Week 5 - Positive Psychology Flashcards
Define Positive Psychology. How does it differ from other fields and who is its founder?
A type of psychology that studies positive human functioning on multiple levels (biological, personal, relational, etc.).
Positive Psychology focuses on human happiness, health, and resilience & its causes, rather than pathology and its causes.
Martin Seligman is the founder.
Which philosopher suggested that a good life (happiness) is dependent on self-knowledge, which motivates one to engage in virtuous behaviour?
Socrates
Which philosopher suggested that we should look deeper within ourselves to achieve happiness?
Plato.
Which philosopher suggested that happiness is a by-product of living a virtuous life? What is this theory called?
Aristotle; Virtue theory of happiness/Eudaimonia theory of well-being
What are the two views for what determines happiness?
The subjective view and the prescriptive view.
The subjective view suggests that happiness is determined by our appraisal or interpretation of life events. We should positively interpret things like:
1. our life satisfaction
2. satisfaction with important life domains
3. positive affect
4. low levels of negative affect
The prescriptive view suggests that happiness is determined by specific factors that are absolutely necessary for happiness. These factors are:
1. self-acceptance
2. positive relations with others
3. autonomy
4. environmental mastery
5. purpose in life
6. personal growth
What is the term that describes how happiness levels are fixed and stable across time?
Happiness Set Point
What evidence suggests that we have a happiness set point?
- There is a large heritability influence for happiness
- Personality factors are better predictors of happiness than life circumstances
- Hedonic Adaptation –> there is stability of well being across time even in changing circumstances
What is the term that describes the ability to recover or respond positively to a negative event?
Resilience
People with resilience (?) with a negative event, (?) from it, and (?) by their experiences.
cope; learn; become transformed
Resilient individuals may show (?) in response to their hardship.
Adversarial growth
What acronym describes the various domains of adversarial growth that resilient individuals experience after difficult events?
ECM
E: Emotional Growth
C: Closer relationships
M: More positive perspective on life
What are the three things that protective factors do?
- allow one to find meaning in stressful experiences
- help one build resources
- demonstrate resilience
At the individual level, what are the 4 protective factors?
- Optimism
- Hope
- Self-efficacy
- Good social skills
At the family level, what are the 3 protective factors?
- Family Cohesion
- Warmth
- Emotionally responsive caregiving
At the community level, what are 2 protective factors?
Peer networks & school environment
What is the term that is opposite to protective factors? What are 5 of them?
vulnerability factors
- Poverty
- Social exclusion
- low self-esteem
- lack of social networks
- family dysfunction
What is the explanatory style of optimists and pessimists?
optimists view bad situations as temporary, specific to the situation, and caused by external factors.
pessimists view bad situations and more enduring, global, and caused by internal factors
What is the term that describes a passive state (similar to that of depressed states) where one perceives their efforts as not affecting their outcomes?
Learned helplessness
What is the term that describes acquiring the ability to generally expect positive outcomes?
Learned optimism
What is the term that describes the ability to envision one/more routes towards reaching one’s desired goals?
Cognitive pathways
Define agency
It is a motivational perception that a wide range of goals will be pursued (that one will achieve more goals)
Hope & optimism both involve the prediction of a (?).
positive outcome
What are the two dimensions that hope and optimism can be differentiated on?
(1) Subjective likelihood and (2) perceived control.
Optimism –> higher subjective likelihood, higher perceived control
Hope –> lower subjective likelihood, lower perceived control
What are the three reasons for why the study of positive emotions has been neglected?
- psychology has been primarily focused on negative emotions and how to treat those problems
- positive emotions are more difficult to define operationally because they seem less distinct or different from one another
- there is a lack of awareness that strategies that support positive emotions can help problems
Decribe Frederickson’s Broaden and Build Model.
Experiencing positive emotions increases one’s resilience. Negative emotions lead to specific action tendencies and positive emotions lead to nonspecific action tendencies. By broadening one’s thought-action repertoire, positive emotions help build personal resources.
Specific action tendencies: narrowed behavioral options
Nonspecific action tendencies: broadened behvaioral options
Thought action repertoire: range of potential cognitions and behaviors available to an individual
In the Broaden-and-Build Model, negative emotions lead to what type of survival gains and positive emotions lead to what type of survival gains?
short term; long-term
Describe Frederickson’s Undoing Hypothesis.
suggests that one of the purposes of positive emotions is to help us recover more quickly from negative emotions and return to equilibrium.
What are the two constructs that emerged from Positive Psychology that shift away from a deficit model of stress to one that focuses on preventing stress?
(1) Psychological Capital
(2) Self-compassion
Define psychological capital and its 4 characteristics.
Psychological capital is an individual’s positive psychological state of development.
(1) Optimism –> the confidence to take on and put effort into succeeding
(2) Hope –> making positive attributions about succeeding
(3) Self-efficacy –> belief that one can succeed
(4) Reislience –> sustaining and attaining success when exposed to adversity
Define self-compassion.
Self compassion is kind and caring feelings towards oneself when exposed to personal distress, and acknowledging that suffering and faiure are a part of life.
What is the term that describes being fully aware and accepting of the present?
Mindfulness
What is the term that describes appreciation for something good another has brought about?
Gratitude
