What Is - Positive Psychology?

Positive psychology is the science and study of happiness and how humans can flourish in their day to day lives. This field developed a model of well-being and called the PERMA model. PERMA stands for Positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning and accomplishments. By building these areas we enhance our overall happiness level.  Martin Seligman, the founding father of this field says:

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“Psychology should be just as concerned with human strength as it is with weakness. “It should also be as interested in building the best things in life as in repairing the worst, and it should just be as concerned with making the lives of normal people fulfilling, and with nurturing high talent as with healing pathology.”

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Positive psychology focuses on influences like optimism, hope, happiness, and joy, but it is more than just dealing with positive emotions. This field of psychology also covers traits like character strengths, self-esteem, and well-being, how such traits can be applied to our life, work, and interpersonal relationships, and how all those aspects come together to contribute to our emotional, mental, and physical well-being.

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The three Levels of Positive Psychology take it a step further from just being an individual science. The Subjective level centers around feelings of happiness, well-being, optimism, and similar emotions or feelings as they relate to your daily experience. The Individual level combines the subjective level feelings of well-being with the qualities or virtues that make you a well-rounded person, such as forgiveness, love, and courage. The group level focuses on positive interaction with your community, and includes traits like altruism, social responsibility, and other virtues that strengthen social bonds.

Positive psychology’s main aim is to encourage people to discover their character strengths, rather than putting their efforts into correcting their faults. Advocates of this science state that positivity is one of the main driving forces of life . Each of us routinely experiences both good and bad outcomes, but it often feels easier to focus on the negative outcomes, ignoring the ways we could see the good things to remedy the bad. Traditional psychology focused on what was wrong with us, our defects, negative behaviors and patterns, the ones most common today are depression and anxiety. This sick population is a small portion of the world’s overall population. The majority of the population is doing well, this field of science wants to take us beyond well to flourishing or great and give attention to this population that was previously ignored by traditional psychology. It definitely is used as a complement to traditional psychology by offering the possibility of seeing what is right within that sick population. Scientific studies and interventions of Positive Psychology have been applied to the mentally sick and great strides have been seen in their well-being.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Some of the topics of interest in positive psychology include:

• Happiness

• Optimism and helplessness

• Mindfulness

• Flow

• Character strengths and virtues

• Hope

• Positive thinking

• Resilience

 

Some of the findings of positive psychology include:

• People are generally happy.

• Money doesn't necessarily buy well-being but spending money on other people can make individuals happier.

• Some of the best ways to combat disappointments and setbacks include strong social relationships and character strengths.

• Work can be important to well-being, especially when people are able to engage in work that is purposeful and meaningful.

• Altruism. How an act of kindness enhances emotional and mental well-being.

 

These are only a few findings and interests of this vast science. Much is being studied and researched in prestigious universities around the world.

 

No wonder this complete science emerged from the prestigious UPenn University, which today holds the MAPP program, a Master’s In Positive Psychology. It is a no brainer , if we focus on what is right with us, our lives become less heavy and we open ourselves to seeing the world of possibilities before us. Give Positive Psychology a try, only good things surround it.