Relevance of positive psychology debate

Question 1

Positive psychology

Answer 1

The goal of positive psychology is to create a field focused on human well-being, and the strengths and virtues that allow people to thrive.
Although some researchers had already studied happiness and optimism, psychology was disproportionately focused on treating mental illness rather than promoting mental health.
In just a few years, positive psychology has changed that.
Almost 1,000 articles have been published in peer-reviewed journals between 2000 and 2010 on topics that include:
Well-being
Pride
Forgiveness
Happiness
Mindfulness
Psychological strength
And how these attributes are related to both mental and physical health.
Positive psychology is not intended to replace therapy or pharmacology.
It is simply another strand that can support the human experience and aims to increase well-being in everyone not just those with psychological need.

Question 2

Peterson (2006)

Answer 2

Stated that positive psychology is:
“The scientific study of what goes right in life.”

Question 3

Waters et al (2021)

Answer 3

“Positive psychology can play (an important role) when life does not go right - in fact, when life goes very wrong.
Specifically,… in helping the general public cope (i.e., buffer against distress and bolster mental health) with COVID-19 and grow through this crisis (i.e., build new capacities).”

Question 4

Positive psychology - critics

Answer 4

Critics of positive psychology aren’t convinced that the research findings are strong enough to move swiftly towards applications, arguing that positive psychology is not yet relevant in today’s society.
Some say that positive psychology has produced exaggerated conclusions about the power of the positive, including the perception that people can reduce illness with more optimism.

Question 5

Education - RELEVANT
(Seligman)

Answer 5

Seligman proposes that a positive psychology curriculum (PPC) is relevant in today’s society as it can:
Promote skills and strengths valued by most Produce measurable improvements in student’s well-being and behaviour
Help students to engage in learning and achievement
In 2009, he randomly assigned 347 ninth grade students (14-15 year olds) to a PPC class or non-PPC class. The study found that the PPC students were more cooperative and had better social skills compared to the non-PPC students.
The Penn Resiliency Program (PRP) provides further support for the idea of positive psychologies that are relevant in today’s society.
With depression being approximately 10 times more common now than it was 50 years ago among young people, it can be argued that embedding positive psychology principles into education through programs such as PRP is relevant in today’s society.

Question 6

Goals of The Penn Resiliency Program (PRP)

Answer 6

Its major goal is to increase students’ ability to handle day-to-day problems that are common during adolescence.
PRP promotes optimism by teaching students to think more realistically about the problems they encounter.
PRP also teaches:
Assertiveness
Decision making
Relaxation
And several other coping skills.

Question 7

Gillham et al (1995)

Answer 7

Found that for the PRP group, symptoms of depression were present in only 22% of the sample, compared to 44% of those in a control group.

Question 8

Education – NOT RELEVANT

Answer 8

There is a lack of empirical evidence to support the success of positive psychology curricula.

Question 9

Spence and Shortt (2007)

Answer 9

Suggest that where research does exist, it is based on small-scale, short-term interventions.

Question 10

Education – NOT RELEVANT (Seligman)

Answer 10

Seligman admits that further research needs to be done in order to ensure that positive education programs are also effective with students from a variety of socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.

Question 11

The Financial Times (2007)

Answer 11

Adding positive psychology to a curriculum is likely to mean that another subject / course has to be dropped.
Limited budgets mean that most schools would be unable to add positive psychology without subtracting something else.
The Financial Times (2007) suggested that students may end up leaving school with fewer academic achievements as a cost of introducing positive psychology to the curriculum.

Question 12

Health - RELEVANT

Answer 12

With depression being the most common mental disorder in the UK, it could be argued that positive psychology is relevant in today’s society as it can be applied in various projects to increase happiness and positivity in people.

Question 13

Kubzansky and Thurston (2007)

Answer 13

Found that people with enthusiasm, hopefulness and engagement in life had a reduced risk of coronary heart disease.
This shows how positive psychology is relevant in today’s society as it can improve physical health as well as mental health.

Question 14

Action For Happiness (AFH)

Answer 14

Positive psychology is evident in many projects such as Action For Happiness (AFH).
They claim that they are a movement for social change.
AFH provide support for those struggling with problems such as depression, as well as promoting positivity such as the “10 keys to happier living.”

Question 15

Health – NOT RELEVANT

Answer 15

One of the main problems with applying positive psychology to improve mental health through lifestyle changes, is that it is inherently dependent upon both the amount of leisure time one has available and the resources on which they can draw.
Positive psychology initiatives are not available to everyone.
Therefore, people with less disposable income and time (due to longer working hours and lower pay) may not be able to access the benefits that positive psychology prescribes.

Question 16

Health – NOT RELEVANT (Action For Happiness)

Answer 16

Has Action for Happiness made a difference to people’s lives in the UK?
There is little scientific evidence to support the effectiveness of such movements, making the application of positive psychology irrelevant in today’s society.

Question 17

Implications

Answer 17

Applying principles of positive psychology to improve mental health makes the discipline extremely relevant in today’s society.
The wider potential social implications should therefore, be sought with some urgency.
However, projects that embed positive psychology into their principles (e.g., action for happiness) tend to target wealthier people, as some actions require money / resources.
This raises ethical issues as it implies that achieving happiness may not be accessible to everyone.
This is not only ethically challenging, but shows wider social issues that need to be overcome before positive psychology can become entirely relevant to today’s society.

Question 18

Office for National Statistics (ONS, 2020)

Answer 18

Almost one in five adults (19.2%) were likely to be experiencing some form of depression during the COVID-19 pandemic in June 2020.
This had almost doubled from around 1 in 10 (9.7%) before the pandemic (July 2019 to March 2020).
People who were aged 16 to 39 years old, female, unable to afford an unexpected expense, or disabled, were the most likely to experience some form of depression during the pandemic.

Question 19

Implications - sick pay and high staff turnover

Answer 19

Businesses are estimated to lose £26 billion per year in sick pay and high staff turnover because of workplace stress.
Even if positive psychology initiatives can reduce depression and anxiety by just 1%, this could have huge positive financial implications for nations and their governments.

Question 20

Oswald et al (2009)

Answer 20

Found that happy workers were 12% more productive.
More productivity will have a positive effect on the economy.

Question 21

Implications - Kubzansky and Thurston

Answer 21

Positive psychology principles of promoting happiness can save the NHS money as physical health can be improved with a positive outlook on life (as Kubzansky and Thurston suggest).

Question 22

Conclusions

Answer 22

Positive psychology has re-focused psychology on research and advice that will help people improve their lived, rather than being concerned with the negatives.
Such a focus has led to new lines of research and new programmes in school and work.
However, such programmes may only be available to a small number of people.
They therefore have little impact.
The positive approach is relatively new and it may take some time before its impact is felt.