INTRODUCTION TO POSITIVE

PSYCHOLOGY

Ronaldo A. Motilla, PhD

Seligman (2000) noted
that prior to World War
II, there were three
major missions in
psychology:

– To cure mental
illness
– To find and nurture
genius and talent
– To make normal life
more fulfilling
1. To cure mental illness

• The terrible results of mental illness

for many people, their families, and
the community demanded that
psychology use the methods of
science to seek solution to this
problem

• Presently, there are real cures for

many types of mental illness like panic
disorder and depression,
schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
(Seligman, 1994)
2. To find and nurture genius and talent

• Many of the early studies in this area

focused on the development of intelligence.

• Other researches studied how changes in

the environments of school, the workplace,
and families could help human beings to be
more creative and find latent and yet
untapped potentials.
While considerable work has been
done in terms of this mission, few
studied have looked at how to
nurture genius and talent.

This second mission for psychology

has been relatively ignored over
the years.
3. To make normal life more fulfilling.

• There is more to living a satisfied and

happy life than simply getting one’s
immediate needs met in a reasonable
amount of time.

• Like the nurturing of genius, the

creation of more life fulfillment was,
unfortunately, largely ignored as
psychology concentrated on other areas
of research.
In l998, Martin E. P. Seligman, who was
then president of the APA urged
psychologists to remember
psychology’s forgotten mission:

To build human strengths and nurture

genius.
Values in Action Classification of
Strengths and virtues
by Peterson & Seligman (2004)

1.Wisdom and Knowledge: creativity, curiosity, open-

mindedness, love of learning, perspective
2.Courage: bravery, persistence, integrity, zest
3.Love and Humanity: love, kindness, social
intelligence
4. Justice: citizenship, fairness, leadership
5. Temperance: forgiveness and mercy, humility,
prudence, self control
6. Spirituality and Transcendence: appreciation of
beauty and excellence, gratitude, hope, humor,
spirituality
What is positive psychology?

In their introduction to a special issue

of the American Psychologist on
positive psychology, Kennon Sheldon
and Laura King (2001), describe positive
psychology as follows:

“…It is nothing more than the scientific

study of ordinary human strengths and
virtues. .”
• “Positive psychology studies what
people do right and how they manage
to do it. “ (Compton, 2005)

• “It is the scientific study of optimal

human functioning. It aims to discover
and promote factors that allow
individuals, communities, and societies
to thrive and flourish.” (Sheldon,
Frederickson, Rathunde,
Csikzentmihalyi, and Haidt, 2000)
Dimensions of Positive Psychology

In order to nurture talent and

make life more fulfilling, positive
psychology focuses on THREE
areas of human experience
(Seligman & Csikzentmihalyi,
2000)
1. Positive psychology
looks at the positive
subjective states or
positive emotions
(e.g., joy, satisfaction
with life, happiness,
relaxation, love,
intimacy,
contentment)
2. At the individual
level, positive
psychology focuses
on a study of
positive individual
traits, or the more
enduring and
persistent behavior
patterns seen in
people over time
(e.g., courage,
persistence, honesty,
wisdom).
These are known
also as character
strengths or virtues.
3. At the group or societal
level, positive
psychology focuses on
the development,
creation, and
maintenance of
positive institutions.

It addresses issues such

as the development of
civic virtues, the
creation of healthy
families, the study of
healthy work
environments, and
positive communities.
Why Positive psychology is needed today

Importance of Positive
Emotions to Both Mental and
Physical Health

People who experience and

express positive emotions
often are also more likely to
be physically healthier, more
resistant to illness, and may
even live longer than others
(Danner, Snowdon, &
Friesen, 2001)
 Basic Themes and Assumptions
of Positive Psychology
1. People are highly
adaptive and
desire positive
social
relationships
2. People can thrive and
flourish
– Most people at least try to be
good parents, to treat others
with some degree of respect,
to love those close to them,
to find ways to contribute to
society and the welfare of
others, and to live their lives
with integrity and honestly

– Some people do not just

adapt to life- they adapt
extraordinarily well.
3. Strengths and Virtues are Central To
Well-being

– Positive psychology recognizes that

any discussion of what constitutes
the good life must inevitably touch
on virtues, values and character
development.

– Psychology can use scientific

methods to investigate the
consequences of living a life based
on the values of honesty, integrity,
tolerance, and self-control.
 Note
Negative Emotions are still
Important
– At times, negative emotions can
be necessary for survival. We
would be far too vulnerable if we
completely eliminated fear,
anxiety, or skepticism from our
lives.
– Positive psychology also
recognizes that the tragic
elements in life can enrich our
experience of being human
(Woolfolk, 2002)
– In order to appreciate
the positive in life we
must also know
something of the
negative.

– Positive psychology
does not deny that
every effort should be
made to help eliminate
problems associated
with social injustice and
social inequalities.
One of the best
things a person
can do to
increase quality
of life is to help
other increase
their level of
happiness and
life satisfaction.
History of Well-being in the
Western World
Early Hebrews
– To be happy means following the 10
commandments. If one follows the
commands, there will be rewards. If
one does not follow the commands,
there will be punishments.

– So, for the Hebrew patriarchs, and

later for many Christians, true
happiness was related to a religious
piety that was based on submission
to God’s supreme authority and a
rejection of self-centered and
simple hedonistic behaviors.
The Greeks
– The good life and the proper
path to happiness could be
discovered through logic and
rational analysis.
– That is, neither the gods nor
the social traditions of the
culture need to be the
ultimate arbitrator of
individual values and goals.
– The general answer to the
happiness question was that
human beings could decide
for themselves what paths
most reliably lead to well-
being
Socrates
• “Know thyself”

• He believed that true

happiness could be
achieved only through
self-knowledge, which
would reveal wisdom and
the true nature of the
person's soul.
Plato
• True wisdom and happiness
must be found in an
unchanging realm that
transcends the sensory
world.
• Search for one’s true/real
self.
Aristotle
Find the “Golden
Mean”, a point of
balance, harmony,
and equilibrium
would lead to a life
lived in accordance
with the principle of
Eudemonia
(condition of
flourishing and
completeness that
constitutes true and
enduring joy)
• Aristotle spoke of the twelve basic
virtues as dispositions of character
that when cultivated lead a person
toward a state of eudemonia:
courage, liberality, pride (as self—
respect), friendliness, wittiness,
justice, temperance, magnificence,
good temper, truthfulness, shame
(or appropriate guilt for
transgressions), and honor.
Epicureans
• Founded by philosopher
Epicurus
• Asserted that happiness is
best achieved by
withdrawing from the
world of politics to
cultivate a quiet existence
of simple pleasure in the
company of friends.
• Positive relationships and
less stress lifestyle
Stoics
• Founded by
philosopher Zeno
• The way to find lasting
peace and of mind was
to use reason and
discipline to control the
emotions
• Today, some
approaches focus on
teaching people how to
control their emotional
reactions to events by
using rational and
analytical thinking.
– In summary, the Greeks
offered a democratic
structure to the search for
well-being that was based
on self-awareness,
rationality, and logic.

– The Greeks emphasized on

rational analysis, the
freedom to choose one’s
own beliefs, and the
emphasis on an honest and
thorough search for wisdom
and truth.
Early Christianity and the
Middle Ages
– The rise of Christianity
presented one of the most
significant developments in
Western civilization and
constitutes the third pillar of
Western civilization.

– Christianity transformed the

meaning of religious
devotion in Western society
by viewing God not as
awesome and powerful God
to be feared but as a loving
presence who deeply cares
for humanity.
• The way to find
true happiness is
found in the
message and life of
Jesus

• The message of
Jesus is on love and
compassion: people
should love others
as God loves the
world.

• “Love thy neighbor

as thyself”
During the early
Middles ages
(approximately AD 500
to AD 1200), the Church
and the monasteries
were the center of
spiritual, intellectual,
and often political life.
• Conceptions of the good life were,
therefore, based on religious perspectives.

• The perspective of the Church was that

true happiness, as opposed to secular and
temporary pleasures, was delayed until
after death and the resurrection into
heaven.

• In this doctrine, the pleasure of the “flesh”

and the “spirit” were rigidly separated.
The official Church
doctrine was that the
enjoyment of even
simple pleasures was
a distraction from
more “spiritual”
concerns.
Lowry (l982) summarizes the medieval conception of the
human nature

“In the Middle Ages, man was

regarded as a creature of conflict and
contradictions. He had been formed
in the image of his Creator, and yet he
was tainted by Original Sin. He had a
spiritual nature and a carnal nature,
and so long as the spirit inhabited the
flesh, the two were constantly at
odds…In short, human nature was
held to be the scene of a constantly
raging battle between the demands
of the spirit and the demands of the
flesh.”
The Virtue Theory in the middle Ages
• Given the pervasiveness of this
struggle between physical and
spiritual needs, Christian leaders
deemed it necessary to warn
people about the dangers of
temporary pleasure and how they
could ensnare the careless.

• The Church’s doctrine of the seven

deadly sins was the list of basic
evils – anger, envy, sloth, pride, lust,
intemperance, and greed – that
destroy character and could lead to
a host of other sins.
• The four cardinal
virtues – justice,
prudence,
fortitude , and
temperance
• The medieval
scholastics added
the three
theological
virtues –faith,
hope, and charity.
 Renaissance to the
Age of Enlightenment
Creativity and the Rise of the
“Artist”
• During the Renaissance (between
1400-1600) people began to
change their ideas of a person as
an artist.
• The idea that artists possess a
special gift and the rise of
individualism.
• The concept of the creative artist
involves the element of a personal
vision that is expressed through
painting, sculpture, music, or
architecture.
The rise of
individualism
eventually changed
the image of a
person in ways that
brought significant
alterations to how
people search for
happiness
(Baumeister, l987).
The Rise of Science
• By the end of the 17th century, a new
idea of human nature was taking hold.

• Rational persons could decide for

themselves what was true and of
ultimate value. To search for the truth,
a person would use a rationality based
on dispassionate and objective
observation of the events in the world.

• The keys were logic, objectivity, and

empiricism, the belief that valid
knowledge is constructed from
experiences based on the five sense.
The Rising importance of the
social Environment to
Wellbeing

• Social reformers (e.g., Jeremy

Bentham & Stuart Mill) believed
that the basic need of people to
seek pleasure and avoid pain
could be used to create a more
stable and enlightened society.
• If a person wants to know if a certain
behavior is right, ethical, or fosters
the good life, then he or she must
show that it leads to the
enhancement of happiness for the
greatest number of people.

• Around these ideas created a

philosophical system called
utilitarianism, or the belief that
actions are right if they tend to
promote happiness for the greatest
number of people and wrong as they
do not. This principle was called the
hedonic calculus (Viney & King, l998)
• So, those who believed in
utilitarianism thought that
happiness for all people was the
ultimate aim of all human
actions and should be used as
the standard by which actions
are evaluated as right or wrong
(Hoderich, l995).

• The hope and the promise for a

scientific understanding of well-
being, happiness, and the good
life were being born.
• The Rise of Democracy
• By the mid 18th century, some people
believed that the prevailing political power
structure in a society could be at odds with
the welfare of the individual.

• They believed that when these two were in

conflict, the members of the society had
the right to overthrow the state and put in
its palace s system that was more conducive
to individual liberty.
• Thomas Jefferson made
these the founding
principles of a new
government when he
wrote in the declaration of
Independence,
• “We hold these truths to
be self-evident, that all
men are created equal,
that hey are endowed by
their Creator with certain
inalienable Right, that
among these are Life,
Liberty and the Pursuit of
Happiness.”
• A form of government had been
instituted for an entire country
that elevated the individual to a
status above that of royalty and
gave to its citizens power to
make decisions about their own
lives that had previously resided
only with a ruling elite.

• The pursuit of happiness was a

right as well as a personal
choice.
• Democracy was joined
with utilitarianism to
create a new system of
government that, in
theory, would result in
the greatest happiness
for everyone.

• Now the search for

happiness also involves
a search for the social
environments that will
best promote
wellbeing.
Romanticism and the 19th Century
Emotionalism and the
Romantics
• In the early 19th century, the
growth of Western
individualism began to turn
toward the emotional
expressions that made each
person unique.
• In fact the word
“individualism: first appear in
1835 when Alexis de
Tocqueville used it to
describe the emerging
American perspective.
People began to believe
that the best way to
express their individualism
was to explore their own
unique emotional
experience of the world.
The Romantic movement captivated the intelligentsia as they
explored the full range of their emotional lives from the
spiritual to the mundane.
 `At times, the intensity
of emotions was
important rather than
the emotion itself.

• The Romanticist felt that

the ability to feel
emotions intensely was
important to living a full
and significant life.
• During this period, the focus on
personal emotional expression
combined with the idea that social
environments can inhibit
individualism.

• The result was the idea that a “true

self” exists beneath the social masks
that people wear.

• Today, many perspectives on

wellbeing urge people to find and
express their true selves.
Love in the Romantic Period
• The Puritans began to transform
the idea of love and marriage.

• Although they still lived in a

rigidly patriarchal society, they did
begin to introduce a new idea:
within the family, men and
women were supposed to be
good companions to each other.
The Puritans
stressed the
emotional
harmony that
should exist
between a wife
and husband.
• The idea of marriage being
based on affection between
two people along with the
unique emotional bonds
that they create together
was also a consequence of
rising individualism.

• Love was also now seen as

the major avenue to soothe
the sense of being alone in
the world – another
consequence of rising
individualism.
 The
Twentieth
Century
The people in Western
industrialized nations
entered the twentieth
century with range of
freedoms
unprecedented in
history.
The ideals of freedom, democracy, and self reliance
allow people to chose their professions, spouses,
religious beliefs, systems of government, homes, and
make other choices that are important to their pursuit
of the good life.
In fact as citizens of democratic
countries they expect to
exercise those freedom and
make individual choices that
affect their daily lives.
• When these choices are brought to bear on the question of
the good life, or happiness, people today find a veritable
cornucopia of different philosophies, beliefs, theories, ideas,
and pronouncements that all lay claim to the final authority
• The freedom of full inquiry creates a
stunning array of possible answers.

• In fact, the number of definitions for the

good life seems to expand to fit the
growing complexity of the world
(Tatarkiewics, l976).
One of the goals of positive psychology, therefore is
to bring some understanding to these various
perspectives on the good life and wellbeing.