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Positive Psychology I POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY I Presented by CONTINUING PSYCHOLOGY EDUCATION INC. 6 CONTINUING EDUCATION CONTACT HOURS “Positive psychology, that’s a good way to spend your time.” Snyder & Lopez (2002, p. 766) Course Objective Learning Objectives The purpose of this course it to provide an Upon completion, the participant will be able to: understanding of the concept of positive 1. Understand the beneficial effects of having psychology. Major topics include: positive positive emotions upon daily living. emotions, character strengths, applications of 2. Recognize and utilize character strengths in positive psychology, the mental health oneself and others. continuum, positive psychology related to 3. Comprehend different ways that positive children and adolescents, aging healthfully, psychology principles may be applied. wisdom and life longings, and subjective 4. Conceptualize the distinction between well-being. flourishing and languishing. 5. Discuss the concepts of hope, optimism, Accreditation benefit finding, and quality of life relative Continuing Psychology Education Inc. is to children and adolescents. recognized by the New York State Education 6. Convey the value of cognitively and Department’s State Board for: Social Work as an physically remaining engaged in life upon approved provider of continuing education for aging well. licensed social workers #SW-0387; Mental Health 7. Acknowledge the manifestations of wisdom Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing and life longings over the life span. education for licensed mental health counselors 8. Identify essential components of subjective #MHC-0080, and licensed marriage and family well-being. therapists #MFT-0043; Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed Faculty psychologists #PSY-0006. Neil Eddington, Ph.D. Richard Shuman, MFT Mission Statement Continuing Psychology Education Inc. provides the highest quality continuing education designed to fulfill the professional needs and interests of mental health professionals. Resources are offered to improve professional competency, maintain knowledge of the latest advancements, and meet continuing education requirements mandated by the profession. Copyright © 2021 Continuing Psychology Education Inc. 1 Continuing Psychology Education Inc. P.O. Box 12202 Albany, NY 12212 FAX: (858) 272-5809 Website: www.texcpe.com Email: [email protected] Phone: 1 800 281-5068 POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY I Positive psychology is the study of what makes life inactivity (Frijda, 1986). These tendencies appeared too worthwhile and is concerned with strength and weakness, general and lacked the adaptive value of negative emotion building potential and healing illness, helping normal people tendencies (Ekman, 1992; Fredrickson, 1998). achieve fulfillment and the distressed to acquire equilibrium Positive mental health research has increased over the last (Seligman, 2002; Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). decade, including the study of positive emotions. Through the disease model of scientific psychology, Fredrickson’s broaden-and-build theory, for instance, individuals are often viewed as frail victims of unhealthy professes that positive emotions broaden an individual’s environments or flawed genetics striving for homeostasis and immediate thought-action options and promote behavior that survival at best. Positive psychology proposes a balance builds long-term resources (Fredrickson, 1998; 2001). between mere subsistence and thriving. Negative emotions assist in life-threatening situations that Research on positive psychology covers diverse topics; this require a focused and constricted thought-action pattern that course explores the concepts of positive emotions, character offers direct benefit. Contrarily, positive emotions are rarely strengths, applications of positive psychology, the mental evoked in life-threatening circumstances so they do not need health continuum, positive psychology: children and to elicit focused response tendencies, instead, positive adolescents, aging healthfully, wisdom and life longings, and emotions generate broadened and more flexible response subjective well-being, with the goal of improving the quality tendencies which create more potential avenues of thought of life. and action (Fredrickson, 1998). For example, joy creates the desire to play across physical, social or intellectual POSITIVE EMOTIONS dimensions. Interest broadens into eagerness to explore, experience new information and novel activity, and expand Numerous studies reveal that positive emotions and the self. Love encourages interacting with, learning more experiences predict or contribute to worthy life outcomes about and appreciating our significant others. Broadened (Lyubomirsky, King, & Diener, 2005), including increased thought-action tendencies evolved not for short-term survival work satisfaction and success (Losada & Heaphy, 2004), purposes, rather, for long-term benefits, such as building heightened immune function (Cohen, Doyle, & Turner, personal resources. 2003), and longer life (Danner, Snowdon, & Friesen, 2001; Play also broadens behavioral tendencies, for example, Levy, Slade, & Kunkel, 2002; Moskowitz, 2003; Ostir, some children’s play actions evolve to a predator avoidance Markides, & Black, 2000). repertoire in adults (Dohlinow, 1987), play builds intellectual Many operational definitions of emotions exist, but a capacity through increasing creativity (Sherrod & Singer, common approach is that emotions are multicomponent 1989) and enhances brain development (Panksepp, 1998). response tendencies including, for example, subjective Social play builds long-lasting resources, such as laughter feelings, cognition and attention, facial expressions, seems to foster openness to new, broadening interactions that cardiovascular and hormonal changes, occurring with a may culminate in enduring attachments (Gervais & Wilson, relatively short time span (Cosmides & Tooly, 2000; 2005). Shared enjoyment and smiles promote similar Lazarus, 1991). positive outcomes (Keltner & Bonanno, 1997; Lee, 1983; The degree of pleasantness, rated on a continuum from Simons, McCluskey-Fawcett, & Papini, 1986). The positive highly pleasant to highly unpleasant, is considered an emotion of interest breeds exploration which leads to important characteristic of every emotion (discussed in Smith knowledge and intellectual development; likewise, the & Ellsworth, 1985). We often make a pleasantness rating emotion of contentment may yield greater self-insight. when initially exposed to environmental sensory input (Chen The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions & Bargh, 1999). A feeling of pleasantness generally occurs demonstrates that positive emotions spiral upward and when a stimulus either fulfills a biological need (Cabanac, broaden into novel thoughts, actions and relationships that 1971), leads to goal attainment, or resolves an aversive or create long-term personal resources (i.e., social fulfillment, goal-inconsistent state. skills, knowledge, and resilience) resulting in improved Past emotions research has examined negative emotions, physical and psychological health, and survival capability. primarily because negative emotions generally are the causes These beneficial resources can be evoked whenever needed, and effects of pathology and the discipline of psychology has even if the person is not feeling momentarily positive. traditionally studied problems (Seligman & Emotions, in general, affect the process of cognition, and Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). General emotions theories often research on positive affect’s influence upon cognition and link each emotion with a “specific action tendency,” for behavior supports the broaden hypothesis. Positive emotions example, fear yields motivation and physical preparation to stimulate thought patterns that are flexible and inclusive (Isen escape, anger leads to aggression and disgust to expel (Frijda, & Daubman, 1984), creative (Isen, Daubman & Nowicki, 1986; Lazarus, 1991, Tooby & Cosmides, 1990). Such 1987), and receptive to new information (Estrada et al., action tendencies evolved because they increased our 1997). ancestors chances of survival. Positive emotions were Fredrickson & Branigan (2005) generated positive, deemed less important, as joy was associated with aimless negative, or no emotions (the control group) in subjects and activation, interest with attending, and contentment with then requested them to list all the activities in which they 2 Continuing Psychology Education Inc. POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY I would like to be engaged. The positive emotions group listed fear and grief; positive emotions lessened the negativity of an a greater quantity of and more varied actions compared to the extended and narrow perspective (Fredrickson, Tugade, neutral group while the negative emotions group indicated Waugh, & Larkin, 2003). fewer actions. Adults combating suicidal thoughts (Joiner, Petit, Perez, & Broadened social attention is characterized by augmented Burns, 2001), or revealing childhood sexual abuse (Bonanno attention to others and limited distinction between self and et al., 2002) coped better when their disclosure of pain was others or between different groups. Studies reveal that combined with some sense of positivity. Fredrickson and individuals experiencing positive emotions perceive more Joiner (2002) determined that being in the state of positive overlap between their own self-concept and their concept of emotions is associated with creative and open-minded coping
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