Psychology

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LESSON 1:  INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY

Positive Psychology

Positive Thinking... Martin Seligman... Links for... Reflection Exercises

Positive Thinking Corner As we move from topic to topic in our course this semester, we'll take a purposeful look at a (surprisingly) new area of psychological inquiry.  For much of psychology's history, the emphasis has been on understanding how humans think, feel and behave with the intent to apply what we learn to help correct problematic thoughts, behavioral patterns and emotions.  The relief of suffering and dysfunction was and remains a noble pursuit, but we are fortunate to now ask an additional revolutionary set of questions:  What goes right in people?  Can we enhance human functioning above some baseline level?  How do people succeed?  How can we encourage thriving?  And, what leads to happiness?  In short, “What is right about people?” Have you ever asked this before?  Have you ever heard this question asked in relation to psychology before?  We’ll ask this question during every lesson this semester!

Answering this question turns out to be much more complicated than you might think.  And, we are much more naive than we thought.  You might be surprised to learn that psychology had never really seriously studied the concept of happiness until very recently (about the year 2000)!  You might be dismayed to learn that we don’t even have ways of defining and measuring all that goes right on a daily basis.  In the last 20 years, however, a growing number of researchers have produced an appreciable body of literature about how we might re-think the purpose of psychological inquiry and human functioning.  At the end of each lesson, we'll have a "Positive Thinking Corner" where we explore one or more areas of the sub-field called Positive Psychology, complete with reflection exercises.  Enjoy!

Listen

10/3/23, 5:58 PM Master Template

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Martin Seligman and Positive Psychology In 1998, Seligman, who was then president of the American Psychological Association, urged psychologists to focus more on understanding how to build human strength and psychological well-being.  In deliberately setting out to create a new direction and new orientation to psychology, Seligman helped establish a growing movement and field of research called positive psychology (Compton, 2005).  In a very general sense, positive psychology can be thought of as the science of happiness; it is an area of study that seeks to identify and promote those qualities that lead to greater fulfillment in our lives.  This field looks at people's strengths and what helps individuals to lead happy, contented lives, and it moves away from focusing on people's pathology, faults, and problems.  According to Seligman and Cxikszentmihalyi (2000), positive psychology,

at the subjective level is about valued subjective experiences:  well-being, contentment, and satisfaction (in the past); hope and optimism (for the future); and... happiness (in the present).  At the individual level, it is about positive individual traits:  the capacity for love and vocation, courage, interpersonal skill, aesthetic sensibility, perseverance, forgiveness, originality, future mindedness, spirituality, high talent, and wisdom (p.5).

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Some of the topics studied by positive psychologists include altruism and empathy, creativity, forgiveness and compassion, the importance of positive emotions, enhancement of immune system functioning, savoring the fleeting moments of life, and strengthening virtues as a way to increase authentic happiness (Compton, 2005).  Recent efforts in the field of positive psychology have focused on extending its principles toward peace and well-being at the level of the global community.  In a war-torn world in which conflict, hatred, and distrust are common, such an extended "positive peace psychology" could have important implications for understanding how to overcome oppression and work toward global peace (Cohrs, Christie, White, & Das, 2013).

The new era of positive psychology | Martin SeligmanThe new era of positive psychology | Martin Seligman

Links for Additional Exploration Click on the following image link to read an article from UC Berkeley's Greater Good Magazine on "How Nature Can Make You Kinder, Happier, and More Creative."

10/3/23, 5:58 PM Master Template

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Peruse Martin Seligman's website, The Pursuit of Happiness:  Bringing the Science of Happiness to Life, by clicking on the image link below.

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Reflection Exercises Scroll over the circles below to read the two Reflection Exercises.  Schedule some time to complete these, so you can write about one of them in the Lesson 1 Reflection Writing Assignment.

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Happiness in your Daily Life

Nature Walk Exercise

10/3/23, 5:58 PM Master Template

https://go.view.usg.edu/d2l/le/content/2807454/viewContent/56455967/View 1/6

LESSON 1:  INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY

Positive Psychology

Positive Thinking... Martin Seligman... Links for... Reflection Exercises

Positive Thinking Corner As we move from topic to topic in our course this semester, we'll take a purposeful look at a (surprisingly) new area of psychological inquiry.  For much of psychology's history, the emphasis has been on understanding how humans think, feel and behave with the intent to apply what we learn to help correct problematic thoughts, behavioral patterns and emotions.  The relief of suffering and dysfunction was and remains a noble pursuit, but we are fortunate to now ask an additional revolutionary set of questions:  What goes right in people?  Can we enhance human functioning above some baseline level?  How do people succeed?  How can we encourage thriving?  And, what leads to happiness?  In short, “What is right about people?” Have you ever asked this before?  Have you ever heard this question asked in relation to psychology before?  We’ll ask this question during every lesson this semester!

Answering this question turns out to be much more complicated than you might think.  And, we are much more naive than we thought.  You might be surprised to learn that psychology had never really seriously studied the concept of happiness until very recently (about the year 2000)!  You might be dismayed to learn that we don’t even have ways of defining and measuring all that goes right on a daily basis.  In the last 20 years, however, a growing number of researchers have produced an appreciable body of literature about how we might re-think the purpose of psychological inquiry and human functioning.  At the end of each lesson, we'll have a "Positive Thinking Corner" where we explore one or more areas of the sub-field called Positive Psychology, complete with reflection exercises.  Enjoy!

Listen

10/3/23, 5:58 PM Master Template

https://go.view.usg.edu/d2l/le/content/2807454/viewContent/56455967/View 2/6

Martin Seligman and Positive Psychology In 1998, Seligman, who was then president of the American Psychological Association, urged psychologists to focus more on understanding how to build human strength and psychological well-being.  In deliberately setting out to create a new direction and new orientation to psychology, Seligman helped establish a growing movement and field of research called positive psychology (Compton, 2005).  In a very general sense, positive psychology can be thought of as the science of happiness; it is an area of study that seeks to identify and promote those qualities that lead to greater fulfillment in our lives.  This field looks at people's strengths and what helps individuals to lead happy, contented lives, and it moves away from focusing on people's pathology, faults, and problems.  According to Seligman and Cxikszentmihalyi (2000), positive psychology,

at the subjective level is about valued subjective experiences:  well-being, contentment, and satisfaction (in the past); hope and optimism (for the future); and... happiness (in the present).  At the individual level, it is about positive individual traits:  the capacity for love and vocation, courage, interpersonal skill, aesthetic sensibility, perseverance, forgiveness, originality, future mindedness, spirituality, high talent, and wisdom (p.5).

10/3/23, 5:58 PM Master Template

https://go.view.usg.edu/d2l/le/content/2807454/viewContent/56455967/View 3/6

Some of the topics studied by positive psychologists include altruism and empathy, creativity, forgiveness and compassion, the importance of positive emotions, enhancement of immune system functioning, savoring the fleeting moments of life, and strengthening virtues as a way to increase authentic happiness (Compton, 2005).  Recent efforts in the field of positive psychology have focused on extending its principles toward peace and well-being at the level of the global community.  In a war-torn world in which conflict, hatred, and distrust are common, such an extended "positive peace psychology" could have important implications for understanding how to overcome oppression and work toward global peace (Cohrs, Christie, White, & Das, 2013).

The new era of positive psychology | Martin SeligmanThe new era of positive psychology | Martin Seligman

Links for Additional Exploration Click on the following image link to read an article from UC Berkeley's Greater Good Magazine on "How Nature Can Make You Kinder, Happier, and More Creative."

10/3/23, 5:58 PM Master Template

https://go.view.usg.edu/d2l/le/content/2807454/viewContent/56455967/View 4/6

Peruse Martin Seligman's website, The Pursuit of Happiness:  Bringing the Science of Happiness to Life, by clicking on the image link below.

10/3/23, 5:58 PM Master Template

https://go.view.usg.edu/d2l/le/content/2807454/viewContent/56455967/View 5/6

Reflection Exercises Scroll over the circles below to read the two Reflection Exercises.  Schedule some time to complete these, so you can write about one of them in the Lesson 1 Reflection Writing Assignment.

10/3/23, 5:58 PM Master Template

https://go.view.usg.edu/d2l/le/content/2807454/viewContent/56455967/View 6/6

Happiness in your Daily Life

Nature Walk Exercise