positive approach Flashcards
3 assumptions of the positive approach
-free will
-authenticity of goodness and excellence
- focus on the good life
SEE free will
believe humans are in charge of their own emotions and have free will to direct the emotions. free will is not just an option but a necessity.
as humans we are self-directing and adaptive, a good life can be experienced if we use our strengths and virtues to enhance our lives. happiness isn’t a result of good genes or luck, its a result of recognising our own strengths and working on developing these to make our lives better.
E.G self efficacy is our belief in our own ability. people who have high self-efficacy see themselves as in control, low self-efficacy can lead to depression and anxiety
SEE
authenticity of good and excellence
traditionally psychology has focused on identifying peoples weaknesses and improving these to live a ‘normal’ life. by focusing on improving our weaknesses we will only be average. positive psychologists say we need to celebrate our strengths and re craft our lives around them. acts as a buffer to protect the individual from MH problems
if we focus on depressed indicuals strengths this will provide a buffer against the triggers for low mode and raise self-esteem
SEE
focus on the good life
seligman would suggest that too many individuals are leading what he would call a ‘pleasant life’ this is where we gain a short term lift in our mood through experiencing as many positive events as possible. instead of leading. pleasant life we should want to live the ‘good life’ this is characterised by the experiencing flow. this is felt….
we are likely to experience flow in our relationships with others, work and through hobbies. somewhere we can develop our strengths
e.g those who focus on wealth, fame and good looks produce lower rates of happiness than those who gain happiness via compassion, relationships and charitable. dinner has shown that as wealth of US citexans increase, happiness doesn’t
who came up with the good life
seligman
what did he believe the good life is a combination of
positive connection to others
positive individual traits
life regulation qualities
what are the problems with the disease model
- psychologist became victimologists
- forgot about improving normal lives
-no positive interventions to make people happy
how do happy people differ from everyone else
they’re extremely social, they don’t spend time alone, have friends and romantic relationships
what is the pleasant life
much positive emotion as you can and ability to amplify them
drawbacks of the pleasant life
heritable
habituates
not malleable
what is the Goodlife
knowing your highest strength, re-crafting your life to use them as much as possible and to experience flow
definition of flow
where you cannot feel anything, time stops, completely absorbed in what you’re doing. activities where you are challenged to the perfect amount
what is the meaningful life
knowing your highest strength, use to service something larger than you are
positive approach
freewill/determinist S/W
free will
S
why is the positive approach free will
individuals are not pre-determined or restricted to personal freedom to grow and develop their signature strengths. refuses to see individuals as victims. free will is necessary for leading a more pleasant life
positive approach
reductionist or holistic
S/W
holistic
S
why is the positive approach holistic
believe positive psychology is to be sued to compliment other approaches. believes other approaches have lots of benefits (biological model in treating things like schizophrenia) if people adopt a positive outlook in addition to these can be helpful to lead an enriched life
does the positive approach have practical applications
S/W
yes
strength
explain positive approach practical applications
assumptions of the approach have been applied in education, stress management, occupational psychology and therapy.
e.g the US army have developed grounding to improve resilience and to reduce the incidence of stress in soldiers. so building mental toughness by identifying and developing signature strengths
positive approach
idiographic/nomothetic
S/W
both
strength and weakness
why is the positive approach idiographic
everyone has a unique set of signature strengths and virtues and our best opportunity for happiness lies in identifying these and re-crafting our life around these
is the positive approach nature or nurture
S/W
interactionist
strength
why is the positive approach interactionist
mostly nurture our happiness and signature strengths are all open to development and change. well-being is directly impacted by our environment and we have the ability to increase happiness by adding more authentic happiness into our daily lives. it can also be nurturist, our strengths and attributes are likely to be biologically present from birth
is the positive approach scientific or non-scientific
S/W
scientific
strength
why is the positive approach scientific
adapts to rigorous experimental methods to establish what differs between those who are happy and those who aren’t. advances in neuroscience have allowed researchers to measure the emotional experience of happiness. for example, according to a meta analysis by Wager et al. (2003) positive emotions were found to activate the basal ganglia than negative emotions
what is mindfulness
a way of teaching people to control their own mind by paying attention to their present thoughts
what are the four main components of mindfulness
- gaining control of thoughts
- meditation and mindfulness breathing
-informal mindfulness breathing - mindfulness based cognitive therapy
what does gaining control of thoughts consist of
being mindful trains us to focus on our present thoughts and emotions. normally our minds are too focused on the past (going over old feelings) or to busy focusing on the future. the goal of focusing on the present is to gain greater awareness of unhelpful thoughts that are usually dominant in order to spend less time dealing with them
what can negative automatic thinking lead to (gaining control of thoughts-mindfulness)
lead to anxiety and depression, mindfulness practice will help and individual notice when these automatic processes are ocuring
what does meditation and mindful breathing
sitting meditation is most effective for developing mindfulness skills as it physically removes an individual from their daily interactions with life. meditation is usually learned through a mixture of guided instruction and personal practice. client will be encouraged to pay attention to their bodies sensations, their thoughts and emotions. this prevents intrusion of negative thoughts. meditation helps people accept that thoughts and emotions are impermanent.
what does informal practices of mindfulness include
once learned mindfulness can be practiced throughout our daily life. for example when in a shower, when cleaning and when driving. it is the opposite of multi-tasking. it involves paying attention to your surroundings. e.g in the shower you notice your body’s sensations. when an individuals attention begins to wander they should bring their attention back to the sensations. these practices can be used in our everyday daily lives to give us a break from our normal thought processes
what is mindfulness based cognitive therapy
designed to help people who are prone to recurring depression. combines mindfulness techniques like meditation breathing exercises and stretching with elements from cognitive therapy to help break negative thought patterns. MBCT is recommended by NICE as an effective treatment for people who suffer from recurrent episodes of depression. almost 1/4 of GPs think mindfulness meditation would be helpful for people with mental health problems
goal of MBCT
to develop consistent awareness of your thoughts and reactions so that they notice when they are becoming triggered to think negatively. MBCT promotes accepting the thought without judgement and then letting it leave your mind without attaching too much meaning to it
why do positive psychologists believe mindfulness is an appropriate therapy
- aim of the positive approach in psychology is to promote human flourishing, which is also the goals of mindfulness training. mindfulness cultivates human characteristics that are central to positive psychology (strengths and virtues)
- one of the assumptions of positive psychology is the authenticity of goodness and excellence and people can achieve more fulfilment in their lives if they enhance an individuals positive characteristics.
-another assumption is the acknowledgement of free will, mindfulness focuses on ones thoughts and feelings. mindfulness encourages people to gain control of their thoughts and emotions, and to control the amount of time spent focusing on negative thinking. taking control of our feelings is central to increasing life satisfaction which is in line with mindfulness and positive psychology
effectiveness strengths of mindfulness
Napoli, Krech and Holley
supports the effectiveness of mindfulness as a therapy because it suggests it is improving the lives of young children in different areas. increasing concentration and decreasing anxiety. Napoli, Krech and Holley (2005) reported the results of midfulness worl with 225 children with high anxiety aged between 5-8 taking part in the ‘Attention Academy Program’ This program consisted of 12 sessions of 45 minutes each
limitations of Napoli, Krech and Holleys reasearch
the findings aren’t generalised to older people or those without anxiety or ADHD
also the long term impacts are unclear
effectiveness strength of mindfulness
(teasdale et al.)
mindfulness can be effective in helping those who have suffered with deppression the most and decreasing the chance of a relapse 145 recurrently depressed patients were randomly allocated to receive treatment as usual or with added 8 classes of MBCT. provided the greatest help to those who had suffered the most number of depressive episodes.
limitations of teasdale et al. research
short term
it’s not effective for those who’ve had fewer episodes of depression
other comments of the effectiveness of mindfulness
(integration with other therapies)
mindfulness practices are becoming increasingly incorporated into other therapies such as psychoanalysis and CBT. this suggests that mindfulness can be used to enhance the effectiveness of more traditional therapies
other comments of the effectiveness of mindfulness
(possibilities are endless)
research shows that mindfulness can reduce stress, anxiety, depression and sleep deprivation. also reported to increase concentration, happiness, memory and creativity
ethics of mindfulness
positive approach to therapy. unlike other therapies mindfulness doesn’t drag up the past as a means of offering an explanation for present behaviour so client anxiety is avoided. mindfulness lacks a deterministic point of view which is very positive for the client. mindfulness doesn’t focus on helping change the way we think but it encourages clients to accept thinking so its less frustrating for clients in compare to things like CBT. CBT results in the individuals to feel guilty about their thoughts whereas mindfulness teaches acceptance so its less psychologically harmful.
another point for the ethics of mindfulness
seen as essential in maintaining moral and ethical standards. mindfulness is being taught to enhance leadership skills. Reudy and Schweitzer (2010) demonstrated how individuals who practised lots of mindfulness were less likely to cheat on a task and more likely to be a moral being. improving our state of mind through mindfulness will result in us becoming more moral.
application of the positive approach to relationships
- Seligman suggests that one of the contributory elements to the ‘good life’ is made through a positive connection to others
- in order to live the good life and have a more authentic sense of happiness we need to achieve a state of flow (time stands still)
- for many people, social and romantic relationships help us to achieve flow. eg many people become besotted and totally absorbed in their partner at the start of a new romantic relationship
- this absorption and engagement help move beyond a pleasant life and achieving the good life
- the idea is supported by research, which shows people in relationships are happier than people who aren’t. the Pew Research centre reported that 43% of married respondents were ‘very happy’ compared with only 24% of unmarried respondents
what is the classic evidence for the positive approach
who is happy
Myers and Diener
findings
age
evidence
inglehart- study found mean score=80% happiness of all ages
herzog- found at different ages different factors contribute to happiness e.g health is a bigger contributing factor as we get old, showing age does effect happiness
findings gender
evidence
ingelhart studies 16 countries, found 80% me and women are fairly satisfied with life, showing gender doesn’t affect happiness
robins and reiger- women are twice as vulnerable to depression showing gender does affect happiness
findings race/culture
evidence
ingelhart 10% of people in portugal reported being happy compared to 40% in the Netherlands
diener found that african americans report 2x as much happiness as European americans where you live does affect happiness
findings
money
evidence
argyle- people who won the lottery report only a brief increase in happiness (money does not buy happiness)
diener- a survey of rich people found that 37% were less happy than the average American so people with more money aren’t as happy as the average persom
positive
findings
relationships
jean paul- says relationships bring more unhappiness than happiness, relationships can actually have a negative impact on relationships
burt- research shows people who have several close friends are healthier and happiness than those who don’t. for most people the benefits outweigh the cons
findings
work
work satisfaction affects happiness. people who are out of work are less happy than those at work. however, work can be unsatisfying/ stressful so is associated with unhappiness. mihaly found people were happiest when engaged in mindful challenge when experiencing flow
findings faith
witter- happiness is associated with strength of religious affiliation and frequency of worship attendance
polarna and pendleton- in north america and europe people who are religious report higher levels of happiness
findings
traits of happy people
high self esteem= typically like themselves and agree with statements ‘I’m a lot of fun to be around’
sense of personal control= people who feel empowered rather than helpless do better at school and are typically happier
optimism= would agree with a statement such as ‘when I undertake something new, I expect to succeed
extraversion= people who are more outgoing are happier with other people and also when alone
conclusions
3 elements of happiness
importance of adaption
cultural world view
values and goals
conclusions
importance of adaption
effects of positive and negative events fade over time. e.g people who win the lottery only feel happier for a short time. people who go through psychological trauma (holocaust survivors)
humans have the ability to adapt to life circumstances
more adaptable=happier
conclusions
cultural world view
cultural attitudes predispose people to interpret life events differently. some view the world as benevolent and controllable however others emphasise negative emotions (e.g anxiety, anger and guilt)
conclusions
values and goals
people with a high sense of SWB have ambitions. other factors like money only matter if they’re relevant to your goals. this explains why money is more important in poor countries (relevant to goals.
