© Paul T. P.

Wong
Overview

 What is American Positive Psychology (PP)?

 What makes life worth living or what is the good
life?
 Whatis the meaning hypothesis according to
Frankl & Wong?
Evolution of PP

 Thescience of positive emotion, positive

character and positive institutions (Seligman &
Csikszentmihalyi, 2000)
 Thestudy of what makes life worth living and
how to work with stress and suffering
(Peterson & Park, 2003)
What characterizes American PP?

 Itis primarily concerned with happiness and

subjective well-being
 Emphasizes peace and prosperity as the ideal
condition for PP
 Believesthat meaning in life primarily comes
from happiness, positive experiences and
human strengths
 Seligman (2011):
Five components of well-being
Virtues & Character Strengths
Peterson (2013)
Major domains of the good life
 Meaningful work
 Love

 Play

 Service
 Six Limitations of PP:
1. Too much emphasis on the neutral and positive territories of life

2. Not enough recognition of the positive potential of negatives &

the negative potential of positives;

3. Not enough recognition of the importance of morality &

responsibility

4. Not enough recognition of the impact of existential givens

5. Not enough recognition of the importance of philosophy of life

6. A lack of balance between individualistic and collectivist

concerns
What is the meaning of life?
 Themost important question in psychology and
psychotherapy: What makes life worth living?
What is the meaning of life?
 Different visions of the good life or worthy life
 Meaning is important for survival and flourishing
 Meaning involves all aspects of the person –
cognitive, affective, motivational, social, cultural,
spiritual and relational
Existential Positive Psychology (EPP)

1. The Meaning Hypothesis – life has intrinsic

meaning
2. The Deep and Wide Hypothesis – suffering
deepens & broadens resources
3. The Duality Hypothesis – positives & negatives
work together for optimal functioning
 The Meaning Hypothesis
 The
capacity for meaning seeking and meaning
making (both existential & cognitive meaning)
 The
primary motivation for meaning (both global
meaning & situational meaning)
 Meaning offers us the best protection against
existential anxieties and the best hope of living a
worthy & vital life
A meaning mindset is more adaptive than the
success mindset.
The meaning mindset vs. the success mindset

Meaning Fulfillment

Sacrificial
Ideal Life
Life

Failure Success

Wasted Shallow
Life Life

Emptiness
The Meaning Mindset
1. Life has intrinsic meaning and value
2. I have the capacity for meaning seeking and meaning making
3. Meaning can be discovered anywhere
4. I can live at a deeper level by detecting the meaning &
significance of any situation
5. I can live at a higher plane by serving a higher purpose &
being attuned to the transcendental realm and sacredness in
daily living.
6. I can live fully by integrating by my potentialities with my
vulnerabilities moment by moment
 Life Orientation Scale
1. I can find something meaningful or significant in everyday events. 1 2 3 4
5
2. There is a reason for everything that happens to me. 1 2 3 4 5
3. There is no ultimate meaning and purpose in life. 1 2 3 4 5
4. There is no point in searching for meaning in life. 1 2 3 4 5
5. No matter how painful the situation, life is still worth living. 1 2 3 4 5
6. The meaning of life is to “eat, drink and be happy”. 1 2 3 4 5
7. What really matters to me is to pursue a higher purpose or calling
regardless of personal cost. 1 2 3 4 5
8. I would rather be a happy pig than a sad saint. 1 2 3 4 5
9. I am willing to sacrifice personal interests for the greater good. 1 2 3 4 5
10. Personal happiness and success are more important to me than achieving
inner goodness and moral excellence. 1 2 3 4 5
The Search for Meaning

Based on:
Authenticity – seeking & pursuing a unique meaning that
has real value for the person
Integrity – seeking & pursuing meaning that is consistent
with one’s conscience & sense of responsibility

The search for situational & ultimate meaning is an

ongoing & ever-evolving process.
Costs of Search for Meaning

 One may have to suffer & give one’s life for an ideal
or mission.
 Soul searching to discover one’s calling may be a
difficult process for some people.
 Meaning-making and meaning-reconstruction after
trauma can be painful.
Benefits of Meaning in Life

 Mental & physical health

 Survival & flourishing
 Recovery & resilience
 Religiousness & spirituality
 Personal growth
 Social harmony
Two Types of Situational Meaning

1) Cognitive Meaning, in terms of appraisal &

attribution; it often involves intuitive
information processing
2) Existential Meaning, in terms of personal
responsibleness to the situation; it involves both
intuitive conscience & guiding light from
Providence or the Spirit
Ultimate Meaning
 It is concerned with finding out how one fits in the large
scheme of life.
 “This grandiose order, I believe, is what Frankl
understands by logos, ultimate meaning. We can never
hope to ‘find’ it in its totality, we can only pursue it to the
best of our abilities” (Fabry, 1987, p. 5)
 “The Ultimate Meaning of one’s life is not a matter of his
intellectual cognition, but rather of his existential
commitment… Man takes a stand and makes a choice.”
(Frankl, 1985, 84)
Sources of Meaning

According to Wong (1998), there are 8 sources

of meaning and the good life.

1. Achievement 5. Relationship
2. Acceptance 6. Religion
3. Transcendence 7. Fairness
4. Intimacy 8. Positive emotions
 Are you living a balanced life?

Religion/
Spirituality

Achievement Acceptance
Positive Emotion
Intimacy Relationship and Well-being

Self-transcendence Fairness

Situational and
Cultural Context
The Deep & Wide Hypothesis
 Suffering
deepens our inner resources such as
meaning, faith, courage, etc.
 Suffering also broadens our resources such as
creativity, innovation, & social support.
 One can attribute positive meanings to
suffering.
 Personalgrowth is dependent on the benefits of
suffering.
Meaning in Suffering
 Suffering awakens the quest for meaning & the defiant
human spirit.
 Suffering beings, Homo patiente, are concerned with
meaning while human beings, Homo sapiens, are
concerned with success and happiness.
 Suffering gives us opportunity to develop and express
our highest values and noblest virtues.
 The will to joy in the midst of suffering is both heroic &
spiritual.
The Power of Negative Thinking

`Negative no susume-plus
shiko ni unzarishiteiru anata e`
By Yu Mogami (2007)

This book shows people how

to live a rich & vital life
through harnessing the power
of negative thinking.
The Duality Hypothesis
 The
meaning hypothesis recognizes the adaptive
power of meaning-seeking & meaning-making.
 Thedeep & wide hypothesis focuses on the
adaptive benefits of suffering and negative
emotion.
 Thisduality hypothesis emphasizes the benefits
and necessity of integrating approach and
avoidance systems as being complementary
The Duality Hypothesis (cont)

 AlbertCamus: “There is no joy of life without

despair.”
 RolloMay: “The ultimate paradox is that
negation becomes affirmation.”
 CarlJung: “It is evil to negate the dark side of
personality (the Shadow).”
The Duality Hypothesis (cont)

 When the two systems work together, the likelihood

of survival and flourishing is greater than focusing
exclusively on either approach or avoidance.
 There is a down side to everything positive, and there
is up side to everything negative. Positive and
negative potentials are often two sides of the same
coin.
 PURE represents the positive system, while ABCDE
represents coping with negatives.
Meaning Intervention
 Accept and confront the negative reality -- the reality
principle
 Believe that life is worth living and affirm what is good–
the faith principle
 Commit to worthy goals and responsible actions – the
action principle
 Discover the meaning and happiness of living – the
meaning principle
 Enjoy the success -- the reinforcement principle or
Evaluate the above – the self-regulation principle
A Dual-System Model

Normal Life Approach System Meaning, happiness &

Conditions (PURE)
Personal growth

Reduce Threats

Transform Threats (ABCDE + PURE)

Threats Avoidance system Safety and

Noxious conditions (Defense mech. + coping) Survival

Vicious Cycle Vigilance

 A Dual-System Model
Individual differences and personal resources

Positive PURE Positive

Conditions Outcome
Approach

Negative Avoidance Negative

Conditions Outcome
ABCDE

Cultural and Contextual Variables

Conclusion

 The future of Positive Psychology and Meaning

Therapy depends on integrating both disciplines,
resulting in Existential Positive Psychology (EPP).
 Researchin EPP will increase our understanding
of how to live well & die well under all
circumstances.
 EPPwill enable us to design a better society or
organization to optimize well-being.