Reggaged: What Is Positive Psychology?

The question of whether individuals can create their own happiness without the aid of external influences has been raised and researched. However, the answer to the question is unclear. Positive psychology is a branch of psychology that supports the theory that an individual’s happiness is under their personal control, independent of any external influences or validation. Consequently, researchers have uncovered evidence that provides mixed results regarding the effectiveness of positive psychology in increasing individual happiness.

to stay on point and manages to sound very scientific. One of the main ways he does this is by

In the strength of positivity, an individual is often smiling, praising other people for their accomplishments, smiling and always keeping a positive attitude in every situation (Rath, 2007). The eager for enjoyment in life is very attracting, as an individual with positivity strength views the world in a better place. As this person comes in contact with other people in this world, a positive vibe is transformed into their lives. Even if negative things are happening around this individual, the positivity strength defeats and overcomes the negative energy (Rath,

I understand that these trainers will have limitations, but the Army also has an extensive amount of resources such as the Behavioral Health, chaplain, and the Army Substance Abuse Program that it can also count on.

Positivity is something that I have always been looking for but we all know that one cannot go through life being happy or positive at all times, with so many bad happening in the world or even just people in our lives trying to put us down due to them not being happy about themselves. The way that the strategies of coping are put in my assignment; I thought were perfect for myself due to my interpersonal style.

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

Nevertheless, the enhancing of the wellbeing is a question that begged for research. So, Scheier and colleagues focused on various aspects of situations in their research and measured the level of optimism derived from these situations. It turned out that positivity enhances wellbeing due to high embracement of optimism. The article supports the articulation that there is power to positive thinking although it is not that simple and direct. All, believing in the good that future holds is crucial in relating to the many aspects of life.

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

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.

Happiness is not the only indicator of psychological wellbeing. There are some others such as life satisfaction (e.g. Neugarten, Havighurst, &Tobin, 1961; Wood; Wylie, & Sheator, 1969), emotional and mental health , or subjective wellbeing (Kozma, Stones, & McNeil, 1991). These concepts have been used synonymously with psychological wellbeing, however, even though they are related with psychological wellbeing, they are not identical and should not define psychological wellbeing (Stull, 1987).

I might have used a little Positive Therapy in the sense that when a person feels anxious, the anxiety almost makes the individual notice an important moment and that will give the client a chance to act properly. For example, if a professor is about to begin teaching a class on theories it would be understandable if that professor was slightly anxious. Since, the professor is going to influence future counselors who will in the future go in to the workforce and begin to treat clients.

Although the specialization of positive psychology has only been researched and practices since 1998, the study of happiness connects with the work of Maslow, Rogers, and Fromm. The roots of this specialization came from Martin Seligman who chose the theme the president of the American Psychological Association in the late 1990’s. Seligman was an avid student of Maslow’s work and realized that life cannot be full circle unless the person has a balance lives with happiness. During his time as president, Seligman wrote a book entitled, “Authentic Happiness” in which he describes a reality that finds most if not all psychological professionals focusing on mental illness. Seligman (1998) suggests that psychologist works to address the client’s

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.

Happiness as a phenomenon is a subject that has attracted attention from researchers in psychology. It is baffling how happiness is an intrinsic desire all wish to attain. There are many theories throughout time about how to achieve it and debates about whether it is even an ongoing process or a place. Many famous figures from ancient Greeks, Plato, and contemporary philosophers, Robert Nozick, have queried the meaning of it. Thus, there is no one set definition for happiness. Amongst the many concepts of happiness, is the one by Ed Diener and Shigehiro Oishi in their article, The Nonobvious Social Psychology of Happiness. They examine happiness in a non-conventional and psycho-social viewpoint. To them, there are three main factors that contribute to happiness; close social relationships, the ratio of negative events over positive events in relationships and culture and well-being (Diener & Oishi, 2004). Another minor finding discussed is the hedonic treadmill of adaptation which essentially the theory that life stresses and pleasures only provides temporary sadness or happiness. In other words, the effect it has neutralizes with time and adaptation to it occurs.