The Science of Happiness
Positive Psychology
Bill O’Hanlon
www.billohanlon.com
Negative talk shown to increase
stress hormones
A recent study shows that extensive discussions of
problems and encouragement of ‘‘problem talk,’’
rehashing the details of problems, speculating about
problems, and dwelling on negative affect in particular,
leads to a significant increase in the stress hormone
cortisol, which predicts increased depression and
anxiety over time.
Byrd-Craven, J., Geary, D. C., Rose, A. J., & Ponzi, D. (2008). “Coruminating increase stress hormone levels in women,” Hormones and
Behavior, 53, 489–492.
Bias of Psychology to Study the Negative
Psychological publications and studies
dealing with negative states
outnumbered those examining
positive states by a ratio of 17 to 1
in a survey done in 1995.
Myers, D. and Deiner, E. (1995) “Who is Happy?,”
Psychological Science, 6:10-19.
Freudian legacy
 Freud thought the best we could hope for was “ordinary
misery”
 He questioned the quest for happiness and indeed, all
our motives, and ascribed dark impulses and infantile
wishes to them
What is Positive Psychology?
Research evidence about what works in human life; what
makes people happier; what gives their lives a sense of
satisfaction and meaning; what helps them function
better;
Also called “Subjective Well-Being”
The Power of Negative Thinking
“I was going to buy a copy of The Power of
Positive Thinking, and then I thought:
What the hell good would that do?”
–Ronnie Shakes
Relevant research
People who are in a more positive mood are
better liked by others and more open to
new ideas and experiences.
Fredrickson, Barbara. (1998). “What good are positive
emotions?” Review of General Psychology, 2:300-319.
Relevant research
Two studies show that focusing on or creating pleasant experiences enhances our
learning or performance abilities.
 Kids who were asked to spend 30 seconds remembering happy things did
better on learning tasks they were given just after remembering the happy
stuff.
 Internists who were given some candy or who watched a funny video (vs.
reading humanistic statements about medicine and a control group) did
better at diagnosing a hard-to-diagnose case of liver disease.
References:
Masters, J., Barden, R. and Ford, M. (1979). "Affective states, expressive behavior, and learning in
children," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37:380-390
Isen, A, Rosensweig, A. and Young, M. (1991). "The influence of positive affect on clinical problem
solving," Medical Decision Making, 11:221-227.
Relevant research
Several studies have shown that whatever the most recent or last part
of an experience is tends to color and strongly influence our overall
memory or sense of that experience. A particularly graphic example
involves people who were undergoing proctological exams. Patients
were divided into two groups: the first was given the standard
proctological exam; the second was given the exam but the scope
was left in but not moved for an extra minute at the end (sorry for
the pun) of the exam. Those patients who experienced the longer
exam were more willing to undergo the procedure again in the
future. Ending on a good note makes a difference in how the whole
(sorry again) experience is remembered.
Reference: Redelmeier, D., and Kahneman, D. (1996). "Patients' memories of painful
medical treatments: Real-time and retrospective evaluations of two minimally invasive
procedures," Pain, 116:3-8.
How to apply this to changework
 End sessions with compliments or pleasant topics
 Or at the very least, neutral topics and emotional tones
Caveats and Challenges
Much of this research is new and preliminary
Some of it is correlational and some of it is
experimental
 Much of is not done by and for clinicians or
pointed toward practical uses, so it takes
some translation
 We will have to wait to find out what really
works in clinical settings
Happiness defined
Pleasure/positive emotions
+engagement
+meaning
=Happiness
The benefits of happiness
Happy people:
 Are half as likely to die
Danner, D.D., Snowdon, D.A. & Friesen, W.V. (2001). “Positive emotions in early life and longevity:
Findings from the Nun Study,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80:804-813.
Diener, Ed. And Seligman, Martin. (2002). “Very happy people,” Psychological Science, 13:81-84.
 Half as likely to be disabled
 Live longer than average
 Have better health habits;
 Have lower blood pressure
 Have more robust immune systems
 Are more productive on the job
 Have higher incomes
 Are able to tolerate more pain
The benefits of happiness
Cheerful college students ended up earning $25,000 more
per year than their dour counterparts.
King, Laura and Lyubomirsky, Sonja. (2005). “The benefits of frequent
positive affect: Does happiness lead to success?” Psychological
Bulletin, 131:803-855.
Happiness is relatively stable
One year after winning the lottery or becoming
quadriplegic, people’s happiness level return to
where they were before the drastic change of
circumstance (Happiness Set Point; genetically
influenced but not fixed)
Brickman, P.; Coates, D.; and Janoff-Bulman, R. (1978). “Lottery winners and accident
victims: Is happiness relative?” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36:917-27.
There are some things that seem to permanently
increase happiness levels
People are generally pretty bad at predicting what
will make them happy
Happiness seems to be contagious
 Emotions such as happiness, seem to be contagious. In contrast to
behaviors (like smoking or obesity), people must have direct contact
with others (even by proxy) to “catch” the emotions in a social
network.
 People who are happy and have friends, or friends of friends, tend to be
happier. Amount of influence:




Next door neighbor 34%
Friends 25%
Close living sibling 14%
Spouse 8%
 People at the center of the “happy” social network tend to be happiest
(vs. people on the periphery). The more people one is connected to,
the happier.
 Happiness spreads more readily than unhappiness.
Fowler, James and Christakis, Nicholas. (2008). “Dynamic spread of happiness in a large social
network: longitudinal analysis over 20 years in the Framingham Heart Study,” British Medical
Journal, 337:a2338.
Estimates of contributors to happiness and
where we can influence happiness levels
Problems with deliberately pursuing
happiness

We are bad at predicting what will make us
happy
• We overestimate the negative effects of bad
stuff
• We overestimate the lasting
happiness/satisfaction that will result from
good stuff
 Our preferences change
 Habituation/the hedonic treadmill
The Hedonic Treadmill
"When we have an experience -- hearing a particular
sonata, making love with a particular person,
watching the sun set from a particular window of a
particular room–on successive occasions, we quickly
begin to adapt to it, and the experience yields less
pleasure each time. Psychologists call this
habituation, economists call it declining marginal
utility, and the rest of us call it marriage" (p. 130).
From Dan Gilbert’s Stumbling On Happiness
Looking for joy in all the wrong
places
A study by Tim Kasser at Knox College in
Galesburg, Illinois, found that young
adults who focus on money, image and
fame tend to be more depressed, have
less enthusiasm for life and suffer
more physical symptoms such as
headaches and sore throats than
others (The High Price of Materialism,
MIT Press, 2002).
The Paradox of Happiness:
Happiness eludes us when we try to get or create it directly
“The search for happiness is one of the chief sources of
unhappiness.” –Eric Hoffer
“If only we'd stop trying to be happy we could have a
pretty good time.” –Edith Wharton
Trying to be happy or monitoring your
happiness blocks happiness
People were told to monitor their happiness or try to
be more happy while listening to Stravinsky’s Rite of
Spring. People who merely listened to it reported more
happiness afterward than people who were monitoring
their happiness or trying to be happy while listening.
Schooler, J., Ariely, D. and Lowenstein, G. (2003). “The pursuit of
happiness can be self-defeating,” in Brocas and Carillo (Eds.) The
Psychology of Economic Decisions, Vol. 1, pp. 41-70. NY: Oxford
University Press.
But all is not lost; one can increase
happiness (but not directly)
Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of
happiness; it is generally the by-product of other
activities. –Aldous Huxley
Four Key Findings
S.O.A.P.
Social Connections
Optimism
Appreciation (Gratitude)
Purpose (greater than oneself)
S.O.A.P.
Social Connections
and
Happiness
Relationships
 "By far the greatest predictor of happiness in the
literature is intimate relationships," – Sonja
Lyubomirsky, researcher at UC-Riverside
 Family
 Friends/social network
 Couple/marital (mixed)
Resilience
Gist and Devily report that estimates of PTSD after the 9-11
attacks dropped by nearly 2/3 within a few months of the
tragedy.
“. . .these findings underscore the counterproductive nature
of offering a [treatment] with no demonstrable effect
[Critical Incident Stress Debriefing], but demonstrated
potential to complicate natural resolution, in a population
in which . . . strong natural supports exist, and
spontaneous resolution is prevalent.”
Gist, R., and Devilly, G., (2002). “Post-traumatic debriefing:
The road too frequently traveled,” Lancet, 360(9335):741743
Social connections are at risk in modern
societies
 Shared family dinners and family vacations are down over a
third in the last 25 years
 Having friends over to the house is down by 45% over the last
25 years
 Participation in clubs and civic organizations is down by over
50% in the last 25 years
 Church attendance is down by about a third since the 1960s
Putnam, Robert D. (2000). Bowling Alone: The collapse and
revival of American community. New York: Simon & Schuster.
See also: http://www.bettertogether.org/
Social connections are at risk in modern
societies
1. The average number of people we consider close confidants
dropped nearly one-third, from 2.94 in 1985 to 2.09 in 2004
2. The average American has only two close friends
3. 1 in 4 Americans (25%) report that they have no one to confide
in
4. Average household size has decreased by about 10% during the
past twenty years, to 2.5 people
5. In 1990, more than 1 in 5 household was headed by a single
parent; currently it is 1 in 3
6. 27 million people in the U.S. live alone and that is expected to
increase to 29 million by 2010
McPherson, M., Smith-Lovin, L. and Brashears, M. (2006). “Social isolation
in America: Changes in core discussion networks over two decades,”
American Sociological Review, 71:353-375.
Lack of Connection Takes a Toll
Research by Renée Spitz on orphans who were not handled or
cuddled
1. They were smaller in height and weight fro their age
2. Their brain developed 20-30% smaller than normal
3. 25% died within the first year; 37% within two years
4. 40% who contracted measles died vs. only .5% of infants
outside the orphanage
5. They scored much lower (72) than average (90-105) on
intelligence tests
Lack of Connection Takes a Toll
Changes in immune cell gene expression are correlated with social
distance and reported feelings of loneliness (lack of close feelings
with others over time)
1. The more lonely the person, the more immune system
activation and the greater inflammation
2. The less anti-viral and antibodies were produced
3. Measured by DNA microassays of activity in human genes
in white blood cells
Gene Biology, September 2007 reporting research done at David Geffen School of
Medicine UCLA
Lack of Connection Takes a Toll
Emile Durkheim, sociologist, observed as early as 1897, that “social
solidarity” is related to suicide rates
1. Examined the quality of social ties in a particular area
2. In areas where social ties were strong, suicide levels were
low
3. In areas where social ties were weak, suicide levels were
much higher
Durkheim, E. (1897). Suicide: A Study in Sociology. Translated by Spalding and
Simpson. New York, Free Press
Positive social talk matters
 The amount and type of parental talk to infants varied between
disadvantaged families and those who had higher incomes and education
 Disadvantaged parents generally talked less than advantaged (10 million
words vs. 80 million words)
 Disadvantaged parents directed more “discouragements” (no; shut up;
stop) to their kids (200,000 vs. 80,000 “encouragements” [chit chat;
positive comments; gossip; joking; running commentary; praise])
 Advantaged parents had a reversal of this ratio (500,000 encouragements
to 80,000 discouragements)
 It turns out that these differences have profound and hard to reverse
effects on intellectual and academic achievement (vocabulary growth and
standardized intellectual achievement tests measured at ages 3 and 9)
Hart, B. and Risley, T. (1995). Meaningful Differences in the Everyday
Experience of Young American Children. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes
Publishing Company
Social Connections and Happiness
Four shifts in social connections that can make a positive
difference in happiness levels
1. Increase the number of connections you have outside
your immediate family members
2. Strengthen your intimate sexual/romantic relationship
3. Get married
4. Become an active member of a community
Even in severe poverty, social
connections help happiness levels
Robert Biswas-Diener and Ed Diener surveyed
life satisfaction of the homeless and
prostitutes living in the slums of Calcutta
and found that healthy bonds with family
and good social relationships were
correlated with higher life satisfaction
levels.
Biswas-Diener, R. and Diener, E. (2001). “Making the
best of a bad situation: Satisfaction in the slums of
Calcutta,” Social Indicators Research, 55, 329-352.
Social connections and happiness
Countless studies document the link between society and
psyche: people who have close friends and confidants,
friendly neighbors, and supportive co-workers are less likely
to experience sadness, loneliness, low self-esteem, and
problems with eating and sleeping. The single most common
finding from a half century's research on the correlates of life
satisfaction, not only in the United States but around the
world, is that happiness is best predicted by the breadth and
depth of one's social connections (Putnam, Robert D.
2000. Bowling alone: the collapse and revival of
American community. New York: Simon & Schuster,
p. 332)
Happiness and social connections
 People with five or more close friends (excluding
family members) are 50 percent more likely to
describe themselves as "very happy" than
respondents with fewer.
 One survey of 800 college alumni showed that
classmates who valued high income, job success
and prestige more than close friends and a loving
marriage were twice as likely to be "fairly" or "very"
unhappy.
Two kinds of social connections
 One-to-one: friendships; pets; marriage; intimate
partnerships; child-parent
 Group/community connections: neighborhoods, interest
groups, church communities, professional or work
groups, groups of friends, sports teams, military units,
support groups and so on
Connective rituals
A review of 50 years of research (32 studies) on family rituals showed that
regular routines had a positive effect on health and family relationships
Common routines:
 Dinnertime
 Bedtime
 Chores
 Talking on the phone
 Visiting with relatives
Typical family rituals:
 Birthdays
 Holidays
 Family reunions
 Funerals
 Religious rituals and services
Fiese, Barbara H.; Tomcho, Thomas J.; Douglas, Michael; Josephs, Kimberly ; Poltrock,
Scott; and Baker, Tim. (2002)."A Review of 50 Years of Research on Naturally Occurring
Family Routines and Rituals: Cause for Celebration?," ; Journal of Family Psychology,
Vol. 16, No. 4.
Using a positive psychology to
improve relationships
Relevant research
Happily married couples say 5 positive
remarks for every negative remark, even
when having conflicts
Couples who are headed for divorce use
less than 1 (0.8) positive remarks for every
negative one
Source: Gottman, J., Gottman, J. And DeClaire, J.(2006).
10 Lessons to Transform Your Marriage. NY: Crown.
Infidelity/fidelity and positive
interactions in relationships
Couples with a 2.4 to 1 ratio of positive interactions
(nodding, smiling, eye contact) to negative (eye rolling,
scowling, expressing contempt) were more likely to
experience infidelity after being married than couples
with a 4 to 1 positive to negative interaction ratio
Allen, E., et.al. (June 2008). “Premarital Precursors of
Marital Infidelity,” Family Process, 47(2):243-259.
Positive Illusions in Relationships
Sandra Murray and colleagues at SUNY Buffalo have done
many research studies in which they have found that if
one sees one’s partner more positively than they see
themselves, the relationship is better (rated more
positively and satisfying). Also it helps to reframe their
negative qualities as assets.

Murray, S. L., & Holmes, J. G. (1993). “Seeing virtues in faults: Negativity and the transformation of interpersonal
narratives in close relationships,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 707-722.

Murray, S. L., Holmes, J. G., Dolderman, D., & Griffin, D. W. (2000). “What the motivated mind sees: Comparing friends'
perspectives to married partners' views of each other,” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 36, 600-620.

.Murray, S. L., Holmes, J. G., & Griffin, D. W. (1996). “The benefits of positive illusions: Idealization and the construction of
satisfaction in close relationships,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 70, 79-98.

Murray, S. L., Holmes, J. G., & Griffin, D. W. (1996). “The self-fulfilling nature of positive illusions in romantic relationships:
Love is not blind, but prescient,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 1155-1180
S.O.A.P.
Optimism
and
Happiness
Optimism and Positive Psychology
 What we can learn from some psychotically optimistic dogs
Pessimistic vs. Optimistic Styles
Pessimistic explanatory style
Bad stuff is:
Permanent and will persist;
Pervasive;
Out of my control
Reflects:
My resourcelessness;
Bad qualities (“I’m such a loser”)
Pessimistic vs. Optimistic Styles
Optimistic explanatory style
Bad stuff is:
Time and context limited (“I am just going through a rough
patch”; or “This job sucks”);
Under my influence
I possess good and resourceful qualities
Good to know
Optimistic and pessimistic styles and tendencies are relatively
stable traits, but they can be affected by actions and
changed focus of attention
One study found that even naturally pessimistic people who spent one
week doing exercises in which they:
 Identified and wrote down times in the past in which they were at
their best
 Wrote down their personal strengths
 Expressed gratitude to someone they had never properly thanked
 Wrote down three good things that happened that day
Were happier when their happiness levels were measured 6 months later
Seligman, M., Stern, T., Park, N & Peterson, C. (2005). “Positive Psychology progress:
Empirical validation of interventions,” American Psychologist, 60: 410-421.
Common Factors in Therapy
15%
Model/Technique
15%
Expectation/Placebo/Hope
40%
Client
Factors
30%
Relationship
Creating or restoring hope
Rehabilitating or inviting people into preferred,
compelling positive futures
Elspeth McAdam
. . . A young girl I was working with had experienced abuse. She
walked into my office as a very large girl with shaved hair, tattoos
on her head, and I don't think she had showered in a week. I had
been asked to see her because she was so angry. She clearly didn't
want to come and see an expletive expletive shrink. She was very
angry at being there. I just said to her, 'You've talked to everybody
about your past. Let's talk about your dreams for the future.' And
her whole face just lit up when she said her dream was to become a
princess. In my mind I could not think of two more opposite visions–
but I took her very seriously. I asked her about what the concept of
princess meant for her.
Elspeth McAdam
She started talking about being a people's princess who would do
things for other people, who would be caring and generous and a
beautiful ambassador. She described a princess who was slender and
well dressed. Over the next few months, we started talking about
what this princess would be doing. I discovered that, while this girl
was 14 and hadn't been attending school for a long time, the
princess was a social worker. I said, 'Okay it is now ten year's time
and you have trained as a social worker. What university did you go
to?' She mentioned one in the north of England. I asked, 'What did
you read [study] there?' She said, 'I don't know, psychology and
sociology and a few other things like that.' Then I said, 'Do you
remember when you were 14? You'd been out of school for two or
three years. Do you remember how you got back in school?'
Elspeth McAdam
She said, 'I had this psychiatrist who helped me.' I said,
'How did she help you?' And she started talking about
how we made a phone call to the school. I said, "Who
spoke? Did you or her?' She replied, 'The psychiatrist
spoke but she arranged a meeting for us to go to the
school.' I said, 'Do you remember how you shook hands
with the head teacher when you went in? And how you
looked and what you wore?' We went into these minute
details about what that particular meeting was like–
looking from the future back. And she was able to
describe the conversations we had had, how confident
she had been, how well she had spoken, and the
subjects she had talked about. I didn't say any more
about it.
Elspeth McAdam
About a month after this conversation she said to
me, 'I think it's about time we went to the
school, don't you? Can you ring and make an
appointment?' I asked if she needed to talk about
it anymore and she said no, that she knew how
to behave. When we went into the school she
was just brilliant. I first met that girl ten years
ago. Now she is a qualified social worker. She
fulfilled her dream–although she didn't go to the
university she mentioned.
Instilling or encouraging hope
 Future pull: The future can cause the present
 Four methods




Problems into preferences
Expectancy talk
Letter from the future
Starting from the end and working backwards
Lopez, S. J., Snyder, C. R., Magyar-Moe, J. L., Edwards, L., Pedrotti, J. T. Janowski, K.,
Turner, J. L., & Pressgrove, C. (2004). “Strategies for accentuating hope,” In P. A. Linley
& S. Joseph (Eds.). Positive Psychology in Practice. pp. 388-404. New York: John Wiley
& Sons.
Problems into preferences
Rephrase/reflect problem statements:
 From past to future
 From what the person doesn’t want to what he/she
does want
 Introduce small increments of the preference
Expectancy talk
 When; will
 How quickly?
 Yet; so far
 After; before
Letter From The Future
 Have the person write a letter from their future self to their
current self from a place they are happier and have resolved the
issues that are concerning them now
 From [five years/two months/ten years/one year] from now
 Have them describe where they are, what they are doing, what
they have gone through to get there, and so on
 Have them write about the crucial things they realized or did to get
there or write about some crucial turning points that led to this
future
 Give themselves some sage and compassionate advice from the
future
Exercise: Future Self Letter
 Try writing the future letter to yourself to find out what
it feels like from the inside out
 Try the method with one of your clients/patients within
the next few weeks
Letter to Me (Brad Paisley)
Working backwards from the future

When we are done with therapy and things are better, what will be
happening in your life?

What could you do, think or focus on during the next while that would
help you move a little bit in that direction or would at least be
compatible with it?

If your problem disappeared, what would be different?

•
In your relationships?
•
In your daily life?
•
In your thinking or focus of attention?
•
In your actions?
•
In any other areas?
Is there any part of that you could start to implement in the near future?
Future Pull
“The best thing about the future
is that comes only one day at a
time.” –Abraham Lincoln
Hope comes from believing your
efforts can make a difference
Carol Dweck and colleagues gave children a fairly simple puzzle and
told half the kids a comment that told them they were smart and
the other half that they must have worked hard to solve the
puzzles. Then they offered them a choice of simple or challenging
puzzles. 90% of the kids who were praised for effort chose the
difficult puzzles; a majority of the kids who were praised for
intelligence chose the easier ones. Then all the kids were given
some difficult puzzles. Then some that were about as easy as the
initial ones. The “work hard” kids did 30% better than they had in
the initial scores, while the “intelligence” kids scores declined by
20%.
A. Cimpian et. al (2007). “Subtle Linguistic Clues Affect Children’s
motivations,” Psychological Science, 18:314-316.
Resilience
Trauma, resilience and our ideas about it
“It was a glorious experience.”
[Moreese Bickham, after being released from Louisiana
State Penitentiary after being wrongly convicted and
serving 37 years for defending himself against a Ku Klux
Klansman who shot him]
Trauma, resilience and our ideas about it
“I didn’t appreciate others nearly as much as I do now.”
[Christopher Reeve, after being paralyzed from the neck
down in a riding accident]
Trauma, resilience and our ideas about it
“It helped me a lot. . . .
It turned out to be very fortunate . . .
It made me grow a lot as a person. . . .
It was a gift. . . . It made me a deeper person.”
[Rudy Guiliani, about having prostate cancer]
Resilience
Definitions:
“The ability to withstand and rebound from disruptive life
challenges.” (Walsh, 2003)
“The ability to ‘bounce back’ from adversity, to overcome negative
influences that often block achievement.” (Glick, 1994)
Resilience is learnable
“We do know there are factors that make some people
resilient. There are genetic components to it, but
there’s a huge learning component. People can train
themselves to be more resilient.” –Dr. Steven
Southwick, himself a veteran of the Vietnam War,
deputy director of the Clinical Neurosciences Division
of the National Center for PTSD
“Facing Combat Without Stress? Researchers Examine Most Resilient
Soldiers,” VA (Veterans Administration) News Flash, August 26, 2007,
http://www.vawatchdog.org/07/nf07/ nfAUG07/nf082607-7.htm
Resilience research findings
20 years of resilience research shows that many
children from highly dysfunctional families and very
poor communities do well as adults
This finding applies to children who experience
divorce, children who live with stepparents,
children who have lost a sibling, children who have
ADD or suffer from developmental delays and
children who have become delinquent or run away
Source: Glicken, M. (2006) Learning from Resilient People.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Resilience research findings
 1/3 of the high-risk children (those born into poverty and raised
with parental pathology, family discord and poor child-rearing
conditions) followed for many years on Kauai by Emily Werner
grew up to become competent, caring and confident adults
 3 factors:
 Individual: affectionate and good-natured as infants; outgoing, active,
autonomous, bright and possessing positive self-concepts in middle
childhood and adolescence
 Family: close bonds with at least one nurturing, competent and
emotionally-stable parent
 Community: support and counsel from peers and elders in the
community
Source: Werner, Emily & Smith, R. (1992). Overcoming the Odds: High risk
children from birth to adulthood. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Positive emotions help resilience
Frederickson and colleagues found that people who experienced
more positive emotions coped better and recovered more
quickly from the trauma of the 9/11 attacks.
Fredrickson, B. L., Tugade, M. M., Waugh, C. E., & Larkin, G. (2003). “What
good are positive emotions in crises?: A prospective study of resilience
and emotions following the terrorist attacks on the United States on
September 11th, 2001,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84,
365-376.
Skills of resilient people










Better coping skills
Positive social functioning
Present and future orientation
Ability to be invisible (avoid traumatic situations and
distance themselves emotionally)
Optimism
Higher aspirations (educationally and extracurricularly)
Self-responsibility
Desire to help others
Humor
Creativity
Source: Glicken, M. (2006) Learning from Resilient People. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage.
Resilience references
Masten, A. S. (2001). “Ordinary magic: Resilience processes in
development,” American Psychologist, 56, 227-238.
Reivich, K. & Shatte, A. (2003). The Resilience Factor: 7 Keys
to Finding Your Inner Strength and Overcoming Life’s
Hurdles. NY: Broadway Books.
Yates, J. & Masten, A. S. (2004). “Fostering the future:
Resilience theory and practice of positive psychology,” In P.A.
Linley and S. Joseph (Eds.) Positive Psychology in Practice,
pp. 521-539. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons.
Resilience
“Resilience is often the most commonly observed
outcome trajectory following exposure to a
potentially traumatic event.” [G. A. Bonnano, C.
Rennicke and S. Dekel. (2005). “Selfenhancement among high-exposure survivors of
the September 11th Terrorist Attack: Resilience
or Social Maladjustment?” Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology, 88:984-988.]
Resilience
Bonnano, G.A. et. Al. (2002). “Resilience to Loss and Chronic
Grief: A prospective study from pre-loss to 18-months postloss,” Journal of Social Issues, 83:1150-64.
Tedeschi, R. G. and Calhoun, I.G. (2004). “Posttraumatic Growth:
Conceptual foundations and empirical evidence,” Psychological
Inquiry, 15:1-18.
Linley, P.A. and Joseph, S. (2004). “Positive Change Following
Trauma and Adversity: A review,” Journal of Traumatic Stress,
17:11-21.
Carver, C.S. (1998). “Resilience and Thriving: Issues, models and
linkages,” Journal of Social Issues, 54:245-266.
Post-traumatic Growth Inventory
Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, an instrument for assessing
positive outcomes reported by persons who have
experienced traumatic events, is described. This 21-item
scale includes factors of New Possibilities, Relating to
Others, Personal Strength, Spiritual Change, and
Appreciation of Life. Women tend to report more benefits
than do men, and persons who have experienced traumatic
events report more positive change than do persons who
have not experienced extraordinary events.
Ref:
Richard G.Tedeschi and Lawrence G. Calhoun. (1996).“The Posttraumatic
Growth Inventory: Measuring the positive legacy of trauma,” Journal of
Traumatic Stress, July, 9(3):455-471
Post-traumatic Growth Inventory
Categories are:
New Possibilities
Relating to Others
Personal Strength
Spiritual Change
Appreciation of Life
The American Psychological Association has this inventory on their
website so people can take it:
http://locator.apa.org/ptgi/
Post-traumatic Growth Inventory
Sample statements; rate on a scale of 1-5 how much the
trauma or crisis led to this:
I established a new path for my life.
I know better that I can handle difficulties.
I changed my priorities about what is important in life.
New opportunities are available which wouldn't have
been otherwise.
I have more compassion for others.
I discovered that I'm stronger than I thought I was.
I have a greater sense of closeness with others.
S.O.A.P.
Appreciation
and
Happiness
Appreciation/Gratitude
Two aspects: Acknowledgment and recognition
 Acknowledgment:
• Noticing
• Affirming
 Recognition
• That the things we are grateful for came in part from
outside ourselves
Source: Emmons, Robert. (2007). Thanks: How the new science of
gratitude can make you happier. NY: Houghton Mifflin.
Andrew Clements
Blessed example
Ricky Boone
Blessed story
Exercise: Finding/identifying
angels, mentors and models
• Who has taken a special interest in you and encouraged
you?
• Who believes or believed in you?
• Who has been/is your mentor?
• Who have been your inspirational models?
• Who has blessed you?
• Who has been your angel?
The Gratitude Exercise
At the end of each day, after dinner and before going to sleep, write down
three things that went well during the day. Do this every night for a
week. The three things you list can be relatively small or large in
importance. After each positive event on your list, answer in your own
words the question: “Why did this good thing happen?”
This exercise was found to increase happiness and decrease depression up
to 6 months after the week. [Note: 60% of participants carried on the
habit.]
Seligman, M.; Steen, T.A.; Park, N.; and Peterson, C. (2005). “Positive psychology
progress: Empirical validation of interventions,” American Psychologist, 60:410421.
Three Aspects of Appreciation
1. Highlighting Gratitude to Oneself: Note to oneself
things that one can be grateful for on a weekly basis
2. Savor: Note to oneself or others what one
appreciates aesthetically, like a beautiful sunset, a
good meal, and so on
3. Expressing Gratitude to Others: Express appreciation
to those people one values and is grateful to
Gratitude/appreciation

Expressing gratitude has a short-term positive
effect (several weeks) on happiness levels (up to a
25% increase)
 Those who are typically or habitually grateful are
happier than those who aren’t habitually grateful
Park, N. Peterson, C. and Seligman, M. (2004). “Strengths of character and wellbeing among youth,” Unpublished manuscript, U. of Rhode Island.
Appreciation/Gratitude Research 1
People who noted weekly the things they were
grateful for increased their happiness levels 25%
over people who noted their complaints or were just
asked to note any events that had occurred during
the week.
Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An
experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 84(2), 377-389
Appreciation/Gratitude Research 2
Seligman reports a study done by himself and Jeff
Levy with people who scored as severely
depressed in a depression inventory. Participants
were instructed to recall and write down three
good things that happened each day for 15 days.
94% of them went from severely depressed to
mildly to moderately depressed during that time.
Cited in Authentic Happiness, Seligman, Martin E. P.,
2002, NY: Free Press.
Gratitude Letters
In research studies, both initiator and recipient of a
gratitude letter report positive outcomes.
Instructions: Write a gratitude letter to a person you
choose, expressing your gratitude and for what and
why, specifically, you are grateful.
If at all possible, deliver it personally and ask the
person to read the letter in your presence.
If personal delivery is not possible, mail, fax, or email
the letter and follow up with a phone call.
Source: Chris Peterson, A Primer in Positive Psychology
Clinical methods of evoking gratitude
 When people are dissatisfied or complaining, inquire
about things that are going well in their lives
 Or bring up bad things that are no longer happening in
their lives and ask them to contrast these current
troubles with those previous ones
 Or ask them about someone whom they know that is
struggling with something that is more challenging than
what they are struggling with
Savoring
Savor: To appreciate fully; enjoy or relish - American
Heritage Dictionary
 Pay full attention; engage
 Use as many of the senses as you can (sight, sound, touch,
taste, smell)
 Don’t multi-task; focus on what you are experiencing or
perceiving
 Don’t overdo; savoring diminishes due to the hedonic
adaptation if done too much or too often
 Share it with others
Three Types of Savoring
Anticipating something good [Futureoriented savoring]
Enjoying something in the present
moment [Present-oriented savoring]
Remembering something pleasurable
from the past [Past-oriented savoring]
Relational savoring
Ellen Langer and Leslie Coates Burpee found that couples
relationships are more rewarding when partners use
mindfulness to notice variations in their partners rather
than generalizing (“You are always distracted.” or “You
are never spontaneous.”).
Burpee, L. and Langer, E. (2005). “Mindfulness and marital satisfaction,”
Journal of Adult Development, 12: 43-51.
S.O.A.P.
Purpose/meaning
and
Happiness
The Meaningful Life and
Happiness
Several studies with older Americans find that one of the best
predictors of happiness is whether or not a person thinks his
or her life has a purpose. If they had no such sense of
purpose, seven out of ten people studied felt unsettled about
their lives; if they had a sense of purpose seven out of ten felt
satisfied.
Lepper, H. (1996). In Pursuit of Happiness and Satisfaction in
Later Life: A Study of Competing Theories of Subjective WellBeing. Ph.D. Dissertation, UC Riverside.
The Meaningful Life and
Happiness
College students who enjoyed their lives and studies were
compared to those who didn’t. The main difference was that
those students who were happier had an underlying sense of
purpose in life.
Rahman, T. and Khaleque, A. (1996). “The purpose in life and
academic behavior problem students,” Social Indicators
Research, 39:59.
Elements of the Meaningful Life
 Purpose
 Contribution
 Engaging work or activities
 Finding meaning in suffering
 Turning negative or hurtful events into happiness or
satisfaction with positive connotations or meaning
What animates your life?
Recognize what brings you alive or animates
you
Finding and connecting with the source of your
energy and uniqueness
Recognizing and claiming your own voice and
sensibility
Howard Thurman
Don't ask yourself what the
world needs. Ask yourself what
makes you come alive, and go do
that, because what the world
needs is people who have come
alive.
Finding meaning and purpose from pain
Patsy Rodenberg
Voice coach for actors and public speakers
Leonard Cohen
There’s a crack in everything.
That’s how the light gets in.
Wounded
I thank God for my handicaps, for through them I
have found myself, my work and my God. Helen Keller
Real suffering burns clean; neurotic suffering
creates more and more soot. - Marion Woodman
Wounded/Cursed/Indignation
to Life Direction/Purpose
 Where have you been wounded?
 Where or about what have you been cursed?
 What would you like to change about the world
or other people?
 What would you talk about if given an hour of
prime time television to influence the nation
or the world?
 How can you turn this wound or disrespect or
curse into a blessing or contribution?
Contribution and Compassion
It’s Not About You!
Albert Schweitzer
You must give something to your fellow
men. Even if it is a little thing, do
something for those who have need
of help, something for which you get
no pay but the privilege of giving. . .
The only ones among you who will be
really happy are those who will have
sought and found how to serve.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Rings and jewels are not
gifts, but apologies for
gifts. The only gift is a
portion of thyself.”
Relevant research
Life satisfaction was shown to increase 24%
with the level of altruistic activity in the
person’s life.
Williams, A., Haber, D., Weaver, G. and Freeman, J. (1998).
“Altruistic activity,” Activities, Adaptation, and Aging, 22:31.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Life's most persistent and urgent
question is: What are you
doing for others?
Benefits of service
Volunteering can improve self-esteem, reduce
heart rates and blood pressure, increase
endorphin production, enhance immune
systems, buffer the impact of stress, and
combat social isolation.
(Research Summary: Graff, L. (1991). Volunteer for the Health of It.
Etobicoke, Ontario: Volunteer Ontario.)
Evolutionary views on
altruism/service/contribution
 Helps your genes survive when you help people who are
closely genetically related to you
 People are more likely to help you after you have
helped them, so doing good to others might help you in
the long run
Contribution
U of Michigan study by Stephanie Brown
•
423 older couples- 5 year study
•
Couples who reported (unpaid) helping someone else even
as little as once a year were between 40 and 60% less
likely to die than those who reported not helping anyone
else during the previous year
•
Examples: volunteering, babysitting for grandchildren;
assisting family members
Brown, Stephanie; Nesse, Randolph; Vinokur, Amiram; and Smith, Dylan. (2003). “Providing
Social Support May Be More Beneficial Than Receiving It: Results From a Prospective
Study of Mortality” Psychological Science, 14:320–27.
I, Me, Mine as a clue to suicide
 About 300 poems from the early, middle and late
periods of nine suicidal poets and nine non-suicidal
poets — from the 1800s to the present — were compared
using the computer text analysis program, Linguistic
Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC)
 Textual analysis of poets who committed suicide shows
more use of the words “I,” “me,” and “mine,” when
compared with poets who died of natural causes.
Shannon Wiltsey Stirman and James Pennebaker. (2001).
“Word Use in the Poetry of Suicidal and Nonsuicidal
Poets,” Psychosomatic Medicine, 63:517-522.
Laura King, U of Mo.
“People who want to live a more
fulfilling life should quite
reading self-help books and
start helping others.”
(quoted in Biswas-Diener, R. and Dean, B. (2007).
Positive Psychology Coaching, NY: Wiley.)
W.H. Auden
We are all here on earth to help others;
what on earth the others are here for I
don’t know.
The Secret of Happiness
“Find something more important
than yourself and dedicate your
life to it.” –Daniel Dennett
Chinese wisdom on happiness
If you want happiness for an hour–take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day–go fishing.
If you want happiness for a month–get married.
If you want happiness for a year–inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime–help others.
How to apply this to changework
 Help people find their life directions, meaning and
purpose by helping them identify the signal(s) that drive
them
 Help people find activities that contribute to others or
the world
Contribution

Is there anywhere you could be of service or make a
contribution that would help you make amends or heal
wounds?

If you had to name the cause that you feel most passionate
about, what would it be?

Become aware of some social injustice or victim situation that
moves or touches you.

Every time you experience some recurrent problem, do one
thing to contribute to the relief of the victim’s suffering or to
righting some social injustice. It may be writing a letter,
making a donation of money or time to some charitable group,
praying, or some other action you are moved to.
The Three Legs of Happiness
 Someone to love
 Something to do
 Something to look forward to
-Martin Sexton
Egyptian Afterlife Entry Questions
Have you found joy in your life?
Has your life brought joy to others?
Source: The Bucket List, starring Morgan Freeman and Jack
Nicholson
Best Summary Books
Martin Seligman, Authentic Happiness
Chris Peterson, A Primer in Positive Psychology
Sonja Lyubomirsky, The How of Happiness
Eric Weiner, The Geography of Bliss
Dan Gilbert, Stumbling On Happiness
Resources
Journal of Happiness Studies
www.authentichappiness.org
www.pos-psych.com
www.ppc.sas.upenn.edu
www.bus.umich.edu/Positive
www.viastrengths.org
www.centreforconfidence.co.uk
www.psych.uiuc.edu/~ediener
people.virginia.edu/~jdh6n
www.faculty.ucr.edu/~sonja
89.234.4.50/cappeu/index.aspx
Bill O’Hanlon’s info
Websites:
http://www.billohanlon.com
http://www.getyourbookwritten.com
http://wwwbookpublishingpath.com
http://www.paidpublicspeaker.com
http://www.yourlifeoffreedom.com
http://www.getovertrauma.com
Email:
Bill@billohanlon.com
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Contact information
Bill O’Hanlon, M.S., LMFT
Possibilities
223 N. Guadalupe #278
Santa Fe, NM 87501 USA
Bill@billohanlon.com
505.983.2843
www.billohanlon.com