Positive Psychology Can Not Make Us Happier

The pursuit of happiness and being free from suffering has always be the ultimate goals of humanity (Dalai Lama, 2008). The emergence of Positive Psychology made it possible for (positive) psychologists to make a major breakthrough in getting closer to this goal. Through the application of Positive Psychology Interventions (PPI), it is now possible to manage levels of well-being, while also diminishing the risk of depressions. Sin and Lyubomirsky (2009) defined PPI as methods or activities other than medical treatment that can improve positive emotions, behaviours, and acknowledgement. A large amount of research with different types PPI activities has been conducted, some meta-analysis journals from these studies (e.g. Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009

In addition to completing those goals, it also has been found to increase psychological well-being. Sin and Lyubomirsky (2009) define well-being as “not only the absence of mental disorder but also the presence of psychological resources, including components of hedonic or subjective well-being as well as components of eudaimonic well-being” (p. 468). This definition includes happiness as part of subjective well-being. Sin and Lyubomirsky analyzed 49 separate studies in order to get the most complete look they could at the effectiveness of positive psychology interventions. What they found from their results indicated that positive psychology interventions are effective in increasing people’s psychological well-being, although not all of the studies they examined had those results. The mean r was 0.29, which indicated high statistical significance. In addition, the researchers examined the effects on depressive symptoms and found, with the mean r being equal to 0.31 in 25 studies, even more significant results than with well-being. Therefore, the researchers concluded that positive psychology interventions do have significant effects in enhancing psychological well-being and decreasing depressive symptoms (p. 482). Although this study did not directly look at happiness, since happiness is a part of psychological well-being, it can be assumed that the results would be similar if the researchers were looking at happiness as opposed to

Positive psychology, which has emerged recently, is the scientific study of human thriving. Psychology traditionally focuses on dysfunction—on people with mental illness or other psychological problems and how to treat them. Positive psychology, by contrast, is a relatively new field that examines how ordinary people can become happier and more fulfilled. In his 1998 APA presidential address, Seligman, the founder of positive psychology, argued that psychology had become too focused on curing mental illness according to a disease model, and that, for all intents and purposes, it had become a “victimology” (Seligman, 1998). What was needed, he averred, was a new “science of human strengths,” a positive psychology (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000).

In this essay I will define and discuss the concepts of ‘positive psychology’, of ‘happiness’, which is synonymous with subjective well-being (SWB); of ‘the architecture of sustainable happiness’; and the biopsychosocial model. I aim to demonstrate that SWB is a multifaceted and can only be understood by investigating biological, psychological and social factors and their interdependence to construct a holistic model. I will provide examples of these different factors and their interdependence and explain why the biopsychosocial paradigm is the best for understanding happiness and conclude that SWB is indeed a ‘biopsychosocial phenomenon’.

Positive Psychology “aims to understand how human strengths can be used to help people flourish and be successful in life” (Bolt 1). The assessments in this chapter help individuals to understand if they are flourishing, how much autonomy we have in our lives, how much we believe an individual can change, our view of what exactly intelligence is, how much personal control we believe we have and finally, how much we challenge ourselves to change and grow.

From the perspective of positive psychology, there is a well-being formula invested by Martin Seligman to achieve a higher well-being. Martin Seligman (2010) defined as happiness: H (to maintain the length of happiness) = S (happy range breadth) + V (you can control the factors) + C (your living environment). Happy length: the distinction between "temporary" happy and "persistent" happy. Temporary happiness can be achieved by food, comedy, bunch of flowers. While the persistence of happiness is mainly affected by genetic, and this genetic trait can be changed. The breadth of happiness: psychologists think that we are born with a happy constant point, like a thermometer. If there is a happier thing, even if we are upset, it will be dedicated

In the video titled “The Happy Secret To Better Work”, Shawn Achor really outlines how being happy and staying positive can really change your life. In other words Achor is referring to positive psychology. When referring to the world around us Achor really believes the majority of people focus on only the negatives and not the positives. He also talks about how that reality might not be what shapes us but in actuality it is our brain that puts a lens on how we perceive things and that may change our happiness. Achor also outlines another trait of our brain, which is that we as humans set progressing goals that never seem to be fulfilled due to human nature. He finishes his presentation by giving the audience some ways to help reverse the way we see the world and help our work and life in general.

According to the Center, “Positive psychology is the systematic study of human strength, resilience and qualities that empower individuals and group of people to succeed” (Positive Psychology Center, 2014). Positive psychology’s founders learned through study that people usually place more emphasis on what goes wrong in their lives; they focus on their failures. For instance, divorce, financial obligations, or losing a job. It is imperative to comprehend the characteristics of undesirable experiences in an individual’s life. As an alternative to focusing on failure, focus can be placed on the positive situations in life and understand those are the occasions worth living for. Positive psychology emphasizes strengths and weaknesses, magnifying the positive aspects of life, and healing the effects of negative experiences. Positive psychology focuses on a person’s strengths and the hope of something larger then oneself to lead individuals to a more meaningful

In this video, Achor (2011)discusses how instead of simply trying to help or cure individuals with some problem in their life, positive psychology tries to take average people and find ways to reach their full potential. Many people believe that if they change the circumstances in their environment, they can generate greater amounts of happiness and well-being in their lives. Achor (2011) maintains that only about ten percent of long term happiness can be predicted by the external world, a whopping ninety percent is dependent upon what happens within our minds; and by changing the way people process the world around them, it can ultimately change how they perceive reality. Approximately twenty-five percent of job success can be predicted by

Achor utilizes a meta-analysis, or the combination of different findings, of over 200 scientific studies to prove his overall theory that happiness leads to success in almost every aspect of life from family to friends to careers and businesses. He does not rely solely on the data or information from a few relevant case studies, but instead relies upon experimental research to support his claim. He utilizes his findings to create “The Seven Principles”, which are “patterns that predict success and achievement” (Achor, 17), which is headed by “The Happiness Advantage.” He utilizes the concept of positive psychology and neurological activity to showcase the point that we can “retrain our brains to

The pursuit of happiness is the universal search for a life an individual can feel content and satisfied with. However, as stated in class, happiness is a fleeting emotion rather than a prolonged state. Once an individual achieves a sense of happiness it is only a matter of time before they return to the starting point of their quest. Therefore, happiness alone is not enough to elicit a good life. On a similar note, in 2004, Professor Martin Seligman gave a TED talk that addressed the current direction of psychology. He believed the extent of psychology had become the ability to “make miserable people feel less miserable” rather than “[making] relatively untroubled people happier.” As a result, he and his colleagues developed positive psychology, a branch of psychology that promotes the components of happiness, well-being, and fulfillment to achieve a satisfactory life. The purpose of this project is to learn about your well-being and discover ways to increase the quality of your life through positive psychology.

People can train their brain to scan for the positive and become experts at capitalizing on Happiness Advantage (Achor 91)

Psychologists have not located assured causes that lead people to well-being. David G. Myers in his article “The Funds, Friends, and Faith of Happy People” published in the American Psychologist (2000) and Michael Wiederman in “Why It's So Hard to Be Happy” published in the Scientific American Mind (2007), discuss the reasons which lead people to be happy, and the factors which contribute to unhappiness.

The field of positive psychology, founded by Martin Seligman (1998), seeks to influence individuals whose lives are “neutral” and increase their psychological well-being. Positive psychology offers a unique perspective on mental health through focusing on individual strengths rather than dysfunction, pathology, and mental illness (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). The goal of positive psychology is to assist individuals in creating meaningful lives through the promotion of positive emotions, individual character strengths, as well as, eudemonic happiness, as key components to optimal mental health. Like many other contemporary theories, positive psychology borrows principles and

The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.” (Chuck Palahniuk). The first concept I learned is positive psychology, and unexpectedly I have applied this concept throughout my life for the last sixteen years without realizing it until this course. People who employ positive psychology are those who make people happy throughout the course of their life and are optimistic during difficult times to cope with the challenges (Franzoi, 2014, pg. 8). People who incorporate positive psychology into their life have less stress and are tend to be happier and healthier. Positive psychology brings similar effects to positive emotions like happiness and pleasure as clinical psychology that treats depression and anger (Max, 2007).