PSY1011 Positive Psychology PDF

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PSY1011 Positive Psychology

PSY1011 Positive Psychology Martin Seligman (2002)  Founder of Positive Psychology  Background in the study of positive emotion, positive traits, especially strengths and virtues but also abilities.  Study of positive institutions, such as democracy, strong families, and free inquiry  Martin Seligman (2002) Christopher Peterson  Positive psychologist  The scientific study of what goes right in life. (2006)  [It] is the scientific study of what makes life most worth living. (2013) Ann Masten- Ordinary Magic (2014)  P 264 ‘ Many applied fields have shifted away from deficient-based models about symptoms and treating these as problems to focus on strengths and methods to facilitate success and adaptive processes’. Shift in the focus of psychology

Where does PP fit?

PSY1011 Positive Psychology

Diverse Application  Homeless Hostels  Schools/Special Schools  Training Courses  Prisons/youth offending  Youth Work Projects  Hospitals  Informal/formal Education  One on One Support and Counselling/pastoral  Extra curricular activity  Mental health/clinical Outcomes of PP Interventions 1. Working with the pathological (healing) 2. and working with the well (empowering)  Getting rid of soil deficits does not mean that roses are going to grow.  Getting rid of depression does not mean happiness is created. What is Well-Being? Ed Diener • Professor Diener's research focuses on the measurement of well-being; temperament and personality influences on well-being; theories of wellbeing; income and well-being; and cultural influences on well-being. He has edited three recent books on subjective well-being, and a 2005 book on multi-method measurement in psychology. Subjective Well-being defined Subjective Well-being (SWB) refers to the way in which we evaluate our lives. ‘An umbrella term for different evaluations that people make regarding their lives, the events happening to them, their bodies and minds, and the circumstances in which they live’ (Diener, 2006). *This evaluation can include an overall view of our life or one area (domain) within our lives. Components of SWB Three components of SWB must be present1. Satisfaction with life 2. Positive affect 3. Negative affect This can be applied to our global view or broken down into domains e.g work, leisure etc. Characteristics of Positive Affect • Individuals tend to display more positive emotions such as joy, elation and happiness. • These individuals infrequently experience negative emotions such as anger, sadness and anxiousness. NB- It is important to remember that Subjective well-being can vary from person to person!

PSY1011 Positive Psychology

Perceptions Happy people   Experience more positive events  Experience better relationships  Interpret ambiguous events more positively  More likely to perceive ‘neutral’ events positively  Think and behave in more constructive and helpful ways (McCrae & Costa, 1986).  Unhappy people use more ‘destructive’ ways of coping Characteristics of Negative Affect Low levels of SWB are often displayed in those individuals which:  Frequently display negative emotions and low mood  Inability to display joy or affection  Experience life stressors  Can suffer from Mental health problems Pro’s and Con’s  Affect has been shown to alter a persons ability to perform different types of tasks.  PA enhances creative thinking and novel problem solving but also increases susceptibility to distraction!  NA is believed to enhance focus but hinder creative problem solving! Negative emotions as a Survival Mechanism • Negative emotions narrow our thought patterns to a limited set of actions in response to an emotion-evoking stimulus.  Resulting in quick action in life-threatening situations to increase chance of survival.  Termed ‘Tunnel vision’ effect Negative life stressors…not all bad  Negative emotions are part of human experience and enable us to appreciate when things are going well!  Negative life events and stressors are vital aspects of life which enable us to flourish. (Nozick, 1975) Psychological Well-being • Our emotions act as our ability to react and interact with our environment. • Our Psychological well-being is dependent on our ability to function properly in its environment in order for personal growth to be achieved (Ryff & Keyes, 1995). • SWB plays an important role in our psychological well-being but is not synonymous with mental health (Diener, 2009; Pavot & Diener). Evaluating our SWB? 1. Via our cognitions which act as a mental review of our judgments surrounding our life overall; or the specific aspects of life such as; family, work and goals.

PSY1011 Positive Psychology

2. Via our emotions- when we experience negative or positive feelings/moods these can act as a tool which help us to recognise our own level of life satisfaction.

Characteristics of the field of SWB Diener (1997) argues that in order to determine our SWB three factors must be considered. 1. The full range of emotions we experience must be included. 2. Is made up of the internal experiences of the individual. 3. Focus should be placed on our longer term states as opposed to momentary moods. What do you know about yourself? how can you find out more?  Introspection  Observing others’ reactions to you  Psychological measures  Projective  Scales or inventories • Self report • Others report • Observation-based Measures of SWB • Self reports can be used to monitor the frequency of positive and negative affect. • Self report surveys such as Diener et al’s Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) can be used to determine the SWB of an individual. • The SWLS was found to be positively associated at statistically significant levels with other measures of SWB and negatively associated with measures of psychopathology (Diener, 2009; Pavot & Diener, 2009).

PSY1011 Positive Psychology

The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) (Diener et al, 1985) • In most ways my life is close to my ideal • The conditions of my life are excellent • I am satisfied with my life • So far I have gotten the important things I want in life • If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing • [1- strongly disagree – 7 strongly agree]

The Student’s Life Satisfaction Scale (Seligson, Huebner, & Valois, 2003) • Suggest the way in which adolescents perceive their level of life satisfaction has significant repercussions for education attainment, social development and overall psychological well-being (Proctor, Linley, & Maltby, 2009). • The scale uses cognitive appraisal and emotional state to observe SWB involving a range of life facets, ensuring individuals are not coloured by how they are feeling at present. • The Student’s life satisfaction scale enables a measure of both global and domain specific assessments of life satisfaction to be made. Advantages of measuring SWB  Self-report measures are beneficial as exposure to your own reactions can help change cognitive beliefs. (Roemer et al, 1995).  Measuring positive emotions are equally as important as negative emotions as those aspects alone do not enable a complete representation of someone’s well being (Diener, 1994). Problems with self-report measures There is a correlation between levels of SWB and Self-reports, however selfreport measures can be problematic. • Response biases • Memory biases • Defensiveness Are there ways around this?  Comparisons between in-person interviews with anonymous questionnaires  Experience Sampling Methods (ESM)  Use of Physiological markers  Longitudinal designs! Well-being Finder (Ruth & Harter, 2010)  Daily Experience Tracker  Good day= 5+ of the below (Scale 1-10)  Feeling well rested  Being treated with respect  Smiling or laughing  Learning or interested  Enjoyment  Physical pain

PSY1011 Positive Psychology

   

Worry Sadness Distress Anger

What are the alternatives? Regular observation of aspects of our behaviours can be measured by:  Frequency of smiling/laughter  Qualitative Interviews  Mood reports  Ability to recall positive and negative events  Exploring feedback from family/friends Biases in global judgements • The Peak/End rule (Fredrickson and Kahneman,1993).  The end feeling of an experience can colour our perception clouding the peak feeling as we move through the experience. SWB defined as:  A series of happy moments  Happiness defined as global judgements Criticisms of well-being measures! • Fixes too heavily on PA and pleasure. • Accuracy of responses. • Many measures need further research to increase reliability and validity. Culture and SWB SWB is higher in individualistic nations than collectivist cultures. Individualistic nations have: • High global well-being • High satisfaction with life domains • High divorce and suicide rates • More internal attributions • Less social support Culture and SWB Collectivist cultures have: • Safer structure with less extremes • Fewer who are very happy • Fewer who are very isolated and depressed • Thus results in a more secure/safer setting SWB • • • • • •

and demographic variables Education Ethnic status Age Marriage Wealth (Myers, 2000)

Divorce impacts well-being • Parental divorce affects adult well-being (Blanchflower & Oswald, 2004). • Importance of stable & secure relationships and attachment. • Areas for further research:

PSY1011 Positive Psychology

 Effect of remarriage of divorced parents.  Effect of remarriage of a widowed parent. Caring for others • Negative relationship between caring and the General Happiness Questionnaire (GHQ) for happiness level and depressive symptoms. • Negative Well Being outcomes linked to transition into care (Marks et al, 2002). • Negative effect on the well-being of women when they experience the loss of a high level caring role (Hirst, 2005). Education Status • Positive relationship between each additional educational level (Blanchflower & Oswald, 2004). • Middle level related to highest satisfaction! (Stutzer, 2004). Employment  Are unhappy people selected for unemployment? • Strong negative effect between happiness and unemployment however…. • Unemployed do not always begin with low SWB.  Men are more affected. • Middle aged unemployed men are more affected than the younger and older men. SWB • • • • • • •

and Personality traits Extraversion Neuroticism Agreeableness Conscientiousness Openness Self-esteem Optimism...