Assumption

Question 1

What does the positive approach focus on?

Answer 1

Free will

Question 2

Who created the s approach?

Answer 2

Martin Seligman, professed at the uni of pennsylvania

Question 3

What does the Martin Seligman generally say?

Answer 3

Learned helplessness to explain why some individuals might develop depression
Develops when individuals feel unable to control events in their lives
Suggest that certain individuals lack behavioural control over the events in their environment, which in turn undermines their motivation to makr changes and attempts to to alter situations

Question 4

What is assumption one?

Answer 4

Acknowledgement of free will

Question 5

What does the acknowledgment of free will say?

Answer 5

Humans have free will to dictate their own emotions, they can self direct those emotions
If we self direct out emotions effectively and become adaptive we can have a good luck
Happiness isn’t due to genes or luck, it’s a result of recognising our strengths and developing them

Question 6

Assumption one what if denier and seligman study if very happy people?

Answer 6

Looks at the tries students had to friends , family, measuring them
in terms of how much time and they invested in these relationships
-Found that students who had stronger ties to friends and family were happier
-Found a negative correlation between depression and level of happiness
-Suggesting we have free will to control our own happiness and choose to engage in activities that make us happy, reducing those feelings of low mood

Question 7

What is free will?

Answer 7

We respond at got to event around us, we choose our own course of action and have responsibility of our behaviour and we are not determined by internal and external pressures

Question 8

Why does the very happy people study demonstrate free will?

Answer 8

This demonstrates we are in control of our happiness in that we can choose to engage in activitys and relationship that we know what makes us happy and lifts our mood

Question 9

What is assumption 2 of the positive approach?

Answer 9

Focus on the good life

Question 10

What is the assumption 2 focus on the good life mean?

Answer 10

Our behaviours influenced by our focus in the good life
-Referes to factors that contribute most predominantly to a well lived life
-Quality’s that define the good life and make life worth living and make a strong character

Question 11

Assumption 2 the good life
What does seligman say the three laws are to happiness?

Answer 11

The pleasant life
The good life
The meaningful life

Question 12

A2- what is the pleasant life?

Answer 12

Activity’s focused on positive emotions that make us feel good and learning the skills that amplify this for example eating your favourite food or listening to your favourite song

Question 13

A2- what is the good life?

Answer 13

Engaging in activity’s that absorb us and help us to reach a state of flow, where it feels like toke stops, this includes focusing on our signature strengths, having positive relationship with others and working towards achieving it

Question 14

A2- what is the meaningful life?

Answer 14

The state of fulfilment we can g set from using our character strengths for a deeper purpose
e.g. we might use our strengths to help campaign for an issue we feel strongly about, like the environment

Question 15

A2- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi- the positive concept of flow?

Answer 15

When we reach a state of being fully engaged in an activity
Different activity’s lead to a flow state for different people
Needs to be balanced between the level of challenge the activity presents and the skills we have to deal with it

Question 16

What is flow?

Answer 16

You can’t feel anything, time stops, you are one with the activity

Question 17

What is assumption 3?

Answer 17

Authenticity of goodness and excellence

Question 18

A3- Authenticity of goodness and excellence, what does this mean?

Answer 18

Other approaches have a negative outlook on behaviour, positive psychology provides balance to this by focusing on the goodness of humans
Our positive traits like happiness are neglected as we focus on the negative, this approach essentially says that the positive emotions are just as important as the negative ones
Approach takes a positive attitude with treating mental illness, rather than focusing on symptoms and trying to fix the problem this approach develops the individuals positive traits

Question 19

A3- if we used this assumption how would we use this to treat mental illnesses?

Answer 19

By mindfulness, therapy’s such as this encourage patients to develop core values like gratitude and optimism, therefore depressive symptoms like low mood and lack of motivations can be improved by focusing on positive traits just as much as focusing on the negative

Question 20

A3- What are seligman’s theory if signature strengths?

Answer 20

Refers to character strengths that are essential to who we are
The most satisfied upbeat people are those who had discovered and exploited their unique combination of signature strengths (love of learning, bravery, humour, creativity and persistence)
Each individuals has all of these strengths so should be encouraged to develop them to improve their well being

Question 21

A3- why is it important to think about signature strengths when explaining behaviour?

Answer 21

Because individuals discover this strength, allow them to improve their quality of life, might allow us to understand why people aren’t feeling satisfied in life e.g. in cases where people are suffering depression