positive psychology contemp debate Flashcards
introduction
The relevance of positive psychology has been a contentious debate since the early 1990’s, as many believe that Seligman’s theories and approaches are unscientific, whereas others believe that the societal benefits outweigh those of the other assumptions.
para 1: positives of education
The first reason why positive psychology is still relevant in today’s society is education. Seligman’s (2000) positive psychology curriculum (PPC) promotes skills and strengths that are valued, produce measurable improvements in students wellbeing and behaviour and facilitate students’ engagement in learning and achievement. Furthermore, Seligman (2000) carried out research on 337 9th graders using the PPC and after conducting a parent and teacher questionnaire, found that students had developed to be more cooperative, show better social skills and had an overall positive effect on the childrens’ behaviour. This has great economic benefits as when these children grow up they will be more productive at work and have better social skills therefore forming better relationships with their colleagues. More effective working essentially leads to more workers staying on at their company so there are less costs that would have otherwise been spent on employing new workers resulting in positive economical implications.
para 2: negatives of education
However, Spence and Shortt (2007) later found that much evidence for positive psychology programmes is based on smart scale or short term interventions so schools should not go ahead with the PPC without conducting further research to ensure it is actually beneficial long term for students. Additionally, schools have limited budgets and curricular demands that introducing the PPC may interfere with. Not meeting curricular demands may have a negative effect on a child’s development as they may not be learning certain topics or skills that are required for them to thrive in the real world when they grow up. Seligman et al (2009) ultimately agreed with the claim. Furthermore, Hammill et al (2020) more recently conducted research on business students and found that those who completed the positive psychology curriculum reported lower levels of happiness compared to the control group, showing that the PPC can actually have opposite effects than intended.
para 3: positives of work
The second reason why positive psychology is still relevant in today’s society is work. Csikszentmihalyi’s work flow theory states that when people enjoy the moment and have motivating challenges, work can be a strong contributor to personal happiness. As a result, there’s an increase in personal development and self esteem which leads to many societal benefits. This is because, if society as a whole is generally happier and has higher self esteem, people will be forming better relationships and will be kinder to each other, reducing social problems such as bullying. This also has economical benefits, as if coworkers are getting along nicer, they will be able to work together and produce great quality work which can lead to certain companies increasing revenue if their products or services are being carried out or produced at a higher quality. Csikszentmihalyi and LeFevrre (1989) also found that ‘flow’ situations actually occur more than three times more at work than during leisure pursuits. On a whole, this means that if more people admit to themselves that work can be more fun than leisure, they’ll work more effectively.
para 4: negatives of work
On the contrary, there is evidence against the use of positive psychology at work. The commonly heard phrase “choose a job you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life” is not a new concept and may even date back to 551 BC. This means that this approach is too traditional and outdated to be applied to today’s society and suggests that the positive psychology view can no longer be applied to work, reducing its relevance in today’s society. Furthermore, the western, more developed world may have the luxury of seeking happiness through work, but this may not be available for people in low income countries or newly industrialised countries as there are certain jobs that may not be pleasant and can be extremely hard work but they have to be done. This is highly unethical as it implies that not everyone can achieve happiness, which can cause detrimental psychological harm to those in that situation if they truly believe that they can never be happy.
para 5: positives of health
The third and final reason why positive psychology is still relevant in today’s society is health. Kubzansky and Thurston (2002) researched 6000 men and women aged 25-74 for 20 years and found that participants with high “emotional vitality” had a reduced risk of coronary heart disease. Therefore, advice regarding happiness is often given to patients by medical practitioners along with standard lifestyle advice. This will have positive economical benefits as stress and poor health currently costs the UK economy £26 billion per year so less stress related illnesses will result in less costs for the NHS meaning the money saved can be invested into other things for the country. BMC public health also conducted a meta-analysis on the effects of positive psychology on health and found that positive psychology interventions significantly enhanced subjective and psychological well being and reduced depressive symptoms. Effect sizes were in the small to moderate range. The mean effect size on subjective well-being was 0.34, 0.20 on psychological well-being, and 0.23 on depression. They also found that the mean of the experimental group is half a standard unit larger than the mean of the control group, which means that a cause and effect relationship between positive psychology and stress related illnesses such as depression can be established.
para 6: negatives of health
However, there are concerns regarding whether a cause and effect relationship can truly be established due to questions of whether people are happy because they’re healthy, or vice versa. This controversy means that positive psychology is not taken seriously in the health sector for this reason. Moreover, as there is such economic uncertainty in today’s society it is unlikely that the NHS will introduce any practices advised by positive psychology anytime soon, reducing its relevance in today’s society.
conclusion
Overall, positive psychology has focused psychology on research and advice that helps people to improve their lives and the society in which they live, rather than being concerned with the negatives. This has led to new programmes in schools, work and leisure for example, action for happiness. But, there are concerns that these programmes are only suitable for wealthy people so are only available to a few people plus these programmes may only be a small part of a person’s life. With all of the above considered, this is a very new approach so it will take time for it to make an impact but there is still proof of it having some effects on today’s society.
