The Pros And Cons Of Positive Psychology

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

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

107th Annual Convention of the APA in Boston, Massachusetts, 21 August 1999, that Seligman proposed the concept of positive psychology as a complement of the then existing and widely practised 'pathology' based psychology. Since then there has been no looking backwards. After Seligman’s speech, researchers have

In a true clinical setting, a patient is free to express feelings and experiences to facilitate self-healing through positive intervention techniques. With the data available on positive psychology, many clinicians may be tempted to utilize a particular positive intervention with the belief it will make a tremendous impact on the patient. However, this may be unhealthy for the patient who may need to experience negative or difficult emotion to work through the issue they are dealing with. Nonetheless, positive therapy has a definitive useful role in psychological treatment and “adds a deeper dimension to the treatment setting” (p. 404). Therapists who use this type of therapy, however, should remember not to “become a slave to the ‘tyrannies of optimism’” (Seligman, 1990, p. 292; as cited in La Torre, p. 404).

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).

Defining the meaning of life and the conditions, traits and features of a well-lived life is a question that throughout history engrossed theologians, philosophers, artists and, more recently, positive psychologists. This essay outlines findings from a selection of the literature and research to answer this question with the aim of identifying whether happiness is the true sign and the ultimate goal and marker of a well-lived life. This review of the literature has yielded findings that possessing a disposition towards gratitude is not only indicated to be present in a well-lived life, but can enhance and improve mental, physical and spiritual life outcomes.

I am aware that this is just a peer review exercise. I am not creating any bad animosity in this forum, I am complying with what the rubric for this assignment requires; we are allowed to defend our position in our paper. Now to respond to your question: positive psychology interventions have been and are applied to help people with depression and anxiety disorders. Additionally, positive psychology is used to increase life satisfaction of people and increase happiness. For instance, anxiety and depression in a psychological state scale is considered being in the negative side. Traditional psychology fields would try to bring the individual back to a normal state, but after that often nothing else is done. Positive psychology attempts to surpass

A study by Seth Kaplan and Jill C. Bradley-Geist (2014), conducted two positive psychology interventions to measure the increase in employee well-being. The article indicates from previous research done in the are of positive psychology, that encouraging specific behaviors and activities can have dramatic and enduring effects on psychological well-being (Kaplan & Bradley-Geist, 2014, p. 368). Two types of positive psychology interventions were developed, one focusing on “gratitude” exercises and the other on “social connectedness” exercises, these were conducted for two weeks to examine potential changes in job-related performance. They defined gratitude as an “orientation towards noticing and appreciating the positive ‘in one’s work life (versus

In conclusion, the Good Life is within reach for me and anyone who hopes for it. Positive psychology provides the blueprint on actions and cognitive thinking which will lead me to happiness and balance. The goals I have established through the course and by focusing on: my signature strengths, knowing my motivational method, establishing goals, achieving flow, being healthy, continued cognitive and emotional growth, wisdom, and spirituality, I will meet “my” Good

Gershoff, E. T. (2002). Corporal punishment by parents and associated child behavior and experiences: A meta-analysis and theoretical review. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 539 to 579

According to World Health Organization (WHO)’s definition, health is a state of complete physical, psychological well-being, optimal psychological functioning and social well-being. And health is “not merely the absence of diseases or infirmity” (WHO, 2000). Contrary to typical understanding of the psychology fields, positive psychology is a science of positive subjective experiences and positive traits, positive institution that promise to improve the quality of life and prevent pathologies (Csikszentmihalyi and Seligman, 2000). There are 3 levels of analysis for positive psychology; subjective level refers to the subjective experiences such as well-being, contentment, and

Even many of those well versed in the field of psychology may know very little about the idea and subject of positive psychology. It almost seems as though so much attention and time is focused on human emotional, mental, and overall psychological ailments and woes that one easily forgets that there is a flipside to this. Positive psychology aims to target not the negative feelings or even the circumstantial triggers that set off psychological hot button issues like depression, anxiety, and obsessive compulsion.

Hope is an important aspect of positive psychology that assists individuals to live positively by accepting tough life experiences through the expectation of a better outcome. Hope is considered to be a positive motivational state, which encourages individuals to develop methods that motivate themselves to achieve their coveted goals (Snyder, 2000).

As discussed in Paper #1, positive emotions and thinking, character strengths, and values are integral to positive psychology. Positive psychology asserts that by addressing each of these core concepts, people can live a happier, and by extension healthier, life. However, the productivity and well-being which can result from the applications of positive psychology are viable far beyond the personal level; when utilized at the institutional level, the same efficacy can be seen in much broader contexts. Accordingly, in this paper I will discuss the usage of the aforementioned core concepts in three distinct institutional areas: family, school, and the workplace. I will conclude on the underlying themes seen in each, and the effect that

Positive psychology (pp) is the scientific study of optimal human functioning. It alms to discover and promote the factor that allow individuals and communities to thrive. The new century challenges psychology to shift more of its