POSITIVE: assumptions, relationships & therapy

Question 1

Outline the acknowledgment of free will

Answer 1

• allows for personal autonomy and means we can hold people accountable for their actions
• unscientific and difficult to test
• determinism is in line with scientific principles and searches for cause and effect relationships - does not control person to be in control of behaviour, raising an ethical issue of accountability
• positive approach says only thing that controls our behaviour is our free will
• we are in charge of psychological and emotional wellbeing —> happiness is accessible to all
• chance to make free choices has many benefits to our well being
  EG: Ed Deiner 2002 - students who had strongest ties to friends and family were happier, highlighting we are in control of our happiness as we choose to take part in activities that make us happy - greater levels of control over life make us happier

Question 2

Outline the authenticity of goodness and excellence

Answer 2

• Seligman 2002 argued that traits such as virtue and happiness have been neglected and are seen as less authentic than negative traits
• positive approach focuses on the positive - celebrating the good things in life to improve wellbeing and fulfilment rather than just fixing what’s wrong - positive attitude to mental illness
• developing individuals positive traits to better the individual and focus on self improvement
• focuses on Seligmans theory of signature strengths - essential to who we are, most satisfied people are those who discover and exploit their strengths - nurture traits to enhance our lives
  EG: influence in therapies - role of therapist to facilitate positive wellbeing and help achieve fulfilment so therapy focuses on nurturing strengths. Also used in education settings to focus on importance of giftedness

Question 3

Outline focus on the good life

Answer 3

• the good life is a main focus of positive psychology
• three desirable lives as put forward by Seligman are:
  —> pleasant life: happiness comes from positive emotions in P, P and F
  —> good life: place of happiness from activities we pursue - positive connections to others, positive id individual traits
  —> meaningful life: suggested people seek, sense of fulfilment by living for a purpose greater than oneself
  EG involves work that can be a major source of happiness. The ‘flow’ theory suggests experiences are most positive when challenges and skills are high - experience ‘flow’ 3x more at work than leisure = clear opportunity to good life

Question 4

Explain how the good life links to relationship formation

Answer 4

• positive psychologist suggest we want the good life which involves happiness, work and good relationships
• one elements of the good life is positive connection to others which can therefore explain the formation of a romantic relationship
• positive connection to others includes our ability to love, trust and enjoy happiness which are all important to form happy relationships
• relationships aid positive emotion ie romantic relationships are a source of fun and laughter and make us feel cared for and protect our wellbeing
• happiness and good life also come from taking part in activities than engage us to give us a sense of low
  —> forming romantic relationship enables flow as involve dates, meals out, holidays etc
• therefore when seeking the good life we form relationship with a person who enables us the ability to engage in activities that create flow

Question 5

Why is mindfulness an appropriate therapy for the positive approach?

Answer 5

• overall aim of positive approach is to help humans flourish and seek the good life and flow
• do not believe in ‘fixing’ what is wrong but instead enhancing our signature strengths (Seligman)
• aim of mindfulness training is to improve an individuals strengths
• cultivating characteristics that are central to positive psychology including core strengths and virtues and psychological wellbeing
• acknowledgment of free will to enable control over problems as believed those who are not in control experience more psychological issues
• EG if pessimistic about upcoming exams and feels out of control, stress can create issues - mindfulness encourages to be more aware of own thoughts to increase level of satisfaction by identifying stress and being able to respond constructively
• identify stress responses and methods to counteract so more able to appraise stressful events constructively so feelings pass quicker
  —> mindfulness focuses on the present and focusing on sensations to root yourself in the now

Question 6

Outline the main components of mindfulness

Answer 6

• mental state achieved by focusing ones awareness in the present moment whilst acknowledging and accepting feelings and thoughts
  —> create ways to respond to situations and make wise choices in order to live with more appreciation and less anxiety
• methods formalised into MBCT (mindfulness based cognitive therapy) and MBSR (mindfulness based stress reduction)
  1. Gaining control of thoughts: focus on present thoughts and accepting them, aware of all incoming thoughts, greater awareness of negative thoughts so can dominate them - control and minimise, recognise when negative thoughts occur and how to alter response to be more reflective than reactionary
  —> techniques that are a from of meditation - sensations, breathing etc
  2. Medication and mindful breathing: formal training in sitting mediation is most effective as removes individual from daily interactions. Mediation learned through guided instruction and practise. Stops automatic negative thoughts and reminds individual that their thoughts are impermanent
  3. Informal practises of mindfulness: mindfulness can be practised informally once learnt such as when walking or cleaning. Focusing on one task and absorbing everything about the surroundings
• therefore mindfulness enables focus on present and accept negative thoughts but learn to respond to them effectively

Question 7

Effectiveness evaluation: side effects

Answer 7

• strength
• few side effects particularly compared to biological therapies and takes a positive attitude toward individual wellbeing
• promotes free will and empowering people which side effects would not enable
  —> face validity

Question 8

Effectiveness evaluation: adaptable

Answer 8

• strength
• adapted for a variety of settings such as the workplace, prisons and to help pregnant women
• research suggests that mindfulness is adaptable enough to be applied in many aspects
• ie schools - mindfulness in schools project in 2007 and nis now being taught in 12 diff countries
  —> 9wk course for students (bullying , exam stress, enhance studying etc) and is being used to improve student wellbeing
• evidence suggests that children who use mindfulness practises more frequently reported higher wellbeing and lower stress scores (Kuyken 2013)
  —> application

Question 9

Effectiveness evaluation: does not get to root cause

Answer 9

• weakness
• it is not a solution if mental illness is being caused by childhood, faulty thinking or current life stressors - limited use
• individual taught to accept their thoughts without judgement and without dwelling - does not address why issue arose in first place
• thoughts keep reoccurring
• may not be appropriate for disorders such as PTSD, anxiety and schizophrenia which are characterised by intrusive thoughts
  —> face validity

Question 10

Effective’s evaluation: evidence of positive effects

Answer 10

• strength
• used in isolation or incorporated with another therapy such as MBCT or MBSR
• crane et al (2014) found that for people who have experienced 3 or more previous episodes of depression, MBCT reduces recurrence rate over 12 months by 40-50%
• williams et al (2013) found MBCT is as effective at reducing reoccurrence as antidepressants
• govt National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommended CBT in guidelines for management of depression in 2004 and 2009 for hose with repeat episodes
  —> external validity

Question 11

Ethics: past events

Answer 11

• strength
• unlike psychodynamic approach it doesn’t involve bringing up aspects from the past to explain the patients behaviour
• does not try and attribute behaviour to being caused by past events which avoids anxiety for the patient
  —> respect

Question 12

Ethics: encourages acceptance

Answer 12

• strength
• not trying to change the way someone thinks (cog) but encourages acceptance of process of thinking, therefore is less frustrating
• CBT can make someone feel guilty about how they think which brings more problems there way
  —> respect

Question 13

Ethics: accessibility

Answer 13

• strength
• thousands of mindfulness classes run around country for around 25pound an hour
• taught basics of mindfulness and meditation in a group with others
• good for those who are reluctant to visit traditional psychologist or would prefer a therapy where they dont need to disclose personal issues to a stranger
• open to those who otherwise receive no support
  —> responsible

Question 14

Ethics: untrained practitioners

Answer 14

• weakness
• mindfulness being delivered by untrained practitioners
• particular concern for those ho sue mindfulness as a way of reducing the symptoms of mental illness
• many only have a week of training before running sessions
  —> competency