LA1020: Psychology of Well being

LA 1020: Introduction and Theories

Introduction to positive psychology: Background and emergence of the discipline

 Traditionally, psychology involves the study of mental disorders
 The term psychology is often used in the context of disorders and symptoms such as depression,
anxiety, suicide, addiction, phobia, schizophrenia and anxiety
 Over the years, psychology has largely focused on disorders and treatment, but not optimal
performance, well being and ways to enhance individual’s lives
 Numerous studies on why children of parents diagnosed with mental disorders inherit the same
disorders or why children born into difficult conditions do not develop healthy adjustment
 Not as much focus on children of parents diagnosed with mental disorders who do not inherit the
same disorders or children born into conditions of war of poverty who develop healthy
adjustment
This above mentioned approach is now referred to as the deficit based/pathological/medical approach.

 Prof. Martin Seligman, the founder of positive psychology drew attention to this deficit based
approach in 1998 when he was elected as the President of the American Psychological
Association
 He pointed out how after the world wars, the focus of psychologists had shifted almost entirely
towards treating disease and pathology, as a consequence of conditions such as phantom limbs,
somatoform disorders and post traumatic stress disorder that soldiers reported
 Thus symptoms became the priority of researchers instead of memory, learning, happiness and
other areas that did not focus on disease or pathology. This trend towards studying pathology
continued to be dominant for many decades.
 Seligman’s efforts led to a change in perspective from How can we reduce suffering? to How can
we become lastingly happier?
 This movement came to be known as the positive psychology movement while the change in
perspective came to be known as the change from the deficit/medical model to the strengths
model

Shift from deficit model to strengths model:

Deficit Model Strengths Model
Study of weaknesses and negative outcomes such Study of strengths and positive outcomes such as
as neurosis, anger, anxiety, depression, psychosis wellbeing, sense of purpose, happiness, humour,
creativity
Focus on overcoming deficiencies, avoiding Focus on building competencies, pursuing
symptoms happiness
“Stress- free” is perceived as ideal “Eustress” is perceived as ideal

 Positive Psychology is defined as the scientific study of the strengths and virtues that enable
individuals and communities to thrive
 It is founded on the belief that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate
what is best within themselves, and to enhance their life experiences
 Thus positive psychology studies positive individual traits referred to as strengths such as
courage, perseverance, forgiveness, humour, spirituality, and gratitude

Criticism and responses by psychologists

 Critics have questioned if it is worth investing time and resources to studying well being and
positive traits when there is so much suffering in the world

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 Positive psychologists believe that negative emotions, events and outcomes are as much a part of
life as positive events and therefore must be given the same priority in research
 Moreover, there will never come a time when all negative emotions, events and outcomes will
cease to exist, or behavior related to it will be completely understood after which we could focus
entirely on positive emotions, events and outcomes
 The aim of Positive Psychology is not to replace traditional psychology but to compliment it.
That is, the study of strengths is important along with the study of symptoms
 Since 2000, research in Positive Psychology has flourished resulting in accumulation of scientific
evidence.

Positive Psychologists who pioneered this movement include Martin Seligman, Christopher Peterson,
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Sonja Lyubomirsky, Tal Ben Shahar and others.

Negative selectivity bias

 The earlier deficit based approach studied negative events, emotions and outcomes more than
positive ones
 This could be attributed to the fact that individuals pay more attention to negative emotions and
events than positive ones
 This is known as the negative selectivity bias and has been considered as one of the barriers in the
study of happiness.
 Ice Age” brain: “Because our brain evolved during a time of ice, flood, and famine we have a
catastrophic brain…looking for what’s wrong. The problem is that – this approach worked in that
era. It favored people then, but it doesn’t work in the modern world” - Seligman (2005)

Are negative emotions stronger than others?

Research has also demonstrated that negative events have a stronger impact than positive ones. We
remember events that carry negative emotional weight. Also, humans dwell overwhelmingly more on the
negative for the purpose of survival as per evolutionary psychologists.
 Baumeister, Bratslavsky, Finkenauer, and Vohs (2001) –“Bad is stronger than good” - true across
a range of phenomena such as events, emotions, relationships, everyday interactions
 William Hirst et al. (2009): “Do you remember exactly where you were when you learned of the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks?” Most people answered “yes” to this question. This may be explained
through the concept of flashbulb memory which refers to memory for circumstances in which one
learned of the event and would include memories of where, when, and from whom one learned
of, for instance, the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001
 Kensinger (2007, 2009): More activity in the emotion-processing regions of the brain, more is the
likelihood that an individual will remember details linked to the emotional aspect of the event

From negative selectivity to positive selectivity

 While negative selectivity is important from the point of view of survival, it often catastrophizes
some events that do not deserve to be treated as serious threats
 On the other hand, positive selectivity or focusing on positive events helps to acknowledge
positive emotions, and cherish those experiences
 Pollyanna principle: The tendency to focus on the positive side of events
 Depicted in the story of Pollyanna (Author: Eleanor H. Porter) that is commonly cited in this
context
 Research by Matlin & Stang (1978), Hampson & Dawson (1985), Skowronski, Betz, Thompson,
& Shannon (1991)

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 Conclusion: Pollyanna principle definitely has a protective function; however any threatening
stimulus in the environment remains undetected

Challenges in studying happiness:

1. The belief that studying pain and suffering is more important than studying happiness
2. Happiness is a complex emotion comprising of many elements
3. The unpredictability of happiness: Affective forecasting, a term coined by Timothy
Wilson and Daniel Gilbert refers to the ability of individual to forecast their future emotional
states. Research shows that individuals are generally poor at accurately predicting their future
happiness. Examples:
a. Daniel Nettle (2005): Societies do not get happier as they get richer and people are
consistently wrong about the impact of future life events on their happiness
b. Brickman, Coates, & Janoff-Bulman (1978) studying lottery winners and accident
victims found in a follow up study that the former were not as happy and the latter were
not as miserable as they were expected to be.
4. Pleasure paradox: According to Wilson, Centerbar, Kermer & Gilbert (2005), people may be
driven to understand the causes of positive events in order to make them more predictable and
hence more replicable, but understanding them may also make them less enjoyable. This is called
the pleasure paradox. It has been suggested that people may not always resolve this paradox
optimally.

Theoretical models of well being - Hedonism and Eudaimonism, Authentic Happiness, PERMA,
Sustainable Happiness Model, Broaden and Build Theory

I. Hedonism and Eudaimonism Theory: Philosophical approach

Hedonic Approach Eudaimonic Approach

Behaviour which results in pleasure is right, and Refers to pleasure long with meaningfulness that is,
whatever increases pain is wrong developing the best in oneself and belonging to and serving
institutions larger than oneself
“Our life's goal should be to minimize pain and “I would rather wake up feeling unhappy than wake up
maximize pleasure” - Epicurus, Greek philosopher without meaning in my life” - Aristotle

Finding positive emotions, fostering positive Expanding one's potentials/ flourishing/ thriving and
emotions and creating high levels of happiness cultivating personal growth

II. Authentic happiness theory- Seligman (2002): Pleasant, Engaged and Meaningful life

The pleasant life The engaged life The meaningful life

Having as many moments of positive
emotions as possible
Achieved by pursuing pleasures
irrespective of consequences
Using one’s strengths in activities
that one finds challenging and
rewarding
Achieved through living a life of
involvement, doing interesting work
Using positive strengths in pursuit of
belonging to and serving a cause
greater than oneself
Achieved through a life of significance

Shortcuts are possible, instant No shortcuts, require effort,

gratification engagement and practice
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Small contribution to overall well Larger contribution to overall well Very large contribution to overall well
being being being

Limits to the pleasant life
1.Pleasures are temporary
2.Fleeting emotions: Emotions
fluctuate within a genetically-
determined range
3.Tolerance and habituation
Example: Eating ice cream
4. Negative consequences such as
addiction to the experience.
Example: Tetris effect from
spending long hours playing tetris,
illegal activities
State of flow experienced while
pursuing such activities: One loses
track of emotions, physiological
states like hunger and becomes
completely absorbed in the activity.
Example: An artist creating a
painting, a chess player completely
absorbed in his game
“People who want to live a more
fulfilling life should quit reading self-
help books and start helping others” -
Biswas-Diener, and Dean (2007)
Example: Social connection, service to
others

Builds positive emotions Builds positive character Builds positive institutions

III. PERMA theory: Seligman (2011): The following elements contribute to overall well being:

P Positive emotions as in the pleasant life experience of Authentic happiness theory; pleasure
E Engagement as in the engaged life experience of Authentic happiness theory; state of flow
R* Relationships, social connectedness, a sense of belongingness
M Meaningfulness as in the meaningful life experience of Authentic happiness theory; serving a greater
cause
A* Accomplishment, a sense of achievement through reaching personal and professional goals
*two new elements added to Authentic happiness theory

IV. Broaden and Build theory of positive emotions– Barbara Fredrickson (2004)

 Positive emotions such as joy, interest, contentment, love are generally considered as markers of
well-being. However, this model proposes that positive emotions also produce optimal
functioning, within the present moment, as well as long term
 Thus people should cultivate positive emotions in themselves and in those around them, not just
as an end-states in themselves, but also as a means to achieving well-being
 The broaden-and-build theory proposes that positive emotions broaden an individual’s
momentary thought–action repertoire. For example: joy sparks the urge to play, interest sparks
the urge to explore, contentment sparks the urge to savour and integrate, and love sparks a
recurring cycle of each of these urges within safe, close relationships
 By broadening an individual’s momentary thought–action repertoire, positive emotions promote
discovery of novel and creative actions, ideas and social bonds, which in turn build the
individual’s physical, intellectual, social and psychological resources finally optimizing health
and well-being

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V. The Sustainable Happiness Model (Sheldon & Lyubomirsky, 2004): What determines
happiness

Contribution to happiness
The Set Point The point or range at which one’s happiness 50%
level is generally “set” or fixed. Research
suggests that this is genetically determined
(Lykken & Tellegen, 1996)
Circumstances Factors constituting: Demographics (gender, 10%
ethnicity), personal experiences
(achievements and failures), life status
variables (marital status, educational level,
health, income)
Intentional Actions or exercises that a person chooses to 40%
Activity engage in Positive psychology attempts to increase
well being through intentional activity

Conclusion
 Different theoretical models have been proposed through the years by researchers from various
disciplines such as philosophy, psychology and biology
 These models attempt to understand well being from different standpoints as a complete
understanding of well being will need to include these different perspectives
 Complex phenomenon; random factors and subjective experiences makes it difficult to describe,
predict, and assess it
 Since well being is a complex phenomena comprising of many elements, investigators need to be
careful in selecting the variables they wish to explore when studying different populations and
different contexts
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