Positive Psychology Course Analysis

In the given study a student’s desire about fellow student’s thoughts on Psychology 101 came to his attention. Although it may seem like the freshman is satisfied with the end result; it does not prove much. Many problems, such as, no psychological theory, offer no guideline. Critical thinking on this study can show there is much need for improvement.

Since I was young, I have always had an affinity of people watching, and trying to figure out what type of life they lived. Especially, what type of events would cause people to adopt a positive (happy) outlook in comparison to people that dwell on the negatives attributes? Growing up, my mother had a peculiar thought process that would always managed to lead to negative (not happy) thoughts. In the beginning, I too would follow similar thought process, but I quickly realized how exhausting it was to maintain. Before reading Shawn Achor’s book, I wanted to clear my mental database and allow for this new information to be absorbed into my life.

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

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 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.

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

Every aspect of psychology excites me. As I take more classes, and my exposure to different theories and perspectives as well as topics and fields increases, I want to know more. The possibilities and applications of psychology are endless. When I wrote about peace and positive psychology for a career paper in an English class, my thoughts on psychology's impact expanded. Influenced by humanistic psychology, positive psychology focuses not only on the health or unhealthiness of an individual, but his or her potential to thrive and live a happy life. The prior theories have opened up the long-neglected opposite side of the spectrum of one’s psychological health. I am inspired by countless psychologists, but notably Abraham Maslow and Martin

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

I decided to read the entire book (349 pages) titled, Flourish, by Martin E.P. Seligman. He sectioned his book into two parts, “A New Positive Psychology” and “The Ways to Flourish.” The first part of the book, Seligman discusses his journey to discover the concept of “positive psychology.” A man who was a part of an anonymous foundation contacted him and presented Seligman with hefty funds for an opportunity of a lifetime—to study and research any subject he wishes and report on it. He chose the topic, “Positive Psychology” as the subject he would then focus a substantial amount of his time and research on. In doing so, he was able to find scientific reasoning for how people achieve happiness in their lives. Once Seligman takes the time and space to explain his concept of flourishing and positive psychology, he then focuses the second part of his book on how to implement and maintain those concepts in your life.

I believe the content that I learned in this class will increase my success in nursing because this course thoroughly teaches one how to speak publicly, better communicate with my patients, and provide them with the necessary information they require throughout their visit/procedure. Along with the ability to communicate with patients and family; I believe it is also essential to have good communication between coworkers and supervisors. For example, during meetings or presentations that occur throughout the work year to be able to voice my opinion and present specific information effectively and persuasively is also an efficient skill set. I believe this course has taught me the necessary tools that will allow me to effectively communicate

In Martin Seligman’s TED talk, he explains the values of positive psychology’s impact on creating happier lives. In 2000, Martin Seligman created a new field of psychology called Positive Psychology. This field of positive psychology is the study of positive traits and behaviors that can contribute to a positive “happier” life. In Seligman’s TED talk, The New Positive Era of Psychology, he categorizes positive lives into three categories. The Pleasant life, the life of engagement, and the meaningful life. But before he begins his speech, he explains the negative actions taken by psychology when treating people.

“Thoughts become perception, perception becomes reality. Alter your thoughts, alter your reality” (James “William James Quote”). This sentiment from William James who was a leading philosopher and psychologist at the turn of the 19th Century inspires one to challenge their labeling of a current circumstance, suggesting happiness is a perception that can be manipulated. This mind over matter approach to life’s struggles has become commonplace in the repertoire of motivational speakers, close friends, coaches, and other well-meaning influencers alike. This ambiguous concept has the ability to produce very real consequences, even death. In

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).

Positive psychology is a relatively new, yet rapidly expanding field of study. It is the study of the positive facets of humanity focused heavily around well-being and happiness. Through the studies of positive psychology researchers are attempting to find ways to continuously improve quality of life and flourish as a society. Traditional psychology is obviously very complex and diverse. It is commonly accepted and referred to as the study of the mind and the subsequent behaviour and functions it carries out. Traditional psychology is an over-arching discipline and encompasses numerous different sub-sections such as human development, social behaviour, cognitive processes and health to name a few (McLeod. S., 2011). Positive psychology is another

We began this course with the question “What is happiness? and Can we all achieve authentic Happiness? In our life we are taught many things, but we are not taught how to achieve our own happiness. Over the last five weeks we truly learned what happiness is and I believe we all can achieve authentic happiness in our life. In Authentic Happiness, Martin Seligman uses happiness and well being as the terms to describe the goals of Positive Psychology. The desired outcome of Positive Psychology is happiness and well being. We learned from this course how to embrace both our positive feelings and activities to achieve authentic Happiness.