Lecture 1: Positive psychology, describing the science

Question 1

What are the 3 criteria to decide that something is positive?

Answer 1

Choice - “revealed preference” in economics
Experience - pleasure, it feels good
Value - based on religion, law, logic

These do not always agree

Question 2

What are 4 ways to use positive in PP? what is good or bad about each?

IGATS! Its positive psychology!

Answer 2

Good intentions

• posi: clinicians want to make people happier, more fulfilled
• neg: not always unique to PP, doesn’t help define

Ideology (people are good)

• posi: assumption is that human nature is positive
• neg: odd position for science to take, needs to be tested

Appreciation (people are kind of neat)

• posi: less extreme version of ideology, accomodates info that contradicts it, useful is guiding work
• negi: says more about the researcher than the content
• Topics (using and applying 3 criteria)
• posi: exists on a spectrum, PP looks at the positive line,
• neg: what about looking at other, possibly negative but positive traits such as resilience or grit

*topics is the chosen one

Question 3

How does Zelenski define positive psychology?

Answer 3

“…The parts of psychology that deal with (positive) experiences, dispositions, contexts, and processes, in individuals and groups, that facilitate well-being, achievement, and harmony”

Question 4

What are some additional issues with seeing PP as a product of “family resemblance”?

Answer 4

Probably impossible to define necessary and sufficient conditions for PP
Expansive view of topics may work best but it relies on complex/competing definitions of “positive”

Question 5

How is PP placed in context? what distinguishes it?

Answer 5

Obvious overlaps with other sub-disciplines
Humanistic & health psych are particularly similar

Humanistic is qualitative, does not allow for allot of quantitative research
PP - mostly quantitative, includes the creation of statistics

Question 6

What are the two predominant methods of research in PP? what are the issues/advantages with these methods?

Answer 6

Correlational

• Often more naturalistic, taking people as they are
• directionality problem (timing helps - longitudinal, ESM)
• Third variable problem

Experimental

• Confident causal direction
• Confounds like third variable problem
• Often artificial (generalizability issues)