Positive Psychology

Module 1

Introduction to
Positive Psychology
Arbaz Miyaji (He/Him)
Visiting Faculty (AIBAS)
Teaching Assistant
 Outline Introductory & Historical Overview

Disease /Health
Psychology
3 What Is 4 Three levels of
1 2 before and after Positive Positive
Model
World war II Psychology ? Psychology

Story of Positive Current

5 6 7 8 Eastern and
Seligman's rose Psychology situation of Western concept
garden before Positive of happiness
Psychology
Activity
Positive
9 Psychology 10
Positive
11 Positive Therapy
Prevention
1. Three
Good
12 References Things
Disease/Health
Model
 Psychology before World war II & after

(1)cure mental Two events changed

illness psychology

(2)enhance the 1946 Veterans

Administration - living
lives of the normal treating Mental Illness
population
Clinical Psychology
(3) study geniuses
 Positive psychology is a science of

What is positive aspects of human life, such as

happiness, well-being and flourishing.

Positive The ‘scientific study of optimal human

Psychology?
functioning [that] aims to discover and
promote the factors that allow
individuals and communities to thrive’
(Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000)

Positive psychology focuses on

wellbeing, happiness, flow, personal
strengths, wisdom, creativity,
imagination and characteristics of
positive groups and institutions
Three levels of
Positive Psychology
1 The Subjective level

2 The Individual level

Positive psychology concentrates on
3 The Group level positive experiences at three time
points
1. The past- centring on wellbeing,
contentment and satisfaction
2. The Present - the present-
happiness and flow experiences
3. The Future- optimism and hope
 Story of Seligman's rose garden

It took place in my garden while I was weeding with my 5- year-old daughter, Nikki. I have to
confess that even though I write books about children, I’m really not all that good with them. I am
goal- oriented and time-urgent, and when I am weeding in the garden, I am actually trying to get
the weeding done. Nikki, however, was throw- ing weeds into the air and dancing around. I yelled at
her. She walked away, came back, and said, “Daddy, I want to talk to you.” “Yes, Nikki?” “Daddy, do
you remember before my fifth birthday? From the time I was three to the time I was five, I was a
whiner. I whined every day. When I turned five, I decided not to whine any- more. That was the
hardest thing I’ve ever done. And if I can stop whining, you can stop being such a grouch.” This
was for me an epiphany, nothing less. - Seligman
Positive Psychology before -
Martin Seligman
Abraham Maslow

Actually coined the term ‘positive” psychology’ (Maslow, 1954: 201).

‘Hierarchy of needs
Focus on human potentialities rather than just human deficiencies
Theories on motivation, needs, self-actualization and peak experience

Ancestors of Positive psychology -Allport and Maslow - failed to

attract- empirical research
Current situation of There are currently hundreds of undergraduate classes in
1
Positive Psychology positive psychology

Two Masters programmes in applied positive psychology-

2
the first founded in 2005 by Seligman at the University of
Pennsylvania,
the second founded in 2007 at the University of East London, UK

There are several conferences offered by the European

3
Positive Psychology Network

4 First World Congress of Positive Psychology was held on 18–

21 June 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

Journal of Positive Psychology, founded in 2006.

5
Centre for Applied Positive Psychology at Warwick, UK, runs
6 online short courses on positive psychology
 Eastern and Western concept of happiness

Eastern Western
1. Confucianism
1. Athenian Views 2. Taoism
2. Judeo-Christianity 3. Buddhism
4. Hinduism
Positive
Psychology
Message of the Positive Psychology
- Field has been deformed
- Psychology is not just study- weakness, disease etc
- But also strengthes and virtue.
- Psychology not just about illness or health
- It's about work, education, insight, love, growth and play
Positive Prevention
Prevention?
how to prevent problems like depression, substance abuse or schizophrenia -
genetically vulnerable, poor parental supervisions etc.

Disease Model - useless for prevention

Prevention Comes from systematically building ✅ and not Correcting
weakness❌

Human strenghthes acts as buffer - Mental Illness- Courage, optiism,

interpersoanls skills, faith, hope, perseverance.

Prevention - Science of human strenghts

Mission is to understand learn - foster [Gap which we need to focus]

Evidences - learned optimism prevents depression, depression

Positive Psychology - Prevention

We need - UNDSM-I
Positive
Therapy Positive Psychology is a major effective ingredient in
therapy

Will become more effective approach if recognised and

honed

Two classes of non specifies - Tactics & Deep strategies

Tactic- Attention, Authority figure, Rapport, Paying

for services, Trust, Openng up, Naming the
Problem, Tricks of the trade (eg- let's pause here,
not let's stop here)
Positive Help patients build strenghts - rather than

Therapy
damage healing techniques
Strenghts are- Courage, Interpersonal skill,
Rationality, Insight, Optimism, Honesty,
Deep strategies - No Finding purpose etc.
names Not studied Positive therapy - exposes- blind spot.
instilling hope,
building of buffering Therapies has tied us to only repaire damages.
strenghts
Robing patients - by just healing damage

we have misplaced much of science and training by

embracing disease model of psychotherapy.
We have lost- birthrigh that embraces both healing what is
weak and nurturing what is strong
References
Lopez, S. and Snyder, C., 2011. Handbook of positive psychology. Oxford:
Oxford Univ. Press, pp.3-9.

Boniwell, I., 2012. Positive psychology in a nutshell. 3rd ed. Berkshire, Eng.:
McGraw Hill Open University Press, pp.1-7.

Lopez, S., Pedrotti, J., & Snyder, C. (2014). Positive Psychology The
Scientific and Practical Explorations of Human Strengths (3rd ed., pp. 3-
35). SAGE Publications.
Thank you!
Activity
1. Three Good Things

Every night for a week, look back at your day just before you
go to bed and think of three things that went well for you
during the day. Write them down and reflect on your role in
them.
1. Three Good Things - Emperical evidence of the
Activity

This Activity increases your Happiness and decrease depressive symptoms

for 6 months (Seligman et al., 2005)

This is what activity does:

1. Writing down as it helps you to focus on the events
2. Reflecting on your own role which contributes to your sense of control
which in the end has impact on your wellbeing
3. Timing of the exercise/activity - either stick for one week or try it once in a
week for six weeks.
Overdoing also has negative impact, don't make it a Chore (Sheldon &
Lyubomirsky, 2004)