A publication for college & university professionals learningthe by the Sanger Learning & Career Center at in this issue curve 1 • A Brief History of Positive Psychology fall 2010 1 • Assessing Happiness 3 • A Student Perspective on Flow 4 • Interview with a Positive Psychologist 6 • VIA-IS: What are Your Signature Strengths? 7 • A Student Response to VIA-IS 8 • Curiosity & Anxiety positive 9 • Mapping Your Path From Chaos to Career 12 • Navigating Pathways to Success psychology 14 • Book Reviews: Happier and Bright-Sided A Brief History of Positive Psychology Positive psychology is defined as “the scientific study of positive characteristics and strengths that enable individuals to thrive” (Positive Psychology Center (n.d.), retrieved from http://www.ppc. by Alan Constant sas.upenn.edu/). Rather than a clearly defined field, positive psychology might best be described as a movement within psychology (Gable & Haidt, 2005), as well as an umbrella term covering a Director of the Sanger very wide variety of fields and disciplines (Seligman et al., 2005). It is, as Peterson (2006) notes, an Learning & Career Center ambitious movement: “Positive psychology is the scientific study of what goes right in life, from birth to death and at all stops in between.” Moreover, it is a multifaceted field, concerned with the study of positive subjective experiences, positive personal traits, and positive institutions. Positive psychology, as a philosophy, has a long lineage. In their discussions of the good life and Positive psychology happiness¸ Aristotle and other Greek philosophers established the foundation for inquiries and is the scientific study viewpoints related to positive psychology. For many centuries, philosophers and religious figures of what goes right in who advocated meaningful living and service to others continued to study that which is best in people. More recently, some scholars have traced the premises of positive psychology to a change life—from birth to in the field of psychology that occurred during the 1950s; they argue that positive psychology death and at all stops continued on page 2 ... in between. Assessing Happiness So, just how happy are you? Do you find satisfaction in the work you do? Do you feel gratefulness for your world and those in it? by Pamela Way, Ph.D. Assistant Director of Tutorial One prominent feature of Penn State’s Authentic Happiness Services at the Sanger website (http://www.authentichappiness.org) is a do-it-yourself Learning & Career Center assortment of questionnaires designed to help you figure these things out. Although most of these tests have not been extensively used in published research, the claim that they can help “develop insights into yourself and the world around you” may be valid. continued on page 4 ... lifelearning.utexas.edu Positive Psychology: A Brief History (continued from front page) emerged from the humanistic movement ogy’s Forgotten Mission,” was less the starting within the field of psychology. The humanistic point of the positive psychology movement movement represented a than a crystallizing moment in the swing away from the focus on history of the philosophy. More- pathology toward the study over, Seligman and Mihaly Csik- and development of human szentmihalyi, author the influen- potential. By the early 1960s, tial work Flow: The Psychology of the humanistic movement Optimal Experience, were instru- influenced many practitioners mental in moving the field in a new in the mental health field. In direction—away from its humanist short, as Peterson (2006) writes, inclinations and towards scientific positive psychology has a very psychology. While humanists put short history (less than a decade) emphasis on the inherent goodness and a very long past. Martin Seligman of people and eschew empirical studies, positive psychologists study authentic Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2005) argue human behavior—good and bad—and use the that the positive psychology movement was scientific method. in part a reaction to trends in the broader discipline, saying, “Before World War II, Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000) believe References psychology had three distinct missions: that “a psychology of positive human function- Cameron, K.S., Dutton, J.E., & and Quinn, R.E. curing mental illness, making the lives of all ing will arise that achieves a scientific under- (2003). Positive Organizational Scholarship: Foundations of a New Discipline. San people more productive and fulfilling, and standing and effective interventions to build Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. identifying and nurturing high talent.” Yet thriving in individuals, families, and commu- Gable, S. L., & Haidt, J. (2005). “What (and after the war, Seligman argues, the field nities.” This statement has led to a widening why) is positive psychology?” Review of General Psychology, 9, 103-110. focused more on curing mental illness than of the ways in which Peterson, C. (2006). A Primer in Positive on self-actualization. The main purpose positive psychology Psychology. New York: Oxford University Press. of the positive psychology movement, on has been practiced, Positive Psychology Center (n.d). University of the other hand, has been described as the particularly in recent Pennsylvania (http://www.ppc.sas.upenn.edu/) need to “rebalance” or refocus the field of years. Emerging fields Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). “Positive psychology.” American psychology and encourage practitioners of study and practice Psychologist, 55, 5-14. to study and enhance positive human include, for example, Seligman, M. E. P., Steen, T. A., Park, N., & characteristics, experiences, and outcomes appreciative inquiry Peterson, C. (2005). “Positive psychology progress: Empirical validation of interventions.” (Gable & Haidt, 2005). Social movements and positive organi- American Psychologist, 60, 410-421 often remain inchoate until an event or a zational psychology. person clarifies its meaning and purpose; Appreciative inquiry Martin Seligman catalyzed, or at the very reframes the questions least promoted, the most recent phase of we ask about human Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi the positive psychology movement. problems to discover possibilities and design positive futures. Posi- The pivotal event occurred in 1998 and tive scholarship has also turned its attention served to give more definition and direction to the workplace, with the goal of identifying to the modern movement. Martin Seligman, and leveraging positive characteristics and pro- cesses to improve organizational performance and well-being. The movement, however, is not The positive psychology movement has without its critics. The language used by posi- been described as “rebalancing” or tive psychology practitioners, including such refocusing the field of psychology and ideas as kindness, resilience, virtue, and tran- encouraging practitioners to study and scendence, has generated the criticism that enhance positive human characteristics, positive psychology is little more than pop-psy- chology or “happiology.” These skeptics, how- experiences, and outcomes. ever, bring their own sets of assumptions about human nature and quite often fail to distinguish newly-elected president of the American between superficial happiness and the deeper, Psychological Association, introduced in his more profound ideas related to positive human keynote address the central theme of his potential (Peterson, 2006). presidency: the idea of studying the positive functioning of people. Seligman’s speech, The goals of positive psychology include 2 entitled “Building Human Strength: Psychol- description and explanation of positive The Learning Curve phenomena, eschewing prescription in favor of appreciation. Cameron, Dutton and Quinn (2003) argue that the capacity to improve the human condition must be studied, organized, Most people are about and unleashed. Ultimately, the goals of positive as happy as they make up psychology are to build a science that brings their minds to be. together ideas that have not been previously integrated and to create a field of inquiry that - Abraham Lincoln adopts the position that the study of human and institutional goodness is as valid as the study of disease and deficits.• A Student Perspective on Flow I have always considered myself a diligent student, except when it comes to reading assignments. by Kaitlyn Flynn When I read for a class, I rarely finish the assignment in a timely manner. I typically read for twenty minutes, get bored and watch television for an hour (while trying to read during Kaitlyn Flynn has a B.A. in commercial breaks), then focus on reading for another half an hour, before I decide I need to Psychology and is starting an M.Ed. program in Educational check my e-mail or make a phone call. One evening, I became agitated about my habit, and Psychology at UT this fall my inability to concentrate. I realized I can attend a yoga class and think about nothing but my practice for 90 minutes, yet I’m easily distracted every time I attempt school work. I became curious about why this happens to me, and decided to find an explanation. Just as I became interested in this topic, Dr. Caryn Carlson presented a lecture on Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s concept of flow in my Positive Psychology class. I immediately recognized flow as the answer to my question about my study habits. According to Csikszentmihalyi, when individuals are in flow, they are happy and completely engaged in the present situation. In this optimal state, concentration