1.5.5 The relevance of positive psychology Flashcards
Points that show positive psychology is relevant in todays society
- Education
- Military
- Leisure and lifestyle
- Health
- Work
What was the goal of positive psychology
To create a field focused on human well-being and the strengths and virues that allow people to thrive
What is the issue with the other approaches that postive approach fixes
They disproportionatly focus on treating mental illness rather than promoting mental health
What topics does positive psychology focus on
- Well being
- Pride
- Forgivness
- Happiness
- Mindfullness
- Psychological strength
- And how all these are related to mental and physical health
What highlights positive psychologys relevance in society
Its practical applications
What did 3 things did Seligman state Positive psychology ciriculum can do?
- Promote skils and strengths that are valued by most, including parents
- Produce measurable improvements in students wellbeing and behaviour
- Facilitate students engagment in learning and achievment
How did Seligman come to this conclusion
In 2009 he randomly assigned 347 ninth grade students to a PPC or non PPC class
What results did Seligmann get from his study
PPC students were more cooperative and had better social skills compared to the non-PPC students
What research provides support for Seligmanns claims
Penn Resiliency Programme (PRP)
What is the PRP’s goal
Increase students ability to handle day-to-day problems that are common during adolescence
What does PRP do to achieve this goal
- Promotes optimism by teaching students to think more realistically about the problems they encounter
- Teaches assertivness, decision making, relaxation, and other coping skills
How can PRP be argued as relevant
With depression being approximately 10 times more common now than it was fifty years ago among young people, it can be argued that embedding psotive psychology principles into education through programmes such as PRP is relevant
What did Gilham et al find about the effectivness of PRP
24 months after the intervention of PRP only 22% of the PRP group showed symptoms of depression where as 44% showed symptoms of depression in the control group
What is the CSF
Comprehensive soldier fitness programme
Why was the CSF established
In an effort to address the challenges being faced due to multiple deployments required by persistant conflicts in Iraq and Afganistan
What are the aims of CSF
Instead of focusing only on treatment after issues arise, CSF aims to provide preventive measures to the soldiers and their families to make them stronger and more able to cope with the demmands of deployment
How can CSF be seen as relevant in todays society
With conflicts becoming more common and ongoing, using positive psychology in the military is relevant in todays society as it can improve the quality of life for soldiers and their families
What has Mihaly’s research shown about work
Work can be the major source of our happiness
What does Mihaly’s flow theory suggest
- That our experiences will be most positive when both challenges and skills are high
- The person will not only be enjoying the moment but also stretching their capabilities with the liklihood of learning new skills and increasing self-esteem
What did LeFevre find about Flow
Found that most people experience flow situations more than 3 times as much at work than during leisure
What do LeFevre and Mihaly’s findings suggest
Our working environments generally offer more oportunity for positive experiences, which is contrary to what many people claim
What did Mihaly and LeFevre say about workers
If they admitted to themselves that work can be as or more enjoyable than most of their leisure time, they might work more effectively and in the process improve the quality of their own lives
In terms of Leisure and Lifestyle what is Mihaly and LeFevre suggest to people
People should increase their experience of flow and the quality of their lives by being more concious of and more active in their leisure time
What is evidence of a project that uses positive psychology
Action For Happiness (AFH)
What do AFH claim they are
A movement for positive social change
What does their site offer
- Support for those struggling with problems and depression
- For example “10 keys to happier living”
How do these findings mean positive psychology is relevant in todays society
It can be applied in various projects to increase peoples happiness and positivity
In terms of Health what did Kubzansky and Thurstons research involve
Following more than 6000 men and women aged 25 to 74 for 20 years
What did Kubzansky and Thurston find
PPs with high levels of ‘emotional vitality’ had a reduced risk of coronary heart disease
What is emotional vitality
A sense of enthusiasm, hopefullness, engagement in life, ability to face lifes stress’ with emotional balance
How do these findings mean positive psychology is relevant in todays society
It can improve physical health as well as mental health
What is a concluding argument that positive psychology is relevant in todays society
- Positive psychology has re-focused psychology on research and advice that will help people improve their lives and the society in which they live rather than being concerned with the negatives such as aggressive behaviour and addiction
- Such focus has led to some interesting lines of research and new programmes in school, work and leisure
Points that show positive psychology is not relevant in todays society
- Education
- Military
- Work
- Leisure and Lifestyle
- Health
What do critics of positive psychology say
- The research findings are not strong enough to move so swiftly toward applications
- Postive psychology has produced exageratted conclusions about the power of the positive, including the perception that people can reduce illness with more optimism
What is an issue with positive psychology in education that shows it to not be relevant
Lack of empirical evidence to support the success of PPC
What did Seligman admit about positive psychology in schools
Further research needs to be done to ensure that such educational programms are effective with students from a variety of socio-economic and cultural backgrounds
What is an issue with adding positive psychology to the ciriculum
- Will likely mean anither subject has to be dropped.
- Limited budgets mean that most schools would be unable to add positive psychology without sbtracting something else
What did the financial times suggest would happen if positive psychology was implemented into schools
students would leave school with less academic achievments
What did Spence and Shortt 2007 argue about the research into positive psychology in schools
The research that does exist tends to be based on small-scale or short-term interventions
What did Spence and Shortt conclude
The widespread implementation of positive psychology in schools should not be done without further more long term research
What is an issue with positive psychologys view on work that ‘if you choose a job you love u will never have to work a day in your life’
- It is not a new idea
- Therefor we question whether positive psychology in workplace had really offered us anything more than empirical support for something which much of society already know
Work may make you happy but the aspect of having more money doesnt - explain
Diener et al found a modest correlation of +.12 between income and happiness
How does this vary between societies
- In societies where people are poor, money is more important and work may be important for money rather than happiness
- The developed world may have the luxury of seeking happiness through work, a luxury not available elsewhere
In the Military how has the CSF programme been criticised
Due to lack of scientific evidence to support its effectivness
How has the development of the CSF also been criticised
Since the PRP that it was based upon was originally designed for adolescents and little has been done to adapt the programme to meet the needs of a millitary population
How can this be used to argue that psotive psychology is not relevant in todays society
The lack of adaptation leads the critics to beleive it is not relevant
What is an issue with leisure activities that increase flow
They are likely to be prohibited to many, either because of a lack of dedicated leisure time or because of the financial costs that they incur
What is an issue with movements like AFH
Difficult to asses the impact they have on society
What would need to be done to asses their effectivness
- In order to conduct onjective research the variables would have to be controlled
- For example it might be that wealtheir people are attracted to this movement and therefor beneficial outcomes might be due to their wealth rather than the programme itself
What is an issue with psotive psychology in health
- It is difficult to prove a cause and effect relationship between happiness and health
- People may just be happy because they are healthy not healthy becuase they are happy
Why isnt positive psychology taken seriously in healthcare
It has difficulty in conducting research that draws clear cause and effect conclusions
What is a concluding argument that positive psychology is not relevant in todays society
- Programmes in work, leisure and schools may only be a small part of a persons life or only available to a small number of people, therefor have little impact
- Positive approach may only be relevant to Western Developed world
- The positve approach is relatively new and it may take time before its impact is felt. The debate that needs to be answered first is ‘how can positive psychology be made more relevant in todays society’
