the future” - General expectation of the future (hope theory) - This theory would consider expectation about how well you’ll go in an exam, as a personality trait its presumed to be stable with little scope to change 2. Learned optimism: - How we explain negative events to ourselves - “Why did the negative event happen to me?” o E.g., Failed an exam – how the optimist may explain this event to themselves compared to the pessimists - This theory looks at the attributions style of optimists and pessimists along three dimensions (The 3P’s) Learned optimism: The ABC Model - Activating event of Adversity - Beliefs about event or adversity - The emotional Consequences From learned helplessness to learned optimism Ivan Pavlov – Classical conditioning dog salivation experiment (early 1900s) - Pavlov study of dogs and saliva - how it informs on classical conditioning and treatment of phobias - Conducted to investigate if hungry dogs can be classically conditioned to salivate to the sound of a bell - It was hypothesised that Pavlov's hungry dogs will be classically conditioned to have an increased amount of salivation to the sound of a bell after the sound of a bell has been paired with meat powder Phase 1 of experiment - Group 1: dogs received an inescapable mild shock Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 - Group 2: dogs received a shock at the same intensity and interval as group 1, but they could turn off this shock - Group 3: dogs received no shock Phase 2 of experiment was conducted 24hr after - Shuttle box experiment - Dogs jump back and forth o Allowing the shock to turn off the shock by jumping the barrier - What group jumped and what group didn’t o Groups 2 & 3 learned to turn the shock off by jumping over o Group 1 lay there and waited for the experimenter to turn shocks off - This learned helplessness can be produced to rats, cats, fish, and even humans Learned helplessness in humans Phase 1 - Group 1: students received an escapable loud noise they could turn off by pressing a button four times. - Group 2: students received an inescapable noise that turned off independent of the student. - Group 3: students experienced no noise. Phase 2 - Participants used a hand shuttle box o Needed to move the lever from one side to the other to turn off the loud noise - Groups 1 and 3 could quickly turn off the noise - Group 2: listened passively to the noise (Hiroto, 1974). - This example of learned helplessness shows it’s not so much the adversity that leads to learned helplessness rather the belief that no matter what you do, you have no power over the outcome Learned Helpless in a number of ways =  Motivational effect – if you believe what you do doesn’t have an effect on the outcome  Emotional – if you believe what you do doesn’t have an effect on the outcome (passively waiting)  Cognitive effect – less likely to learn or apply your mind Impact of learned helplessness at the levels is insidious, however there were interesting number that came out from the experiment Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 Statistic #1: 2/3 of people become helpless but the other 1/3 could not be made helpless So, what is it about people/animals that protects them from helplessness? Statistic #2: 1/10 people, no matter what you did, became helpless So, what is it about you that makes you sensitive to bad events and become helpless no matter what? Benefits of optimism - Optimism affects o physical health o mental health o relationships o success Physical health - the top quarter of optimists (top 25%) had 30% fewer coronary deaths then the pessimists in the lower 25% - Women who scored in the top quartile of optimism had 30% fewer coronary deaths than women in the bottom quartile of the optimism test. Positive emotional style = LOW Positive emotional style = HIGH Positive emotional style = MIDDLE Why is it good to be an optimist? Mental health Physical health Relationships Success Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 Explanatory styles - Explanatory style is the manner in which you habitually explain to yourself why events happen (Seligman, 1990) - The explanatory style of an optimistic differs from a pessimistic in three predictable ways – also known as the 3P’s Difference between Optimism and Pessimism Example in lecture: Both have the exact same heart problems Pessimistic style Optimistic style Permanence (always “He worries the doctors don’t “is a pretty random event – he has – not always know how to treat the symptoms a lot of good stuff going on in his dimension) and that he will need to worry life and he doesn’t think that the about this all his life.” effects of his heart attack will last long.” Personal (me – not “He wonders what he has done “there is no one to blame – it just me dimension) to deserve it” happened” Pervasiveness “continuously worries...and the He tries to keep up parts of his (everything – not impact this will have on him, his schedule at work and his family everything family, and his life.” life. He is still involved in his local dimension) charity.” Developing a balanced mindset  Optimism can have its costs if too unrealistic (Seligman, 2000)  Pessimism helps to maintain caution, prudence, and analytical thinking (Seligman, 2000)  The goal is to make a choice about which explanatory style serves you best in your given situation. Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 The art of disputing  The ABC Model Activating event of Adversity Beliefs about event or adversity The emotional Consequences Some considerations  Evidence  Alternatives  Implications  Usefulness LECTURE WEEK 8 – ARE RELATIONSHIPS IMPORTANT TO WELLBEING Christopher Peterson- one of the fathers of positive psychology - Summed up positive psychology as “Other people matter” Relationships; Other people matter - Relationships matter in the PERMA model - Relationships matter in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Psychology approach to relationship is the red cape and green cape Red – lets fix the relationship Green - The making of Flourishing relationships Abraham Maslow’s triangle 1. Positive emotions Purposeful Positive Flourishing 2. Savouring Relationship Behaviours Relationships 3. Strengths 4. Passion Love Adult attachment Infant attachment Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 Infant attachment; - Close, emotional relationship that we tend to have with our primary care giver. o Between a child and a mother or father or another caregiver - The enduring social emotional relationship - Infants and adults are biologically predisposed to form attachments (Bowlby, 1973). o Within a few months the infant starts to discriminate her primary caregivers from others o After about 6 or 7 months a child shows a strong attachment to a single individual o These attachments create an internal working model (Bretherton, 1996). o Strange Situation Test on infant attachment (Ainsworth et al., 1978). The cupboard hypotheses; bond because of survival due to food Harry Harlow’s Attachment Theory – Rhesus Monkey test - Giving young monkeys a choice between two different “mothers” o One was made of cloth but provided no food o The other as made of wire but provided food from an attached baby bottle. - Harlow aimed to find out whether provision of food or contact comfort is more important in the formation of infant-mother attachment - All monkeys in groups 1 & 2 spent more time with the cloth “mother” over the wire “mother” regardless of which provided food - Harlow concluded that contact comfort is more important than feeding in the formation of infant-mother attachment in rhesus monkeys - Contact comfort is likely to be a crucial factor in human infant-caregiver attachment Imprinting  The tendency for some species of birds and mammals to follow and attach to the first thing that moves after they are born Strange Situation Test on infant attachment (Ainsworth et al., 1978). 1. The mother puts the baby on the floor, some distance from the toys, and then takes a seat 2. A stranger enters the playroom and also sits down 3. The stranger talks to the mother, and then the stranger attempts to play with the baby 4. Next, the mother leaves her baby alone with the stranger for a few minutes 5. She returns shortly to be reunited with her infant (first reunion) and stranger quietly leaves 6. Then the mother leaves again for a few minutes 7. The stranger returns first and attempts to play with the baby 8. Finally, the mother returns and picks up her baby (second reunion) Responses on this test fall into three (or four) general categories Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 1. Avoidant attachment style – 20% don’t cry, they either ignore or turn away when she returns 2. Secure attachment style – 60-70% seeking to maintain contact when mother returns 3. Ambivalent attachment style – 10% cry when mothers leave, but are not comforted when she returns 4. Disorganised attachment style - mix of ambivalent or avoidant attachment styles Secure attachment - I find it relatively easy to get close to others and am comfortable depending on them and having them depend on me. I don’t often worry about being abandoned or about someone getting too close to me. Avoidant – I am somewhat uncomfortable being close to others; I find it difficult to trust them completely, difficult to allow myself to depend on them. I am nervous when anyone gets too close, and often love partners want me to be more intimate than I feel comfortable being. Anxious/ambivalent – I find that others are reluctant to get as close as I would like. I often worry that my partner doesn’t really love me or won’t want to stay with me. I want to merge completely with another person, and this desire sometimes scares people away. SELF OTHER MOEDL Internal MODEL Working Model ^ How the infant-attachment styles can develop and lead to Adult attachment styles^ - Schema about how we think relationships should work Challenges of relationships; - Is there a misunderstanding about relationships? - The exotic becomes erotic Abraham Maslow’s triangle 1. Positive emotions 2. Savouring 3. Strengths 4. Passion Ways that Positive emotions fuel relationships - Revisiting the broad and build theory Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 - Ways positive emotions may influence relationships - Tow practical strategies The Broaden and Build Theory proposes that positive emotions broaden people’s thought- action tendencies and build their enduring personal resources that are important for our survival (Fredrickson, 1999)  Broaden evidence o More creative (Isen, Daubman, & Nowicki, 1987) o Have more informational bandwidth of perceptual encoding (Anderson, et al., 2009).  Build evidence o Increased resilience and optimism o Less likely to have hypertension o Live longer The benefit of positive emotions on relationships - More flexible thinking (Isen, 2002) - Affect Infusion Model (Forgas, 2002) - Through self-expansion (Aron & Aron, 2001) - Through emotional contagion Self-expansion of ourselves with others Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 Emotional cognition Positivity self-test  The goal of this test is to determine what your balance of positive to negative emotions is.  Fredrickson suggests that in relationships we want positive scores of at least 3 and more likely 5 (Fredrickson, 2009).  This is consistent with world renowned marriage expert John Gottman research on high levels of positive interactions between partners in healthy, flourishing, long-term relationships (Gottman, 2011)  John Gottman (1994, 1995) has spent a lifetime ‘thin-slicing’ relationship behaviour – and predicts relationship success with 94% accuracy.  Happy marriages are characterised by a ratio of positive to negative affect of 5:1.  Two key messages 1. Conflict is important 2. Need more positivity than negativity Savouring  Shelly Gable  Bryant and Veroff (2007) define savouring as the process in which people engage ‘to attend to, appreciate t, and enhance the positive experiences in their lives’ (p. 2).  Savouring increases wellbeing (Jose et al., 2012). There are a few ways that we can savour positive events Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 1. Anticipation 2. Being in the moment 3. Reminiscing  Savouring (or capitalising of the positive events) increases relationship wellbeing (Gable, 2005). Capitalising on the good events Responses to good news Two dimensions 1. Constructive - encouraging; may include positive responses or suggestions Destructive – discouraging 2. Active – shows interest and engagement Passive – detached For example; - Imagine your partner comes home from work and announces that they have received a promotion at work. There are many ways in which you could respond to this news. - Active destructive o Deflates the good news, raises the alarm bells  I never get to see you; you’re always going to be at work - Passive destructive o Ignored the events and steals the conversation  “I got a promotion”; “oh okay are you ready for inner” - Passive constructive o Understated support; conversation stalls - Active constructive o genuine interest, amplifies the experience  “hey, I got a promotion”; “that’s fantastic, let’s go out…” LECTURE WEEK 10 – character strengths Development of character strengths What are the character strengths? The difference between strengths and talents Intervention studies that use character strengths The Golden Mean - One case study – social anxiety disorder Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 Development of character strengths There are 6 virtues in character strengths 1. Wisdom 2. Courage 3. Humanity 4. Justice 5. Temperance 6. Transcendence There are 24-character strengths within the above virtues Wisdom Courage Humanity Justice Temperance Transcendence Creativity Bravery Love Teamwork Forgiveness Appreciation of beauty and excellence Curiosity Perseverance Kindness Fairness Humility Gratitude Judgment Honesty Social leadership Prudence Hope intelligence Love of Zest Self- Humour learning regulation Perspective Spirituality Wisdom; Creativity: original, adaptive, ingenuity, seeing and doing things in different ways, etc. Curiosity: interest, novelty-seeking, exploration, openness to experience, etc. Love-of-Learning: mastering new skills and topics, systematically adding to knowledge, etc. Judgment (open mindedness): critical thinking, thinking through all sides, not jumping to conclusions, etc. Perspective: wisdom, providing wise counsel, taking the big picture view, etc. Courage; Bravery: valour, not shrinking from threat or challenge, facing fears, speaking up for what’s right, etc. Perseverance: Persistence, industry, finishing what one starts, overcoming obstacles, etc. Honesty: authenticity, being true to oneself, sincerity without pretense, integrity, etc. Zest: vitality, enthusiasm for life, vigour, energy, not doing things half-heartedly, etc. Humanity; Love: both loving and being loved, valuing close relations with others, genuine warmth, etc. Kindness: generosity, nurturance, care, compassion, altruism, doing for others, etc. Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 Social Intelligence: aware of the motives, and feelings of oneself and others, knows what makes others tick, etc. Justice; Leadership: organizing group activities to get things done, positively influencing others, etc. Teamwork: citizenship, social responsibility, loyalty, contributing to a group effort, etc. Fairness: adhering to principles of justice, not allowing feelings to bias decisions about others, etc. Temperance; Forgiveness: mercy, accepting others’ shortcomings, giving people a second chance, letting go of hurt, etc. Humility: modesty, letting one’s accomplishments speak for themselves, etc. Prudence: careful about one’s choices, cautious, not taking undue risks, etc. Self-Regulation: self-control, disciplined, managing impulses/emotions/vices, etc. Transcendence; Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence: awe and wonder for beauty, admiration for skill and moral greatness, etc. Gratitude: thankful for the good, expressing thanks, feeling blessed, etc. Hope: optimism, positive, future-mindedness, expecting the best and working to achieve it, etc. Humour: playfulness, bringing, smiles to others, light-hearted – seeing the lighter side, etc. Spirituality: connecting with the sacred, purpose, meaning, faith, religiousness, etc. The difference between strengths and talents Strengths;  Character strengths are evidenced by how individuals think, feel and act.  Character strengths are important in their own right because they “promote the individual’s well-being and happiness” (Park & Peterson, 2006, p. 323).  Character strengths are “the subset of personality traits that are morally valued” (Gillham et al., 2011, p. 31).  The development of character is a result of individual, family and societal efforts. Individuals are “born with some strengths and can gain others over time” (Jain, 2013, p. viii). Character strengths reflect who we are, positive outcomes and collective good - Signature strengths are those that we use consistently across contexts and situations o Using your signature strengths is energising and easy - General research paradigm (Seligman et al., 2005) Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 1. Individuals complete a self-report measure of character strengths 2. Provide individual with feedback on their signature strengths 3. Ask them to use these strengths for at least a week in their daily lives ^intervention study that used character strengths^ Positive outcomes of signature strengths - Greater use of signature strengths = o More subjective well-being, higher self-esteem, greater self-efficacy and more progress in reaching goals o Improves work performance, better citizenship behaviour, more work satisfaction, better academic performance - In general, use of signature strengths has been related to; o Increased resilience. People who use their strengths from adversity in their lives. o Increased vitality; Using your strengths is associated with higher levels of positive energy. o Decreased stress; Higher use of strengths predicts lower stress over time. o Increased happiness; Using your strengths in new ways is associated with increased wellbeing over the longer term. The golden mean Optimal use Strengths underplayed Strengths overplayed The strength of persistence Laziness Obsessiveness The strength of bravery Excess of fear absence of fear The strength of self-regulation Impulsivity inhibition Optimal use of strengths Optimal use Strengths underplayed Strengths overplayed More depression less depression more depression Less flourishing more flourishing less flourishing Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 Less satisfaction with life more satisfaction with life less satisfaction with life Social anxiety disorder: The dark side of strengths - Looked at whether under-overuse of character strengths (CSs) may be related to social anxiety disorder. “fearful or anxious about or avoidant of social interactions and situations that involve the possibility of being scrutinized... fearing that he or she will act in a way or show anxiety symptoms that will be negatively evaluated” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013, p. 202). Shyness Social Anxiety Disorder What strengths are underplayed and overplayed in social anxiety disorder Those who have social anxiety disorder - Underuse the strength of social intelligence; largely clueless and unaware of others feeling - Overuse social intelligence; over analysing social situations; “what are they thinking” - Underplay self-regulation; in a social situation, they struggle to control themselves - The strength of zest; underuse; avoidance behaviours - Humour; ambiguous situations as negative  How many virtues are defined in the character strengths? o 6 virtues  In total there are character strengths o 24  The strength of honesty comes under which virtue o Courage  The strength of self-regulation comes under which virtue Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 o Temperance  The virtue of justice can be achieved through the application of the following strengths; o Teamwork, fairness, leadership ‘  The virtue of wisdom can be achieved through the application of the following strengths; o Creativity, curiosity, judgement, love of learning, perspective LECTURE WEEK 11 –IMPORTANCE OF VALUES/ MOTIVATIONS/ GOALS Self-determination theory - Cognitive evaluation theory - Organistic integration theory Goal setting - Why are goals important - The mechanisms underpinning goals - Some goals are better than others Definition of Motivation - Energises and directs action - Traditionally seen as a unitary construct - The idea was motivation is a concept that differs in amount only. Some people are highly motivated and some people have a low level of motivation Self-determination theory (STD) (Edward Deci & Richard Ryan) Concepts of self-determination theory - Cognitive evaluation theory - Organismic integration theory (STD) (Edward Deci & Richard Ryan) - Facilitation and undermining of intrinsic motivation, internalization, and psychological and physical health. - Interest in human motivation, in emotional experiences and in personality in social contexts - The universal that SDT uses to explain human experience are basic psychological needs. The idea is all people no matter age, gender, SES, etc requires support for basic psychological needs: Autonomy, competence and relatedness Cognitive evaluation theory Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 Cognitive evaluation theory examines how external events facilitate or undermine intrinsic motivation - intrinsic motivation is really good for us. It is the prototype of autonomous motivation; action and it is necessary for healthy development and for learning. - CET says we have a strong need to feel competent - CET says we need to feel autonomy - CET says we need to feel relatedness; feeling cared for, sense of belonging Three basic Psychological needs: Autonomy, competence and relatedness When the psychological needs are met – people feel motivated (intrinsic) When the needs are NOT met – people feel unmotivated (Extrinsic) Intrinsic and Extrinsic motivation Intrinsic motivation; engaging in a task for the reward inherent in the task, such as interests and enjoyment Extrinsic motivation; engaging in a task for the rewards outside of the task, such as grades or rewards Example; “Tania loves to play netball and it also helps her to stay active and healthy” Playing netball – intrinsic; she loves to play it (within the task) Allows her to maintain healthiness; intrinsic Can extrinsic motivation undermine intrinsic motivation? - Early research by Deci demonstrated the “undermining effect,” in which intrinsic motivation could be spoiled by rewards, competitions, deadlines, and social pressures. - This is the opposite of what the behaviourist reinforcement perspective predicts. Does undermining matter? - Yes, because intrinsically motivated people try harder and longer, perform more flexibly and creatively, and learn more deeply than extrinsically motivated people (see Deci & Ryan, 2008, for a recent review) - More resilient, try harder in the face of adversity Organismic Integration Theory - Tries to incorporate other form of motivation other than intrinsic and extrinsic motivation A taxonomy of human motivation Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 Controlled vs Autonomous Controlled motives - Started to identify or doing it for the joy - Behaviourism - Tend to feel increased pressure and anxiety around that task - External regulation Autonomous motives – consist of Identified regulation, integrated regulation and intrinsic motivation - Choice or willingness - This type of behaviour tends to be valued or enjoyable - Internal Benefits; - Creative - Higher performance - More well-being Pop quiz 1. Self-determination theory specifies three needs as the foundation for well-being a. Autonomy, relatedness, competence 2. To promote intrinsic motivation, we should avoid which of the following a. Peer comparison of performance Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 3. Self-determination theory builds on a. Cognitive evaluation theory 4. Whenever sal (32yr) gets into the car with his mother (62yr) he puts on his seatbelt. Sal knows that is he doesn’t he will be listening to a lecture for the entire car ride, and he wants his mother to approve of his choices. According to Ryan & Deci’s taxonomy for intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, at what level is sal working with regard to his seat belt? a. Introjection 5. Which of the following behaviours is a form of integrated regulation? a. Participating because exercise is important to your personal goals 6. Autonomous motives consist of a. Identified regulation, integrated regulation and intrinsic motivation Why are goals important 1. Goals increase focus 2. Goals give a sense of purpose 3. Goals increase resilience 4. Goals add structure and increase self-esteem (Carver & Scheier, 1990) 5. Goals open up opportunities 6. Progression towards goals increase wellbeing (Brunstein, 1993) “Happiness grows less from the passive experience of desirable circumstances than from involvement in valued activities and progress toward one’s goals.” Myers and Diener The mechanisms underpinning goals Influences - Performance outcomes - Vicarious experiences - Verbal persuasion - Psychological feedback - Goal setting helps meet the needs for competency and autonomy because it improves capabilities and the process is self-directed and in one’s personal control.  Achievement behaviour can stem from a positively oriented motive for success and a negatively oriented motivation to avoid failure, more commonly called a fear of failure.  People high in achievement and low in fear or failure are called high need achievers.  People low in achievement and low in fear of failure are called low need achievers. Not all goals are created equal Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492  Set specific, behavioural and measurable goals (Latham & Locke, 2006)  Set behavioural, not outcome, goals  Set difficult but realistic goals  Set positive rather than negative goals  Set short-range and long-range goals  Set definite time spans for achievement LECTURE WEEK 12 – MAKING POSITIVE CHANGE Behavioural change Keep on going with the change - Self-discipline - Will power - Grit Importance of behavioural change The current major public health challenge is behavioural - Some cases the focus is on primary prevention - Some cases the focus is on secondary prevention - Some cases the focus is on tertiary prevention Effective interventions should have two characteristics 1. The intervention should be effective 2. The interventions should be able to occur with a large population at risk – This is known as the impact of an intervention (impact = efficacy * participation) Transtheoretical model of behaviour change Interventions 1. Precontemplation  Not intending to take action in the next six months 2. Contemplation Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492  Intending to take action in the next six months 3. Preparation  Intending to act in the next 30 days 4. Action  Made changes for less than six months 5. Maintenance  Made and sustained changes for more than six months Stages of change How does the transtheoretical model relate to other models? SOCIAL INFLUENCES E.g. peer influence models (Flay, 1985) or policy changes (Velicer, Laforge, Levesque, & Fava, 1994) BIOLOGICAL INFLUENCES E.g. nicotine regulation models (Leventhal & Cleary, 1980; Velicer, Redding, Richmond, Greeley, & Swift, 1992) and nicotine replacement therapy (Fiore, Smith, Jorenby, & Baker, 1994) Examples of areas of application of the TTM Smoking cessation Exercise Low fat diet Radon testing Alcohol abuse TTM summary James Prochaska’s Transtheoretical Model of Change states that people go through distinct stages on the road to successful change. The stages that health coaches typically work with include: 1. Precontemplation (“I won’t”) 2. Contemplation (“I might”) 3. Preparation(“I will”) 4. Action(“I am”) 5. Maintenance(“I have”) Interventions are most successful when tailored to the individual’s readiness to change. Facilitation of a person’s progress through this continuum can occur by recognizing the stage of change and providing targeted information, assistance and support. Self-discipline Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 The marshmallow test predicts success in other domains Self-discipline is the ability to choose successfully among conflicting impulses Two out of three kids ate the marshmallow Follow-up studies indicated better life outcomes. For example  – Better SAT scores (Mischel et al. 1989)  – Reduced body mass index (Schalm et al., 2013)  – Regulating the interpersonal self for those with high rejection sensitivity What is self-regulation - Behavioural self-regulation - Cognitive self-regulation - Emotional self-regulation Self-regulation is defined as “the process by which we can seek to have control over our thoughts, feelings and impulses” (Heffernan & Boniwell, p. 157) Self-regulation involves; 1. Standards 2. Monitoring 3. Strength/willpower 4. Motivation Willpower - Will power is a muscle? - Acts of self-control cause short-term impairments (ego depletion) - Research supports the idea that self-control comes from a limited energy resource o For example, the strength model has been shown in the domain of eating, drinking, spending, sexuality, intelligent, thought, making choices, and interpersonal behaviour Ways to replenish ego depletion Regular exertions of self-control can increase willpower strength 1. Bite off only what you can chew - Start small and build it 2. Precision and specificity - Use implementation intentions 3. What we resist persists - Rather replace with a positive ritual/behaviour Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 Grit - The tendency to sustain passion and perseverance for long-term goals Grit beyond west point and the national spelling bee  Recruits who were Grittier were less likely to drop out of Special forces training (Winkler et al., 2014, Study 1).  Grit predicted who would leave and who would stay at a sales company (Winkler et al., 2014, Study 2).  Grit predicted that gritty juniors are more likely to graduate from high school in their final year (Winkler et al., 2014, Study 3). LECTURE WEEK 13 – THE MIND AND BODY IN PP The physical body’s aims is to rejuvenate Spike – caffeine, sugar, simple carbohydrates, cortisol/stress Energise – complex carbohydrates, exercise, laughing, yoga Numb – alcohol, sleeping pills, tv, overeating Chill – regular breaks, meditating, sleeping Why does exercise influence mental well-being Mechanisms - Psychological - Biological - Social Mindfulness paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non- judgmentally  When we are feeling positive emotions, feel vital and alert, or optimistic – we have higher activity in the left PFC (Davidson, 1992)  When we are feeling negative, depressed, or anxious – we tend to have higher activity in the right PFC. (Davidson, 1992) Mindfulness activates the left PFC In clinical practice  Mindfulness based stress reduction Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492  Mindfulness based cognitive therapy  Acceptance and Commitment therapy  Dialectical behaviour therapy  Mindfulness based eating awareness therapy LECTURE WEEK 14 – THE INDIVIDUAL AND POSITIVE INSTITUTIONS Top down approach with Big Data i. Individual level ii. Community level and heart disease iii. Community level and well-being Bottom up approach with Big Data i. Applied use - Growth Mindset - Flow Big data The flu  Black dot – Google flu trend  Red dot – Reporting for the Centre for Disease Control  2weeksaheadofwhatthe authorities were able to predict  98%accuracy  Early warning signal  Can we do something similar with psychology? Pros and cons of big data Measurement is cheap Measurement is unobtrusive Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])  lOMoARcPSD|16065492 Biases - E.g. changing ourselves.... but large sample sizes - E.g. large proportion of young people.... but is this a problem in the future? Mindset Intelligence-type questions 1. Your intelligence is something very basic about you that you can’t change very much. 2. You can learn new things, but you can’t really change how intelligent you are. 3. No matter how much intelligence you have, you can always change it quite a bit. 4. You can always substantially change how intelligent you are. Personality-type questions 1. You are a certain kind of person, and there is not much that can be done to really change that. 2. No matter what kind of person you are, you can always change substantially. 3. You can do things differently, but the important parts of who you are can’t really be changed. 4. You can always change basic things about the kind of person you are. Downloaded by lyza lim ([email protected])