Today I’m introducing an exciting topic that really has the potential to change your life! The topic is Positive Psychology, which is something I’ve been interested in for a long time and I’ve even just started a master’s degree in the subject!
So, what is Positive Psychology, and why am I so excited about it? It is a science that aims to ‘understand, test, discover and promote the factors that allow individuals and communities to thrive’ (Sheldon et al., 1999).
Here’s another definition I love; ‘Positive psychology is the scientific study of what makes life most worth living’ (Peterson, 2008).
Positive Psychology vs ‘Negative’ Psychology
To put it another way, imagine a scale from -10 to +10 that represents human well-being. In the past, psychology has focused on helping people go from very unhappy to neutral, sub-functioning to functioning, or -5 to 0. This is of course a necessary and valuable aim as a science, and psychology has done an excellent job of successfully treating mental ill health. However, many (or even most) people in the world don’t find themselves that low on the scale. We’re usually neither severely mentally ill, nor feeling particularly satisfied with life. Therefore, most people don’t benefit that much from this form of psychology.
This is where positive psychology comes in. Positive psychology focuses on what makes people thrive in life. It aims to take them from functioning to flourishing, or from +1 to +10 on the scale. It focuses on topics like well-being, happiness, flow, wisdom, creativity, imagination, and characteristics of positive groups and institutions. Some big topics of research in positive psychology so far have included; understanding positive emotion, hope, optimism, resilience, post-traumatic growth, goals, meaning, and personal strengths.
Today, the scope of research in positive psychology has reached so many exciting and valuable topics and theories, which I will continue to discuss on this blog!
The History Of Positive Psychology
Positive psychology’s official beginning can’t be accurately accredited to one person or organisation, as people have ‘studied’ human flourishing as long ago as the Ancient Greeks, and likely even longer. Many Greek philosophers of the time dedicated their lives to understanding morality, virtue, and what it means to live ‘the good life’. These topics were also the focus of many religions and spiritual disciplines.
Closer to the current day, the term ‘positive psychology’ was officially coined by humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow in his 1954 book “Motivation and Personality.” He proposed that psychology’s preoccupation with disorder and dysfunction lacked an accurate understanding of human potential (Maslow, 1954). With its focus on the person as a whole, as well as its more qualitative research methods, the humanistic psychology movement (late 1950s) contributed to the shift in direction of psychology as a science. It started the movement away from negative symptoms and human dysfunction towards human potential.
For example, Maslow himself famously published his ‘hierarchy of needs’, which emphasised the need for psychology to focus on human potentialities rather than just human deficiencies. His concept of ‘self-actualisation’ can be compared to the current positive psychology concept of ‘flourishing’.
However, it wasn’t until 1998, when clinical psychologist Dr Martin Seligman became head of the American Psychological Association, that positive psychology was officially established and popularised in mainstream psychology. Seligman is now seen by many as the founder of positive psychology, and his contributions to today’s understanding of the topic, through his models and research, is significant.
Exciting Areas Of Research
These days, positive psychology research is expanding to every possible corner of human well-being. Scientists are asking questions like ‘how can we find meaning and purpose in our work?’, ‘How can we use physical activity for psychological well-being?, ‘ as well as ‘how can we use our top values and strengths?’, ‘why do happy people live so much longer?’, and ‘how do things like positive emotion, self-esteem, optimism and love impact out productivity, creativity, and receptiveness to ideas?’
As well as these interesting questions, there are so many more topics like this being explored, and the scientific data is producing models, theories, and real life answers to these questions.
How Can Positive Psychology Change Your Life?
At a certain point in our lives, most of us start to feel like we could do with a ‘user manual for the human life’. We grow up thinking that our family and friends know what they’re doing in life, and then when we grow up we realise that no-one really knows how to live a happy and fulfilling life. We’re all just stumbling around, trying our best with the information we have.
Now, psychology is finally providing us with these answers. As a species, we really do know how to have successful relationships, find work that fulfils us, become the best versions of ourselves, and live lives where we reach our full potentials. You just need to know where to look.
As well as providing theory that explains how people can thrive in their lives, positive psychology is now becoming an applied science, and these theories are now being used to inform areas like business, education, healthcare, and even the military. Another common way that positive psychology is being applied is in ‘positive psychology coaching’, which involves a relationship between a coach and a client that uses positive psychology concepts and interventions to help the client reach their goals and improve well-being in their lives.
The more I’ve learned about these theories and ideas, the more I’ve been able to see them change my own life for the better! We are all in control of our own happiness, and the more we understand about what truly makes people happy and how we can apply these things in our own lives, the better chance we have of creating lives full of joy and meaning.
Although it may have made positive psychology sound like the best thing since Taylor Swift, I do need to make a disclaimer.
Positive psychology is a (relatively) young science, its research can have limitations, and there are still many areas psychologists don’t fully understand (an there probably always will be). Like most things in life, well-being isn’t a one-size-fits-all. As a science, positive psychology utilises the scientific method. It starts with hypotheses based on observations, collects data including both qualitative and quantitative, and then draws conclusions from this data which often leads to the creation of theories and models.
These theories and models are generalisations. The describe what is true for the majority of people, but there will always be outliers. Because of this, findings in positive psychology should never be treated as ‘truths’. They should simply be used as ideas and strategies you can try out for yourself to see whether or not they really benefit your life.
That being said, the creation and continuation of positive psychology as a disciple has had a ground-breaking impact on psychology as a whole, and I believe, will continue to make the word a better, happier place. That’s why I plan to write more about the fascinating science and it’s findings so that you can apply them to your own life. If that’s something you’d be interested in, sign up to the free newsletter to be updated on new blog posts every week!
To learn about one of the key well-being models in positive psychology, check out this blog post on the topic!
See you next week!
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