Positive Psychology 1

Carr, A. (2014). Positive psychology. In: A. Michalos (Ed.), Encylopedia of Quality of

Life. New York: Springer.

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POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

Word count excluding refs and table 1812.

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DEFINITION

Positive psychology is a subfield of general psychology which in which the scientific

method is used to research and explain positive aspects of life, and in which clinical

interventions that promote well-being are developed based on this research. Positive

psychology is concerned with understanding and facilitating (1) happiness and well-being,

(2) positive traits and engagement in absorbing activities, and (3) the development of

meaningful positive relationships, social systems and institutions (Lopez & Snyder, 2009).

DESCRIPTION

The development of modern positive psychology

The modern positive psychology movement was inaugurated by Martin E.P. Seligman in

his presidential address to the 107th American Psychological Association convention in

Boston. He proposed to use has presidency to shift the focus of psychology from

diagnosing and remediating deficits and disorders to indentifying and building strengths.

Over the next three years Seligman worked intensively with a group of experts to develop

the conceptual foundations of positive psychology, raise millions in philanthropic funding to

support positive psychology research, and disseminate positive psychology.

Dissemination was achieved through annual positive psychology international summits,

numerous academic publications, press coverage, TV appearances and the internet.

Seligman’s colleagues in this venture - the Positive Psychology Network - included

outstanding early career scientists such as Barbara Fredrickson and Sonja Lyubomirsky

(who are now leaders in the field) as well as established luminaries including Mihaly

Csikszentmihalyi, Ed Diener, Chris Peterson, and George Vaillant. The most important

academic publications in the emerging field of positive psychology were the Handbook of

Positive Psychology (Lopez & Snyder, 2009; Snyder & Lopez, 2002), the new Journal of
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Positive Psychology, a special millennial issue of the American Psychologist, and

Seligman’s popular science book - Authentic Happiness (Seligman, 2002). In the decade

following Seligman’s inaugural address, positive psychology associations were set up

around the world. These include the International Positive Psychology Association, the

European Network for Positive Psychology and the national positive psychology

associations of China, Australia and New Zealand. During this same decade the first

masters programmes in positive psychology were established at the University of

Pennsylvania in the US and the University of East London in the UK.

While modern positive psychology is a new movement, it draws on a rich intellectual

heritage that may be traced back to early Greek philosophers, such as Plato and Aristotle

who about virtue and the good life, and 20th century psychologists such as Abraham

Maslow and Carl Rogers who researched positive aspects of human experience. The

distinguishing features of the modern positive psychology movement are its commitment

to the scientific study of positive aspects of human experience, the academic infrastructure

that has been established to support this research, and the intellectual leadership provided

by the founders of the movement.

The scope of positive psychology

The first and second editions of the Handbook of Positive Psychology indicate the scope of

this field of inquiry (Lopez & Snyder, 2009; Snyder & Lopez, 2002). These handbooks

contain chapters on happiness, well-being and positive emotions. There are also chapters

on positive traits and strengths such as resilience, optimism, hope, forgiveness, courage,

humility, flow, curiosity, creativity, wisdom and emotional intelligence. In the domain of

identity the following topics are covered: self-esteem, self-efficacy, self-determination, self-
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regulation, self-verification and authenticity. There are chapters on various approaches to

coping including coping through emotional approach, problem-solving appraisal, humour,

mindfulness, therapeutic writing, benefit-finding, post-traumatic growth, and spirituality.

There are also chapters on positive relationships and institutions. In this context the

processes of love, attachment, compassion, empathy and altruism are considered, as well

as the application of positive psychology in family, school, college and work settings.

Applications of positive psychology within the fields of physical and mental health,

disability, and youth development are also considered.

Separate handbooks on positive psychology applied to education (Gilman, Huebner &

Furlond, 2009) and work (Linley, Harrington & Garcea, 2010) settings have been published

as well as positive psychology handbooks on assessment (Lopez & Snyder, 2003) and

research methods (Ong & VanDulmen, 2007). Lopez (2009) has produced a two volume

encyclopaedia on positive psychology. The field has matured sufficiently for introductory

textbooks on positive psychology to have been written (e.g., Carr, 2004, 2011; Peterson,

2006; Snyder & Lopez, 2007). There has also been a proliferation of evidence-based

positive psychology self-help books (e.g., Fredrickson, 2009; Lyubomirsky, 2007; Warr,

2010). These are quite distinct from traditional non-evidence based, pop-psychology self-

help manuals, insofar as the advice contained in them for improving quality of life is based

on empirical research.

In the remainder of this entry research results from studies of happiness and well-being,

character strengths and positive psychotherapy will be given to illustrate the type of

knowledge generated by positive psychology research.

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Happiness and well-being

Are most people happy? Ed Diener from Minnesota University aggregated data from

916 surveys of happiness, life satisfaction and subjective well-being involving over a

million people in 45 nations around the world (Myers & Diener, 1996). He transformed all

the data onto 10 point scales. He found that the average happiness rating was not 5,

which would be a neutral rating, but 6.75. This indicates that most people are moderately

happy.

What are the positive effects of happiness? Barbara Fredrickson at the University of

Michigan, has developed the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions to explain how

positive affective experiences not only signal personal well-being but also contribute to

personal growth and development (Fredrickson, 2009). Negative emotions such as anxiety

or anger narrow people’s momentary thought-action repertories, so that they are ready to

act in self-protective ways. Positive emotions, in contrast, broaden momentary thought-

action repertories. This broadening of momentary thought-action repertories offers

opportunities for building enduring personal resources, which in turn offers the potential for

personal growth and transformation by creating positive or adaptive spirals of emotion,

cognition and action. A large body of evidence shows that positive mood states help

people build enduring personal resources. In a meta-analysis of 225 crossectional,

longitudinal and experimental studies Lyubomirsky, King and Diener (2005) found that

positive emotions led to better adjustment in the broad domains of work, relationships, and

health, and also to greater positive perceptions of self and others, sociability, likability, co-

operation, altruism, coping, conflict resolution, creativity and problem-solving. Using data

from 10 European countries, Veenhoven and Hagerty (2006) found that happiness
 Positive Psychology 7

improved significantly from 1973-2002 and this increase in happiness was associated with

increased longevity.

What causes happiness? Sonja Lyubomirsky has argued that happiness is determined

by three classes of factors: (1) happiness set-point, (2) circumstances, and (3) intentional

activities (Lyubomirsky, 2007; Lyubomirsky, King & Diener, 2005). With regard to the

happiness set-point, Lyubomirsky has marshalled evidence from twin studies to show that

about 50% of individual differences in happiness may be accounted for by genetic factors.

Genetic factors influence happiness through their effects on personality traits. The weight

of current evidence shows that in western industrialized cultures happy people have

personalities characterized by extraversion, stability, conscientiousness, agreeableness,

optimism, high self-esteem, and an internal locus of control (Diener Suh, Lucas, & Smith,

1999; Steel, Schmidt & Shultz, 2008). Lyubomirsky concluded that about 10% of individual

differences in happiness may be accounted for by environmental circumstances. One

reason why environmental factors have such a limited impact on happiness is because in

the long-term most people adapt to most (but not all) positive and negative environmental

changes. Brickman and Campbell (1971) coined the term ‘hedonic treadmill’ to describe

this process of rapid adaptation whereby people react strongly to both positive and

negative recent events with sharp increases or decreases in happiness but in most

instances return to their happiness set-point over relatively short periods of time (e.g. a

few weeks or months). Lyubomirsky’s most hopeful proposal is that 40% of individual

differences in happiness are due to activities that people intentionally carry out. Thus there

is considerable latitude to enhance well-being through intentional activities such as making

and maintaining valued relationships and friendships, engaging in meaningful, challenging

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skilful work, and pursuing absorbing recreational activities that involve the use of personal

strengths.

Character strengths

A major milestone in the development of modern positive psychology was the publication

of Peterson and Seligman’s (2004) Character Strengths and Virtues. This presents a

taxonomy of 24 human strengths related to 6 universal human virtues, a review of

psychological literature relevant to each of the strengths, and key questions that require

investigation in future research. Virtues are core characteristics valued by moral

philosophers, such as wisdom or courage. Strengths, such as creativity and gratitude, are

less abstract personality traits which may be used to achieve virtues. The taxonomy of

virtues and strengths is presented in Table 1. The strengths in the taxonomy may be

assessed with the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS), which can be

accessed through the weblink in the reference section of this entry. In an internet VIA-IS

study of fifty US states and fifty-four nations involving over 117,000 participants, Park,

Peterson and Seligman (2006) found that kindness, fairness, honesty, gratitude, and

judgment were the most commonly-endorsed strengths in the USA. They also found that

the strengths ranked lowest were prudence, modesty, and self-regulation. This USA profile

of character strengths converged with profiles of respondents from the other nations. A

series of studies has shown that of the 24 character strengths assessed by the VIA-IS,

zest, hope, love and gratitude are the most strongly associated with well-being in children,

adolescents and adults (e.g., Park, Peterson & Seligman 2004).

Positive psychotherapy
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Positive psychotherapy is one of the most important applications of positive psychology

(Rashid, 2008; Rashid & Anjum, 2008; Seligman, Rashid & Parks, 2006). While traditional

approaches to psychotherapy are primarily concerned with alleviating distress, positive

psychotherapy aims to cultivate positive emotions, build strengths, and enhance

meaningful relationships. Positive psychotherapy, which was developed and evaluated by

Rashid and Seligman, includes interventions such as savouring which enhance pleasure

and promote the pleasant life; interventions that encourage the use of signature strengths

such as gratitude and forgiveness to foster the engaged life; and interventions that

enhance relationships within families and institutions to promote the meaningful life. The

pleasant life, the engaged life and the meaningful life - three distinct orientations to

happiness - are associated with well-being. For example, in an internet study of 24,836

people from 27 different nations, Park, Peterson and Ruch (2009) found that each of these

three orientations was associated with life satisfaction, but orientations to engagement and

meaning were more strongly associated with life satisfaction than an orientation to

pleasure. Results of a series of preliminary trials of positive psychotherapy show that

group and individual positive psychotherapy reduce depression and enhance well-being

for people with mild to moderate depression, and internet based positive psychotherapy

increases well-being in healthy adults and children (Rashid, 2008, Rashid & Anjum, 2008;

Seligman, Rashid & Parks, 2006).

REFERENCES

APA (2000). American Psychologist, Special Issue on happiness, excellence and optimal

human functioning (Volume 55, Number 1). Washington, DC: APA.

Brickman, P. & Campbell, D. (1971). Hedonic relativism and planning the good society. In

M. Appley (Ed.), Adaptation-level theory (pp.287-305). New York: Academic Press.

 Positive Psychology 10

Carr, A. (2004). Positive psychology. The science of happiness and human strengths.

London: Routledge.

Carr, A. (2011). Positive psychology. The science of happiness and human strengths

(Second Edition). London: Routledge.

Diener, E., Suh, E. Lucas, R. & Smith, H. (1999). Subjective well-being: Three decades of

progress. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 273-302.

Fredrickson, B. (2009). Positivity. New York: Crown.

Gilman, R., Huebner, S., Furlond, M. (2009). Handbook of positive psychology in schools.

New York: Routledge

Linley, P., Harrington, S. & Garcea, N. (2010). Oxford handbook of positive psychology

and work. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Lopez, S. (2009). The encyclopaedia of positive psychology volumes 1 and 2. Chichester:

Wiley.

Lopez, S. & Snyder, C.R. (2003). Positive psychological assessment. A handbook of

models and measures. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Lopez, S & Snyder, C. (2009). Oxford handbook of positive psychology (Second Edition).

New York: Oxford University Press.

Lyubomirsky, S. (2007). The how of happiness. New York: Penguin.

Lyubomirsky, S., King, L. & Diener, E. (2005). The benefits of frequent positive affect:

Does happiness lead to success. Psychological Bulletin, 131, 803-855.

Myers, D. & Diener, E. (1996). The pursuit of happiness. Scientific American, 274 (May),

54-56.

Ong, A. & VanDulmen, M. (2007). Oxford handbook of methods in positive psychology.

Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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Park, N., Peterson, C. & Ruch, W. (2009). Orientations to happiness and life satisfaction in

twenty-seven nations. Journal of Positive Psychology, 4, 273-279.

Park, N., Peterson, G. & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Strengths of character and well-being.

Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23, 603-619.

Park, N., Peterson, C. & Seligman, M. E. P. (2006). Character strengths in fifty-four

nations and the fifty U.S. states. Journal of Positive Psychology, 1, 118-129.

Peterson, C. (2006). A primer in positive psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Peterson, C. & Seligman, M. (2004). Character strengths and virtues. A handbook and

classification. New York: Oxford University Press.

Rashid, T. (2008). Positive Psychotherapy. In Lopez, S. J. (Ed.) Positive psychology:

Exploring the best in people. Volume 4. Pursuing human flourishing (pp. 188-217).

Westport, CT: Praeger, pp.200-202.

Rashid, T. & Anjum, A. (2008). Positive psychotherapy for young adults and children. In J.

Abela & B. Hankin (Eds.), Handbook of depression in children and adolescents (pp.

250-287) New York: Guilford Press.

Seligman, M. (2002). Authentic happiness. New York: Free Press.

Seligman, M., Rashid, T. & Parks, A. (2006). Positive psychotherapy. American

Psychologist, 61, 774-788.

Snyder, C.R. & Lopez, S. (2002). Handbook of positive psychology. New York: Oxford

University Press.

Snyder, C.R. & Lopez, S. (2007). Positive psychology. The scientific and practical

explorations of human strengths. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Steel, P., Schmidt, J. & Shultz, J. (2008). Refining the relationship between personality and

subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 134, 138-161.

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Veenhoven, R. & Hagerty, M. (2006). Rising happiness in nations 1946-2004: A reply to

Easterlin. Social Indicators Research, 79, 421-436.

Warr, P. (2010). The joy of work: Jobs happiness and you. London: Routledge.

WEBSITES

Australian Positive Psychology Association: http://www.positivepsychologyaustralia.org/

European Network of Positive Psychology: http://www.enpp.eu/index.htm

Global Chinese Positive Psychology Association: http://globalcppa.org/index.php?q=home

International Positive Psychology Association:

http://www.ippanetwork.org/IPPANETWORK/IPPANETWORK/Home/Default.aspx

Journal of Positive Psychology: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/17439760.asp

New Zealand Positive Psychology Association:

http://www.positivepsychology.org.nz/index.html

Positive Psychology Centre, University of Pennsylvania:

http://www.positivepsychology.org/

Values in Action Inventory of Strengths

http://www.viacharacter.org/VIASurvey/tabid/55/Default.aspx.
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Table 1. Values in Action (VIA) Classification of character strengths and virtues

Virtues Defining features Character Strengths Defining features

1. Wisdom Acquisition of and use of 1 Creativity Thinking of novel and productive ways to do
knowledge things
2 Curiosity Taking an interest in all of ongoing
experience
3 Open mindedness Thinking things through and examining them
from all sides
4 Love of learning Mastering new skills, topics and bodies of
knowledge
5 Perspective Being able to provide wise council to others

2. Courage Will to accomplish goals in the
face of internal or
external opposition
6 Authenticity Speaking the truth and presenting oneself in
a genuine way
7 Bravery Not shrinking from threat, challenge,
difficulty or pain.
8 Perseverance Finishing what one starts
9 Zest Approaching life with excitement and energy

3. Humanity Interpersonal strength 10 Kindness Doing favours and good deeds for others
11 Love Valuing close relations with others
12 Social intelligence Being aware of the motives and feelings of
self and others

4. Justice Civic strengths 13 Fairness Treating all people the same according to
notions of fairness and justice
14 Leadership Organizing group activities and seeing that
they happen
15 Teamwork Working well with members of a group or
team

5. Temperance Strengths that protect 16 Forgiveness Forgiving those who have done wrong
us against excesses 17 Modesty Letting one’s accomplishments speak for
themselves
18 Prudence Being careful about ones choices and not
saying or doing things that might be
regretted
19 Self-regulation Regulating what one feels and does

6. Transcendence Strengths that connect us to 20 Appreciation of beauty Noticing and appreciating beauty, excellence
the larger universe and excellence and skilled performance in all domains of life
21 Gratitude Being aware of and thankful for the good
things that happen
22 Hope Expecting the best and working to achieve it
23 Humour Liking to laugh and joke and bring smiles to
other people
24 Religiousness Having coherent beliefs about the higher
purpose and meaning of life

Note: Adapted from Peterson, C. & Park, N . (2009). Classifying and measuring strengths of character. In S. Lopez & C.R. Snyder (Eds.),
Oxford handbook of positive psychology (Second Edition, pp.25-33, Table 4.1. page 28). New York: Oxford University Press; and
Peterson, C. & Seligman, M. (2004). Character strengths and virtues. A handbook and classification. New York: Oxford University Press.