Read on to learn about positive psychology, theory, and examples.
When people think about the field of psychology, clinical issues such as anxiety and depression often come to mind. Positive psychology arose, in part, as a reaction against the field of psychology’s traditional focus on mental health “problems.” Instead of trying to fix what is “wrong” with us, positive psychology asks how we can cultivate human strengths such as resilience, joy, and meaning.
If you are not familiar with the field of positive psychology, the name might seem like it is
referring to something along the lines of “positive thinking.” However, while optimism is certainly relevant to positive psychology, it is simply one of many concepts under the broad umbrella of positive psychology.
The psychologists, Martin Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who are often considered the founders of the positive psychology field, define it as “the scientific study of positive human functioning and flourishing on multiple levels that include the biological, personal, relational, institutional, cultural, and global dimensions of life” (2000).
When Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi introduced positive psychology, they aimed to shift the field away from the “disease model”. In their words, “The aim of positive psychology is to begin to catalyze a change in the focus of psychology from preoccupation only with repairing the worst things in life to also building positive qualities” (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2014).
Seligman proposes that there are five “pillars” (Seligman, 2018):
1. Positive emotion
2. Engagement
3. Relationships
4. Meaning
5. Accomplishment
Seligman asserts that each of the above components is intrinsically motivating and contributes to well-being.
In a related theory, Seligman suggests that life satisfaction is the result of three types of “happy lives” (Seligman, 2008):
1. The Pleasant Life. This refers to a life characterized by as much positive emotion as possible. Certain skills, such as savoring and mindfulness, can amplify these emotions and contribute to the Pleasant Life. A few drawbacks to only pursuing this type of life are that researchers have found that it is 50% heritable, positive emotions are not entirely modifiable, and positive emotion habituates rapidly, meaning we get used to it quickly.
2. The Life of Engagement. This refers to a life characterized by flow, which we will discuss below. In this life, much of your time is spent doing activities (work, parenting, leisure, etc.) that are so engaging to you that you lose track of time. To pursue the Life of Engagement, Seligman suggests that you identify your highest strengths and recraft your life to use them as much as possible.
3. The Meaningful Life. This life is characterized by a deep sense of meaning. Similar to the Life of Engagement, you are aware of what your highest strengths are. However, you find greater meaning by using your strengths to belong to, and in the service of, something larger than yourself. Seligman’s research indicates that the Meaningful Life is the strongest contributor to overall life satisfaction.
“You get to choose whether you tell a story that exhausts you or one that energizes you.”
― Chris Janssen
1. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, mentioned earlier, is perhaps best well-known for coining the term “flow” and popularizing this concept in the field of psychology. Flow refers to a particular mental state that is characterized by intense absorption: “during flow, people typically experience deep enjoyment, creativity, and a total involvement with life” (Csikszentmihalyi & Bar, 1990). To figure out how this concept can help you, it might be helpful to notice which activities produce this “flow” state for you and try to increase these activities in your life.
2. Another topic that has received much attention in the world of positive psychology is mindfulness, “the awareness that arises from paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally” (Kabat-Zinn, 1990). As mentioned above, cultivating mindfulness is one of the ways that Seligman says can contribute to “the Pleasant Life,” by amplifying or helping us become more aware of enjoyable emotions and experiences.
3. Martin Seligman did not research positive psychology for his entire career. His earlier work focused on a specific theory of depression called “learned helplessness.” This theory posits that clinical depression arises from an individual’s perception that they have no control over negative experiences (Seligman, 1972). Seligman was later inspired to take a different direction with his research, focusing on psychological traits that are essentially the opposite of helplessness such as optimism. As a nod to his past work, Seligman titled one of his newer books Learned Optimism (2011). The message of this book is that optimism is a learnable skill that can counteract stressful experiences.
● Csikszentmihalyi, M., Bar, Y. (1990). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Israel: Harper & Row.
● Kabat‐Zinn, J. (1990). Full catastrophe living: Using the wisdom of your mind to face stress, pain and illness. New York: Dell.
● Seligman, M. E. (1972). Learned helplessness. Annual Review of Medicine, 23(1), 407-412.
● Seligman, M. (2008, July). The new era of positive psychology [Video]. TED Conferences.
● Seligman, M. E. (2011). Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life. United States: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
● Seligman, M. (2018). PERMA and the building blocks of well-being. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 13(4), 333-335.
● Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55(1), 5–14.
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