Positive Psychology
Research and Practice:
Old Wine in New Bottles?
Danny Singley, Ph.D.
The Center for Cognitive Health
& Positive Psychology
Symposium Presented at the Fall 2009 Conference of the San Diego Psychological Association
Tongue Breaker
1. Sonja Lyubomirsky?
\Loo-bu-MEER-ski\
2. Shigehiro Oishi?
\She-jay-HE-ro\
3. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi?
\Cheek-sent-ME-high-ee\
Overview
Past, Present, and Future of the Field
Current Research in Positive Psychology
Evidence-Based Best Practices
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Models of Positive Functioning
Assessment
Interventions/Consultation
DO NOT HOLD YOUR QUESTIONS UNTIL THE END
Roots of Positive Psychology
Aristotle- (354 B.C.E.)
“Everything we do, we think will make us happy.”
Abraham Maslow (1954)
“Fully functioning person”-optimal human development
Donald Super (1955)
”Hygiology”
Martin Seligman (1998)
“Scientific pursuit of optimal human functioning.”
Focus on the Negative
“The science of psychology has been far more successful
on the negative than on the positive side; it has revealed
to us much about man’s shortcomings, his illnesses, his
sins, but little about his potentialities, his virtues, his
achievable aspirations, or his psychological height. It is as
if psychology had voluntarily restricted itself to only half its
rightful jurisdiction, and that the darker, meaner half.”
-Abraham Maslow
Evidence-Based Branches
1.
2.
3.
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Models of Positive Functioning
Assessment
Clinical Interventions/Consultation
Subjective Well-Being – Ed Diener
Psychological Well-Being – Carol Ryff
Flourishing/Complete Mental Health – Corey Keyes
Quality of Life – Michael Frisch
Values in Action – Martin Seligman
StrengthsQuest/Finder – The Gallup Organization
Broaden and Build – Barbara Fredrickson
What is Positive Psychology?
What comes to mind for you?
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Happiness
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Fluffiness/Praise
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“Wellness Myopathy”
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Invalidates negative experiences
Medical Model
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Pathology
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Remediate Deficits
Positive Terminology
Positive Psychology is a political movement
Well-Being describes an outcome variable
Wellness in Recovery is all Mary Ellen Copeland
Optimal Functioning means achieving potential
Strengths Development is identifying and growing
Positive Psychology
“The social science of what’s
right with people.”
Models of Positive Functioning
Which experiences relate to
optimal functioning?
And more importantly- how??!!
Positive Functioning - SWB
Subjective Well-Being (SWB) – Ed Diener
Hedonic Balance – Tripartite Perspective:
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High Positive Affect
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Low Negative Affect
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High Life Satisfaction
Well-Being = Happiness
Positive Functioning - PWB
Psychological Well-Being (PWB) – Carol Ryff
Eudaimonic Meaning
Autonomy
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Environmental Mastery
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Personal Growth
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Positive Relations
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Purpose in Life
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Self-Acceptance
Well-Being = Meaning/Actualization
Well-Being = Being Well
SWB and PWB are related but distinct
Complete Mental Health Model
Corey Keyes
(Keyes, 2007; Keyes & Lopez, 2002)
Mental health is defined by
 The absence of mental illness
 The presence of well-being
“Flourishing” defined by the presence of
 Emotional Well-Being (SWB)
 Psychological Well-Being (PWB)
 Social Well-Being
Complete Mental Health Model
(Keyes & Lopez, 2002)
High Strengths
Struggling
Flourishing
High Symptoms
Low Symptoms
Languishing
Floundering
Low Strengths
Prevalence of Mental Disorders by
Level of Mental Health (Keyes, 2007)
Broaden and Build Theory
(Fredrickson, 2001)
Theory of positive emotions
Rooted in evolutionary psychology
Posits that positive emotions broaden
thoughts and behaviors which helps
to build durable personal resources
Broaden and Build
Broaden “momentary thought-action
repertoires”
Positive emotions broaden by increasing:
 Cognitive flexibility
 Creativity
 Integrative processing
 Openness to information
 More efficient thought patterns
“Takes the blinders off”
The Losada Line
The “tipping point” is at the 3/1 ratio
 People with 3/1 have been shown to flourish
 Below this ratio, positive emotions may be inert
and do not build resources
 Above this ratio, people appear to build
resources and trait resilience
Quality of Life
Michael Frisch – Quality of Life
CASIO model of life satisfaction
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C is for Circumstances
A is for Attitude
S is for Standards
I is for what’s Important
O is for Other areas
Life Domains and Goals
Positive Assessment
Well-Being (PWB and SWB)
Quality of Life
Strengths
Subjective Well-Being
Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS)
“So far, I have gotten the important things I
want in life.”
Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS)
PA - attentive, interested, alert, excited, enthusiastic,
inspired, proud, determined, strong, and active
NA- distressed, upset-distressed; hostile, irritableangry; scared, afraid-fearful; ashamed, guilty;
nervous, and jittery
SWB = SWLS + PA - NA
Psychological Well-Being
Full-Scale Score
Sub-Scale Scores
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Autonomy
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Environmental Mastery
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Personal Growth
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Positive Relations
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Purpose in Life
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Self-Acceptance
Quality of Life Inventory
Michael Frisch
Combines SWB and PWB
32 items in 16 life domains
Yields concrete information
Strengths- VIA
Seligman – www.authentichappiness.org
Values in Action Survey of Character
6 Virtues and 24 Character Strengths (Peterson &
Seligman, 2004)
240 items – character and top 5 “signature strengths”
Free vs. $40 report options
Strengths- VIA
Virtues and Strengths
Virtue- Wisdom and Knowledge - Cognitive strengths
that entail the acquisition and use of knowledge
Strengths- Creativity, Curiosity, Open-mindedness,
Love of learning, Perspective
Examples of Virtues and Strengths:
Courage - Authenticity
Humanity - Social Intelligence
Justice - Fairness
Temperance - Forgiveness
Transcendence - Gratitude
My Top 3 Signature Strengths
Gratitude
You are aware of the good things that happen to you, and
you never take them for granted. Your friends and family
members know that you are a grateful person because you
always take the time to express your thanks.
Humor and Playfulness
You like to laugh and tease. Bringing smiles to other people
is important to you. You try to see the light side of all
situations.
Hope, Optimism, and Future-Mindedness
You expect the best in the future, and you work to achieve
it. You believe that the future is something that you can
control.
Strengths- StrengthsFinder
www.strengths.gallup.com
Strengths- The ability to consistently produce a nearly
perfect positive outcome in a specific task
34 themes reflect the most prevalent human talents
Focused on academics and business
My Strengths- StrengthsFinder
Achiever- Great deal of stamina and work hard. Take great
satisfaction from being busy and productive.
Individualization- Intrigued with the unique qualities of each
person. Gift for figuring out how people who are different can
work together productively.
Woo- Love the challenge of meeting new people and winning
them over. Derive satisfaction from breaking the ice and
making a connection with another person.
Strategic- Create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any
given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns
and issues.
Maximizer- Focus on strengths as a way to stimulate personal
and group excellence. Seek to transform something strong
into something superb.
Clinical Interventions
Strengths
Quality of Life Therapy
Positive Psychology Interventions
(Seligman, Steen, Park, & Peterson, 2005)
Internet-Based Study
The Interventions – 1 weeks
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Three Blessings**
Using signature strengths in a new way*
Identifying signature strengths
Gratitude visit*
Three Blessings
(Guided) Journaling
 “Each evening before bed, write down 3 things
that went well that day. They can be small
things or be relatively large in importance.
 “Next to each positive event in your list, answer
the question: What role did you play that made
this happen?”
Personal examples
“I caught up with several friends on the phone and
had some good conversations. It felt good to
catch up. I called them.”
“I had a good workout. I felt tired after work and
didn’t feel like going but did it anyways and felt
more energized afterward. I stayed dedicated to
the routine and made it a priority.”
Gratitude Visit
Write and Deliver Letter in Person
“Think of a time when you behaved kindly
toward someone else and they appreciated it.
Something caring or generous that you did,
intentional or unintentional. Your actions
meant something important to someone else.
In your minds eye, try to see the person’s
response to your act – their face, their body
language. Remember how they acted and
what they said to you. Experience your
feelings in that moment.” Ben-Shahar (2007)
Using Strengths in a New Way
 Take the VIA Signature Strengths Questionnaire online
 “Over the next X days this week, find a way use your
top 5 strengths in a way that you haven’t done before.
You can modify something you already do on a
regular basis to better use your strengths, or create a
new activity altogether. It’s important that it’s
something new and different.”
 Example: Encourage someone with Creativity to take a
pottery, photography, or painting class.
Developing Strengths ala Gallup
Interview/Strengths Vocabulary
Future Self Intervention
“Imagine a ladder standing before you. The
top rung is a ten and the bottom rung is a
0. On which step do you stand today? On
which step will you stand in 5 years? How
will your strengths help you to get to
where you want to be?”
Primes thinking about how strengths can be
used to create the best possible future self
Quality of Life Therapy
Brainstorm possible solutions under each CASIO strategy, or, in other words, by listing attitudes or
actions for managing or solving the problem.
C
A
S
I
O
Changing
Circumstances
Changing
Attitudes
Changing Goals
and Standards
Boost Satisfaction
Changing Priorities in Other Areas not
or What’s Important Considered Before
Basic Strategy:
Basic Strategy:
Basic Strategy:
Basic Strategy:
Basic Strategy:
Problem solve to
improve situation.
Find out what is
really happening
and what it means
for you and your
future.
Set realistic goals
and experiment
with raising and
lowering standards.
What new goals
and standards can
you come up with?
Re-evaluate
priorities in life
and emphasize
what is most
important and
controllable.
Increase
satisfaction in any
areas you care
about for an overall
boost to happiness.
Broaden and Build Interventions
Set client goals to foster specific, relevant
positive emotions
Make a list of enjoyable behaviors
Psycho-education on the 3/1 ratio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCAA1FlsCwg
The Big 2: Socializing & Cardio Exercise
Next Steps
“We need a science of being pulled by the
future as opposed to of being pushed by
the past.” – Martin Seligman
Positive Education
fMRI – neurological processes related to
positive states
Contact Information
Danny Singley, Ph.D.
singley@cognitive-health.com
858.380.4636
GO FORTH AND SPREAD THE
POSITIVITY!!