Sonja Lyubomirsky, professor of psychology at the University of California Riverside and an early star of the movement, told me that positive psychology was born at a time of peace and plenty. The financial crisis, though, seems to challenge this hypothesis. Suddenly, the luxury to reflect evaporated for vast numbers of people. But analysis by social scientists shows that the number of academic papers published on positive psychology and happiness continued to rise.
As Vox recently reported, secularism is on the rise in the US. But the propensity to believe in the divine runs very deep in the human psyche.
We are, psychologists such as Bruce Hood say, hard-wired for religion. Critics such as Coyne claim this is by design. But does the marketing matter if positive psychology helps people lead better lives? Skeptics, once again, question whether the benefits of positive psychology are really as great as claimed.
Joseph Smith is a researcher on happiness science at the University of Exeter. He is a former journalist. Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment: to empower through understanding. Financial contributions from our readers are a critical part of supporting our resource-intensive work and help us keep our journalism free for all. Please consider making a contribution to Vox today to help us keep our work free for all.
Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. By choosing I Accept , you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Reddit Pocket Flipboard Email. More importantly for us, their studies have shown that happiness can be taught and learned. Positive Psychology] takes you through the countryside of pleasure and gratification, up into the high country of strength and virtue, and finally to the peaks of lasting fulfillment: meaning and purpose.
In contrast, Seligman extols the East Asian tendency to quietly deal with difficult situations. He cites studies that find that those who refrain from expressing negative emotions and in turn use different strategies to cope with the stresses of life also tend to be happier Seligman , p. After making headway with these strategies for dealing with negative emotions of the past and building hope and optimism for the future, Seligman recommends breaking habituation, savoring experiences and using mindfulness as ways to increase happiness in the present.
Many studies have shown that positive emotions are frequently accompanied by fortunate circumstances e. For example, one study observed nuns who were, for the most part, leading virtually identical lifestyles.
It seemed that the nuns who expressed positive emotions more intensely and more frequently in their daily journals also happened to outlive many of the nuns who clearly did not. Another study used high school yearbook photos of women to see if the ultimate expression of happiness a smile might also be used as an indicator as to how satisfied they might be 20 years later. In short, positive emotions are frequently paired with happy circumstances. And while we might be tempted to assume that happiness causes positive emotions, Seligman wonders, instead, whether positive emotions cause happiness.
If so, what does this mean for our life and our happiness? The strengths and virtues […] function against misfortune and against the psychological disorders, and they may be the key to building resilience. He and Dr. They used good character to measure its efficacy because good character was so consistently and strongly linked to lasting happiness.
In order to remain true to their efforts to create a universal classification system, they made a concerted effort to examine and research a wide variety of religious and philosophical texts from all over the world Seligman , p. Seligman clarifies the difference between talents and strengths by defining strengths as moral traits that can be developed, learned, and that take effort. Talents, on the other hand, tend to be inherent and can only be cultivated from what exists rather than what develops through effort Seligman , p.
For example, many people consider musical ability as more or less inherent and can only be strengthened. On the other hand, one can cultivate the strength of patience, which can lead to the virtue of temperance.
Seligman provides a detailed classification of the different virtues as well as a strengths survey that is available on his website: www. Positive emotion alienated from the exercise of character leads to emptiness, inauthenticity, depression and, as we age, to the gnawing realization that we are fidgeting until we die Seligman , p. Here Seligman states, rather dismally, that there are no shortcuts to happiness.
In an excerpt from the book he describes the goal of positive psychology: to increase not just human happiness, but human flourishing.
These are:. This element is, perhaps, the most obvious connection to happiness. A positive view can help in relationships and work, and inspire others to be more creative and take more chances. Regardless, there are many health benefits to optimism and positivity.
How do we distinguish between pleasure and enjoyment for this? Pleasure is connected to satisfying bodily needs for survival, such as thirst, hunger, and sleep. Whereas enjoyment comes from intellectual stimulation and creativity. When a child completes a complex lego car that requires their concentration, for example, they might beam with joy and satisfaction from their work. This type of positive emotion is crucial. To the extent that people possess characteristics that are highly valued by their culture, they tend to be happier Diener, Researchers have studied both parenthood and physical attractiveness as potential contributors to happiness, but no link has been identified.
An important point should be considered regarding happiness. In addition, we are often incorrect when estimating how our long-term happiness would change for the better or worse in response to certain life events. For example, it is easy for many of us to imagine how euphoric we would feel if we won the lottery, were asked on a date by an attractive celebrity, or were offered our dream job.
It is also easy to understand how long-suffering fans of the Chicago Cubs baseball team, which has not won a World Series championship since , think they would feel permanently elated if their team would finally win another World Series. Likewise, it easy to predict that we would feel permanently miserable if we suffered a crippling accident or if a romantic relationship ended. However, something similar to sensory adaptation often occurs when people experience emotional reactions to life events.
In much the same way our senses adapt to changes in stimulation e. When an event that provokes positive or negative emotions occurs, at first we tend to experience its emotional impact at full intensity. We feel a burst of pleasure following such things as a marriage proposal, birth of a child, acceptance to law school, an inheritance, and the like; as you might imagine, lottery winners experience a surge of happiness after hitting the jackpot Lutter, Likewise, we experience a surge of misery following widowhood, a divorce, or a layoff from work.
In the long run, however, we eventually adjust to the emotional new normal; the emotional impact of the event tends to erode, and we eventually revert to our original baseline happiness levels. Thus, what was at first a thrilling lottery windfall or World Series championship eventually loses its luster and becomes the status quo.
However, the initial burst of elation following such elusive events would most likely erode with time. Evidence from a number of investigations suggests that, in some circumstances, happiness levels do not revert to their original positions.
For example, although people generally tend to adapt to marriage so that it no longer makes them happier or unhappier than before, they often do not fully adapt to unemployment or severe disabilities Diener, The chart below, which is based on longitudinal data from a sample of over 3, German respondents, shows life satisfaction scores several years before, during, and after various life events, and it illustrates how people adapt or fail to adapt to these events.
German respondents did not get lasting emotional boosts from marriage; instead, they reported brief increases in happiness, followed by quick adaptation. In contrast, widows and those who had been laid off experienced sizeable decreases in happiness that appeared to result in long-term changes in life satisfaction Diener et al.
Thus, long-term happiness levels can and do change for some people. This graphs shows life satisfaction scores several years before and after three significant life events 0 represents the year the event happened Diener et al.
Some recent findings about happiness provide an optimistic picture, suggesting that real changes in happiness are possible. These changes in happiness may be targeted at individual, organizational, and societal levels Diener et al.
Researchers in one study found that a series of happiness interventions involving such exercises as writing down three good things that occurred each day led to increases in happiness that lasted over six months Seligman et al. Measuring happiness and well-being at the societal level over time may assist policy makers in determining if people are generally happy or miserable, as well as when and why they might feel the way they do.
Investigating why people are happy or unhappy might help policymakers develop programs that increase happiness and well-being within a society Diener et al. In , Seligman the same person who conducted the learned helplessness experiments mentioned earlier , who was then president of the American Psychological Association, urged psychologists to focus more on understanding how to build human strength and psychological well-being. In deliberately setting out to create a new direction and new orientation for psychology, Seligman helped establish a growing movement and field of research called positive psychology Compton, In a very general sense, positive psychology can be thought of as the science of happiness; it is an area of study that seeks to identify and promote those qualities that lead to greater fulfillment in our lives.
According to Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi , positive psychology,. At the individual level, it is about positive individual traits: the capacity for love and vocation, courage, interpersonal skill, aesthetic sensibility, perseverance, forgiveness, originality, future mindedness, spirituality, high talent, and wisdom.
0コメント