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Positive psychology

This article is about psychology. For the positive mental attitude, see Optimism.

Positive psychology is "the scientific study of what makes life most worth living",[1] or "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".[2] Positive psychology is
concerned with eudaimonia, "the good life", reflection about what holds the greatest value in life – the
factors that contribute the most to a well-lived and fulfilling life.

Positive psychology began as a new domain of psychology in 1998 when Martin Seligman chose it as the
theme for his term as president of the American Psychological Association.[3][4][5] Mihaly
Csikszentmihalyi, Christopher Peterson and Barbara Fredrickson are regarded as co-initiators of this
development.[6] It is a reaction against psycho-analysis and behaviorism, which have focused on "mental
illness", meanwhile emphasising maladaptive behavior and negative thinking. It builds further on the
humanistic movement, which encouraged an emphasis on happiness, well-being, and positivity, thus
creating the foundation for what is now known as positive psychology.[5]

Guiding theories are Seligman's P.E.R.M.A., and Csikszentmihalyi's theory of flow, while Seligman and
Peterson's Character Strengths and Virtues was a major contribution to the methodological study of
positive psychology.

Positive psychologists have suggested a number of ways in which individual happiness may be fostered.
Social ties with a spouse, family, friends and wider networks through work, clubs or social organisations
are of particular importance, while physical exercise and the practice of meditation may also contribute
to happiness. Happiness may rise with increasing financial income, though it may plateau or even fall
when no further gains are made.[7]

Definition and basic assumptions Edit

Definition Edit
Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi define positive psychology 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."[2] Christopher Peterson defines positive psychology
as "... the scientific study of what makes life most worth living".[1]

Basic concepts Edit

Positive psychology is concerned with eudaimonia, "the good life" or flourishing, living according to what
holds the greatest value in life – the factors that contribute the most to a well-lived and fulfilling life.
While not attempting a strict definition of the good life, positive psychologists agree that one must live a
happy, engaged, and meaningful life in order to experience "the good life". Martin Seligman referred to
"the good life" as "using your signature strengths every day to produce authentic happiness and
abundant gratification".[8] According to Christopher Peterson, "eudaimonia trumps hedonism".[1]

Related concepts are happiness, well-being, quality of life, contentment,[9] and meaningful life.

Research topics Edit

According to Seligman and Peterson, positive psychology is concerned with three issues: positive
emotions, positive individual traits, and positive institutions. Positive emotions are concerned with being
content with one's past, being happy in the present and having hope for the future. Positive individual
traits focus on one's strengths and virtues. Finally, positive institutions are based on strengths to better a
community of people.[10]

According to Peterson, positive psychologists are concerned with four topics: (1) positive experiences, (2)
enduring psychological traits, (3) positive relationships, and (4) positive institutions.[11] According to
Peterson, topics of interest to researchers in the field are: states of pleasure or flow, values, strengths,
virtues, talents, as well as the ways that these can be promoted by social systems and institutions.[12]

Basic assumptions Edit

Positive psychology complements, without intending to replace or ignore, the traditional areas of
psychology. By emphasizing the study of positive human development this field helps to balance other
approaches that focus on disorder, and which may produce only limited understanding.[11] Positive
psychology has also placed a significant emphasis on fostering positive self-esteem and self-image,
though positive psychologists with a less humanist bent are less likely to focus as intently on the matter.
[13]

The basic premise of positive psychology is that human beings are often drawn by the future more than
they are driven by the past. A change in our orientation to time can dramatically affect how we think
about the nature of happiness. Seligman identified other possible goals: families and schools that allow
children to grow, workplaces that aim for satisfaction and high productivity, and teaching others about
positive psychology.[10]

Those who practice positive psychology attempt psychological interventions that foster positive attitudes
toward one's subjective experiences, individual traits, and life events.[14] The goal is to minimize
pathological thoughts that may arise in a hopeless mindset, and to, instead, develop a sense of optimism
toward life.[14] Positive psychologists seek to encourage acceptance of one's past, excitement and
optimism about one's future experiences, and a sense of contentment and well-being in the present.[15]

History Edit

To Martin Seligman, psychology (particularly its positive branch) can investigate and promote realistic
ways of fostering more well-being in individuals and communities.

Origin Edit

The term positive psychology dates back at least to 1954, when Maslow's first edition of "Motivation and
Personality" was published with a final chapter titled "Toward a Positive Psychology."[16] In the second
edition (1970), he removed that chapter, saying in the preface that "a positive psychology is at least
available today though not very widely."[16] There have been indications that psychologists since the
1950s have been increasingly focused on the promotion of mental health rather than merely treating
mental illness.[17][18]

Positive psychology began as a new area of psychology in 1998 when Martin Seligman chose it as the
theme for his term as president of the American Psychological Association.[3][19] In the first sentence of
his book Authentic Happiness, Seligman claimed: "for the last half century psychology has been
consumed with a single topic only – mental illness",[20] expanding on Maslow's comments.[a] He urged
psychologists to continue the earlier missions of psychology of nurturing talent and improving normal
life.[22]
Development Edit

The first positive psychology summit took place in 1999. The First International Conference on Positive
Psychology took place in 2002.[22] More attention was given by the general public in 2006 when, using
the same framework, a course at Harvard University became particularly popular.[23] In June 2009, the
First World Congress on Positive Psychology took place at the University of Pennsylvania.[24]

The International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA) is a recently established association that has
expanded to thousands of members from 80 different countries. The IPPA's missions include: (1) "further
the science of positive psychology across the globe and to ensure that the field continues to rest on this
science" (2) "work for the effective and responsible application of positive psychology in diverse areas
such as organizational psychology, counselling and clinical psychology, business, health, education, and
coaching", (3) "foster education and training in the field".[25]

The field of positive psychology today is most advanced in the United States and Western Europe. Even
though positive psychology offers a new approach to the study of positive emotions and behavior, the
ideas, theories, research, and motivation to study the positive side of human behavior is as old as
humanity.[26]

Influences Edit

Several humanistic psychologists, most notably Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, and Erich Fromm,
developed theories and practices pertaining to human happiness and flourishing. More recently, positive
psychologists have found empirical support for the humanistic theories of flourishing. In addition,
positive psychology has moved ahead in a variety of new directions.

In 1984, Diener published his tripartite model of subjective well-being, positing "three distinct but often
related components of wellbeing: frequent positive affect, infrequent negative affect, and cognitive
evaluations such as life satisfaction".[27] In this model, cognitive, affective and contextual factors
contribute to subjective well-being.[28] According to Diener and Suh, subjective well-being is "...based
on the idea that how each person thinks and feels about his or her life is important".[29]

Carol Ryff's Six-factor Model of Psychological Well-being was initially published in 1989, and additional
testing of its factors was published in 1995. It postulates six factors which are key for well-being, namely
self-acceptance, personal growth, purpose in life, environmental mastery, autonomy, and positive
relations with others.[30]

According to Corey Keyes, who collaborated with Carol Ryff and uses the term flourishing as a central
concept, mental well-being has three components, namely hedonic (c.q. subjective or emotional[31]),
psychological, and social well-being.[32] Hedonic well-being concerns emotional aspects of well-being,
whereas psychological and social well-being, c.q eudaimonic well-being, concerns skills, abilities, and
optimal functioning.[33] This tripartite model of mental well-being has received extensive empirical
support across cultures.[33][31][34][35]

Theory and methods Edit

Main article: Well-being

There is no accepted "gold standard" theory in positive psychology, however the work of Seligman is
regularly quoted.[36] So too the work of Csikszentmihalyi and older models of well-being, such as Carol
Ryff's Six-factor Model of Psychological Well-being and Diener's tripartite model of subjective well-being.

PERMA Edit

Initial theory: three paths to happiness Edit

In Authentic Happiness (2002) Seligman proposed three kinds of a happy life which can be investigated:
[37][36]

Pleasant life: research into the Pleasant Life, or the "life of enjoyment", examines how people optimally
experience, forecast, and savor the positive feelings and emotions that are part of normal and healthy
living (e.g., relationships, hobbies, interests, entertainment, etc.). Despite the attention given, Martin
Seligman says this most transient element of happiness may be the least important.[38]

Good Life: investigation of the beneficial effects of immersion, absorption, and flow, felt by individuals
when optimally engaged with their primary activities, is the study of the Good Life, or the "life of
engagement". Flow is experienced when there is a positive match between a person's strength and their
current task, i.e., when one feels confident of accomplishing a chosen or assigned task.[b]

Meaningful Life: inquiry into the Meaningful Life, or "life of affiliation", questions how individuals derive
a positive sense of well-being, belonging, meaning, and purpose from being part of and contributing
back to something larger and more permanent than themselves (e.g., nature, social groups,
organizations, movements, traditions, belief systems).
These categories appear neither widely disputed nor adopted by researchers across the years that this
academic area has been in existence.

Development into PERMA-theory Edit

Simple exercise, such as running, is cited as key to feeling happy.[39]

In Flourish (2011) Seligman argued that the last category, "meaningful life", can be considered as 3
different categories. The resulting acronym is PERMA: Positive Emotions, Engagement, Relationships,
Meaning and purpose, and Accomplishments.[40] It is a mnemonic for the five elements of Martin
Seligman's well-being theory:[36][41]

Positive emotions include a wide range of feelings, not just happiness and joy.[42] Included are emotions
like excitement, satisfaction, pride and awe, amongst others. These emotions are frequently seen as
connected to positive outcomes, such as longer life and healthier social relationships.[43]

Engagement refers to involvement in activities that draws and builds upon one's interests. Mihaly
Csikszentmihalyi explains true engagement as flow, a state of deep effortless involvement,[40] feeling of
intensity that leads to a sense of ecstasy and clarity.[44] The task being done needs to call upon higher
skill and be a bit difficult and challenging yet still possible. Engagement involves passion for and
concentration on the task at hand and is assessed subjectively as to whether the person engaged was
completely absorbed, losing self-consciousness.[42]

Relationships are essential in fueling positive emotions[45], whether they are work-related, familial,
romantic, or platonic. As Christopher Peterson puts it simply, "Other people matter."[46] Humans
receive, share, and spread positivity to others through relationships. They are important not only in bad
times, but good times as well. In fact, relationships can be strengthened by reacting to one another
positively. It is typical that most positive things take place in the presence of other people.[47]

Meaning is also known as purpose, and prompts the question of "why". Discovering and figuring out a
clear "why" puts everything into context from work to relationships to other parts of life.[48] Finding
meaning is learning that there is something greater than one's self. Despite potential challenges, working
with meaning drives people to continue striving for a desirable goal.

Accomplishments are the pursuit of success and mastery.[42] Unlike the other parts of PERMA, they are
sometimes pursued even when accomplishments do not result in positive emotions, meaning, or
relationships. That being noted, accomplishments can activate the other elements of PERMA, such as
pride, under positive emotion.[49] Accomplishments can be individual or community-based, fun- or
work-based.
Selection-criteria[50] Edit

Each of the five PERMA elements was selected according to three criteria:

It contributes to well-being.

It is pursued for its own sake.

It is defined and measured independently of the other elements.

Character Strengths and Virtues Edit

The development of the Character Strengths and Virtues (CSV) handbook (2004) represented the first
attempt by Seligman and Peterson to identify and classify positive psychological traits of human beings.
Much like the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) of general psychology, the
CSV provided a theoretical framework to assist in understanding strengths and virtues and for
developing practical applications for positive psychology. This manual identified 6 classes of virtues (i.e.,
"core virtues"), underlying 24 measurable character strengths.[51]

The CSV suggested these 6 virtues have a historical basis in the vast majority of cultures; in addition,
these virtues and strengths can lead to increased happiness when built upon. Notwithstanding
numerous cautions and caveats, this suggestion of universality hints threefold: 1. The study of positive
human qualities broadens the scope of psychological research to include mental wellness, 2. the leaders
of the positive psychology movement are challenging moral relativism, suggesting people are
"evolutionarily predisposed" toward certain virtues, and 3. virtue has a biological basis.[52]

The organization of the 6 virtues and 24 strengths is as follows:

Wisdom and knowledge: creativity, curiosity, open-mindedness, love of learning, perspective, innovation

Courage: bravery, persistence, integrity, vitality, zest

Humanity: love, kindness, social intelligence

Justice: citizenship, fairness, leadership

Temperance: forgiveness and mercy, humility, prudence, self control

Transcendence: appreciation of beauty and excellence, gratitude, hope, humor, spirituality

Recent research challenged the need for 6 virtues. Instead, researchers suggested the 24 strengths are
more accurately grouped into just 3 or 4 categories: Intellectual Strengths, Interpersonal Strengths, and
Temperance Strengths[53] or alternatively, Interpersonal Strengths, Fortitude, Vitality, and
Cautiousness[54] These strengths, and their classifications, have emerged independently elsewhere in
literature on values. Paul Thagard described examples; these included Jeff Shrager's workshops to
discover the habits of highly creative people.[55] Some research indicates that well-being effects that
appear to be due to spirituality are actually better described as due to virtue.[56]

Flow Edit

In the 1970s Csikszentmihalyi's began studying flow, a state of absorption where one's abilities are well-
matched to the demands at-hand. Flow is characterized by intense concentration, loss of self-awareness,
a feeling of being perfectly challenged (neither bored nor overwhelmed), and a sense that "time is
flying". Flow is intrinsically rewarding; it can also assist in the achievement of goals (e.g., winning a
game) or improving skills (e.g., becoming a better chess player).[57] Anyone can experience flow, in
different domains, such as play, creativity, and work. Flow is achieved when the challenge of the
situation meets one's personal abilities. A mismatch of challenge for someone of low skills results in a
state of anxiety; insufficient challenge for someone highly skilled results in boredom.[57]

Applications and research findings Edit

Main article: Well-being contributing factors

Research in positive psychology, well-being, eudaimonia and happiness, and the theories of Diener, Ryff,
Keyes and Seligman cover a broad range of topics including "the biological, personal, relational,
institutional, cultural, and global dimensions of life".[2] A meta-analysis on 49 studies in 2009 showed
that Positive Psychology Interventions (PPI) produced improvements in well-being and lower depression
levels, the PPIs studied included writing gratitude letters, learning optimistic thinking, replaying positive
life experiences and socializing with others.[58] In a later meta-analysis of 39 studies with 6,139
participants in 2012, the outcomes were positive. Three to six months after a PPI the effects for
subjective well-being and psychological well-being were still significant. However the positive effect was
weaker than in the 2009 meta analysis, the authors concluded that this was because they only used
higher quality studies. The PPIs they considered included counting blessings, kindness practices, making
personal goals, showing gratitude and focusing on personal strengths.[59]

Ilona Boniwell, in her book Positive Psychology in a Nutshell, provided the following summary of the
current research. Wellbeing is related to optimism, extraversion, social connections (i.e. close
friendships), being married, having engaging work, religion or spirituality, leisure, good sleep and
exercise, social class (through lifestyle differences and better coping methods) and subjective health
(what you think about your health). Wellbeing is not related to age, physical attractiveness, money (once
basic needs are met), gender (women are more often depressed but also more often joyful), educational
level, having children (although they add meaning to life), moving to a sunnier climate, crime prevention,
housing and objective health (what doctors say).[60]

Sonja Lyubomirsky, in her book The How Of Happiness, says that to improve happiness individuals
should create new habits; they can seek out new emotions, use variety and timing to prevent hedonic
adaptation and enlist others to motivate and support during the creation of those new habits.[61]
Lyubomirsky gives 12 happiness activities such as savouring life, learning to forgive and living in the
present, each of which could become the basis for a new habit.

In Positive Psychology: The Science of Happiness, the authors Compton and Hoffman give the "Top Down
Predictors" of wellbeing as high self esteem, optimism, self efficacy, a sense of meaning in life and
positive relationships with others. The personality traits most associated with well being are
extraversion, agreeability and low levels of neuroticism.[62]

In the Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, Kreutzer and Mills argue for the principles of positive
psychology to be implemented to assist those recovering from traumatic brain injury (TBR). They make
the case that TBI rehabilitation practices rely on the betterment of the individual through engaging in
everyday practices, a practice significantly related to tenets of positive psychology.[63] Their proposal to
connect positive psychology with TBI vocational rehabilitation (VR) also looks at happiness and its
correlation with improvements in mental health, including increased confidence and productivity, as well
as others.[63] While the authors point out that empirical evidence for positive psychology is limited, they
clarify that positive psychology's focus on small successes, optimism and prosocial behaviour is
promising for improvements in the social and emotional well-being of TBI patients.[63]

Criticism Edit

According to Kirk Schneider, positive psychology fails to explain past heinous behaviors such as those
perpetrated by the Nazi party, Stalinist marches and Klan gatherings, to identify but a few. Furthermore,
Schneider pointed to a body of research showing high positivity correlates with positive illusion, which
effectively distorts reality.[64] The extent of the downfall of high positivity (also known as flourishing) is
one could become incapable of psychological growth, unable to self-reflect, and tend to hold racial
biases. By contrast, negativity, sometimes evidenced in mild to moderate depression, is correlated with
less distortion of reality. Therefore, negativity might play an important role within the dynamics of
human flourishing. To illustrate, conflict engagement and acknowledgement of appropriate negativity,
including certain negative emotions like guilt, might better promote flourishing.[65] Overall, Schneider
provided perspective: "perhaps genuine happiness is not something you aim at, but is a by-product of a
life well lived – and a life well lived does not settle on the programmed or neatly calibrated."[66]
Seligman has acknowledged in his work the point about positive illusion,[67] and is also a critic of merely
feeling good about oneself apart from reality and recognises the importance of negativity / dysphoria.
[68]

Ian Sample, writing for The Guardian, noted that, "Positive psychologists also stand accused of burying
their heads in the sand and ignoring that depressed, even merely unhappy people, have real problems
that need dealing with." Sample also quoted Steven Wolin, a clinical psychiatrist at George Washington
University, as saying that the study of positive psychology is just a reiteration of older ways of thinking,
and that there is not much scientific research to support the efficacy of this method.[69] Gable responds
to criticism on their pollyanna view on the world by saying that they are just bringing a balance to a side
of psychology that is glaringly understudied.[70] To defend his point, Gable points to the imbalances
favouring research into negative psychological wellbeing in cognitive psychology, health psychology, and
social psychology.[71]

Barbara S. Held argued that while positive psychology makes contributions to the field of psychology, it
has its faults. She offered insight into topics including the negative side effects of positive psychology,
negativity within the positive psychology movement, and the current division in the field of psychology
caused by differing opinions of psychologists on positive psychology. In addition, she noted the
movement's lack of consistency regarding the role of negativity. She also raised issues with the simplistic
approach taken by some psychologists in the application of positive psychology. A "one size fits all"
approach is arguably not beneficial to the advancement of the field of positive psychology; she
suggested a need for individual differences to be incorporated into its application.[72]

Martin Jack has also maintained that positive psychology is not unique in its optimistic approach to
looking at optimal emotional wellbeing, stating that other forms of psychology, such as counselling and
educational psychology, are also interested in positive human fulfillment. He goes on to mention that,
while positive psychology has pushed for schools to be more student-centred and able to foster positive
self-images in children, he worries that a lack of focus on self-control may prevent children from making
full contributions to society. [73]

See also Edit

Precursors

New Thought
Maslow's hierarchy of needs

Needs and Motives (Henry Murray)

Various

Anatomy of an Epidemic

Aversion to happiness

Louise Burfitt-Dons

Culture and positive psychology

Happiness economics

Meaning of life

Positive education

Positive youth development

Pragmatism

Psychological resilience

Rational ignorance

Second wave positive psychology

Sex-positive movement

Theory of humor

Notes Edit

^ Maslow wrote:

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 illness, his sins, but little about his potentialities, his
virtues, his achievable aspirations, or his full psychological height. It is as if psychology has voluntarily
restricted itself to only half its rightful jurisdiction, the darker, meaner half.[21]

^ See related concepts: Self-efficacy and play.

References Edit

Footnotes Edit
^ a b c Peterson, Christopher (16 May 2008). "What Is Positive Psychology, and What Is It Not?".
Psychology Today. Retrieved 11 July 2018.

^ a b c Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi 2000.

^ a b "Time Magazine's cover story in the special issue on "The Science of Happiness", 2005" (PDF).
Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-07-11. Retrieved 2011-02-07.

^ Tal., Ben-Shahar, (2007). Happier : learn the secrets to daily joy and lasting fulfillment. New York:
McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0071510966. OCLC 176182574.

^ a b Srinivasan, T. S. (2015, February 12). The 5 Founding Fathers and A History of Positive Psychology.
Retrieved February 4, 2017, from https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/founding-fathers/

^ The 5 Founding Fathers and A History of Positive Psychology

^ Positive Psychology Progress: Empirical Validation of Interventions. Seligman, Martin E. P.; Steen, Tracy
A.; Park, Nansook; Peterson, Christopher American Psychologist, Vol 60(5), Jul-Aug 2005, 410-421.
https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.60.5.410

^ Seligman 2002, p. 13.

^ Graham, Michael C. (2014). Facts of Life: ten issues of contentment. Outskirts Press. pp. 6–10.
ISBN 978-1-4787-2259-5.

^ a b Seligman, Martin E.P. "Positive Psychology Center." Positive Psychology Center. University of
Pennsylvania, 2007. Web. 12 Mar. 2013.

^ a b Peterson 2009.

^ Peterson 2006.

^ Mruk, Christopher (April 2008). "The Psychology of Self-Esteem: A Potential Common Ground for
Humanistic Positive Psychology and Positivistic Positive Psychology". The Humanistic Psychologist. 36 (2):
143. Retrieved March 16, 2018.

^ a b Seligman, M. E., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2014). Positive psychology: An introduction (pp. 279-298).
Springer Netherlands.

^ Shesthra, Arjun (December 2016). "Positive psychology: Evolution, philosophical foundations, and
present growth". Indian Journal of Positive Psychology. 7 (4): 460–465.

^ a b Maslow, Abraham H. (1970). Motivation and Personality (2nd ed.). New York: Harper & Row.

^ Secker J (1998). "Current conceptualizations of mental health and mental health promotion" (PDF). 13
(1). Health Education Research. p. 58. Retrieved 2010-05-18. ... Amongst psychologists ... the importance
of promoting health rather than simply preventing ill-health date back to the 1950s (Jahoda, 1958)
^ Dianne Hales (2010). "An Invitation to Health, Brief: Psychological Well-Being" (2010–2011 ed.).
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^ "Positive Psychology: The Benefits of Living Positively". World of Psychology. 2013-03-11. Retrieved
2018-02-19.

^ Seligman 2002, p. xi.

^ Maslow, Motivation and Psychology, p. 354

^ a b Compton 2005, pp. 1–22.

^ Ben-Shahar, Ben (2007) "Happier -Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment", First Edition,
McGraw-Hill Co.

^ Reuters, Jun 18, 2009: First World Congress on Positive Psychology Kicks Off Today With Talks by Two of
the World's Most Renowned Psychologists[permanent dead link]

^ International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA) (2011). international positive psychology

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03-23.

^ Compton, William C., and Edward Hoffman. Positive Psychology: The Science of Happiness and
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^ Tov & Diener (2013), Subjective Well-Being. Research Collection School of Social Sciences. Paper 1395.
http://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/1395

^ Costa Galinha, Iolanda; Pais-Ribeiro, José Luís (2011). "Cognitive, affective and contextual predictors of
subjective wellbeing". International Journal of Wellbeing. 2 (1): 34–53. doi:10.5502/ijw.v2i1.3.

^ Diener, Suh, Ed, Eunkook (2000). Culture and Subjective Well-being. A Bradford Book. p. 4.

^ Carol Ryff’s Model of Psychological Well-being. The Six Criteria of Well-Being

^ a b Robitschek, Christine; Keyes, Corey L. M. "Keyes's model of mental health with personal growth
initiative as a parsimonious predictor". Journal of Counseling Psychology. 56 (2): 321–329.
doi:10.1037/a0013954.

^ Keyes 2002.

^ a b Joshanloo, Mohsen (2015-10-23). "Revisiting the Empirical Distinction Between Hedonic and
Eudaimonic Aspects of Well-Being Using Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling". Journal of
Happiness Studies: 1–14. doi:10.1007/s10902-015-9683-z. ISSN 1389-4978.
^ Joshanloo, Mohsen; Lamers, Sanne M. A. (2016-07-01). "Reinvestigation of the factor structure of the
MHC-SF in the Netherlands: Contributions of exploratory structural equation modeling". Personality and
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^ Gallagher, Matthew W.; Lopez, Shane J.; Preacher, Kristopher J. (2009-08-01). "The Hierarchical
Structure of Well-Being". Journal of Personality. 77 (4): 1025–1050. doi:10.1111/j.1467-
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^ a b c David Sze (2015), The Father of Positive Psychology and His Two Theories of Happiness

^ Seligman 2002, p. 275.

^ Wallis, Claudia (2005-01-09). "Science of Happiness: New Research on Mood, Satisfaction". TIME.
Archived from the original on 2010-11-15. Retrieved 2011-02-07.

^ Best Benefit of Exercise? Happiness, Robin Loyd, Fox News, May 30, 2006.

^ a b Sze, David (2015-06-17). "The Father of Positive Psychology and His Two Theories of Happiness".
Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-02-19.

^ "The World Question Center 2011— Page 2". Edge.org. Retrieved 2011-02-07.

^ a b c Seligman 2011, ch. 1.

^ "The Pursuit of Happiness".

^ "Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi TED talk".

^ "Healthy Lifestyle Tips".

^ "Other People Matter".

^ "Using Positive Psychology in Your Relationships".

^ "Why do You do What You Do?".

^ "The Science of a Happy Startup".

^ Seligman 2011.

^ Peterson & Seligman 2004.

^ Peterson & Seligman 2004, p. 51.

^ Shryack, J.; Steger, M. F.; Krueger, R. F.; Kallie, C. S. (2010). "The structure of virtue: An empirical
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^ Thagard, P. (2005). How to be a successful scientist. In M. E. Gorman, R. D. Tweney, D. C. Gooding & A.

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^ Schuurmans-Stekhoven, James (2011). "Is it God or just the data that moves in mysterious ways? How
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^ a b Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly (1990). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. New York: Harper &
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^ Nancy L. Sin; Sonja Lyubomirsky (May 2009). "Enhancing Well-Being and Alleviating Depressive
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Compton, William C. (2005). An Introduction to Positive Psychology. Belmont, California: Wadsworth

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Further reading

External links Edit

Wikiversity has learning resources about Positive psychology

Origins

Christopher Peterson, What Is Positive Psychology, and What Is It Not?

The 5 Founding Fathers and A History of Positive Psychology

The Father of Positive Psychology and His Two Theories of Happiness

Resources

University of Pennsylvania, Authentic Happiness, website of Martin Seligman

Various

Martin Seligman presentation on positive psychology (Video) at TED conference

The Karma of Happiness: A Buddhist Monk Looks at Positive Psychology by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

The positive words dictionary: An online resource of positive words for use in Positive Psychology
https://positivewordsdictionary.com

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_psychology