1.5.5 Relevance of positive psychology evaluation

Question 1

What is a positive social implication of positve pscyhology

Answer 1

• Applying the principles of positive psychology may improve mental health
• Surely this makes it worthwhile in todays society as mental health issues are becoming more and more common

Question 2

What is an ethical implication of positive psychology

Answer 2

• Projects that embed positive psychology into their principles for example AFH tend to target wealthier people as some actions require money/resources
• This raises the ethical issues as it implies that achieving happiness may not be accessible to everyone fairly

Question 3

What is some evidence that shows that unhappiness and stress are of high costs to businesses and the economy

Answer 3

• Staff sickness was estimated to be costing the Uk economy £26 billion per year by the Capitala and Wellbeing project in 2008

Question 4

What did Oswald et al find

Answer 4

Happy workers were found to be 12% more productive

Question 5

What do Oswald et al’s findings suggest

Answer 5

That their is a direct link between happiness and productivity

Question 6

Give a piece of evidence that backs up Oswalds findings

Answer 6

Boorman review estimated the NHS could save £555 million with a healthier work environment

Question 7

Give another piece of evidence that backs up Oswalds findings

Answer 7

Google found that the costs of increasing their standard maternity leave from 3 months to a flexible 5 month system were outweighed by lower staff turnover

Question 8

What is the evidence for googles findings

Answer 8

The number of female staff leaving the company dropped by 50% because they were happier with their working conditions

Question 9

What is an issue for employees in implementing postitive psychology

Answer 9

Until positve psychology increases its profile and demonstrates these benefits on a wider scale, it is unlikely that employers will be willing or able to introduce such investment especially in times of economic uncertainty

Question 10

Evaluate positive approach in terms of scientific evidence

Answer 10

• No
• Their is lack of scientific evidence to support the effectivness of positive psychology
• This means it may not be as relevant as people like Seligman suggessted in todays society

Question 11

Evaluate positive approach in terms of its age

Answer 11

The positive approach is still in its infancy which means that it is often taken less seriously than other approaches and can be seen as LESS RELEVANT in todays society