POSITIVE COGNITIVE STATES AND PROCCESS:

Self-efficacy:

Self-efficacy is the core aspect of Bandura‘s social cognitive theory. Bandura (1995)
defined self-efficacy as the belief in one‘s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of
action required to manage prospective situations‘. Self-efficacy involves the belief that one can
effectively perform certain actions. Our efficacy beliefs determine our expectations about the
outcomes of our actions and this in turn determines our behavioral performance.

According to Bandura (1995), individuals possess a self-system through which they

exercise control over their thoughts, feelings, and actions. The self-system is made up of
cognitive and affective structures which are involved in perceiving, regulating, and evaluating
behavior. Self-efficacy makes a difference in people‘s feelings, thoughts and action. Low self-
efficacy is related with depression, and anxiety while high self-efficacy leads to
accomplishments, reduces stress, and enhances well-being.

A person with strong self-efficacy beliefs is able to lead a more self-determined life;
consider difficult tasks as challenges and not as threats. Self-efficacy influences the level of
stress one experiences while dealing with difficult circumstances. It also determines one‘s level
of accomplishments; level of effort and whether one‘s thoughts are positive or negative.

People‘s beliefs in their capabilities to obtain desired outcomes are very important as they
determine the types of behaviors people will undertake and how much efforts they will put in. A
related construct is Perceived Self-Efficacy which is the belief that one can perform difficult
tasks and cope with failures. Perceived self-efficacy helps in setting of goals, putting of effort,
persistence and recovery from failures.

SCALES: MEASURING SELF-EFFICACY:

a) The General Self-Efficacy Scale or GSES is designed for people ages 12 and up. It is
used to assess perceived self-efficacy as it pertains to adaptation abilities and coping
scales for both stressful events and daily activities.
 b) The Self-efficacy questionnaire for children is a great overall questionnaire for
measuring self-efficacy.
c) The Academic Self-Efficacy Scale for self-regulated learning is another wonderful
tool for determining the relationship between academic performance, and self-efficacy
d) The Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale (CDSE) is a scale that is designed to gauge
someone’s self-belief that he or she can successfully navigate and make good career
decisions.
e) The self-efficacy for exercise scale (SEE) is a self-reported scale that helps one gauge
how they are feeling about their exercise habits. (Resnick & Jenkins, 2000)

Optimism

The word “optimism” comes from the Latin word optimum, meaning “the best.” In
psychology, optimism or dispositional optimism is a set of beliefs and traits that help individuals
reflect on the positive aspects of life rather than the negative ones. It is a personality pattern that
displays resilience and personal strength.

Optimism and pessimism refer to the positive and negative predictions that people make
regarding their future. Some people look usually on the bright side of events, while others look
on the dark side.

Therefore, it can be said that optimists expect good things to happen to them while
pessimists expect bad things to happen to them. Many studies have provided evidence for the
optimistic bias.

Changing Pessimism to Optimism

Researches with twins suggest that optimism is subject to genetic influence (Plomin et
al., 1992). Optimism relates both to neuroticism and to extraversion, both of which are known to
be genetically influenced. An important factor in the development of optimism or pessimism is
early childhood experience. Insecurity of adult attachment is related to pessimism. One of the
most straightforward ways for changing pessimism to optimism is through Cognitive behavioral
therapies. These are applied to problems such as depression and anxiety. The goal of the
cognitive therapies is to make the cognitions more positive thereby reducing distress.

The approaches for changing pessimistic thinking to optimistic are all built on the same
principles of ―ABCDE (Seligman, 1992).

A - Adverse event or situation- Identifying adverse situations that one routinely faces and
writing down the objective descriptions of them.

B- Beliefs about that event- Learning to hear and record the beliefs about those events which
come to mind.

C - Consequences of those beliefs-Feeling the consequences of those beliefs and writing them
down in terms of emotions and what one did.

D- Disputation and Distraction - Disputing those beliefs or distracting oneself.

E – Energization- Finally, noticing what happens to one‘s energy and willingness to act when
one disputes the negative beliefs.

Another method for enhancing optimism is personal efficacy training. The focus of such training
is on increasing specific kinds of competence by the use of assertiveness training or social skills
training. Training in specific areas like problem solving, decision making etc can also improve
the level of optimism in a person.

Another method which is frequently used is Instructional Counseling for optimism. In

this method, cognitive techniques are used for teaching optimistic beliefs. Another technique
which can be used is the ̳What if‘ technique. Negative self-talk creates anxiety and reduces
happiness. By associating ̳What If‘ with positive hopeful outcomes we can experience calm.
Relaxation techniques can also be employed. When faced with adverse situations, one must calm
down and try to have positive and optimistic thoughts. To conclude, optimism and pessimism
influence how people perceive and explain events in their lives. They influence people‘s
subjective experiences and actions when they try to deal with problems. However, being
optimistic or pessimistic has implications for achievement, mental and physical health, coping
and well-being.
LEARNING OPTIMISM( CRAVER AND SCHEIER STUDY).

Carver and Scheier (1987) introduced the term “dispositional optimism.” They argued
that it is the presence of positive traits that increases the chances of something good happening to
us. The dispositional theory of optimism suggests that optimism leads to positive consequences
in life, and pessimism leads to stressful outcomes and increased dissatisfaction (Scheier &
Carver 1987, Scheier et al., 2001).

The basic tenets of the dispositional theory of optimism are (Chang, 2001):

1. Optimism is a built-in trait or personality disposition.

2. Optimism is directly associated with reduced depression, anxiety, and stress.
3. Optimistic individuals are overall healthy – both physically and emotionally.
4. Optimism calls for increased resilience and coping strategies.
5. A positive outlook helps people to accept themselves unconditionally. Optimistic
individuals are less likely to engage in denial or avoidance defense mechanisms.

Hope

According to Snyder et al. (1991) hope is a human strength manifested in our perceived
capacities to clearly conceptualize goals (goals thinking), develop strategies to reach those goals
(pathways thinking), and initiate and sustain the motivation for using those strategies (agency
thinking).

Hope is conceptualized as a dynamic cognitive motivational system. According to this

conceptualization, emotions follow cognitions and not the other way round. Hope leads to
pursuit of learning goals and learning goals are positively related to success.

Hope theory

Hope theory has the following major components: goals, pathway thoughts, agency thoughts and
barriers.

 Goals: Goals are the targets of mental action sequences and are the cognitive component
in hope theory. Goals provide direction for hopeful thinking.
  Pathways Thinking: Pathway thoughts refer to the routes we take to achieve our goals
and the perceived ability to produce these routes.
 Agency Thinking: This is the motivational component in hope theory. Agentic thinking
reflects the self-referential thoughts regarding moving along a pathway as well as
continuing to progress along that pathway.
 Barriers: Barriers block the attainment of our goals. The individual then has to make a
choice to either give up or use pathway thoughts to create new routes.

Snyder (2000) suggests that hope develops over the course of infancy, childhood and
adolescence. Snyder proposes that there are no hereditary contributions to hope and it is a
learned cognitive set. The basic cause and effect thinking contained in pathways thinking is
acquired from parents and others. Snyder also proposes that strong attachment to caregivers is
crucial for the development of hope. Traumas during the life course contribute to the lessening of
hope.

Hope therapy

Hope therapy is derived from Snyder‘s hope theory and ideas drawn from cognitive-
behavior therapy and narrative therapy. It aims to help clients formulate clear goals and produce
various pathways to attain these goals. It also aims to enable clients to motivate themselves to
pursue their goals and consider obstacles as challenges to be mastered. Hope therapy and
attributional retraining help individuals or groups develop optimism and hope-driven problem-
solving strategies.

Wisdom

Wisdom refers to the ability to take stock of life in broad terms. It is the coordination of
information about different aspects of life to improve well-being. It also allows one to listen to
others, to evaluate what they say, and offer good advice. Wisdom involves exceptional personal
and interpersonal competence like listening, giving advice and is used for the well-being of self
and others.
 Explicit theories of wisdom define wisdom as a stage of personality development a stage
of cognitive development; or a high level of skill development involving both personality and
cognitive processes.

Implicit theories of wisdom,

consists of psychological research associated with folk- psychological or common-sense

approaches. Implicit theories refer to the beliefs or mental representations of people regarding
wisdom as well as the characteristics of wise people. The conceptions include cognitive, social,
motivational, and emotional components. The cognitive components include strong intellectual
abilities, knowledge and experience regarding the human condition, and the practical application
of theoretical knowledge. Another basic component refers to reflective judgment based on
knowledge about the world and the self, openness to new experiences, and the ability to learn
from mistakes. Socioemotional components include good social skills. The motivational
component refers to the good intentions that usually are associated with wisdom.

Explicit theories of wisdom:

The second type of wisdom theories are explicit psychological theories which focus on
cognitive and behavioral expressions of wisdom and the processes involved in the interplay of
cognition and behavior.

Sternberg‘s balance theory of wisdom: Relationship between wisdom and

intelligence:

Sternberg‘s (2000) balance theory of wisdom derives from his triarchic theory of
intelligence. According to Sternberg‘s (1997) triarchic theory of intelligence, effective adaptation
to the environment or successful use of intelligence, involves combining analytic intelligence
with practical intelligence and creative intelligence.

 Analytic intelligence: information-processing skills that guide intelligent behavior.

 Practical intelligence: skills required to create an optimal fit between one‘s skills
and the external environment.
  Creative intelligence: ability to capitalize upon experience to process novel
information.

According to balance theory, wisdom is the application of practical intelligence to solve

problems in a way that achieves a common good keeping in mind ethical values.

Courage:

Woodard (2004) defined courage as “the ability to act for a meaningful (noble, good or
practical) cause, despite experiencing the fear associated with perceived threat exceeding the
available resources.

Courage is a desirable universal value. But to the surprise, this so valued quality hasn‟t
received much attention despite being talked about since ages. This construct has lately received
attention within the realm of Psychology with the advent of positive psychology. However, it
still hasn‟t got a stand as the other positive psychology variables like hope and optimism have
got.

Courage is valued across cultures and nations. Courage needs fearlessness, awareness and
active coping. Courage coaching starts early in childhood when fairy tales are narrated to
children and this attribute is continuously worked and built upon till adulthood. Courage is
usually inculcated through inspirational messages and stories. It is a value that provides an
individual with great respect and admiration.

Types of Courage

Courage can be bifurcated into many types. However, the most common division has been
with respect to moral courage and physical courage.

 Physical Courage:

It usually involves taking risk taking. It allows us to risk discomfort injury and pain. An
example would be the courage that a fire-fighter has or the courage to take on with your enemy.

 Moral courage
 It is the expression of standing up for moral good against all odds. It involves doing the right
thing even if it involves high amount of inconvenience or discomfort to present life
circumstances. Choosing between alternatives and making good decisions that are morally
correct and are in tandem with our ideals is what reflects moral courage.

Examples of some people who showed immense moral courage and chose to do things in the
right way are Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King. Moral courage involves
actions towards preservation of justice and service for the common good. Moral courage also can
be shown when we act with sensitivities towards people that are underprivileged economically,
socially or physically. change.

 Vital courage:

It is the capacity to be able to withstand and be resilient in the face of physical illnesses.
Vital courage is only shown when one is faced with disabilities and diseases, especially chronic
diseases that are there to stay. How an individual fights and takes these debilitating conditions as
a part of life and learn to be optimistic represents vital courage. Vital courage is also shown by
family, friends and hospital care providers like nurses and doctors who are treating patients with
illnesses.

 Psychological courage:

Psychological courage refers to the strength we have to confront the truth of ourselves
and our behaviours and to act where required to elicit change. This kind of courage involves
facing our deep-seated fear of acknowledging and accepting our faults and vulnerabilities. It is
about confronting the fact that we all behave badly at times, have blind spots as well as
dysfunctional or unproductive habits that not only impact on our physical wellbeing, but our
emotional and psychological wellbeing, too. It is the kind of courage required to acknowledge
and accept the dissonance or gap that may exist between who we think we are and who we
actually are. That is, the differences that often exist between our ideal and actual selves.

Flow:

Flow is a state of mind that occurs when a person is totally immersed in an activity. It can
occur during a wide variety of tasks such as when a person is learning, being creative, or
participating in a sport. When in a flow state, people pay no attention to distractions and time
seems to pass without any notice.

Work-based flow experiences are more common in cultures that permit people to have
work roles that are neither boring nor overly challenging. Flow experiences are more common in
cultures where religious rituals involve dance, singing or meditation etc. Flow experiences are
more common in cultures where skilled games against well-matched competitors are widely
practiced.

Benefits of a Flow State

In addition to making activities more enjoyable, flow also has a number of other
advantages.

 Emotional Regulation

With increased flow, people experience growth toward emotional complexity. This can
help people develop skills that allow them to regulate their emotions more effectively.

 Fulfillment and Happiness

People in a flow state enjoy what they are doing more. Because the task becomes more
enjoyable, they are also more likely to find it rewarding and fulfilling.1 Research also suggests
that flow states may be linked to increased levels of happiness, satisfaction, and self-
actualization.

 Intrinsic Motivation

Because flow is a positive mental state, it can help increase motivation. Intrinsic
motivation involves doing things for internal rewards (how they make you feel) vs. external
rewards (such as prizes or payment).

 Engagement and Performance

People in a flow state feel fully involved in the task at hand. Researchers have found that
flow can enhance performance in a wide variety of areas including teaching, learning, athletics,
and artistic creativity.
 Characteristics of Flow

According to Csíkszentmihályi, there are ten factors that accompany the experience of
flow. While many of these components may be present, it is not necessary to experience all of
them for flow to occur:

1. The activity is intrinsically rewarding.

2. There are clear goals that, while challenging, are still attainable.
3. There is a complete focus on the activity itself.
4. People experience feelings of personal control over the situation and the outcome.
5. People have feelings of serenity and a loss of self-consciousness.
6. There is immediate feedback.
7. People know that the task is doable and there is a balance between skill level and the
challenge presented.
8. People experience a lack of awareness of their physical needs.
9. There is strong concentration and focused attention.
10. People experience timelessness, or a distorted sense of time, that involves feeling so
focused on the present that you lose track of time passing

Flow theory: Flow, Attention, and the Self

According to Csikszentmihalyi, to understand flow experiences, we need to understand it

through consciousness and the self. Consciousness is made up by subjective experience. The
state of self emerges when consciousness becomes aware of itself. Attention plays a crucial role
in entering and staying in flow. Intense and focused concentration implies that attention is fully
invested in the present activity. With the loss of self-consciousness in flow there is a fading of
the ̳me‘ from awareness. Staying in flow requires that attention is invested fully on the task at
hand.