Block 3

Block III
Positive Cognitive States and Processes

Positive Cognitive States
and Processes
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Self and Related Concepts
UNIT 8 SELF AND RELATED CONCEPTS
Structure
8.1 Objectives
8.2 Introduction
8.3 Concept of Self
8.3.1 Different Aspects of Self
8.4 Self-Concept
8.4.1 Real Self and Ideal Self
8.5 Self-Esteem
8.6 Self-efficacy
8.7 Self-Regulation
8.8 Let Us Sum Up
8.9 Key Words
8.10 Answers to Self Assessment Questions
8.11 Unit End Questions
8.12 References
8.13 Suggested Readings
8.1 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After studying this Unit, you would be able to:
 Describe the concept of self;
 Understand different aspects of self;
 Differentiate between real-self and ideal-self;
 Explain the concept of self-esteem;
 Explain the concept of self-efficacy; and
 Learn about strategies for self-regulation of behaviour.
8.2 INTRODUCTION
The question “Who am I” is a central point that can arise in each stage of our life,
though it is more pertinent during the adolescence stage. Whatever developmental
stages you are in by now, you must have formed some notions about yourself, though
you may or may not be aware about it. Self is and has always been the intriguing
concept to understand. All of us have certain views and beliefs about ourselves - our
abilities, skills, interests, likings, dislikings, strengths and weaknesses etc. Thus we
know what we are, what are our aims in life, how do we want to live our life, what are
our guiding principles and values. These play a significant role in directing us, guiding
*Dr. Sunita Devi, Assistant Professor of Psychology, School of Liberal Arts & Human Science,
AURO University, Surat, Gujarat. 177
Positive Cognitive States us, and regulating our emotions and actions. So how do we develop this concept of
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self? Are there different aspects of self? There are various terms related to the self such
as self-concept, self-esteem, and self-efficacy. One needs to have a good self-concept,
high levels of self-esteem and self-efficacy to function effectively and engage in positive
behaviour. This will indicate a positive self. So in the present Unit, you will learn about
the self and its related concepts such as self-esteem, self-efficacy, and self-regulation.
8.3 CONCEPT OF SELF

If you ask yourself ‘Who am I?’, “What makes me?” , you might answer with “I am a
student,” or, “I am a singer,” or may be, “I am a God fearing person” etc. Or, perhaps
you may answer, “I am good in studies,” “I am a trained dancer,” or “I am a popular
sportsperson.” Here you may note that you are qualifying your abilities. Further answers
might include the type of traits: “I am a caring person,” “I am an introvert,” or “I am
a disciplined and punctual person”. These answers arise from what you think about
yourself, which is developed from your experiences and evaluation from early life, and
it keeps adjusting or changing throughout life.
Mostly when people go for interview, the most common question asked is “describe
yourself or tell us about yourself”. What you answer is all about how you perceive your
‘self’. You may describe physical features, traits, qualities, goals, motives etc. Thus,
your concept of self is made up of varied information about yourself, which you gain
from your own experience and also receive from others in your environment.
Reflective Activity 1:
Let us try to have some preliminary notion of yourself (i.e. who are you?) by
completing the following sentences. You can write more number of points also by
taking a separate sheet (it will be a good idea to note down the time you will take
to finish this activity of writing about yourself) Starting Time: _____________
I am .......................................................
I am .......................................................
I am .......................................................
I am .......................................................
I am .......................................................
Ending Time _____________
Reflect on the following:
1. How easy was it for you to complete these sentences?
2. How much time did you take?
3. Different people take different time to answer these questions. Why?
It might have been very easy for you or might have not been as easy as you may have
thought of at first. You were describing your ‘self’ when you were answering the above
statements. As you are aware of various objects and people around you, similarly you
are aware about your ‘self’. When a child is born, they develop their self-concept
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gradually in interaction with their parents/caregivers, family members, friends, teachers Self and Related Concepts
and other significant people around. Our interaction and experiences with other people
and the way we perceive these help us to form the foundation of our self-concept.
Further, different social and cultural systems and institutions around us including societal
expectations, cultural values, social media usage and technology etc. also affect our
perception of ourselves.
If you see the list of yours and your friends/family members in the above Reflective
activity 1, you will realise that how different we are because of our different experiences
and interpretation we make of these.
When we analyse these various descriptions about ourselves, we can categorize them
into various categories such as those describing our abilities and skills, i.e., what can
we do (self-concept); those describing us in terms of affective value, i.e., how do we
value or respect ourselves (self-esteem); and those expressing our belief in ourselves
that we are capable of doing things, a sense of personal control (self-efficacy).
8.3.1 Different Aspects of Self

Self can also be described as an Agent/ Subject when we say that I play hockey or I
sing, here self is described as a doer who is doing something and in control of self.
Thus it represents self as “I”. It includes self-awareness, self as consciousness, self as
user of coping strategies, self as adapting to environment, and self-regulation. Secondly,
self can also be described as an Object, when we say that ‘he made me angry’, we are
describing self as an object (which gets affected). Thus it represents self as “me”. It
includes self-representation, self-concept, self-esteem, self-efficacy. These two aspects
of self, that is, self-as-subject and self-as-object (Robins et.al., 1999) can represent
the total self.
Our ‘self’ can also be described in terms of personal, social, cognitive, and behavioural
aspects. The personal self is mainly concerned with one’s own self related to personal
aspects, whereas the social self develops in relation with others and is primarily
concerned with family and social relationships (socio-cultural context). Therefore, it is
also known as familial or relational self. The self can also be understood in terms of
cognitive and behavioural aspects.
If you reflect on your answers in the Reflective activity 1, you will realise that self is
made up of your personal and social self. If you identify yourself with your personal
information or attributes such as your name, your quality, your abilities or your beliefs/
values, you are referring to your personal self, whereas if you say that you belongs to
Kerala or Rajasthan, you are a Hindu/Muslim, etc. you are referring to your social or
cultural self. Sometimes you may wonder why some feel offensive if something is said
about their place or religion or family, now you can understand that it affects their
social self or identity that is why they probably feel bad and react in that manner. Thus,
the way people describe themselves as a person, defines their ‘self’. Self as a whole is
about the person’s thoughts, feelings, experiences, and ideas, with respect to herself or
himself which define the person at both, the personal and social levels.
These different aspects of self get shaped up by the result of our interactions with our
physical and socio-cultural environments. Therefore, it is multi-faceted. The origins of
self may be observed in infancy when the infant is aware that s/he is hungry and cries to
be fed by the caregiver. So, this biological need of food and hence crying, later on
modifies according to the socio-cultural environmental context. For example, while 179
Positive Cognitive States you may feel hungry for a pizza, a tribal adult is not. Another example is that fasting is
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given importance in all the religions. Although you have a biological need of food and
you feel hungry everyday normally, but on the day of the fast, you ignore or may not
even feel hungry because of the social-cultural conditioning.
8.4 SELF-CONCEPT
Self-concept is a basic notion about who we are in terms of physically, emotionally,
socially, and spiritually (Neill, 2005). From the time of our birth, we develop and
regulate our self-concept based on the information received from others about ourselves.
Thus self is a multi-dimensional concept. It is affected by multiple factors, which in turn
influence the individual aspects. For instance, you may think and describe yourself in
terms of your physical aspects, and in terms of your relations or emotions. Your
perception about yourself in physical aspects, e.g., you are very fat or very thin, may
impact your interaction in social situations or your emotions.
A few definitions of self-concept are given below.
o According to Roy Baumeister (1999), self-concept is “the individual’s belief
about himself or herself, including the person’s attributes and who and what
the self is.”
o The self-concept is defined as “the composite ideas, feelings, and attitudes
people have about themselves’ (Hilgard, Atkinson, and Atkinson, 1979: p.605).
o According to Purkey (1988), self-concept is “the sum of a complex, organized,
and dynamic system of learned beliefs, attitudes and opinions that each person
holds to be true about his or her personal existence”. Let’s understand the
important terms in this definition. According to him, the self-concept is:
 Learned: We are not born with the concept of self (and that is why it is
said that the child is like a blank slate), it is learnt steadily, formed and re-
formed by significant others and events in our life. Basically a child’s self-
image is a learnt one which is influenced by the feedback given by significant
others such as parents, family, peers and teachers. Here we need to
remember that we all have our own way of seeing the things so the feedback
given to the child may not essentially be the accurate one. For example, if
a parent or teacher constantly tell the child that s/he is obedient, the child
starts believing and see her/himself as obedient, or when they tell the
child that s/he is mischievous, the child begins to think so. Though, it may
not be true, as it is the subjective opinion of parents and teachers. Thus,
two children with a similar behaviour pattern would have different self-
pictures according to the message relayed by their respective parents.
Teachers are considered the second parents and influence children’s life
in a very significant way (Lawrence, 1996). Teachers too may have
judgements about children like parents. The judgments or assumptions of
teachers about the child may be similar to parents or it may be different.
 Organized: Our self-concept is organized which is characterized by
orderliness and harmony (Damon and Hart, 1991) that provides
consistency to the personality of an individual. That is why personality is
defined as the individualistic characteristics which is relatively permanent
in nature.
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 Dynamic: Life is all about ups and downs, success and failure which Self and Related Concepts
impacts our self-concept making it dynamic in nature which changes and
develop according to our experiences and situations. In order to develop
a healthy personality, an individual needs to work constantly on assimilating
the new thoughts into old ones throughout life.
Self Assessment Questions 1

1. If a person says, “I am good in studies”, s/he is referring to her/his social self.
True / False
2. When an individual says that s/he belongs to South India, s/he is referring to
her/his social self. True / False
3. The self as a whole is made up of individual’s:
a) thoughts and feelings
b) experiences, and ideas
c) only A
d) both A and B
4. From the following which is not true about ‘Self’:
a) Learned
b) Dynamicc) Static
d) Organised
5. “Self-concept is a basic notion about who we are in terms of physically,
emotionally, socially, spiritually” Who said this?
a) Hilgard, Atkinson, and Atkinson
b) Roy Baumeister
c) Purkey
d) Neill
All of us have some sense of who we are and how different we are from others. Our
perception and ideas about our capabilities and qualities is known as self-concept.
This view about our self or our self-concept can be positive or negative, depending
upon our experiences and mind set. The way we would respond to the question,
“Who am I?” tells about how do we see ourselves, positively or negatively. The positive
response to this question makes us feel good or rather we can say that if we feel good
about our self then our answer would be positive. It can be that we may like some of
our qualities and may not like other. For example, one may feel good about his/her
social skills but may not be positive or confident about the academic skills. Although it
is not easy to find out an individual’s self-concept, yet you may get a fair idea by the
way an individual describes about him/her.
Our positive self helps us to view the world as a safe and positive place to be in. On the
other hand, the negative response makes us feel unhappy about who we are and make
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Positive Cognitive States us view the world as unsafe and bad place to be in. According to Rogers, self-actualizing
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tendencies drive all human behaviour to achieve at their fullest level of potentials. A
person forms the basic structure of self and related concepts based on the result of his/
her interactions with the environment and others. Thus self-concept is an organized,
dynamic, conceptual pattern of ideas and values related to the self.
Think and write about “Who am I?”
 Based on your answer, find out whether you have a negative or a positive
self-concept?
 Reflect on your experiences that led you to develop this particular self-
concept?
 Can you plan some strategies to modify the negative self-concept or
develop further the positive self? Discuss with your friends and/or family
members and write.
8.4.1 Real Self and Ideal Self

The ‘self’ has two parts: the Ideal self and the Real self. According to Carl Rogers, we
all visualise ourselves into our ideal self, which we would like to be; whereas the real
self is what we actually are. Our real self can be very different from our ideal self. The
more the gap or disparity between what we like to be (ideal self) and what we are (real
self), the more the disharmony within our self. That is why Rogers emphasized that we
essentially need to work towards attaining the harmony or consistency between these
two selves. We achieve harmony or the congruence by making our thoughts and actions
of real self, similar to our ideal self. In short, when our self-concept is accurate, we
achieve congruence or harmony within self.
It is very important to focus on bringing or maintaining this congruence, as high
congruence is essential to have a greater sense of self-esteem and a healthy, fruitful life.
On the other hand, if the discrepancy is more between our ideal and actual selves, we
experience a state of incongruence, which can lead to low self-esteem, anxiety and
maladjustment. So adults especially, the parents and teachers, need to provide
unconditional positive regard, or unconditional love to children, which can help our
children achieve high congruency in their ideal and real self. Rogers (1980) mentioned
that, “as individuals are accepted and valued as they are, they tend to develop a more
caring attitude towards themselves” (p. 116).
“What would you like to be?”
 We all must have formed some views about our ideal selves. Think on this and
imagine that you have realised or achieved your ideal self. Now with this picture
of your ideal self, describe briefly your attitudes towards: (a) school, (b) friends,
(c) family, (d) society and (e) money.
 Now identify two of your friends and two family members and ask them to
write down briefly about you on these five aspects, as they perceive you. This
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will depict your real ideas are or how people in your life perceive your real
attitudes towards these categories.
 These four persons will describe your real self as they know you. Compare
your ideal descriptions with others’ real descriptions in detail. Are they very
similar or dissimilar? And why?
8.5 SELF-ESTEEM
Another important aspect of our self is self-esteem. As a human being, we constantly
evaluate our self or make some judgment about our own value or worth which is
termed as self-esteem. People vary in viewing their self-esteem, some have high self-
esteem, whereas others may have low self-esteem. Self-esteem reflects a personal
psychological characteristic relating to self-judgment based on one’s values about humans
(Alesi et. al., 2012). It indicates being aware of one’s value system and an emotional
evaluation of one’s self-worth (Schunk, 1985).
Self-esteem is a multi-dimensional construct. We have a global overall self-esteem
based on general judgements of self-worth and various subtypes of self-esteem based
on evaluations of self-worth in different contexts such as, within the family, school,
work setting, leisure setting, or peer group (Mruk, 1999). Self-esteem is different from
self-confidence. Self-confidence indicates that you are confident of your ability to carry
out a particular thing. On the other hand, self-esteem refers to how high you hold
yourself in your own eyes, how much respect and worth you give to yourself.
There are many self-report measures to assess self-esteem of individuals such as giving
a variety of statements and asking a person to indicate whether the statements given
are true for her/him or not.
For instance:
 “I am good at sports”
 “I am the one usually chosen for the cultural programmes or competitions”
 “I am highly liked by my teachers”
 “My friends consider me a trustworthy person”
If a child says ‘Yes’ to the above statements, it shows that s/he has high self-esteem in
comparison to the child who says “No”. Generally by 6-7 years of age, children’s self-
esteem is formed at least in four areas: academic competence, social competence,
physical/athletic competence, and physical appearance, which improve with age
and experience. Rosenberg’s Self-esteem inventory (Rosenberg, 1965b) is a most
commonly used uni-dimensional measure of self-esteem. Coopersmith Self-Esteem
Inventory (Coopersmith, 1981, 2002) is a multi-dimensinal measure of self-esteem in
areas of family, school, peers, and general social activities.
Self-esteem is more or less stable across the life span, though it may vary at lifecycle
transition points (Robins et.al., 1999). For instance, teenagers may experience a drop
in self-esteem due to the various physical and psychological changes they go through.
Self-esteem develops early in life based on the experiences and interactions during the
early years. It has a great impact on our everyday behaviour. For instance, individuals
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Positive Cognitive States who have high academic self-esteem perform better in studies and are liked by their
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peers than those with low academic self-esteem. Conversely, individuals with low self-
esteem may have high levels of anxiety, depression, and antisocial behaviour than those
who have high self-esteem. People with high self-esteem are better in their social
adjustment (Martin et al., 2014). It also positively affects their psychological well-
being and quality of life (Boyd et al., 2014).
Therefore, it is extremely important for parents, families and schools to create a warm
and positive environment, which can help in the development of high self-esteem among
children. It makes them feel acknowledged, accepted as capable and valuable. Not
allowing children to take their decisions and nagging often results in low self-esteem
among children. It may be noted that it is important to have a healthy self-esteem than
a very high self-esteem which is not realistic or functional.
Here, one needs to be aware of “defensive self-esteem” which refers to reporting of
a high self-esteem as a defense against negative self-evaluation (Carr, 2004). Such
individuals feel insecure and anxious when their competence is challenged. They resort
to defense mechanism of overcompensation by bragging about themselves; or they use
the defensive displacement of self-directed criticism onto others and display an unhealthy
way of criticizing others (Carr, 2004).
Role of Culture
Culture/environment of an individual plays a critical role in developing his/her self-
concept and self-esteem. Some cultures focus on the importance of being together
whereas other cultures value the individual beings more than the group. Understanding
of ‘self’ in Indian cultural context is distinct from the Western cultural context. One of
the differences is the boundary we draw between the self and the others. In Indian
culture, this boundary of self is not clearly defined or fixed and gets extended to others
like family and friends. For example, whenever an individual takes some decision about
self (e.g. study, job, etc.), usually one tends to think his/her decision in relation to
others as well. Thus, sometimes our self includes the others and sometimes it withdraws
and focuses completely on individual self (e.g., our personal needs or goals). Whereas,
if we see the western culture, this boundary of self appears to be relatively fixed and
clearly defined where individuals keep their individuality. In the Indian culture, the self
is usually attached with one’s own group and both maintain the state of harmonious co-
existence. On the other hand, in the Western culture an individual often keep a distance
from the others/groups which makes the Western cultures as individualistic, and
Indian and many Asian cultures as collectivistic.
Increasing Your Self-Esteem: Some Tips

 Learn a new skill in areas such as academic, cognitive, social, and work-
related
 Go beyond your comfort zone
 Question your self-limiting beliefs, challenge your thoughts
 Focus on your strengths
 Engage in affirmative talk, tell yourself positive and kinder words
 Visualize things in a positive way
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 Cultivate a positive attitude
 Be clear about your goals and values
 Do not hesitate to talk to others and take their help
 Take self care
 Recognize the ‘hero’ within you, tap onto your inner strengths
 Remember that you are more than your circumstances, the way you
respond matters more
 You are unique, so do not compare with others

1. Who developed the concept of the ideal self and the real self?
2. The more the gap or disparity between what we like to be (ideal self) and
what we are (real self), more the harmony within our self. True / False
3. Match the terms of column A with the appropriate description given in the
column B.
Column A Column B
(a) Self-concept (i) judgment about our own value or worth
(b) Self-esteem (ii) Our perception and ideas about our capabilities
and qualities
(c) Self as a subject (iii) do not have clearly defined and fixed boundaries
(d) Self as an object (iv) described as a doer who is doing something
(e) Collectivistic culture (v) self gets affected by others
8.6 SELF-EFFICACY
Self-efficacy is another important concept of self. The term ‘self-efficacy” was proposed
by psychologist Albert Bandura (1977). He was a Canadian-American psychologist
who worked as a professor at Stanford University. According to him, “self-efficacy is
a person’s particular set of beliefs that determine how well one can execute a plan of
action in prospective situations”. We all have different views about our ability to control
the life outcomes. People who believe that they are capable and can control what
happens to them are having high self-efficacy whereas people who believe that the
things and life events are not in their control and they cannot do anything about the life
outcomes displays low self-efficacy. For example a child, who thinks that if I study
hard I can pass the examination, demonstrates high self-efficacy. On the other hand, a
child who thinks if I am lucky, the paper will be easy or I wish the examiner checks the
papers leniently, displays low self-efficacy as s/he thinks that the outcome is not in their
control and is in control of fate or luck or other situational factors. Hence, an individual
who believes that s/he has the capacity or behaviours to deal with a particular situation,
shows high self-efficacy. Such a person will accordingly put in the effort required to
achieve the desired outcome/ consequence. 185
Positive Cognitive States The idea of self-efficacy is founded on Bandura’s social cognitive theory (Bandura,
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1997, 1986). According to this theory, human beings actively engage with their
environment to shape their lives. People learn by observing and imitating others. So if
a child is exposed to people who demonstrate high self-efficacy, s/he tends to imitate
the same behaviour. Also people will engage in behaviours for which they have mastery,
high expectations of success and conviction about their own effectiveness, as this will
lower the amount of risk they would undertake. High self-efficacy makes people to
choose, influence, and even create the circumstances of their own life. Further, they
feel more confident and less fearful.
Self-efficacy is different from self-esteem in the sense that self-esteem refers to judgments
about self-worth whereas self-efficacy refers to judgments about self-capabilities.
However, like we have a general self-esteem and self-esteem related to specific domains
(multi-dimensional self-esteem measures), similarly self-efficacy can be general/global
self-efficacy as well as we have self-efficacy specific to different domains. There is
also collective self-efficacy, which refers to “the extent to which we believe that we can
work together effectively to accomplish our shared goals” (Maddux, 2009a, p. 340).
For instance, a sports team competing for an Olympic medal pursues shared objectives
at a collective level.
Self-efficacy includes the following aspects/components (Carr, 2004):
a) Cognitive: the person with high self-efficacy demonstrates greater cognitive
resourcefulness, strategic flexibility, effective problem-solving and future-time
perspective.
b) Motivational: they are motivated to perform and persist because they view
challenges as surmountable, believe that their effort will result in good
consequences, and ascribe failure to controllable factors such as less effort or
negative situations rather than uncontrollable factors like lack of ability.
c) Emotional: self-efficacy reduces negative affective states and thinking by using
problem-focused coping, and views potential threats as manageable challenges.
It also involves the use of self-soothing techniques such as relaxation, humour
etc. to reduce the emotional arousal in the face of threatening/difficult situations.
d) Physical: self-efficacy beliefs lead to improved immune system, improved
physical functioning and psychological well-being.
Self-efficacy refers to a sense of perceived control. It includes a focus on the goal and
planful thinking for achieving the goal, which underlies the person’s belief about their
capabilities to achieve the goal. This is also called the “efficacy expectancies” (Snyder,
Lopez, & Pedrotti, 2011). As we have seen in earlier sections, ideas about our ‘self’ is
formed by our experiences, our mind set and the people around us; this suggests that
self-efficacy can be developed. Self-efficacy has been linked to successful coping and
improved physical health (Maddux, 1995, 2009a). Children with high self-efficacy
perform better in all spheres of life. People with high self-efficacy have been found to
have high determination. So it is very important for the society, parents and teachers to
create positive experiences and present positive role models for children to develop a
strong sense of self-efficacy during their formative years in childhood.
Strategies for Enhancing Self-Efficacy
Self-efficacy is a learned phenomenon. There can be various strategies that can help
develop self-efficacy.
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 Self-mastery: One needs to build success by mastering tasks. The sense of Self and Related Concepts
mastery and achievement can help improve belief in our capabilities or
effectiveness.
 Role modelling: Observing others in similar situations who have achieved
success can inspire one to undertake those activities. Observational learning
is also used when we make use of role models to imitate their behaviour.
 Visualization: One can visualize oneself behaving effectively, thereby
generating positive emotions and increasing efficacy expectancies.
 Verbal persuasion: Being persuaded by people who are expert in the field,
powerful, and trustworthy can build self-efficacy in the individual.
 Creating positive emotions and regulating arousal: If we are highly
aroused, it may lead to negative emotions and hamper self-efficacious thinking.
Hence one needs to lower the arousal by engaging in meditation, biofeedback,
relaxation and other techniques. Regulation of negative emotions and creation
of positive emotions will help one to develop self-efficacy.
Activity 1
Enter into your stretch zone
There are three personal zones of achievement: comfort zone, stretch zone, and
panic zone. One needs to go beyond the comfort zone (where the person does not
want to enter into new arenas or put in more efforts), and also the panic zone
(where the person does not want to take any risk). Stretch zone is where you are
willing to take reasonable risks based on self-awareness and can take failures as
learning experiences to move forward. Doing what we like, trying out the unknown,
being vulnerable can help us to be flexible and open to new learning experiences.
This will increase our self-belief or self-efficacy.
8.7 SELF-REGULATION
We all must have faced situations where we were required to control our desires or
behaviour. We might have been successful at it or might not have been. For instance,
you might have got very angry that your assistant staff at office did not do a task on
time which was urgent. How did you control your anger? Or you might have bursted at
a passer-by who just suddenly came in front of your car when you were taking a left
turn on the road. Or you gave in to the temptation of eating sweets at a dinner party
and ate too much. The crucial aspect in all these examples is exercising control over
our desires, impulses and actions.
Self-regulation involves regulating our thoughts, emotions and behaviour so that it leads
to a desirable or positive outcome. Self control and self-regulation are defined as
people’s ability to initiate and guide their actions toward the achievement of a desired
future goal (Karolyi, 1999). Although self-regulation is used synonymously with the
word self-control, there is a difference. Self-control is used in a limited sense where
you suppress or stop your desires or behaviour. However, Self-regulation is a wider
term which considers your long-term goals and value system and aims at using
appropriate strategies or responses to achieve effective outcomes. There is emotional
self-regulation which refers to managing our emotions in a proper way and respond 187
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how we behave in a particular situation keeping in mind our values and goals; whether
we respond by thinking about the situation, or we react on an impulse without thinking?
Self-control leads to better adjustment and positive outcome (Peterson & Seligman,
2004). The famous Marshmallow experiment by Walter Mischel is an example of self-
control (Mischel, 1974). It depicts self-control in the form of the ability to delay
gratification of desires. In this experiment, small children were given a choice that if
they want, they can get one marshmallow now which is in front of them, or if they wait
for a period of around 15 minutes, the experimenter would get them two marshmallows.
It was found that those children who could wait and displayed the ability to control and
delay the gratification of their desires, obtained positive outcomes in their later years in
life also (Mischel & Mendoza-Denton, 2003; Goleman, 1998). Self-control and self-
regulation abilities helped them adjust effectively, achieve better academically and
manage stress successfully.
For example, it is very important to teach a child to delay or defer the immediate
satisfaction of certain needs. This will help in learning the ability to regulate oneself and
delay gratification of one’s needs. We all know how important self-control is in achieving
the long-term goals. For example a child is having an examination tomorrow and
today his/her favourite movie is coming on television. If s/he has poor self-control and
watch movie instead of revising for the exam, s/he may not perform well in his/her
exam. You can also think and discuss with your friends or family some other examples
where self-control is required in our day-to-day life. Think of the situation at traffic red
light. If a person has a poor self-control and difficulty to wait, imagine what could
happen to him/her or they can cause accidents to others. There are many good practices
in Indian culture which provides us with some effective mechanisms (such as keeping
fast (vrata or roza)) for developing self-control among individuals which can also be
very beneficial for physical system to detoxify and rest.
Thus self-regulation involves looking at the future goals and accordingly sacrifice the
short-term desires and pleasures, e.g., if one wants to achieve better a particular body
weight, a long-term goal, one needs to follow the health routing in a disciplined way
and forgo the short-term pleasures of eating sweets or fast food. One needs to stay
focused on the goal and take necessary steps, modify one’s behaviour, acquire various
skills in the way to achieve that long-term goal. So it is a dynamic process of interaction
with the environment and changing one’s strategies and plans to attain that end goal.
Aspects of Self-Regulation
There are two parts to self-regulation: the goal or the desired outcome, and the process/
path to reach that desired goal. The former is called the “Goal intentions”, e.g., your
desire to achieve the goal of a particular body weight. The latter is called
“Implementation intentions” that refers to the specific actions taken and strategies
used by the individual to achieve the goal (Gollwitzer, 1999). It refers to actually
implementing the plans made for attaining the desired outcome/goal. For example, to
achieve the goal of attaining a desired body weight, I will exercise regularly from 6 a.m.
to 7 a.m. in the morning, have early dinner at 7 p.m. everyday, will not eat refined flour
at all and so on. Thus it is not enough to have goals, but planning to achieve the goal is
necessary, and further implementing the specific plans and steps is required to achieve
the goal. Planning things and implementing the steps/strategies consistently will help
bring automaticity in behaviour control (Bargh, 1996; Bargh & Chartrand, 1999). This
188
makes it easier to engage in self-controlled behaviour and facilitates self-regulation. Self and Related Concepts
Thus when you consistently exercise everyday morning, you will find it easier to get up
and do it without having to exercise too much self-control to do it.
Let us see now how much regulated you are in your behaviour related to your academic
learning. Do you set goals for your study? Are you able to prepare plans for your
study? Do you spell out specific strategies regarding achieving your goals and implement
them? What do you do when obstacles come up while carrying out the strategies?
How do you keep yourself motivated throughout the process of achieving your desired
goals?
Self-regulated learning (SRL) is a core conceptual framework that involves the
cognitive, motivational, and emotional aspects of learning (Panadero, 2017). Various
models of self-regulated learning have highlighted the role of metacognitive and
motivational processes (Zimmerman & Campillo, 2003; Zimmerman, 2000). When
you engage in self-regulation related to your academic behaviour, it is called academic
self-regulation. It helps you to focus on achieving your academic-related goals despite
various distractions in the short-term. Students lacking in academic self-regulation display
low self-control.
Academic self-regulation has three important components (Brier, 2010):
 Planning: Academically self-regulated learners set goals and prepare plans
to achieve it. They prioritize the goals and regulate their behaviour according
to the goals. They are motivated to persevere in their efforts to attain the
goals.
 Problem-solving: Such students implement various strategies to achieve the
goals. They are aware of the performance standards they have set and work
towards any obstacles related to it. They adjust and readjust the strategies to
overcome the barriers in achieving the goals.
 Self-evaluation: It involves monitoring the progress towards the set goals. It
assesses if their actions are consistent with the goal intentions and their value
systems. If it is not consistent, they take steps to modify their behaviour
according to the desired goals. A positive evaluation enhances their motivation
further to engage in academic behaviour.
Are You a Self-Regulated Learner?

Answer the following questions with a Yes or No.
Do you . . .
1. Have a plan before you begin to do your schoolwork (what you will do,
when you will start, where you will work, in what order you will do your
work)?
2. Set a goal before you start working?
3. Visualize your goal and imagine how you might tell whether you are acting
in the way that you want to act (that you are keeping to your standards)?
4. Create priorities (put your tasks in an order) and a schedule to do your
work?
189
and Processes 5. Think out specific strategies or ways to achieve your goals?
6. Expect to do well before you start doing your work?
7. Feel interested in the work?
8. Think the work is important or relevant?
9. Feel motivated to put forth as much effort as you can?
10. Feel able to stay focused while working?
11. Keep track of whether you are paying attention while you work?
12. Notice whether you are making progress toward being as successful at
schoolwork as you want to be?
13. Try to figure out what you would do differently to help yourself improve?
14. See a relationship between how hard you work, your strategies, and how
you actually do?
15. Self-correct and adjust your effort, revise your strategies, or ask for help
if you see you are not doing as well as you want to do?
16. Give yourself a reward (for example, a compliment) or punishment (feel
ashamed or self-critical) when you finish your work, depending on how
you think you did?
Source: Promoting Academic Self-Regulation in Adolescents by Norman Brier, 2010, Champaign,
IL: Research Press (www.researchpress.com, 800-519-2707)
https://www.researchpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/6615.pdf
Self-Control Failure
There are occasions when we fail to exercise self-control. There is inability to regulate
ourselves to follow the planned out steps because of various reasons. These reasons
for failure to self-control may relate to personal factors or to external situational factors.
These factors can also be under one’s control to change or not under one’s control.
Excuses are the explanations that we give for our self-control failure when factors
were under our control, but we could not do so. It avoids taking personal responsibility
and attributes the failure to external factors. Thus it helps us to preserve our self-
esteem and self-image. At other times, of course, uncontrollable factors can hinder the
implementation of our plans. Cultural factors related to belief system may also affect
our ability to self-control or failure of self-control. Individuals internalize the socio-
cultural belief systems that influence their own belief of self-control or lack of it. The
amount of self-control exercised by people may have less to do with the power of the
impulse, and more to do with culturally internalized beliefs about whether they should,
or can, exercise self-control (Baumgadner & Crothers, 2015). There are also individual
differences in self-control that govern the ability to control oneself. As Carver (2005)
points out, personality characteristics such as ego-resilience, ego-control, and hardiness
affect one’s self-control ability.
Life may not always go according to our needs and desires. We need to adjust according
to life situations on many occasions. There may be occasions in life, which involve
battles between situational pressures and our self-control. We require will power,
190
determination and strategic planning to control and regulate our behaviour in accordance Self and Related Concepts
to our long-term goals.
There are number of psychological techniques to develop self-control which have been
suggested below:
 Observe your own behaviour. If you make this a habit, you will notice and
gather necessary information about yourself which may help you to alter, adapt,
or strengthen certain aspects of your ‘self’. You need to be more observant
or mindful of your thoughts, feelings and behaviour.
 Self-instruction is another essential technique. If you are observant of
yourself, you would find that this technique would be more beneficial. Have
you noticed the self-talk which is going on in our mind constantly? We all
often talk and instruct ourselves to do something and behave the way we
want to. Such instructions are quite effective in self-regulation especially when
you observe yourself to be thinking or doing something negative or destructive.
 Self-reinforcement. This technique involves rewarding behaviours that have

positive consequences. For example, you may go to play with friends, if you
have finished your assignments. These techniques are quite effective to develop
self-regulation and self-control in people. You can try these techniques to
make yourself better.
Reflective Activity 4: Go back to your childhood and reflect how many times
your parents have asked you to wait before giving you something. The wait could
be few minutes to few hours to few days or months, even if they could have given
you the things which you asked immediately. Have you wondered why?
Write down two-three such instances which you remember.
Now ponder on the questions:
 Why have they delayed or made you wait?
 What important things it must have taught you?
 Discuss with your friends and write a short note on that.
1. The individual's belief that s/he is capable and can control what happens
to her/him is known as ____________________.
2. According to Rogers, ___________________drive all human behaviour

to achieve at their fullest level of potentials.
3. Self-regulation refers to our ability to organise and monitor our own

behaviour. True/False
4. Self-regulation focuses on the short-term goals than long-term goals. True/

False
5. What are the two parts/aspects in self-regulation.
191
and Processes 6. Which of the following is NOT the psychological techniques to develop
self-control?
a) Self-observation
b) Self-instruction
c) Self-reinforcement
d) Self-indulgence
8.8 LET US SUM UP

In this unit, you learned about how self is formed, different forms of self and how
different cultures influence our self. All human beings strive for betterment, which creates
the concept of ideal self, but reality may be very different. The discrepancy between
ideal self and the real self can affect an individual negatively. You also learned about the
different concepts related to self, such as self-concept, self-esteem, self-efficacy and
self-regulation and briefly about how to develop these. Self-concept is an important
part of our ‘being’. Positive self refers to viewing our own self in a positive way, valuing
oneself, believing in oneself, and being able to regulate one’s emotions and behaviour
to achieve positive outcomes and desired goals. Strategies for developing self-esteem
and self-efficacy were described. You also learned about the different psychological
techniques to develop self-control behaviour and regulate oneself.
8.9 KEY WORDS

Collectivistic : In collectivistic perspective, the self is usually seen as attached
Perspective with one’s own group and both maintain the state of harmonious
co-existence.
Congruence : state of being in which our thoughts about our real and ideal
selves are very similar.
Incongruence : state of being in which there is a great discrepancy between our
real and ideal selves.
Self : Self as a whole is about the person’s thoughts, feelings,
experiences, and ideas, with respect to herself or himself which
define the person at both, the personal and social levels.
Real self : what we actually are.
Ideal self : which we would like to be.
Social Self : is primarily concerned with family and social relationships.
Positive-self : The positive view about our self which helps us to view the world
as a safe and positive place to be in.
Self-concept : Our perception and ideas about our capabilities and qualities is
known as self-concept.
Self-esteem : The evaluation or the judgment about our self or our own value
192 or worth is termed as self-esteem.
Self-efficacy : The individual’s belief that s/he is capable and can control what Self and Related Concepts
happens to her/him is known as self-efficacy.
Self-regulation : refers to our ability to organise and monitor our own behaviour.
Self- : Rewarding our self for those behaviours that have positive
reinforcement consequences.
8.10 ANSWERS TO SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

Answers to Self Assessment Questions 1
1. False; 2. True; 3. D. both A and B; 4. C. Static; 5. D. Neill
1. Carl Rogers, 2. False
3. Match the columns A and B
(a) (ii), (b) (i), (c) (iv), (d) (v), (e) (iii)
1. Self-efficacy; 2. Self-actualizing tendencies; 3. True; 4. False; 5. Goal intentions
and Implementation intentions; 6. Self-indulgence
8.11 UNIT END QUESTIONS

1. Define self-concept. Differentiate between self-as-subject and self-as-object.
2. Differentiate between individualistic perspective of culture from the collectivistic
perspective with examples.
3. Explain the importance of congruence between the ideal self and the real self with
examples.
4. Explain the concept of self-efficacy and suggest ways to develop it among children.
5. Define self-regulation and describe different techniques to develop self-control.
8.12 REFERENCES
Alesi, M., Rappo, G., and Pepi, A. (2012). Self-esteem at school and self-handicapping
in childhood: comparison of groups with learning disabilities. Psychol. Rep. 111, 952–
962. doi: 10.2466/15.10.PR0.111.6.952-962
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive
theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Bandura, A. (1994). Self-efficacy. In V. S. Ramachaudran (Ed.), Encyclopedia of
human behavior (Vol. 4, pp. 71-81). New York: Academic Press. (Reprinted in
H.Friedman [Ed.], Encyclopedia of mental health. San Diego: Academic Press, 1998).
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy. New York: Freeman.
Bargh, J.A. (1996). Principles of automaticity. In E.T. Higgins & A. Kruglanski (Eds.), 193
Positive Cognitive States Social psychology: Handbook of basic principles (pp.169-183). New York: Guilford
and Processes
Press.
Bargh, J.A., & Chartrand, T.L. (1999). The unbearable automaticity of being. American
Psychologist, 54, 462-479.
Baumgadner, S., & Crothers, M. (2015). Positive psychology. Pearson.
Boyd, J. E., Otilingam, P. G., & Deforge, B. R. (2014). Brief version of the Internalized
Stigma of Mental Illness (ISMI) scale: psychometric properties and relationship to
depression, self-esteem, recovery orientation, empowerment, and perceived devaluation
and discrimination. Psychiatr. Rehabil. J. 37, 17–23. doi: 10.1037/prj0000035
Carr, A. (2004). Positive psychology: The science of happiness and human
strengths. NY: Routledge.
Carver, C.S. (2005). Impulse and constraint: Perspectives from personality psychology,
convergence with theory in other areas, and potential integration. Personality and
Social Psychology Review, 9, 312-333.
Cook, D. A., & Artino, A. R. Jr. (2016). Motivation to learn: an overview of
contemporary theories (https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.13074). Med Educ., 50 (10):997-
1014. doi:10.1111/medu.13074
Coopersmith, S (1981, 1987). Self-esteem inventories. Palo Alto: Consulting
Psychologists Press.
Coopersmith, S. (2002). Revised Coopersmith self-esteem inventory manual.
Redwood City: Mind Garden.
Goleman, D. (1998). Working with emotional intelligence. New York: Bantam
Books.
Gollwitzer, P. M. (1999). Implementation intentions: Strong effects of simple plans.
American Psychologist, 54, 493-503.
Karolyi, P. (1999). A goal systems-self-regulatory perspective on personality,
psychopathology, and change. Review of General Psychology, 3, 264-291.
Maddux, J.E. (1995). Self-efficacy, adaptation, and adjustment: Theory, research,
and application (Ed.). New York: Plenum.
Maddux, J.E. (2009a). Self-efficacy: The power of believing you can. In S.J. Lopez,
& C.R. Snyder (Eds.), Oxford handbook of positive psychology (pp. 335-343).
New York: Oxford University Press.
Martin, F., Russell, S., and Seeley, J. (2014). Higher quality of life and lower depression
for people on ART in Uganda as compared to a community control group. PLoS
One, 9: e105154. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0105154
Mischel, W. (1974). Processes in delay of gratification. In Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances
in experimental psychology, 7, pp. 249-292. New York: Academic Press.
Mischel, W., & Mendoza-Denton, R. (2003). Harnessing willpower and socioemotional
intelligence to enhance human agency and potential. In I.G. Aspinwall & U.M. Staudinger
(Eds.), A psychology of human strengths: Fundamental questions and future
directions for a positive psychology (pp. 245-256). Washington DC: American
Psychological Association.
194
Morgan, C., King, R., Weisz, J. & Schopler, J. (2017). Introduction to Psychology. Self and Related Concepts
McGraw-Hill Inc.,U.S.
Panadero, E. (2017). A review of self-regulated learning: six models and four directions
for research. Front. Psychol. 8:422. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00422
Peterson, C., & Seligman, M.E.P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A
handbook of classification. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association/
New York: Oxford University Press.
Robins, R., Norem, J., & Check, J. (1999). Naturalising the self. In L. Pervin and O.
John (eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (pp. 443-47). New
York: Guilford.
Rosenberg, M. (1965b). Society and Adolescent Self-Image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton
University Press.
Schunk, D. H. (1985). Self-efficacy and classroom learning. Psychol. Sch. 22, 208–
223. doi: 10.1002/1520-6807(198504)22:2<208::aid-pits2310220215>3.0.co;2-7
Snyder, C.R., Lopez, S.J., & Pedrotti, J.T. (2011). Positive psychology: The scientific
and practical explorations of human strngths. 2nd ed., Sage Publications.
Zimmerman, B. J. (2000). Attaining self-regulation: A social cognitive perspective.
In M. Boekaerts, P. R. Pintrich, and M. Zeidner (Eds.) Handbook of Self-Regulation,
pp. 13-40, San Diego, CA: Academic Press, doi: 10.1016/b978-012109890-2/50031-7
Zimmerman, B. J., & Campillo, M. (2003). Motivating self-regulated problem solvers.
In J. E. Davidson and R. J. Sternberg (Eds.) The Nature of Problem Solving, pp.
233-262. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
8.13 SUGGESTED READINGS

Bandura A. (1997). Self-efficacy in changing societies. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge
University Press.
Kabat-Zinn J. (2005). Full catastrophe living: Using the wisdom of your body
and mind to face stress, pain, and illness (15th Anniversary Ed.). New York, NY:
Delta Trade Paperback/Bantam Dell.
Macayan, Junghan-Pinugu, Castillo. (2019). Understanding the self outcome-based
module. C&E Publishing.
Sammut, G. (2021). Understanding the self and others. Routledge.
Schiraldi, G. R. (2016). The self-esteem workbook. New Harbinger.
Schwarzer, R. (1992). Self-efficacy: Thought control of action. (Ed.). Washington,
DC: Hemisphere.
Stevens, R. (1996). Understanding the self. Sage Publications Limited.
Zimmerman, B. J. (2001). Theories of Self-Regulated Learning and Academic
Achievement: An Overview and Analysis. In Zimmerman, B.J. & Schunk, D.H. (Ed.),
Self-Regulated Learning and Academic Achievement: Theoretical Perspectives
(pp. 1-65).
195
and Processes UNIT 9 RESILIENCE*
Structure
9.1 Learning Objectives

9.2 Introduction
9.3 Resilience: Background and Early Research
9.4 Four Waves of Resilience Research
9.5 Methodological Considerations
9.6 Evolution of the Concept of Resilience
9.7 Key Concepts in Resilience Research
9.8 Theoretical Models of Resilience
9.9 Debates and Discussions in Resilience Research
9.10 Application of Resilience
9.11 Let us Sum Up
9.12 Key Words
9.15 References

 Explain the meaning of resilience;
 Know about the early research in the field of resilience;
 Describe the methodological considerations and the focus of research in
resilience;
 Explain the key terms in resilience;
 Discuss debates and discussions in the field of resilience; and
 Describe application of resilience in different areas.
9.2 INTRODUCTION
Think of people around you who, according to you have led a ‘difficult’ life. That is,
they have faced adverse situations which have threatened their existence, development,
or well-being. Such adversities may include natural calamities, unemployment, financial
loss, violence, or physical illness. Usually, individuals are not expected to successfully
*Dr. Amrita Deb, Associate Professor of Psychology, Department of Liberal Arts, IIT,
196 Hyderabad
recover from these extreme challenges. However, some of us are more likely than Resilience
others to not only overcome but also thrive in the aftermath of such events.
Besides the examples of adversities cited above, individuals commonly face challenges
stemming from novel situationssuch as the move from school to college or getting
promoted at work. These events are not necessarily adverse, however, the transition
froma familiar situation to a new one does require some level of resilience for healthy
adaptation. If we observe people around,we will notice that some of us handle changes
better than others. For instance, students who moveto a hostel in a new city for higher
educationare perhaps moving away from the security and comfort of their homes for
the first time. In such situations, some students are able to adapt to their new surroundings
better and quicker, as compared to others.
Resilience researchers have defined this phenomenon as the ability to display adaptation
despite significant challenges.
Illustrative biography
Srinivasa Ramanujan, the great Indian mathematician faced some initial

struggles as a child. After experiencing illness, death of siblings and being
moved between his grandparents’ and parents’ house, he discovered his
mathematical abilities at a young age. However, he continued to struggle
with ill-health, finances and college education. Despite being hailed as a
mathematical genius, he had to leave college without a degree due to his
poor interest in non-mathematics subjects. Throughout all these challenges,
he continued to pursue his work in mathematics. Finally, he obtained his
formal degree from the University of Cambridge. In his brief life while being
faced with several challenges, he was able to make significant contributions
to the field of mathematics.
9.3 RESILIENCE RESEARCH: BACKGROUND AND

EARLY RESEARCH
For many decades, research in psychology was based on a deficit-based approach,
that is, it focused on investigating what is wrong with individuals and found ways to fix
it. This is akin to the approach of disciplines such as medical science, psychiatry and
clinical psychology where professionals detect symptoms and then attempt to alleviate
them through medication and/or therapy. Therefore, over time, abundant evidence
was gathered on what is wrong and how to fix it. But there was less focus on what is
rightwith individuals, and how to enhance it. Issues like suffering, vulnerability, and
symptoms received more attention as compared to other topics such as resilience.
This may be attributed to specific events of that period such asthe World Wars, which
led researchers to prioritize the study of psychological symptoms and disorders over
other areas of work. Moreover, psychodynamic approach popularized by pioneers
including Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler had a powerful influence on research and
practice in that era. Subsequently, explorations in that period majorly addressed suffering
and vulnerability as compared topositive adaptation. This deficit-based approach led
to ample studies on children growing up in disadvantaged situations such as poverty
and natural calamity who display maladaptive outcomes in adulthood. On the other
197
Positive Cognitive States hand, research on children from disadvantaged backgrounds who have shown positive
and Processes
outcomes in adulthood, was comparatively less common.This approach also known
as the psychopathological approach, continued to dominate psychology research for
many decades.
In 1998, when Professor Martin Seligman became the President of the American
Psychological Association, he drew attention to the fact that while it is important to
study suffering, understanding how people thrive is also imperative (Refer to Unit 1
where you have already studied abut the rise of positive psychology). The increasing
popularity of the positive psychology movement led by Professor Seligman, encouraged
researchers to shift their attention from why people fail to why people succeed. The
idea was to employ a balanced approach that targets alleviation of symptoms along
with enhancing strengths.
In longitudinal studies beginning from 1950’s, pioneers such as Michael Rutter, Emmy
Werner and Ruth Smith focused on studying maladaptive outcomes in children from
disadvantaged backgrounds involving parental mental illness, prenatal complications
and poverty. To their surprise, they discovered that some children within this cohort,
did not display the maladaptive outcomes as expected of them. In fact, their functioning
and overall adaptation werealmost similar to those who did not face such hardships in
early life. These reports indicated that there must be certain factors that protect
individuals from the impact of adversities. Following such findings, researchers became
interested in discovering what is right with these children, and how this information can
be used to help other children growing up with such adversities.
As investigations in the area progressed, researchers were able to identify a list of risk
factors and protective processes important in understanding resilience. Early research
was largely limited to early life adversities and mostly specific groups like children and
adolescents. But over the last few decades, resilience research has expanded to include
different age groups, environmental factors, and various adversities including natural
calamities, socioeconomic disadvantage, childhood abuse, mental illness, community
violence and academic challenges.
Illustrative biography
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin, actor and filmmaker known for the art of comedy
had a very troubled childhood. He elaborates on this in his autobiography,
highlighting several tragic incidents that he experienced while growing up
including his mother’s mental illness, father’s absence, and poverty. Usually,
children coming from such disadvantaged backgrounds are not expected to
display successful outcomes in adulthood. However, Charlie Chaplin, as he
came to be known, grew up to establish aprosperouscareer in films. Even
several decades after his death, he continues to be popular for his work which
had the ability to entertain audiencesworldwide.
9.4 FOUR WAVES OF RESILIENCE RESEARCH

Investigators havesuggested that resilience research may be understood to have emerged
in four waves. This is elaborated by Wright, Masten and Narayan (2013). The focus
of investigation in each of these waves is depicted in Figure 9.1 below.
198
Resilience
Figure 9.1: The Four Waves of Research in Resilience
The first wave of resilience research identified a list of factors that contributed to
competence considered as a marker of resilience. These included factors specific to
the individual such as internal locus of control and self-efficacy. The second wave
focused on the interaction between the person and the environment in the process of
reintegration after disruption. Waves I and II helped to establish descriptions of the
phenomenon of resilience, provide clarity to related concepts and explore methodologies.
Initially, the primary focus of researchers was on the individual and later it also emphasized
on the system.
In the third wave, researchers attempted to understand how resilience may be developed
from this interaction. Wave III researchers started exploring the ways in which findings
from Waves Iand II may be implemented to enhance and promote resilience through
resilience interventions. Finally, the fourth wave was directed at understanding resilience
at multiple levels involving cellular and neural factors. This also led to a multidisciplinary
approach to resilience research involving neuroscience, sociology, social work and
related areas.
Activity 1
This is a list of famous personalities and their fields of expertise. These individuals
faced difficult circumstances in early life such as poverty, mental illness, childhood
abuse, work related challenges, societal stigma and discrimination. Yet they
continued to display resilience eventually gaining exemplary achievements in their
field of work.
(a) Fill in the blanks: In the blanks provided, write the names of other individuals
who have struggled against all odds to display resilience.You may read their life
stories for a better understanding of their resilience.
Viktor Frankl, Martin Seligman, _____________ Psychology
Anandi Gopal Joshi, Sigmund Freud, _____________ Medicine/Psychiatry
Alexander Graham Bell, APJ Abdul Kalam, ________ Science and Technology
Gayathri Ramprasad, ReshmaValliapan Mental health advocacy
Milkha Singh, P.T. Usha, _____________ Sports
Kailash Satyarthi, Nelson Mandela, _____________ Social reform
DhirubhaiAmbani, Steve Jobs, __________ Entrepreneurship

199
and Processes 9.5 METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Resilience research follows both quantitative as well as qualitative approach. Investigators
studying resilience must take into consideration situational and participant characteristics
in developing the objectives and methodology for their study. The nature of the adversity
being studied, sample characteristics, expected and actual outcomes, as well as
subjective experiences are crucial features in this regard.
9.5.1 Quantitative approach

For several years, psychologists largely approached resilience research through a
quantitative lens. Researchers from various countries have developed several resilience
measures specific to their sociocultural contexts and different adversities. Some of the
most popularly used resilience measures are displayed in Table 9.1 below.
Table 9.1: List of Commonly Used Resilience Measures
Resilience measures Author(s)

Connor–Davidson Resilience scale Connor & Davidson (2003)
Resilience Appraisal Scale Johnson et al. (2010)
The Brief Resilient Coping Scale Sinclair & Wallston (2004)
The Brief Resilience Scale Smith et al. (2008)
The Child and Youth Resilience Resilience Research Centre (2009)
Measure-28
The Resilience Scale Wagnild & Young (1993)
It may be noted that this is not an exhaustive list. In a comprehensive effort by Gill
Windle, Kate M. Bennett and Jane Noyes in 2011, resilience measures that are
commonly used in investigations were screened. This quantitative methodological review
reported 19 tools. The authors recommended that all these measures require further
validation work and that relevant validation statistics of tools to be developed in future,
must be reported by authors. Furthermore, they agreed with recommendations by
previous researchers that participants’ own perceptions must be taken into account
while developing tools so that context-specific data can be captured. Similar reviews
by future researchers will contribute towards developing an efficient assessment system
in resilience.
Quantitative measures are helpful in understanding the statistical relationships between
risk factors, resilience, protective factors and adaptation outcomes. Quantitative surveys
are also useful when studying resilience in large groups of people.
9.5.2 Qualitative approach

While quantitative methods are useful in the situations mentioned above, they do not
provide in-depth information about the personal process of adaptation. Since a major
part of the resilience experience is subjective in nature, it is important to employ methods
that investigate personal contexts. Thus, qualitative techniques are advantageous in
understanding individual differences and unique adaptation strategies in the resilience
200 experience.
A mixed method approach also offer a comprehensive understanding about the whole Resilience
resilience experience. Further, resilience research benefits from an interdisciplinary
approach as it has implications for various disciplines such as social work, education
etc.In their investigations on youth across different cultures, Liebenberg and Ungar
(2009)used mixed methods approach. These researchers claim that besides individual
and environmental factors, larger contexts such as governments and cultures play a
crucial role in the individual’s process of resilient adaptation. Thus, exploration of cultural
and contextual factors is vital in the understanding of resilience.
These recommendations can help future researchers to design their studies carefully.
For instance, even if two individuals report the same diagnosis, they should not be
expected to display exactly similar outcomes. Outcomes depend on several factors
within the context such as precipitating and perpetuating factors, treatment procedures,
prognosis, and protective factors. Therefore, acknowledging the sociocultural dynamics
in a given situation is of crucial importance in exploring these factors. Techniques such
as interviews and focus-group discussions are commonly used to probe into such
subjective experiences in resilience.
Arts-based and participatory action research
Besides the familiar techniques presented above, resilience investigators have
incorporated arts-based and participatory action techniques in their work on different
populations such as teachers, refugee children, and individuals diagnosed with mental
illness. In their book, Youth Resilience and Culture: Commonalities and Complexities,
Theron, Liebenberg, and Ungar (2015) support the use of innovative qualitative research
methods and draw attention to the importance of methodological choices.
Some arts-based techniques explored in resilience research include dramatization,
drawing, painting, and photography. In participatory action-research, participants are
not merely passive observers but also play the role of research partners in the project.
Besides unearthing information that are usually not captured through other techniques,
arts-based and participatory methods have additional advantages. Through direct
involvement in the work, participants have the opportunity of voicing their opinion as
well as benefitting from self-appraisal. Self-reflection allows participants to identify
and express their emotions and appraise the risk and protective factors in the given
context. Participation contributes to resilience through increased awareness and better
engagement.
Due to benefits associated with the different methods discussed above, contemporary
resilience researchers employ different mediums to collect data for their work. In-
depth exploration has led to the revelation of several contextual factors. This will
contribute towards the understanding of the complex relationship between resilience,
culture and specific contexts.
Research on Resilience in India
The multicultural aspect of the Indian society makes it a fascinating but complex area
for resilience research. In India, resilience research gained momentum following the
popularity of the positive psychology movement. Researchers have covered diverse
populations and adversities in India ranging from large-scale natural calamities to more
common occurrences such as mental illness. For instance, Dash, Dayal, and
Lakshminarayana (2006) explored resilience in the aftermath of the earthquake in Gujrat
and the supercyclone in Orissa respectively. Additionally, Herbert, Manjula, and Philip 201
Positive Cognitive States (2013) reported protective factors such as social support that contributed to resilience
and Processes
among individuals whose parents had a diagnosis of schizophrenia; whereas Aswini
and Deb (2020) described resilient outcomes that are generally not expected from
those with mental illness in the given sociocultural context.
Other researchers in India including Dash, Dayal, and Lakshminarayana (2006),
Annalakshmi and Abeer (2011) and Singh, Junnarkar, andKaur(2016) have attempted
to develop resilience measures. Findings from Indian studies led to information pertaining
to specific features of the collectivistic culture such as familial and societal attachments.
These usually operate as protective factors as expected, but certain aspects of these
systems can function as risks, for instance high expectation to conform to sociocultural
and traditional norms could function as risk factors.This was highlighted by Khan and
Deb’s (2021) investigation which reported that the family can function both as source
of risk and resilience among adults who had experienced childhood adversity. Kapur’s
(2013) discussion on resilience with reference to the concept of Triguna presented
Satva as the essence of resilience. The author further recommended that Satva can be
both inherited and developed by the individual to achieve functioning in times of adversity.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, several investigations have explored the
contribution of resilience in the process of adaptation. Of these, a longitudinal study
conducted by Gopal, Sharma, and Subramanyam (2020) found that higher levels of
resilience and social support was related to lower levels of anxiety, stress, and depressive
symptoms. Also, individual resilience was negatively associated with adverse
psychological outcomes.
It is expected that future researchers will expand this work to other priority areas such
as resilience in the aftermath of the ongoing pandemic and culture-specific determinants
in adaptation. This information will help in developing interventions and policies suitable
for the Indian contextual and cultural milieu.
Activity 2
 Reflect and list out certain culture-specific determinants in adaptation in
the context of India.
 How various religions of India and spiritual approach/practices in India
help develop resilience among individuals?

1. Which wave of resilience focused on finding out resilient qualities?
2. Name any one scale on resilience.
3. Which approach dominated the earlier psychological research?
9.6 EVOLUTION OF THE CONCEPT OVER TIME

Resilience, Invincibility and Invulnerability
In the initial years of resilience research mostly focused on children, those who functioned
well despite adversity were sometimes described as invulnerable and invincible. Later,
202 researchers suggested that such descriptions may not be accurate as it is realistically
impossible for human beings not to be impacted by events occurring in their life. Resilience
Transitions do have some bearing on emotions and cognitions and consequently on
behaviour. However, terms like invulnerable and invincible give the impression that
resilient individuals are unaffected by stressors. This is a flawed assumption and thus
the termsinvincibility and invulnerability are no longer used synonymously with resilience.
Resilience and Coping
Another term that is sometimes used synonymously with resilience, is coping. Although
on the surface it might appear that coping and resilience mean the same, it is not so.
The essential difference between coping and resilience as reported in psychology
literature is that the idea of coping is largely associated with one’s response to negative
events such as death of a loved one, conflicts in relationships, financial, professional, or
academic setbacks. However, thephenomenon of resilience is not restricted to
unfavourable events only. As discussed above, resilience is required to handle all kinds
of transitions whether desirable such as getting one’s dream job; or undesirable such
as being terminated from one’s dream job. While resilience is helpful to cope
withunfavourabletransitional events, it is also important in events that arefavourable but
challenging; such being selected as the college representative for an inter-college
competition.
The similarity between resilience and coping is that both are involved in adapting to
stressful circumstances. However, coping may involve both adaptive and maladaptive
processes including dysfunctional outcomes. For instance, a person diagnosed with
hypertension may display maladaptive coping through denial of the diagnosis and non-
adherence to treatment. From the patient’s perspective both maladaptive and adaptive
responses are ways of coping. However, while the former leads to management of
symptoms, the latter is an impediment to recovery and well-being. In comparison,
resilient individuals engage with the situation actively instead of maladaptive coping by
avoidance or denial. Therefore, it may be appropriate to posit that resilience develops
from exposure to risk and developing strengths to address it; rather than running away
from it. In other words, resilience is a form of healthy coping often resulting in learning
and growth. Thus, the broad umbrella term coping does not necessarily indicate positive
adaptation in the way as resilience does. Therefore, resilience is more than coping.
Resilience and Other Overlapping Concepts
A number of related variables such as post-traumatic growth, positive adaptation,
personal growth, and benefit finding are often studied in the aftermath of adversity.
However, any positive change following trauma and adversity is not akin to resilience.
Resilience is the phenomenon that contributes to these processes and outcomes. It
helps to achieve positive outcomes in situations where growth is unexpected. This is
the reason investigations have reported associations between resilience and these
variables.
Resilience as Bouncing Back and Bouncing Forward
In the initial years of resilience research, resilience was often described as bouncing
back from adversity. This phrase indicates that resilient individuals come back to their
original or improved levels of functioning after facing disruption caused by the adversity.
This flexibility is similar to that of a spring. Even after being stretched or distorted, the
property of a spring allows it to continue to function as before, when placed back into
a device. 203
Positive Cognitive States In later years, the concept of bouncing forward instead of bouncing back, was
and Processes
recommended by researchers (e.g., Walsh, 2002). The replacement of bouncing back
by bouncing forward emphasizes that the move is in a positive direction. That is, the
resilient individuals move ahead from a position of disadvantage to a position of
advantage.
Activity 3
Pens with click mechanisms have a spring in the shaft that plays a crucial role in
their operation. Despite regular use and sometimes even rough use, the spring
continues to perform the function that it is supposed to. Springs thus possess the
ability to absorb a reasonable amount of stress without breaking. In physical
sciences, a spring is often cited as an example of a resilient or flexible object. Some
items we encounter in our daily life are mentioned below. Which of these items
would you treat as fragile and which as comparatively flexible?
 Rubber band, glassware, steel ware, mirror, iron picture frame, elastic
headband, soap bubbles
Fragile: _______________________________________________________
Comparatively flexible or resilient:_________________________________
Resilience as a Trait, Process, Skill and an Outcome

Resilience as a trait: Findings show that in the initial years, resilience was studied as
a trait. It wasperceived as an attribute that can lead to positive adaptation outcomes
such as well-being or post-traumatic growth. Research studying resilience as a trait
sought to link its contribution to other variables. Resilience as a trait was found to
contribute to positive adaptation outcomes such as personal growth.
Resilience as a process: As research progressed, investigators claimed that resilience
is also a process as it involves a journey of towards apositive adaptation outcome. For
instance, the process of resilience involves negotiations with several protective
factors.These may include both internal strengths such as self-efficacy and autonomy;
and external protective factors such as close friendships and supportive communities.
Resilience as a skill: In recent times, researchers have suggested that resilience is, at
least partially, a skill. Like other broad skills such as effective communication or specific
skills such asart or music, resilience can be learned and cultivated further. For example,
just as regular practice can help a singer to refine their musical abilities, engaging
withchallenging situations can help individuals discover and hone their protective
mechanisms. Resilience, as a skill can be developed through interventions such as
therapy.
Resilience as an outcome: Several research investigations have pursued the topic of
resilience as an outcome in the aftermath of adversities. Resilient outcomes such as
post-traumatic growth, benefit finding, and well-being are indicators of positive
adaptation. Researchers studying resilience as an outcome have sought to explore
both internal and external protective factors that contribute to resilient outcomes. In
the early years of resilience research, most researchers sought to use psychosocial
competence as the indicator of resilience. For instance, the ability to fulfil age-appropriate
developmental tasks in a given cultural context was selected as a resilient outcome.
204
Additionally, healthy peer relationships and successful academic outcomes were Resilience
characterized as resilient outcomes among children and adolescents.
9.7 KEY CONCEPTS IN RESILIENCE RESEARCH

Decades of resilience research have led to the identification of certain keywords. Wright,
Masten, and Narayan (2013) have elaborated upon the most relevant terms in this
area. A description of some of these keywords arepresented below with suitable
examples.
 Resilience
Resilience is described as positive adaptation in response to adversity. Positive
adaptation outcomes such as recovery, well-being and post-traumatic growth may
be observed among individuals with high levels of resilience.
Example: Survivors of natural calamities such as an earthquake are likely to face
serious setbacks in several life domains following the event. Social and occupational
functioning as well as mental health may be impacted due to severe adversities.
Individuals’ journey from these disruptions to a life of functioning and growth is
indicative of their resilience.
 Adversity
Adversities refer to any experiences that disrupt the regular course of development
of a system or an individual. Adverse events disturb the individual’s
homeostasiseventually impacting functioning.
Example: Adversities can include events that cause large-scale destruction such
as war, political conflict, and natural calamity. It can also refer to individual-specific
circumstances such as loss of employment, financial crisis or symptoms of chronic
illness. Presence of significant adversity is regarded as one of the essential criteria
for the identification of resilience.
 Risk
A risk indicates high possibility of an unfavourable outcome. In a given situation,
risk factors are those features which can predict this negative outcome.
Example: The chance of an infant developing malnutrition is higher if born into
circumstances such as poverty. Additional risk factors within the same situation
include premature birth,congenital disorders, and parental negligence. Likewise, a
weak immune system is a risk factor during a viral outbreak. Research has shown
that for individuals recovering from mental illness, lack of support from family and
community is a major risk factor.
 Cumulative risk
Any risk factor may be a deterrent to healthy adaptation. However, the presence
of several risk factors leads to increased likelihood of unfavorable outcomes.
Likewise, repeated occurrences of the same risk factor are likely to amplify its
impact.
Example: Children growing up in povertyare likely to be subjected to several
environmental stressors. The lack of access to facilities such as safe shelter, 205
Positive Cognitive States healthcare, and schooling are crucial risk factors that hinder healthy development.
and Processes
The presence of any one of these risk factors is damaging; however, the presence
of all these factors suggests cumulative risk.
Likewise, physical and emotional abuse by family members on one occasion is a risk
factor. However, repeated occurrences of such abuse, intensifies its impact. These
examples represent cumulative risk, which is far more impactful than that of isolated
events.
Quick check 1:
1. What are the possible cumulative risks associated with the following
situations?
(a) Child abuse: __________________________________________
(b) Chronic physical illness: __________________________________
(c) Mental illness: ________________________________________
2. Indicate whether the following statements are True or False.
(a) Family history of illness does not pose any health risks for an individual.
(b) Repeated instances of financial loss are likely to have a more serious
impact on an entrepreneur than experiencing one financial setback.
(c) For a person who is temperamentally anxious, new situations may

act as risk factors in adaptation.
 Proximal risk
Proximal risk includes allrisk factors which are experienced directly by the individual.
This may be understood in the light of UrieBronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems
theory. According to this framework, the microsystem refers to the immediate
environment. Proximal risk factors are usually present in the microsystem.
Example: Family conflict is a proximal risk as the outcome of this adversity directly
impacts the person living in the same household. Similarly, poor doctor-patient
communication is a proximal risk as it directly impacts the doctor-patient relationship
as well as treatment.
 Distal risk
Risk factors present within the environment but not within the immediate
surroundings are known as distal risks. These factors impact the person indirectly
through other factors. With reference to UrieBronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems
theory, distal risk factors may be present in extended circles such as the
macrosystem.
Example: Conflicts within the extended family or community do not impact the
individual as directly as conflicts within the immediate family. However, the former
situations do have the potential to threaten the individual’s development or adaptation
in an indirect manner.
206
Resilience
Quick check 2:
Categorize the following into proximal and distal risks:
 Lack of parental involvement in child’s school work, community violence,
inadequate nutrition, political unrest
Proximal risks: ________________________________________
Distal risks: __________________________________________
 Protective factor
While risks are detrimental to development and adaptation, protective factors
buffer the impact of adversities. Early resilience researchers identified that the
presence of protective factors indicate that the individual will display resilient
outcomes when faced with adverse circumstances. Protective factors may be
internal or external. Internal protective factors refer to strengths within the individual
including self-esteem, self-efficacy, or internal locus of control. External protective
factors include resources such as supportive relationships within the family and
community.
Example of internal protective factors: Personality traits such as conscientiousness
may be a protective factor in academic resilience. In relationship conflicts, skills
pertaining to problem-solving, communication, and negotiation play a protective
role in helping the individual navigate through the situation.
Example of external protective factors:In India, helpline numbers such as 100 for
police and 101 for fire brigade are external protective factors. Retirement pensions
for senior citizens and scholarships for students may be regarded as resources that
help them to adapt to both regular and unanticipated stressors.Besides family and
friends, community and peer groups, hospitals and non-government organizations
are important sources of external support.
 Cumulative protection
Research indicates that the presence of several protective factors is more useful in
building resilience as compared to a few protective factors.
Example: A student who has achieved poor academic grades will benefit if she
has access to supportive parents, classmates, and teachers. The combined
contribution of these protective factors is likely to make a stronger impact than the
presence of only one protective factor. Individuals will experience higher levels of
resilience if they have both internal and external resources to tackle challenges, as
compared to thosewho lack support from family, colleagues and friends.

1. Resilience is synonymous to invincibility. True / False.
2. What is resilience?
3. What is distal risk?
4. Explain cumulative protection.
207
and Processes Activity 4
Protective Factors in Resilience: Individual, Family, and Community
 A summary of internal and external protective factors commonly reported by
research studies on resilience is presented below.
 Think of a personal situation that had seemed very challenging to you initially.
But you were able to adapt to the change brought about by this event. Write
down the internal strengths and external protective factors that helped you to
overcome this adversity, in the blank rows in the box below or tick mark the
ones you can relate to.
Internal Protective External Protective

Factors Factors
Individual Family Community
Self-esteem Stable home environment Access to basic facilities
such as clean air, water
Self-efficacy Secure attachment with Affordable education,
primary caregivers compassionate teachers
recreational activities
Internal locus of control Positive sibling Safe community
relationships
Problem solving skills Supportive connections Employment opportunities
with family members
Ability to build and maintain Socioeconomic Access to health care, legal
relationships advantages and welfare services
Hope Parental resilience Supportive policies in the
area of education, law and
health
9.8 THEORETICAL MODELS OF RESILIENCE

Resilience has been explained with the help of several theoretical models. Unlike
psychopathological models, these frameworks expect the individual to succeed and even
thrive despite the presence of adversity. The following resilience modelsfocus on internal
strengths and the protective resources in their environment.
Grotberg’s Paradigm of Resilience(1999) was constructed with the aim of enhancing
208 strengths to deal with adversities that typically tend to result in depression among the
youth. This model uses three components namely I have, I am, and I can to present Resilience
five blocks of resilience. I have includes trusting relationships that provide support. I
am refers to the building blocks of autonomy and identity which contribute towards
building internal protective factors such as responsibility and self-esteem. I can refers
to the building blocks of initiative and industry which contribute towards building skills
such as interpersonal and problem solving skills. Figure 9.2 below displays the three
components of resilience, building blocks and their description as presented by Grotberg
(1999). Grotberg (1999) recommends that these building blocks can assist in facing,
overcoming, being strengthened, or transformed by adversity.
Figure 9.2: Grotberg’s (1999) Paradigm of Resilience
Other resilience models such as those proposed by Kumpfer (1999) and

Richardson (2002) illustrate individuals’ journeys from being faced with disruptions
to displaying resilient reintegration. In 2020, Ungar and Theron presented a dynamic
multisystemic model of resilience. This model acknowledges the role of
biopsychosocial ecological systems in resilience. It proposes that addressing cultural
and contextual processes ranging from rituals to community activities is important in
resilience research.
These models have been widely used by researchers in designing their research,
interpretation of data and application of findings.
9.9 DEBATES AND DISCUSSIONS IN RESILIENCE

RESEARCH
Findings from Wave I, II, and III of resilience have led to several pertinent questions.
The debates that followed helped to clarify the concepts further. Some crucial discussions
in this regard are presented below.
9.9.1 Criteria for defining resilience

Researchers have unanimously agreed that the judgement of resilience must involve
two conditions:
 Presence of a significant adversity
 Display of positive adaptation despite the adversity
Unless the individual reports significant stressors in the situation, the phenomenon of
resilience is not applicable. If an individual displays positive adaptation under any other 209
Positive Cognitive States circumstances, they are usually described as competent or well-adjusted; but not as
and Processes
resilient. The term resilience is used only when the event has been severe enough to
cause significant threat to adaptation or development.
9.9.2 Resilient individuals also experience trauma and

vulnerability
Resilient individuals are not unaffected by trauma. This is the reason terms like invincibility
and invulnerability are no longer used to describe resilient individuals as we have learned
earlier in this Unit. Resilient individuals experience emotions such as anger, fear, and
helplessness but over time, they are able to discover their protective factors and use
them successfully in adapting to the event.
The unpredictability of life in general and uncertainties in day-to-day experiences expose
us to vulnerable circumstances. Thus, distress and discomfort are expected responses.
Resilient individuals are not invincible or unaffected by vulnerability. The journey from
this state of trauma and vulnerability to positive adaptation is representative of resilience.
9.9.3 Resilience is domain-specific

Researchers have pointed out that resilience is domain specific. Thus, it is possible to
display positive adaptation in one area of life while experiencing vulnerability in another
domain. Some individuals who display excellence in their professional or academic
lives, experience anxiety in trying to maintain their success. Such domain specificity is
observed in case of other psychological concepts, such as locus of control wherein an
individual may be internally controlled in the social domain and externally controlled in
the domain of health.
Despite the domain specificity of resilience, there is indication that success or failure in
one domain can impact adaptation in another domain. In certain conditions, protective
factors that have led to success in one domain can be used to improve circumstances
in another domain. For instance, if family support has helped students to achieve resilient
outcomes in academics, it may also be utilized to achieve resilient outcomes inthe
social domain.
9.9.4 The dangers of apparent resilience

The assumption that resilience in one domain is evidence for resilience in another domain
is faulty and could have serious mental health implications. In the 1990’s research by
Suniya Luthar, a pioneer in this field, found that some resilient inner-city adolescents
displayed high social competence under conditions of high stress. When probed further,
the researchers discovered that they were not doing as well in the mental health domain.
In fact, these adolescents were significantly more depressed than highly competent
adolescents from low-stress backgrounds. Luthar termed this as ‘apparent resilience’
indicating that there is a tendency for some individuals to internalize symptoms. This
gives the impression that they are highly resilient when in reality, they may be experiencing
serious mental health concerns. Researchers have reported that if internalized symptoms
are ignored, they are likely to lead to greater distress over a period of time. Therefore,
researchers and practioners must be cautious in making conclusions on overall resilience
based on adaptation in one domain. Resilience can be displayed in one or several
domains, however, the idea of absolute resilience is problematic.
210
9.9.5 Resilience varies over time Resilience
In consideration of the Developmental task theory which suggests that adaptation is an

evolving process, it is gathered that resilience is variable in different circumstances and
through different periods in life. As we journey through life, we are faced with a range
of situations comprising of a variety of risk and protective factors. These constantly
changing situations can either have a beneficial or detrimental impact on resilience.
Also, sociodemographic factors such as age play a role in the process. For example,
infants are protected from several environmental calamities by their caregivers. They
step in immediately to fulfil any demands created by tragedies such as death of a family
member. Moreover, the inability to grasp the anticipated consequences of these events
protect infants from emotional pain. But for older children and adolescents, the
understanding of the severity of the situation increases their distress. At the same time,
the ability to communicate with others and seek support helps older children to
independently take actions towards positive adaptation. This shows that, with age, our
exposure to adversities increases but cognitive and emotional maturity also places us in
a better position to display resilience.
If certain life events restrict our access to protective factors, a highly resilient individual
can become less resilient. Losing employment can limit positive experiences in the
domain of mental health, finance and even relationships. Protective factors associated
with employment such as self confidence and financial stability may be lost following
unemployment. This is likely to have a detrimental impact on resilience. In certain
societies, strong stigma surrounding mental illness may lead to prejudice and
discrimination even fromfamily members. In such cases, decrease in external support
can transform a person from a highly resilient person to a vulnerable one.
9.9.6 Resilience as ‘ordinary magic’

Resilience is described as an experience that is ordinary but magical. Ann Masten, a
pioneer in this field has often referred to the ordinariness of resilience in her work. She
posits that resilience is an ordinary, rather than an extraordinary phenomenon.This
indicates that it is possible for all to experience it. Despite the ordinariness of the
phenomenon, the outcome is perceived as magical. This is because resilience makes it
possible for individuals to succeed in circumstances where they are usually expected
to fail. Masten’s (2001) observation on the ordinariness of resilience provides hope to
at-risk populations. It is now believed that with the help of protective factors, individuals
can discover resilience and display positive adaptation amidst challenges.
9.9.7 Multisystemic resilience

Researchers from various disciplines, besides psychology have acknowledged the
interaction of multiple systems in resilience.Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems
theory is often cited in this context. For a complete understanding of resilience, it is
crucial to refer to the complex interactions between multiple systems. Even in cases
where individual factors are generally implicated, such as poor performance in school,
researchers and practioners must probe into multisystemic factors to determine the
nature of intervention. Academic resilience can be more effectively addressed if multiple
systems such as family and school are involved instead of simply working on improving
the child’s academic efforts. This is true for other adversities ranging from domestic
violence, physical illness to mental illness. Survivors, in such cases not only need to find
and enhance internal protective factors in their lives but also need to be provided with
a safe and inclusiveatmospherewhere they feel reassured. 211
Positive Cognitive States In case of some challenges, individuals are able to survive with the help of internal
and Processes
protective factors alone, however, the journey is less overwhelming if there is support
from the environment as well. For instance, individuals with an illness may put great
efforts into their recovery by displaying adherence to prescribed medication and
treatment protocols but the rehabilitation process is boosted when the patient receives
structural and emotional support from medical professionals, family, workplace and
friends. The onus of resilient adaptation should not be placed on the individual if the
socioecological environment is not supportive.
This multisystemic conceptualization of resilience is important from the point of
interventions. In his book on multisystemic resilience, Michael Ungar cites evidences
from investigations thatintegratecontexts including cultural practices into interventions.
In view of the above discussion, it is clear that the concept of resilience is not easy to
define. Resilience researchers therefore must consider a number of factors in
operationally defining the concept for their investigations.
9.10 APPLICATION OF RESILIENCE

Applications of findings from resilience research have helped to improve several
favourable outcomes such as mental health and well-being.
Interventions: With progress in understanding and identifying resilience, researchers
developed interest in enhancing it. Wave III researchers started applying the findings
obtained to promote resilient adaptation among vulnerable populations. While most of
the initial interventions were directed at children and adolescents, the initiatives now
include a variety of samples worldwide including indigenous populations.
Some interventions were directed at reducing risk factors while the others attempted
to enhance protective factors. At times, detachment from a hostile environment protects
the individual from future harm. This was displayed in previous studies on familial abuse
where individuals were able to achieve positive outcomes by distancing themselves
from their abusive family. In some cases, however, it is not possible to disconnect from
the risk factors entirely as in situations of bereavement. Developing resilience in
experiences such as death of a loved one usually involve a combination of internal and
external protective factors that buffer the impact of the event. Interventions should
enhance resources as well as the skills required to access them.
Public participation: As of now, public engagement in resilience work is confined to
certain areas only. This is identified by Raanaas, Bjøntegaard, and Shaw’s (2020)
scoping review and Shadowen, Guerra, Beveridge and McCoy’s (2020) work in rural
India on participatory action research. The findings available confirm that this is beneficial
as it allows participants voices to be heard. Participants make decisions pertaining to
the research including objectives, methodology, and outcomes, and work with the
researchers as collaborators, not as passive viewers. Participatory methods work well
when the objective is to bring about changes in sociocultural and community contexts.
The participation of stakeholders from different areas including academicians, community
members and policymakers are useful in addressing such concerns as all perspectives
can be integrated into the work. This process of bringing together different participants
is challenging. However, it has a more wide-reaching impact as compared to studies
with a singular focus on individual resilience. In highlighting the advantages of public
212
participation methods, Sanders and Munford (2009) observed that these projects Resilience
mostly employed at the group or community typically involve community development.
Interventions and public participation may be applied to different adversities and across
populations, covering a variety of sociodemographic and socioecological contexts.
Besides, ecological data from multisystemic resilience investigations have valuable
implications in policies pertaining to education, clinical and therapeutic settings,
community and mental health.
Finally, the study of resilience testifies that human beings have the capacity for surviving
against all odds. One can not only overcome challenges but even thrive despite
uncertainties and vulnerabilities. It is therefore crucial to identify the protective factors
that can contribute to the process in different cultures and contexts. Thusresilience is a
universal phenomenon and awareness and promotion initiatives can contribute towards
building personal and systemic resilience across contexts.

1. What is domain-specific resilience?
2. Who termed resilience as ‘ordinary magic’?
3. What are the criteria for defining resilience?
4. Explain public participation in resilience research.
9.11 LET US SUM UP

Resilience is crucial in the process of adapting to various transitions and challenges of
life. Researchers have presented several concepts which are important in understanding
resilience. These include risk factors, protective factors, cumulative risk, cumulative
protection among other key terms related to resilience. An overview of the four waves
of resilience research illustrates that resilience has been variously presented as a trait,
process, skill and an outcome. While much of the initial research focused on the individual
and their immediate environment, research has expanded to include multiple systems in
resilience. Larger contexts such as society and culture and their interaction with other
factors are particularly important in a comprehensive understanding of resilience. A
mix of quantitative and qualitative techniques including participatory and arts-based
methods are increasingly being used to capture subjective experiences of individuals.
Research on resilience aims to enhance resilience in everyday lives as well as in the
aftermath of adversities ranging from natural calamity to relationship conflicts. This
goal may be fulfilled through interventions, public participation and policy changes. In
conclusion, resilience is a universal phenomenon and awareness and promotion initiatives
can contribute towards building personal and systemic resilience across contexts.
9.12 KEY WORDS

Resilience : Displaying positive adaptation despite significant adversity
Adversity : Events that interrupt the regular course of development of a
system or an individual. These challenges disrupt
homeostasis, eventually impacting functioning. 213
Positive Cognitive States Risk factors : Those features in a given situation that predict high possibility
and Processes
of unfavourable outcomes.
Protective factors : Factors that help individuals to display resilient outcomes
when faced with adverse circumstances
Cumulative risk : Presence of several risk factors leads to increased likelihood
of unfavorable outcomes. Likewise, repeated occurrences
of the same risk factor are likely to amplify its impact.
Cumulative : Presence of several protective factors is more useful in building
protection resilience as compared to a few protective factors.
Apparent resilience : The tendency of some individuals to internalize mental health
symptoms while displaying competence in other domains.
This gives the impression that the person is resilient when
actually they may not be.
Multisystemic : The idea that multiple systems are involved in the process of
resilience resilience. This approach allows researchers to look beyond
individual factors into biopsychosocial ecological contexts.
Resilience : Initiatives that seek to enhance resilience by addressing risk
interventions and protective factors
Ordinary magic : A way of referring to resilience indicating that while the
outcome is magical or unexpected, the phenomenon is
universal.

1. First wave
2. Connor–Davidson Resilience scale (Connor & Davidson, 2003)
3. psychopathological approach
1. False
2. Resilience is described as positive adaptation in response to adversity.
3. Cumulative protection refers to combined contribution of several protective
factors in building resilience
4. Risk factors present within the environment but not within the immediate
surroundings are known as distal risks.
1. Domain specific resilience refers to that, it is possible to display positive
adaptation in one area of life while experiencing vulnerability in another domain.
2. Ann Masten
214
3. Presence of a significant adversity; and display of positive adaptation despite Resilience
the adversity.
4. Public participation refers to participants making decisions pertaining to the
research including objectives, methodology, and outcomes, and work with
the researchers as collaborators, not as passive viewers.
Activity 1 Answer:
Abraham Maslow, Erik Erikson Psychology

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Kadambini Ganguly Medicine/psychiatry
Nikola Tesla, SundarPichai Science/ Technology
Deepika Kumari, Mary Kom Sports
Mahatma Gandhi, Ruth Bader Ginsberg Social reform
Steve Jobs, SundarPichai Technology
Chinu Kala, Madam C.J. Walker Entrepreneurship
Activity 3 Answer:
Fragile: glassware, mirror, soap bubbles
Comparatively flexible or resilient: rubber band, steel ware, iron picture frame,
elastic headband
Quick check 1 Answer:
1. Cumulative risks associated with,
(a) Child abuse: poor parenting, lack of access to law, absence of childcare
protection services
(b) Chronic physical illness: irregular sleep, nutrition, poor adherence to
medication
(c) Mental illness: low mental health literacy, fear of stigma, poor family and medical
support
2. True or False,
(a) Family history of illness does not pose any health risks for an individual: False
(b) Repeated instances of financial loss are likely to have a more serious impact
on an entrepreneur than experiencing one financial setback: True
(c) For a person who is temperamentally anxious, new situations may act as risk
factors in adaptation: True
Quick check 2 Answer:
 Proximal risks: lack of parental involvement in the child’s schoolwork,
inadequate nutrition
 Distal risks: community violence, political unrest
215
and Processes 9.14 UNIT END QUESTIONS
1. Describe risk and protective factors in resilience.
2. Why is resilience described as ‘domain-specific’? Illustrate with the help of an
example.
3. Do you agree that resilience is ‘ordinary magic’? Provide examples in support of
your answer.
4. Cite an example of apparent resilience that you might have observed in your life or
in people around you.
5. Why do researchers recommend the use of mixed methods in studying resilience?
6. If you are asked to develop a resilience intervention on college students in India,
which risk and protective factors will you focus on?
7. Provide a description of some of the multiple systems and protective factors that
can contribute to resilience among individuals diagnosed with a chronic physical
illness.
9.15 REFERENCES
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Dash, S., Dayal, A., &Lakshminarayana, R. N. (2006).Measuring resiliency in two
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S. Murthy, and R. Lakshminarayana (Eds.), Advances in disaster mental health
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Johnson, J., Gooding, P. A., Wood, A. M., &Tarrier, N. (2010). Resilience as positive Resilience
coping appraisals: Testing the schematic appraisals model of suicide

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10.1016/j.brat.2009.10.007
Kapur, M. (2013). Resilience and competence in childhood. In G. Misra (Ed.) & D.P.
Chattopadhyaya (Gen. Ed.) Psychology and Psychoanalysis (History of Social
Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization, Vol. XIII, Part 3 (pp.
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with a history of childhood adversity. Children and Youth Services Review, 121,https:/
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Kumpfer, K. L. (1999). Factors and processes contributing to resilience: The resilience
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Positive life adaptations (pp. 179–224). Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
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Masten, A. S. (2001). Ordinary magic: Resilience processes in development. American
Psychologist, 56(3), 227–238. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.227
Raanaas, R.K., Bjøntegaard, H.Ø. & Shaw, L. (2020). A scoping review of
participatory action research to promote mental health and resilience in youth and
adolescents. Adolescent Research Review,5, 137–152. https://doi.org/10.1007/
s40894-018-0097-0
Resilience Research Centre. (2018). CYRM and ARM user manual. Halifax, NS:
Resilience Research Centre, Dalhousie University. http://www.resilienceresearch.org/
Richardson, G. E. (2002). The metatheory of resilience and resiliency. Journal of
Clinical Psychology, 58(3), 307–321. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.10020
Sanders. J. & Munford, R. (2009). Participatory Action Research. In L. Liebenberg&
M. Ungar (Eds.) Researching resilience. (pp. 77–102). University of Toronto Press.
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Seligman, M. E. P. (1998). The President’s address. APA. American Psychologist,
54, 559-562.
Sinclair, V. G., &Wallston, K. A. (2004). The development and psychometric evaluation
of the brief resilient coping scale. Assessment, 11(1), 94–101. https://doi.org/10.1177/
1073191103258144
Singh, K., Junnarkar, M., & Kaur, J. (2016). The assessment of resilience. In K. Singh,
M. Junnarkar & J. Kaur (Eds.), Measures of Positive Psychology (pp. 35-70).
Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-3631-3_3
Smith, B. W., Dalen, J., Wiggins, K., Tooley, E., Christopher, P., & Bernard, J. (2008).
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processes contribute to positive outcomes. Lancet Psychiatry, 7(5), 441-448. https:/
/doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(19)30434-1
Walsh, F. (2002). Bouncing forward: Resilience in the aftermath of September 11.
Family Process, 41(1), 34-60. https://10.1111/j.1545-5300.2002.40102000034.x
Wagnild, G. M., & Young, H. M. (1993). Development and psychometric evaluation
of the Resilience Scale. Journal of Nursing Measurement, 1(2), 165–178.
Windle, G., Bennett, K. M., & Noyes, J. (2011). A methodological review of resilience
measurement scales. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 9(1), 8.https://doi.org/
10.1186/1477-7525-9-8
Wright, M. O., Masten, A. S., & Narayan, A. J. (2013). Resilience processes in
development: Four waves of research on positive adaptation in the context of adversity.
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Aswini, S. & Deb, A. (2020). Living well with mental illness: Findings from India.
Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 1-18.https://doi.org/
10.1080/10911359.2020.1838380
Deb, A. (2018). Psychology of resilience. In G. Misra (Ed.). Psychosocial
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with a history of childhood adversity. Children and Youth Services Review, 121,https:/
/doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105897
Liebenberg, L.& Ungar, M. (2009). Researching resilience. University of Toronto

Press.
Masten, A. S. (2015). Ordinary magic: Resilience in development. The Guilford
Press.
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resilience, and posttraumatic growth. Springer.
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M. Junnarkar & J. Kaur (Eds.), Measures of Positive Psychology (pp. 35-70).
Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-3631-3_3
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/doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9415-2
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contexts of change. Oxford University Press.
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Resilience
UNIT 10 OPTIMISM AND HOPE*
Structure

10.2 Introduction
10.3 Optimism
10.3.1 Dispositional Optimism
10.3.2 Learned Optimism
10.3.3 Unrealistic Optimism
10.4 Development of Optimism
10.5 Benefits of Optimism
10.6 Risks Associated with Optimism
10.7 Hope
10.8 Development of Hope
10.9 Neurobiology of Hope
10.10 Benefits of Hope
10.11 Measurement of Hope
10.12 Let Us Sum Up
10.13 Key Words
10.16 Reflective Exercises
10.17 References

 Explain the meaning of optimism and describe its different types;
 Describe the benefits of optimism;
 Define hope and describe the benefits of hope; and
 Discuss the measurement of hope.
10.2 INTRODUCTION
Sudha is doing her graduation and wants to get into a decent job after completion
of her graduation degree. What makes the case of Sudha unique is that she comes
from a family where she is the first girl to study upto graduation level. In her
*Dr. Shalini Sharma, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Ramanujan College,

University of Delhi, Delhi. 219
Positive Cognitive States community, girls are not allowed to study and do jobs to earn money. However,
and Processes
Sudha despite her hard situation since the beginning of her education, looks
forward to completing her graduation and join a good job to be financially
independent.
To achieve her dreams, she takes determined steps and follows a charted out
path to achieve what she has thought out for her life.
The above case provides an example of optimism and hope in Sudha.Optimism and
hope are two vital elements for maintaining positive mental health. Positive mental
health is a key to happiness and satisfaction in life. It is state of wellness where individuals
can function fully and deal effectively with the challenges of life. Hope and optimism
both may seem to be very similar and overlapping constructs, based upon positive
future expectancies;however, there are differences in how they have been conceptualized
by theorists. In this Unit, you will learn about these two positive constructs in detail.
10.3 OPTIMISM
Optimism is a cognitive expectancy for desirable events or things to happen in future.
On the other hand, pessimism denotes expectancy for undesirable outcomes to happen.
Optimism isalso characterized as a disposition or trait, which people are endowed
with in varying degrees. It is considered to be a relatively stable and enduring trait,
which guides how people perceive and address particular situations.
The early understanding and usage of the term was either neutral or negative, as evident
from the works of eminent philosophers and psychologists like Descartes, Freud, Hegel,
and Nietzsche (Domino & Conway, 2001). This was because of dominant negative
outlook towards human nature in the field of psychology at that time. With advancements
in research in psychology and dominance of humanistic school of thought towards the
end of twentieth century, there was a change in perspective towards the concept of
optimism.
Based on contemporary research, there are two dominant approaches and theoretical
models to optimism: Dispositional Optimism Model by Scheier and Carver (1985)
and Optimism as an Explanatory Style by Seligman (1990).
10.3.1 Dispositional Optimism

Scheier and Carver firstdiscussedthe concept of optimism in their theory of self-
regulation, where it was conceptualized to be a personality dimension. Later they coined
the term ‘dispositional optimism’. They defined it as ‘the extent to which people differ
in regard to having expectancies of favorable outcomes in their future’ (Carver et al.,
2010). The model proposed by Scheier and Carver is considered to be the most
popular model of optimism, and has relatively stronger construct validity evidence
(Bryant &Cvengros, 2004).
The definition highlights optimism as a general expectancy and does not relate it to any
specific context (Carver et al., 2010; Scheier& Carver, 1985). Being a personality
dimension, it differentiates between optimists and pessimists, where optimist are people
who have an orientation towards having positive expectations and predictions about
their life in general, as compared to pessimists who have a tendency to expect negative
future outcomes in life (Carver et al., 2010). They argued that optimists would have
220
much stronger valued goals, and a higher persistence to pursue those goals in the face Optimism and Hope
of difficulties using effective coping mechanisms leading to a higher likelihood of them
achieving their goals (Scheier, Carver and Bridges, 2000).In contrast, pessimists being
more doubtful and hesitant, have more negative affect. Scheier and Carver believed it
to be a relatively stable and fixed dimension of personality.
Many research studies supported this stability dimension of optimism, although it was
lower in value than other personality traits (Carver et al., 2010). However some studies
have found the optimism trait to be changeable over time to some extent. The results of
Segestrom (2007) longitudinal study over ten years showed shifts in optimism of
participants over the course of study. This and some other researches also (Feldman et
al, 2015) point towards the changes over time in optimism, and how it can be enhanced
with interventions.
Scheier and Carver (1994) constructed the Life Orientation Test (LOT) to measure
the concept of dispositional optimism. LOT measures optimism as a personality trait.
It was intended to evaluate the individual differences which exist related to positive
expectancies about the probability of occurrence of positive events in general. The
revised form consists of four-point rating scale on 10 self-reported statements. Three
questions among them measure optimism,three questions measure Pessimism, and four
are fillers. Thus the statements assess the possibility of good or bad outcomes in life
resulting in a total score based on direct or inverse relationship.
10.3.2 Learned Optimism

The other perspective in the conceptualization and measurement of optimism is
‘Optimism as an explanatory style’ or Learned optimism model by Martin Seligman.
The theory of optimism as an explanatory style derives from theory of attribution and
theory of learnedhelplessness (Seligman, 1990). Explanatory style is defined as the
manner in which an individual explains the events of his/her life, making attributions for
their causes. Attributions can be made on the three dimensions: internality/
externality,unstability/stability and specificity/globality (Weiner, 1985). Internality/
externality dimension refers to individuals’ tendency to ascribe either internal (self,
dispositional) or external (people or situational) reasons while explaining their life events.
Stability denotes causes that are fixed and stableover time, while unstable causes are
variable and do not remain same over time and context.Globality refers to propensity
to generalize the causes to all situations, or causes are specific to situations.
Learned helplessness is a feeling resulting from inability to escape from obnoxious or
painful stimuli. The model of learned helplessness attempted to explain the phenomena
of depression. Abramsom and colleagues (1978) realized the capability of certain
attributions to explain the learned helplessness. They found that learned helplessness
can be a result of attributing internal (‘it was due to my carelessness’), stable (I will
be like this forever) and global (‘my carelessness will spoil everything I will do’) causes
to negative life events. Taking it forward, Seligman coined the term ‘Learned Optimism’
to describe the tendency of ascribing external (‘I met with acar accident because of
faulty traffic signal’), unstable (‘It does not happen all the time to me’), and specific(‘I
didn’t notice the faulty signal, otherwise I am observant’) causes to negative life events.
Optimists thus are not too disturbed by the setbacks or negative life events; they see
these events as occasions for learning and hope for better outcomes in future.
Seligman (2003) pointed out that the essential difference between the optimist and the
pessimistic explanatory style was the differential appraisal of the reasons for success 221
Positive Cognitive States and failure; the prevalence of good and bad events and capability to sustain hope.
and Processes
Explanatory style is modifiable according to Seligman, and can be transformed from
pessimistic to optimistic style (Seligman, 2013).
Peterson et. al. (1982) developed the Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ) to
measure learned optimism. It is a self-report measure which assesses people’s tendency
for learned helplessness or optimism. It does so with the help of 12 hypothetical
situations, which are balanced with respect to good and bad outcomes. For each
situation the respondents are expected to write one main cause. Thereafter they rate
the cause from 1-7 across three attribution dimensions. The scores are summed across
good and bad situations. Peterson and colleagues (1987) gave support for the internal
consistency and temporal stability, reliability and demonstrated evidence for the
predictive validity of the ASQ for depressive symptoms. In addition, Seligman developed
a children’s version of the ASQ (Seligman et al., 1984; Seligman, 1998). Another tool
to assess optimism as explanatory style is Content Analysis of Verbal Explanations
(CAVE) (Peterson et. al., 1992).
10.3.3 Unrealistic Optimism

There can be a tendency of attribution which can entail holding particular perceptions
and self-evaluations that are unduly positive, too exaggerated to be called objective or
fair. This perception of self or others is called unrealistic optimism; this might appear
impractical but can serve the purpose of calming people when worried and doubtful in
challenging situations, and can aid them in persisting towards their goals.
Unrealistic optimism can be defined as a general propensity to anticipate a higher
probability of positive events to happen to self, and a greater likelihood of negative
events occuringto others (Weinstein,1980). The concept is similar to what is called
‘Positive illusions’ (Taylor and Brown, 1988, 1994) which is common among so called
mentally healthy, happy, and well- adjusted people. Positive illusions consist of an over
exaggerated assessment of one’s abilities, an amplified sense of control and unrealistic
optimism about future. People with unrealistic optimism are less likely to think about
the possible risks or hazards involved in a problem situation, and visualize themselves
in situations where they are successfully dealing with the challenge.
Other than the above mentioned concepts, literature also cites many related constructs
like unrealistic pessimism (Heine, & Lehman, 1995), defensive pessimism, selective
attention, self-deception, and strategic optimism (Norem, & Cantor, 1986).

1. ______ optimism considers optimism as a personality dimension.
2. Optimism as an explanatory style is also known as _________ optimism.
3. Learned optimism model is given by ___________________.
4. What are the three dimensions in which people usually make attributions?
10.4 DEVELOPMENT OF OPTIMISM

The presence of optimism as a disposition or explanatory style is dependent on number
222 of factors, the most important being parental socialization. Parents play a very important
role in development of optimism through role modelling and reinforcement of optimistic Optimism and Hope
behaviors (Abramson et al. 2000). Parental mental health is a determining factor and it
has been shown that there are higher chances for optimists to belong to families in
which none of the parents are suffering from depression. Optimists are more likely to
come from families where parents use optimistic explanatory style and are good role
models in that. Children who belong to families that have witnessed many traumas and
struggles, display optimism when their families show resilience and healthy coping
strategies. This is because parents in such situations encourage children to cope with
stressors and challenges in a positive way and reinforce optimistic behaviors and
perseverance.
On the other hand pessimists are believed to come from those households where
either parents are complaining, use self-criticism or criticism of child, are depressed or
use a pessimistic explanatory style. Inattention to child, child abuse and rejection are
other factors which can lead to a development of pessimistic explanatory style (Carr,
2004).
10.5 BENEFITS OF OPTIMISM

Optimism has many useful consequences for people ranging from mental health, healthy
psychological functioning, performance to effects of aging etc. (Rudhig, Perry, Hall, &
Hladkyj, 2004). The topic of optimism has gained a lot of popularity among researchers
since the last two decades because of these affirmative outcomes. Research indicates
that people having positive beliefs about (i) their capabilities to achieve desired goals,
(ii) a positive perception of their personal attributes and (iii) their future, perform better
than those who are pessimistic or doubtful (Brown & Marshall, 2001).
(a) Optimism and Academic Performance
A number of studies have been conducted to understand the relationship of optimism
with student’s academic performance. The effect of expectancies on task
performance among undergraduate students was studied by Brown and Marshall
(2001) in the lab setting. They found that under difficult task condition, students
having high or moderately high expectancies for task performance performed better
academically in comparison to those who had low expectancies. Another study
by Pajares (2001) on a group of middle school students tried to find if there was
any correlation between positive psychological attributes including optimism and
academic achievement. The data pointed out that there was a significant relationship
between optimism, motivation and academic achievement in terms of GPA. Based
on the findings he suggested that it’s important to develop those personality traits
that have positive effects on human performance.
In another study, Solberg Nes, Evans, and Segerstrom (2009) investigated the
effects of optimistic orientation on the rate of college retention in undergraduate
college beginners. Their findings revealed optimism was a favorable personality
dimension that influenced the motivation and adjustment of students, therebyplaying
an important role in retention of college freshers in their first years.
(b) Optimism, Physical Health and Well-being
There is plethora of researches that support the positive contribution of optimism
in enhancing the well-being and health of individuals. There is a strong evidence to
223
Positive Cognitive States support the claim that optimists are healthier than pessimists (e.g., Carver et al.,
and Processes
2010; Gallagher & Lopez, 2009; Rasmussen, Scheier, & Greenhouse, 2009).
The likelihood of a strong link between optimism and health is plausible and can
be explained by the self-regulation model, which proposes optimists are likely to
be more focused towards self and goals, which lead to goal attainment for optimists
and avoidance of goals for pessimists. Optimists are more likely than pessimists to
manage their behaviors and work proactively to stay healthy whenever there is a
gap between present and desired state of health.
Another reason for higher well-being in optimists is their attribute of constructive
thinking. Optimism as a trait is associated with positive expectancies and constructive
thinking in life (Lobel, DeVincent, Kaminer, & Meyer, 2000). As optimists anticipate
to have more positive outcomes, they are more hopeful that their efforts will be
fruitful and not be wasted. Thinking constructively is also responsible for more
effective handling of negative life circumstances and promote resilient
behaviours(Carver et al., 2010).
Optimism is believed to result in better physical health, by lowering experienced
stress. Optimists tend to have higher self-efficacy or perception of control over
situations and more positive thought processes because of which they perceive
situations to be manageable and consequently experience lower level of stress
(Carver &Scheier, 2014). Studies also point towards the role of optimism in
promoting health protecting behaviors and refraining from health compromising
behaviors resulting in a healthy lifestyle (Carver &Sheier, 2014). This healthy lifestyle
boosts their immune system and prevents them from developing illness. Even on
developing illness, they tend to comply more with medical advice for a faster
recovery (Carr, 2004). On the contrary pessimism was linked to negative health
effects (Carver et al., 2010). Pessimism was also found to be correlated positively
with involvement in health compromising behaviors like substance abuse, suicide
(Carver et al., 2010).
(c) Optimism and Psychological Well-being
Optimism also contributes to enhanced psychological well-being. Researchshows
that people with dispositional optimism are more likely to use reappraisal, problem
focused coping and adaptive emotion focused copingat the time of stressful
situations. Pessimists, on the other hand have a higher tendency to use avoidant
coping strategies like escape avoidance or denial in the face of a challenge (Carver
et al, 2010).
It is important to understand that optimism does not always result in positive
outcomes. In the next section you will learn about the risks involved in being too
much optimistic.
10.6 RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH OPTIMISM

(a) Failure to assess personal risks
One of the factors in order to lead a healthy life is caution and judgment for
anticipating risks and threats in the future or present environment. However, in
being hopeful and overly positive, optimistic people may fail to recognize and
judge the potential risk. For example an optimist who feels that a disease like
224
cancer is not likely to affect them, can be unwilling to get the screening medical Optimism and Hope
examination done, making them more vulnerable to the disease. However the
negative outcomes are more likely to occur for those characterized by unrealistic
optimism than those who make objective assessments of these risks. Dillard, Midboe
and Klein (2009) identified unrealistic optimists in a group of college students. The
categorization was based on the students’ scores on two measures: alcohol related
risk perception and alcohol consumption. The dispositional optimism was also
assessed in students. According to results, dispositional optimism did not indicate
any negative effects. But unrealistic optimism was predictive of higher number of
alcohol linked negative events that were found later in follow up interviews during
the next one and half years.
(b) Inability to disengage from unrealizable goals
We all acknowledge at some point in our life about goals that cannot be realized
due to number of reasons like aging, lack of sufficient resources, socio-cultural
constraints etc. This realization requires an adaptive regulation wherein one can
modify one’s goals or chase different set of goals, according to the demand of the
situation. Therefore to achieve a sense of well-being one has to disengage from
these unattainable goals and reconnect with alternative goals. It seems plausible
that optimistic people being hopeful would have greater difficulty in disengaging
with goals though they are unattainable. However, the studies are not conclusive in
this direction. While some studies counter this blind persistence hypothesis for
optimistic people (Aspinwall and Richter, 1999), othersprovide evidence wherein
there is less adaptive functioning among dispositional optimists when faced with
goal unattainability for an extended period (Segerstrom, 2006).
Thus hopeful and optimistic orientation can have adverse effects in case of overly
positive perceptions of threatening situations leading to higher predisposition towards
physical illness and reduced well-being.

1. Constructive thinking is one of the reasons for higher well-being in optimists.
True or False.
2. Reappraisal is more likely to be used by the pessimists than the optimists.
True or False.
3. Overly positive and optimistic people are always able to recognize and
judge the potential risk.True or False.
10.7 HOPE
Hope is an interdisciplinary concept studied in different disciplines like Anthropology,
Sociology, Psychology, Philosophy, Nursing/Medicine and Theology. In philosophy, it
is studied as a spiritual virtue; in nursing literature, hope is associated with survival and
coping. Psychology conceptualizes hope as goal achievement. Hope, according to
Staats (1989), is “the interaction between wishes and expectations.” Stotland (1969)
investigated the function of expectancies and cognitive schemas in the development of
hope, which he defined as a set of important goals with a high perceived possibility of
realization. According to Gottschalk (1974), hope is having positive expectations about 225
Positive Cognitive States particular favorable consequences, and it motivates a person to overcome psychological
and Processes
challenges.
A number of conceptual frameworks have been proposed by theorists like Nekolaichuk
(1999), Scioli et al(1997), and Snyder (1994). Within a multidimensional framework,
Nekolaichuket.al. (1999) suggest a hope model that highlights three dimensions of
hope: personal spirit (an individual dimension), risk (a contextual dimension), and
authentic caring (a relational dimension). According to Scioli (1997), individuals realize
hope through four dimensions: mastery (goals), survival (coping), attachment (trust)
and spirituality (faith). Several other perspectives to hope such as, “hopeful thinking or
cognition” (Snyder, 2000), “positive emotional experience” (Fredrickson, 2009), as a
“character strength” (Peterson and Seligman, 2004) and also a “transcendental
phenomenon” (Emmons, 2005, Vaillant, 2008) have been proposed.
From a Positive psychology perspective,hope involves positive feelings like optimism,but
it is also a cognitive- motivational state that comprises of individual’s beliefs about the
self and one’s actions that shapes attainment of desirable results. Developed by Professor
Charles Richard Snyder (1994), the concept of hope is conceptualized to consist of
three components: (i) goals, (ii) thoughts about means or pathways to achieve specific
goals,and (iii) thoughts about the agency or abilities to attain those goals. Hope is
believed to be the sum of ‘pathways’ and ‘agency’components. In other words,hope
is the combination of perceived abilities to choose routes towards desirable goals and
the perceived motivation to make use of those routes. It indicates the person’s belief
that s/he will be able to find the path towards the desired goals and utilize these pathways
for attainment of goals.As evident from the definition, Snyder emphasized hope to be
a cognitive-motivational phenomena, and emotions to be a byproductof these thoughts.
Hope theory predicts that unhindered goal pursuit should result in positive emotions,
but goal impediments may result in negative emotions.
Snyder (2000) believed hope to be a multi-dimensional concept which can act both
like a stable personality trait and contextual state. As a trait, people can have individual
differences in the extent to which they possess the trait. People high on hope are
thought to use different means to reach their goals, they have more clarity about the
alternate routes and are more likely to have a strong belief about accomplishing their
goals, as compared to people who are low on hope (Bailis and Chipperfield,2012).
Fig. 10.1: Snyders’s Model of Hope

226 Source: Adapted from Snyder (2000)
According to Snyder’s model as depicted in Fig 10.1, hope will be high when it involves Optimism and Hope
goals that are valued and there is average or above average probability of realizing the
goals in the face of obstacles that are difficult but not overwhelming. Hope loses its
relevance where one is sure of reaching the goals; and hopelessness results when it is
believed that goals are not achievable. Hopeful thoughts lead to positive emotions and
hopelessness results in negative emotions. Snyder pointed out that at any point in time
and situation, hope is determined by the interplay of three factors:
 The extent to which any goal is valued
 The pathways/means and expectancies about the effectiveness of these
pathways in attainment of desirable goals, and
 One’s agency or energy, abilities and self-efficacy in using these pathways to
goals
The above mentioned factors do not operate in a vacuum, the thoughts about pathways
and agency are dependent on past experiences. The developmental learnings related
to correlation and causality in pathways thinking and agency thoughts derived from
one’s experiences in the past guides one’s expectancies in the present.
In addition to goals, pathways thinking and agency thinking, Snyder also talked about
the barriers to goal achievement. Goal attainment is not always a smooth process and
involves number of blockages. When faced with obstacles to goals, most people can
think of at least one alternative route, but there are some who can think of multiple
routes to the desired goals. This ability to find multiple pathways is more characteristic
of high hope people (Snyder, 1994a, 1994b).
False Hope
True hope is thought to have a basis in reality,on the other hand, false hope is believed
to result from recognizable distortions of reality. Many scholars and psychologists have
raised concerns about the potential dangers of “false” hope (Snyder, Rand, King,
Feldman, & Woodward, 2002).
According to literature, false hope tend to occur for three reasons: when expectancies
are based on illusions instead of reality (e.g., Beavers &Kaslow, 1981); when
unreasonable goals are chased (Rule, 1982, as cited by Snyder et al., 2002); and
when inadequateapproach and procedures are followed to attain the desirable goals
(Kwon, 2000, 2002). However, Snyder argued that false hope was not necessarily a
result of distortions in reality. He believed that high hope individuals can make use of
positive illusions that can shape their perception of reality, but they do not inevitably
involve in counterproductive illusions resulting in major reality distortions (Snyder, 1998)
Another important topic investigated by researchers is the phenomenon of Collective
Hope (Snyder & Feldman, 2000). Collective Hope indicates the extent of goal-directed
thinking of a group of people or communities. Collective hope becomes functional
when a large number of people pursue a goal that cannot be achieved by any single
individual. The operation of collective hope is visible in community efforts towards
common goals like environment protection, health promotion, and government plans.
10.8 DEVELOPMENT OF HOPE

Although hope is conceptualized both as a trait and state, it has not been found to have
any hereditary component (Snyder, 1994b). It is believed to be a cognitive set about 227
Positive Cognitive States goal-directed thinking that is completely learnt and shaped by the socialization process.
and Processes
The elements of hope - the pathway and agency thinking are coached by parents or
caregivers and are visible by the tender age of two in children, although these thoughts
are acquired much before that. Agency thoughts in babies is their recognition of their
self to be a causal factor in many cause and effects events in their surroundings. Healthy
attachment to caregivers which is based on trust is important for development of hope
in children (Snyder, 1994b). Threatening environment and traumatic experiences during
childhood like loss of parents have been associated with decrease in hope (Rodriguez-
Hanley & Snyder, 2000).
10.9 NEUROBIOLOGY OF HOPE

The ability to anticipate pathways to desired goals despite impediments and be motivated
to use these pathways, suggests that study into the neuroscience of incentive-driven,
goal-directed behaviourmay shed insight on the subject (Snyder, 2000).Professor Jeffrey
Gray (1987) of the Institute of Psychiatry, London has argued that the central nervous
system has two antagonistic control centres namely the behavioural activation system
(BAS) and the behavioural inhibition system (BIS) that regulate much goal-directed
behavior (Pickering and Gray, 1999). The BAS system is thought of as a system
that responds well to incentives or reinforcement, whereas the BIS is thought of as a
system that responds well to punishment. The BAS is stimulated by reward signals
and regulates approach behaviour. It’s a ‘go’structure. The BIS is aroused by punishment
messages and regulates passive avoidance. It’s a ‘stop’ system. The BAS is fed by
mesolimbic and mesocortical dopamine pathways, which are likely important for hopeful
behaviour.
Professor Richard Depue (1996) of Cornell University in New York demonstrated

that a behavioural facilitation system (BFS) stimulated by reward signals explains for
much of the evidence on incentive seeking in animals and humans. The BFS regulates
incentive-driven or goal-directed behaviour and activities such as obtaining food, a
mate, and a nesting site, as well as pursuing other essential objectives and rewards.
The neurological reward system is a colloquial term for it. The mesolimbic dopamine
pathways originate in the ventral tegmental area of the midbrain and project to the
limbic system’s amygdala, hippocampus, and nucleus accumbens. The mesocortical
dopamine pathways, which begin in the ventral tegmental region and extend onto all
sections of the cortex, are also part of the reward system. People with an active BFS
are highly driven to achieve their goals by incentives and rewards. Within the population,
the efficiency with which the BFS operates has a normal distribution, and hope is likely
linked to more efficient BFS operation.
1. Differentiate between hope and optimism.
2. According to Snyder (1994), hope consists of ____________ and

_________ components.
3. What is ‘false hope’?
4. What are BAS and BIS?

228
Optimism and Hope
10.10 BENEFITS OF HOPE
Hope has been found to have beneficial results in the area of academics, sports, physical
health, adjustment, and psychotherapy.
a) Academic Performance
A number of research investigations involving various student populations have
revealed a link between hope and academic performance. Snyder et al. (1991)
identified the characteristics of high-hope students as self-assured, inspired,
enthusiastic, and driven by their intended goals.Higher Hope Scale scores at the
start of college have been shown to predict better overall grade point averages
and whether students will continue school (Snyder, Shorey, et al.,
2002).Furthermore, among college students, higher levels of hope were linked to
higher academic life satisfaction and higher use of problem-solving skills and coping
mechanisms (Chang, 1998). The studies are reflective of hope being a potential
human strength aiding in improving achievement.
b) Health and Well being
As a personal attribute, hope has been linked to a number of positive health benefits
(Snyder,2002). Snyder (2002) linked high levels of hope to higher participation in
preventative actions that help people avoid developing physical and mental illnesses.
For example, people scoring high on hope showed a greater involvement with
cancer prevention initiatives (Irving, Snyder and Crowson, 1998) and higher
motivation to do physical work out (Harney, 1990 in Snyder, 2002).
The correlation between hope and psychological functioning has also been revealed
in numerous research studies.Higher levels of hope were associated with improved
mental health in high school students (Marques, Pais-Ribeiro, & Lopez, 2011),
reduced levels of depression in undergraduates (Snyder et al., 1991), and better
life satisfaction scores in law school students (Rand et al., 2011). High hope in
cancer patients was also associated with reduced psychological distress in them
(Berendes et al, 2010). Elliott, Witty, Herrick, and Hoffman (1991) carried out a
study on 57 persons with major physical disabilities and found that hope had a
favorable impact on depressive symptoms and dealing with physical handicap.
People with higher levels of hope had lower degree of depression and had stronger
social relationships in comparison to individuals with lower levels of hope.
Michael (2000) studied the effects of hope on anxiety reactions. His study
discovered that hope can be used as a resource to keep anxiety from overpowering
and incapacitating the patient. As a result, hope seemed to have a moderating
influence on anxiety; hopeful individuals have the ability to overcome the ramifications
of anxiety by consciously focusing on achieving their goals. Energy produced by
anxiety can also be channeled into goal-oriented action. Hope is thus considered
to be a valuable human strength with the potential to result in beneficial outcomes
with regard to health and well-being (Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi, 2000).
c) Coping and Adjustment
A large number of studies have investigated the effects of hope on dealing with
stress. Snyder (2000) showed a positive effect of dispositional hope on ability to
cope with problems. Based on research findings, Snyder and Pulvers (2001) stated
229
Positive Cognitive States that individuals low in hope are more likely to have a tragic view of future, as
and Processes
compared to high hopers who tend to use healthy and productive coping strategies
on a regular basis. It is intriguing to know if there is a difference between high
hopers and low hopers in terms of types of coping strategies used by them. This
question has been dealt by one of the studies by Slezackova&Piskova (2017).
The study was carried on 196 adults in the age range of 19-33 years old. They
found that people scoring high on hope used coping strategies like problem-solving,
positive cognitive restructuring and support from family, friends. These people
exhibited a higher level of happiness and positive perceptions of health. Individuals
with low hope scores, on the other hand, displayed coping strategies like wishful
thinking, self-criticism and social withdrawal.
In the domain of personal and social adjustment, higher Hope scale scores have
been linked to numerous indices of increased happiness satisfaction, positive
emotions, quality of social relationships, and so on (Snyder, Harris, et al., 1991).
Furthermore, hope has been proposed as a common component underpinning the
positive effects of psychological therapeutic treatment. (Snyder, Ilardi, Cheavens,
et al., 2000).
10.11 MEASUREMENT OF HOPE

Snyder et al (1991) developed a trait based hope scale called The Adult Dispositional
Hope Scale to measure hope in adult population. The scale consists of twelve items,
out of which four items measure pathways thoughts, four items measure agency thoughts
and the rest four are fillers. The response is made by participants using the 4-point
scale from definitely false to definitely true. The internal consistency (alpha level) and
test-retest reliabilities have been found to be in the range of .80. Further, they developed
a state based self-report measure known as State Hope Scale, which consisted of six
items, in which three items assessed successful agency and three measured successful
pathways. The items were modified version of dispositional scale refering to hope in
the present moment.
To assess hope in children, the Children’s Hope Scale (Snyder et al, 1997) was created
for school aged children. It is a six-item self- report measure for the age group of 8-15
years. Three items assess agency thinking, three measure pathways thinking, which
children answer on a 6-point Likert scale (1= none of the time, 6= all the time). The
test-retest reliability for the scale range between 0.70-0.80. For the pre-school children,
Young Children Hope Scale was constructed. Observational rating scales for all these
tests were also developed to be filled by parents, teachers and research raters. Other
than these scales, another scale called Adult Domain Specific Hope Scale was
developed to assess hope in various spheres of life: family, academic, love relationships,
social, occupation and leisure activities.
10.12 LET US SUM UP

In this Unit, you learned about two important constructs in positive psychology, that is,
optimism and hope. Development of optimism and hope was described and their benefits
were elaborated.
Looking at the positive outcomes of optimism in different spheres of person’s life, it is
230 crucial that optimism be developed from childhood. Programs have been developed
by researchers (Seligman, 1998) to assist individuals of different age groups to alter Optimism and Hope
their explanatory style from pessimism to optimism. Participants, in these programs,
get trained to recognize and analyse the situations which are mood altering, and thereby
change their negative beliefs by positive reappraisal so that it leads to optimistic
explanatory style. Thus knowledge of one’s ability to change and transform one’s thought
processes towards optimistic thinking can be really empowering and advantageous in
the direction of positive mental health and well-being.
Similarly, hope is also a multifaceted process, which is necessary for human survival
and indispensable for life. Hope has been found to be strongly related to happiness,
physical wellness, academic performance and psychological well-being for people of
all ages. It can act like protective shield while facing life difficulties and stressors. Research
findings reflect it can be development from early childhood. A number of factors can
affect hope: age, sociocultural factors, socialization etc. Although it is predominantly
considered to be an individual phenomenon, it can be experienced collectively and can
result in attainment of group goals. Hope has an important role to play in the present
unprecedented times, whereby it can help people find a direction, guide pathway, and
reinforce one’s belief in reaching meaningful goals despite troubles, failures, negativity,
and despair.
10.13 KEY WORDS

Optimism : is a cognitive expectancy for desirable events or things to
happen in future.
Explanatory style : is defined as the manner in which an individual explains the
events of his/her life, making attributions for their causes.
Learned Optimism : refers to the tendency of ascribing external, unstableand
specific causes to negative life events.
Unrealistic Optimism : refers to the tendency of attribution which entails holding
particular perceptions and self-evaluations that are unduly
positive, too exaggerated to be called objective or fair.
Hope : refers to having positive expectations about particular
favorable consequences, and it motivates a person to
overcome psychological challenges (Gottschalk, 1974).
Collective Hope : indicates the extent of goal-directed thinking of a group of
people or communities.

1. Dispositional
2. Learned
3. Martin Seligman
4. Internality/externality, unstability/stability and specificity/globality
231
Positive Cognitive States Answers to Self Assessment Questions 2
and Processes
1. True
2. False
3. False
1. Hope involves positive feelings like optimism, but it is also a cognitive-
motivational state that comprises of individual’s beliefs about the self and one’s
actions that shapes attainment of desirable results.
2. pathways and agency
3. False hope results from recognizable distortions of reality.
4. behavioural activation system (BAS) andbehavioural inhibition system (BIS)
that regulate much goal-directed behavior in individualsand are located in the
central nervous system.

1. Discuss the two dominant perspectives in optimism.
2. What are the probable risks associated with optimism?
3. Describe the measurement of optimism.
4. Discuss Snyder’s Model of Hope citing relevant examples.
5. Explain the neurobiological aspects of hope.
6. Elaborate on the various benefits of hope.
10.16 REFLECTIVE EXERCISES
1. Think of different instances/events in your life. Do you use internal/external,

stable/changing, or specific/general attributions while explaining the events of
your life?
2. Take the example of a pessimistic explanatory style either in your case or in
people known to you. Write down how can you modify it from internal to
external; stable to dynamic; and general to specific attributions.
3. Have you ever not been able to detect a potential threat in your environment
because of your optimistic attitude? Do you tend to be overly optimistic at
some times?
4. What is the function of hope in the life of an individual? Is it always beneficial?
Reflect with examples from your life or of people you know about.
5. Based on your personal experiences can you differentiate between Hope and
False Hope, and the consequences of both in goal attainment?
6. Recall a challenging situation in the past, and the corresponding agency and
pathways thoughts you experienced and the results of these on your goal
behavior.
232
Optimism and Hope
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237
and Processes UNIT 11 FLOW AND MINDFULNESS*
Structure

11.2 Introduction
11.3 Flow: The Optimal Experience
11.3.1 Components of Flow Experience
11.4 Flow and Engagement: Are They Same?
11.5 Flow: An Indigenous Perspective
11.6 Benefits of Flow
11.7 Assessment of Flow
11.8 Mindfulness
11.9 Meaning of Mindfulness
11.10 How does Mindfulness Work?
11.11 Benefits of Mindfulness
11.12 Mindfulness Based Interventions
11.13 Assessment of Mindfulness
11.14 Let Us Sum Up
11.15 Key Words
11.18 References

 Explain the meaning of flow and describe its different components;
 Describe the benefits of flow and how to assess it;
 Define mindfulness and describe its components;
 Explain the mechanism of mindfulness;
 Describe the assessment of mindfulness; and
 Discuss various mindfulness-based interventions and how they impact
the well-being of individuals.
11.2 INTRODUCTION
Rita loves dancing and has performed on stage in many functions in her college.
When she practices in her dance class in the evening, she becomes so engrossed
*Dr. Shalini Sharma, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Ramanujan College,

238 University of Delhi, Delhi.
that she forgets all the tiredness after her college classes. She gets immersed in Flow and Mindfulness
her dance and loses the track of time. Have you ever felt that time has flied while
doing anything, e.g., reading a favourite novel or playing a game.
Rahul has gone for a movie in the evening with his college friends. They dined
out and it was quite late by the time he returned home. His father got angry and
scolded him for being so irresponsible and staying out so late into the night.
Rahul also got angry and was about to retort back saying that he is grown up
now and can take care of himself. But then he thought that he is not going to ruin
his sleep and the enjoyable experience he had by getting into an argument with
his father so late in the night.
Have you ever found yourself in situations similar to the cases described above? These
examples depict two important constructs in positive psychology, namely Flow and
Mindfulness. The field of positive psychology focuses on such aspects which make
one’s life more flourishing, meaningful and worth living. It aims at finding out what is
good in life and how we can enhance our life?
The process of engagement in any activity and in life refers to the process of immersing
oneself and getting absorbed in the work we do or task at hand. Engagement and
particularly the concept of ‘flow’, is important in making life worth living and promoting
a profound sense of well-being for people who have flow experience. Mindfulness
also contributes to living a balanced and enriching life by paying attention to the present
moment experiences.
In the present Unit, we will discuss about these positive psychology constructs of flow
and mindfulness.
11.3 FLOW: THE OPTIMAL EXPERIENCE

The concept of ‘Flow’ originated from the works of Mihály Csíkszentmihályi (1975,
1990), a Hungarian-American psychologist, and a Professor at Claremont Graduate
University, California, who first recognized and coined the term. He studied people
from creative field or artists where work is integrated with leisure like dancers, painters,
athletes, etc. based on which he propounded the concept of flow.
The flow state was defined as the one where a person is fully engaged or immersed in
the activity they are doing. It is a feeling which is characterized by a state of concentration,
fulfillment, complete absorption, engagement and competency, and a disregard of the
sense of time, ego, bodily needs during the activity. According to Csíkszentmihályi
(2005), flow involves being fully present and engrossed in the activity and utilizing
one’s skills to the fullest. The characteristic feature of flow is a deep involvement in the
moment-to -moment activity.
In his popular work, ‘Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience’, Csíkszentmihályi
has proposed that when, in a state of flow, people feel the happiest. It is a kind of
involvement and focus in one’s work that nothing else seems to matter (Csíkszentmihályi,
1990). In 1996 he added, flow is “extremely enjoyed optimal experience in which
total concentration and enjoyment with great interest for the activity is experienced”
(Csíkszentmihályi, 1996). This flow experience can be felt during play, games, creative
pursuits, spiritual experience, and other contexts, however, it is not limited to these.
Maslow’s (1962, 1971) concept of ‘peak experiences and de Charms (1968) idea of
‘origin’ state share many commonalities with flow. 239
Positive Cognitive States Based on the interviews findings of artists, sportsmen etc., Csíkszentmihályi has
and Processes
underlined certain elements of flow experience.
11.3.1 Components of Flow Experience

 Merging of action and awareness
One of the most defining features of flow experience is the merging of action with
its awareness. Here the individual is very much aware of his/her actions, but do
not reflect on that awareness itself. For example in a chess game, the player has
undivided attention on the game on its every move but is not perceptive of that
awareness.
To quote an example from the interviews of artists by Csíkszentmihályi,
“You are so involved in what you are doing, you aren’t thinking of yourself as
separate from the immediate activity… you don’t see yourself as separate
from what you are doing…”(Csíkszentmihályi, 2014).
For this kind of merging between action and awareness, the activity carried out
must be achievable i.e., the person doing it must be confident about his/her
ability to perform. However, this flow experience is not easy to sustain for longer
periods of time and is sometimes disrupted by momentary interruptions in the
form of outside perspective like ‘Am I doing well’?The moment activity is
perceived from outside, the awareness is split from the action, and the flow
experience is interrupted.
 Centering of attention
The flow experience is achieved when one’s attention is undivided and centered
on a single stimulus field. This focusing of attention involves keeping out of attention
the unnecessary, irrelevant, ordistracting stimuli. It is also named as the ‘narrowing
of consciousness’. This concentration or narrowing of attention is attained by a
number of factors during play or games like rules and structure of the game,
competition, material rewards, and sometimes, even physical danger. Although
flow is not limited to games only, it can be experienced in any kind of activities.
The determining element here is the pure involvement, and finding joy in that
involvement.
 Loss of ego
Loss of ego here denotes, a temporary loss of self-consciousness or one’s identity,
and individuality. It is a brief forgetfulness of one’s self and becoming one with the
activity. When a person is involved in the activity completely, self-interests become
superfluous. The self or ego here is seen from the intrapsychic perspective and not
physical body. The person does not lose touch with one’s physical reality, on the
other hand, in some flow activities like yoga and certain sports, the individual
becomes considerably more aware of one’s internal processes or changes.It’s the
absence of awareness of self as a role or ego.
As described by one person in the creative field,
“You yourself are in an ecstatic state to such a point that you feel as though
you almost don’t exist. I’ve experienced this time and time again. My hand
240 seems devoid of myself, and I have nothing to do with what is happening. I
just sit there watching it in a state of awe and wonderment. And it just flows Flow and Mindfulness
out by itself.”(Csíkszentmihályi, 2014).

 Control of action and environment
Another element of flow is a feeling of sense of control over one’s actions and
one’s environment. It is not as much a feeling of mastery, as it is a state of not being
bothered about by the likelihood of loss of control. Retrospectively, while thinking
about the event, a person with flow experience, feels that he had adequate skills
and competencies for meeting the demands of the environment at that time, leading
to a sense of positive self-regard and a positive self-concept
An excerpt from Csíkszentmihályi study explains this point,
“I feel in control. Sure. I’ve practiced and have a good feeling for the shots
I can make… I don’t feel in control of the other player-even if he’s bad and I
know where to beat him. It’s me and not him that I’m working
on.”(Csíkszentmihályi, 2014).
 Demands for action and clear feedback
The demands for action which results in flow experience have the characteristics
of being clear, consonant or coherent. In addition it involves explicit and clear
feedback to the person for his actions. The task is defined clearly and the person
is required to do things which are coherent or compatible with the goals. In other
words the goals and the means are aligned with each other. In the words of a
climber from Csíkszentmihályi’s study, the phenomenon is described as,
“I think it’s one of the few sorts of activities in which you don’t feel you have
all sorts of different kinds of demands, often conflicting, upon
you…”(Csíkszentmihályi, 2014).
To put in other words, flow experience involve participating in orderly activities,
where there is no conflict between the goals, the action towards the goals, and
where the feedback of the action follows the action. Flow is enhanced in the
presence of clear and timely feedback. Feedback is important as it lets know the
person how well s/he is doing in the activity, and signals to either modify or continue
the ongoing course of action. It provides a direction and clarity to the person
about the course of action.
 Autotelic in nature
One of the most defining characteristics of flow is autotelic, that is, it is self-
rewarding and the activity does not require any rewards external to itself. Most
or all of flow activities like play, dance, games, artistic drawing etc. are inherently
rewarding to the person doing those activities. Although external rewards can
be there in most of the above-mentioned and other flow activities yet the people
experiencing flow are primarily motivated by the experience and not the external
rewards attached. A music composer when asked by Csíkszentmihályi why he
composes answers,
“One doesn’t do it for money. One does it for, perhaps, the satisfaction it
gives. I think the great composers, all the great artists, work for themselves,
period.”(Csíkszentmihályi, 2014).
241
Positive Cognitive States  Altered sense of time
and Processes
We all have experienced at some point or other how time seems to fly very fast
when we are enjoying something, and it seems to standstill in periods of boredom,
agony or stress. William James (1890) commented how boredom is heightened
when we become attentive to the process of time passing. In the flow, attention
is focused on the moment to moment activity, the person is not at all oriented
towards the mental processes that signals the time duration. As a result the
person fully engaged in an activity feels that time has passed too quickly
(Conti, 2001).
This is expressed in one of the verbatim of a chess player interviewed by
Csíkszentmihályi,
“Time passes a hundred times faster. In this sense, it resembles the dream
state. A whole story can unfold in seconds, it seems.”(Csíkszentmihályi, 2014).
The excerpts from the interviewees showed that all the components of the flow
experience are interconnected to each other. By limiting their attention to a limited
stimulus field and evading distractions, persons in the flow activity can feel a sense
of control over their environment. Being involved in an activity where goals are
clear and unambiguous, this intense concentration can lead to temporary detachment
from their identity, self andsense of time. All these elements result in a feeling of
intrinsic satisfaction which is rewarding in itself.
It is important to note here that for the optimal or flow experience the challenge or
opportunities for action needs to be consonant with perceived capabilities. When
the demands are experienced to be more than what one can handle, it can lead to
stress or anxiety. On the other hand, if the skills are perceived to be greater than
the demands of the situation, it can result in boredom. Therefore, flow is experienced
when there is a match between the opportunities for action (challenges) and the
perceived skills of the person.
There are other conceptualizations of flow as well by different researchers. Most of
them derive from Csíkszentmihályi model of flow. Jackson and Eklud (2002) proposed
that the optimal experience can be explained by nine dimensions: consciousness-action
fusion, complete concentration, lack of awareness, balance-skill challenge, time
distortion, feedback, target clarity, and autotelic experience.
Bakker (2005) came up with a slightly different approach, with three broad dimensions
of flow: Absorption, Enjoyment and Intrinsic Motivation.
Another group of researchers,Chen, Wigand and Nila (1999) suggests the proposition
that optimal experience can be achieved by three initial dimensions which can lead to
the experience of flow:
 Goal and challenge perception
 Perception of the abilities adjusted for the action
 Immediate feedback
Thus the flow experience consists of a number of elements as described above. Various
other factors such as clarity of goals, optimal challenges, high achievement motivation,
and importance of activity for the person also influence the extent to which the person
engages in an activity and finds it intrinsically rewarding.
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Flow and Mindfulness
11.4 FLOW AND ENGAGEMENT: ARE THEYSAME?
Flow is often used interchangeably with engagement. Many find the two terms
overlapping, or an extension of each other. There is a very thin line differentiating the
two. Due to the commonalities between the two concepts, and the manner in which
they are conceptualized, there are different perspectives in the literature about which
causes what, i.e., if flow leads to engagement or engagement results in flow? There is
no consistent empirical evidence in one direction.
Kahn (1990) contended engagement to be one of the elements of flow. Schaufeli,
Salanova, Gonzalez-Rokmá and Bakker (2002) suggested that flow is climax
experience of engagement. They argued that engagement is a positive psychological
state of work that can be described by vigor, dedication and absorption. Engagement
can be a reflection of one’s internal motivation at work, it can be referred to as a more
persistent cognitive-affective state, as compared to flow which can be a specific,
transient, peak experience. The most common difference cited between the two is
temporality. While flow is a slightly more complex concept and includes various elements,
it signifies a particular, time bound, transient ‘peak’ experience, as compared to a
more consistent, and extensive psychological statesuch as engagement (Schaufeli et
al., 2002). The absorption dimension of engagement comes very close to flow.
Furthermore, engagement is generally referred in work context and “indicates one’s
identification with one’s work” (Schaufeli et al., 2009), while flow can be experienced
in any of the activities or unlikely situations.
11.5 FLOW: AN INDIGENOUS PERSPECTIVE

The concept of flow has parallels in the Hindu philosophy of Karma Yoga, underlined
in the Hindu’s sacred text Bhagavad Gita. Both Flow and Bhagavad Gita propound
enjoying the journey or process of work itself, rather than being focused about the end
goal, in order to experience inner satisfaction and peace. In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord
Krishna instructs his disciple Arjuna to follow this principle:
Invest your energies in doing your duty in the best

possible manner, but do not concern yourself with the
results. Let the motive of action be the action, and not
the hope of reward.
Shree Krishna explains - by getting rid of the attachment to the results of the work, one
can attain excellence in the work we do. This excellence in work is Yoga. Shri Krishna
clarifies that working without personal interests, does not dampen the spirit of work or
quality of work; contrary to this, we become more skillful in comparison to when we
work with an eye towards personal rewards.
243
Positive Cognitive States Flow can be experienced in any kind of work. To quote the Gita “the one devoted to
and Processes
his duty (work, action) attains perfection” [18.45].
Csikszentmihalyi’s conceptualization of flow and how to achieve the highest form of
fulfillment- enjoying the moment-to moment activity without aiming at the end goal, is
very similar to the path of peace and self-realization prescribed by Lord Krishna – the
elimination of desire for rewards and detachment from fruits of actions.
11.6 BENEFITS OF FLOW

Although flow can be a very personally and internally rewarding experience, it has
broader positive consequences. The two direct consequences of flow often discussed
in literature are enjoyment and pleasurable absorption. These two in turn can lead to
a number of benefits for the person and in the work context. The pleasurable
absorption experienced in the leisure and sports activities has been associated with
many crucial outcomes in the work arena like enhanced interest in task
(Csikzsentmihalyi, Rathunde,& Whalen, 1993), positive mood (Eisenberger et al.,
2005), in-role and extra role work behaviors (Demerouti, 2006), organizational
spontaneity (Eisenberger et al., 2005), and overall physical as well as psychological
well-being (Steele, 2006).
A number of studies have highlighted the positive effects of flow in creative fields like
journalism. Flow was found to influence enjoyment at work and sense of professional
efficacy in journalists (Burke & Mattheisen, 2004). Studies are abound in the positive
effects of flow in sports and creative activities. However, there is dearth of studies of
flow in the other work context like academics. Flow can have many relevant outcomes
in the workplace such as improved performance and organizational citizenship
behaviour. Additionally it can be promoted by various job characteristics like
leadership, freedom, autonomy, open communication channels etc. at work; thereby
making flow an empirically modifiable variable, which can be enhanced by changing
specific job characteristics. Therefore pleasurable absorption and enjoyment resulting
from flow, can lead to positive work outcomes in diverse fields and have the potential
to reduce stress at work and promote well-being. Although studies in the domain are
limited, it has been found that flow can be concluded by work characteristics in the
academic context and brings about better physical and psychological well-being in
students (Steele, 2006). Findings from flow experience can be utilized in aiding
institutional practices to enhance students’ involvement in studies and academic work
in general.
Exercises to trigger a Flow Experience:

 When faced with a challenging situation, try taking not a standard
route instead a different approach, stretching your imagination.
 Think outside of the box and look at the problems from an
unconventional angle.
 Try taking part in activities that you never took part in, explored
or never thought to be a possibility for you like playing a new
sport, exploring a new place etc.
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Flow and Mindfulness
 Practice immersing yourself in new experiences and environments
 Chalk your personal mission statement – identify your
competencies and write your personal goals and ask yourself,
“What do I want to achieve?”
11.7 ASSESSMENT OF FLOW

The construct of flow evolved during the study undertaken by Csikszentmihalyi (1975).
Csikszentmihalyi utilized the technique of qualitative interviewing to investigate the
experiences of people involved in creative activities. The flow experience can be assessed
by using a variety of methods, which can be qualitative, quantitative or both. Interviews
are the most popular means to attain qualitative measures of flow. Another method is
Experience Sampling Methodology (ESM) (Csikszentmihalyi & Graef, 1980;
Csikszentmihalyi & Kubey, 1981).
The survey method is the most common method to measure flow quantitatively. Two
psychological tests: The Flow State Scale II (FSSII) (Jackson & Eklund, 2002) and
the Work related Flow scale (WOLF), (Bakker, 2005) are used to measure Flow.
The FSS II derives from the Csikszentmihalyi (1988) nine dimensional model of flow
and consists of 36 items (four items for each of the nine dimensions of flow). The scale
has high internal consistency reliability (Jackson & Eklund, 2002). The other test,
WOLF is more applicable to and is based upon work context. It draws from Bakkar
(2005) theoretical proposition of flow experience, which is defined by absorption,
work enjoyment and intrinsic work motivation.
Flow is thus an internally rewarding experience, when individuals are completely
immersed in any activity, to the extent of forgetting their identity, self, sense of time, and
everything else in their background but the activity itself. People can experience this at
the time of writing a novel, dancing, participating in sports, playing a musical instrument,
and all other kinds of activities where a person feels involved and skillful.There are
many dimensions to it, however the defining characteristics of flow include deep
involvement at the moment, challenge and skill balance, and autotelic in nature. This
functioning at one’s fullest capacity is rewarding in itself and gives a feeling of bliss and
the need to relive the experience again and again.

1. Who has contributed to the concept of ‘Flow’?
2. Name a few characteristics of flow experience.
3. The concept of flow has parallels in which Hindu philosophy?
4. Name the psychological tests used to measure flow.
11.8 MINDFULNESS
What most of the respondents in Csíkszentmihály qualitative interview study experienced
in the state of flow was a feeling of connectedness (mind,body and action), bliss and
peace resulting from intense focus and concentration in the act being performed. One 245
Positive Cognitive States wishes to be in this state again and again. What is actually causing this bliss in action is
and Processes
mindfulness. This brings us to another related topic of mindfulness, defined by heightened
awareness or being in the moment.
Mindfulness, an attribute of consciousness,plays an important role in improving the
psychological well-being of people. One of the major stressors of life for most of the
individuals is worrying about future or getting stuck in the past leading to negative
feelings like guilt, regret, resentment, grievance, anxiety, bitterness etc. A healthy
state of mind requires one to focus one’s attention in the present. However,day-
dreaming, worries, excessive planning cause individuals to act mechanically without
conscious awareness, thus develop behavioral patterns which are unhealthy and
mindless.
A disconnect between mind, body and heart is a very common and accepted way of
being in the world for so many of us. People of all age groups can be prone to this and
particularly those who have to balance and manage multiple roles, responsibilities and
relationships at a given time. However, this can have serious effects on individuals’
physical and mental health, particularly their emotional well-being.
A number of psychological, philosophical and spiritual schools of thought have
underscored the relevance of development of consciousness for the presence and
improvement of well-being. An aspect of consciousness that has been much discussed
and studied with respect to well-being is Mindfulness. In simple terms it is construed
as the state of being attentive to and aware of what is going on in the present. It helps
one to train its mind to stop being bothered about what has happened in the past or can
happen in future and respond effectively to what is happening in the moment - not only
to the events outside, but paying close attention to one’s inner states like thoughts,
sensations, feelings and emotions. This can promote well-being by facilitating self-
regulatory behavior and positive mental health.
11.9 MEANING OF MINDFULNESS

The term mindfulness is a translation of the word Sati in Pali language, and has its roots
in Buddhist traditions, though its origin dates back at least as far as the third millennium
B.C.E. as part of the Brahmanic traditions in the Indian subcontinent, from where
emerged the Buddhism (Cousins, 1996, cited in Lomas et al, 2017 p. 133]. Mindfulness
is generally used to indicate both: (i) a state or quality of mind; and (ii) a form of
meditation that helps one to bring up and nurture this particular state/quality (Lomas et.
al., 2017).
With respect to its first meaning, Kabat-Zinn (2003) defines mindfulness as “the
consciousness that comes through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment,
and nonjudgmentally to the flow of experience moment by moment” (Lomas et. al.,
2017, p. 133). The main attributes of mindfulness involve a ‘pre-conceptual awareness’
and ‘acceptance’ of one’s experiences; flexible control of attention; a detached or
unbiased openness to experience; and an orientation to be ‘here-and-now’ (Brown,
Ryan, & Creswell,2007a; Howell, 2008, p. 773).
NyanaponikaThera (1972) called mindfulness “the clear and single-minded awareness
of what actually happens to us and in us at the successive moments of perception”
(Brown and Ryan, 2003, p. 822). Hanh (1976) defined mindfulness as “keeping one’s
246 consciousness alive to the present reality” (Brown and Ryan, 2003).However, ‘paying
attention’ here indicates concentrating on what one is doing, at the same time being Flow and Mindfulness
aware of one’s affective state, thoughts, and memories that arise in that moment, and
also observing when the mind digress so that it can be refocused (Baer &Krietemeyer,
2006).
A central aspect of mindfulness that has been described is open or receptive awareness
and focus (Deikman, 1982; Martin, 1997, in Brown and Ryan, 2003, p. 822). Prof.
Ronald D. Siegel of Harvard Medical School concur the notion of non-judgment, and
acceptance to the concept of mindfulness. He defines it ‘as awareness of present
experience with acceptance’ (Siegel, 2014). According to him, there are three
components of mindfulness: awareness, present experience and acceptance.
Mindfulness requires training to devote our focus to what is occurring at the moment,
with open-minded inquisitiveness and approval (Kabat-Zinn 1996, in Weare, 2014,
p.4). Shapiro, Carlson, Astin and Freedman (2006) specified three components of
mindfulness: intention (i.e., motivation for paying attention in this way); attention (i.e.,
the cognitive mechanisms through which said attention is enacted); and attitude (i.e.,
the emotional qualities with which one imbues one’s attentive focus, like compassion)
(Lomas et. al., 2017, p. 133).
Mindfulness is also considered as a trait, which indicates that people differ in terms of
level of mindfulness, some being more mindful than others. Higher levels of mindfulness
is linked with good number of positive aftereffects, like better mental health, enhanced
satisfaction in relationships, and much better coping with pain (Brown et. al., 2007).
Trait mindfulness is strongly linked with higher subjective well-being (Baer et. al., 2008;
Brown, Kasser, Ryan, Linley, &Orzech, 2009;Falkenstrom, 2010, cited in Schutte
and Malouff, 2011, p. 1116).
Another way mindfulness is defined is as a meditational practice. Meditation refers to:

“A collection of self-regulation practices that focus on training attention and
awareness so as to bring mental phenomena under one’s self-control, fostering
general mental well-being and development of specific abilities like calm, clarity,
and concentration” (Walsh & Shapiro, 2006, p. 228,in Davis and Hayes, 2011,
p. 199).
As a meditational practice, mindfulness meditation, specifies a diversified realm of
activities relating to mind, with a common purpose of teaching the self-regulation of
attention and awareness (Lomas, Ivtzan, & Fu, 2015), with the aim of improving one’s
control of mental processes, leading to enhanced sense of wellbeing (Walsh & Shapiro,
2006, in Lomas et al 2017, p.134). Its foundation lies on conventional mindful meditation
but as a psychological concept is separate from spiritual beliefs and Buddhist practices
(Kabat-Zinn 1982,cited in Khan and Zadeh, 2014, p.70). Mindfulness meditation is
often used reciprocally with Vipassana, a form of meditational practice that derives
from Theravada Buddhism (Gunaratana, 2002; Young, 1997).Vipassana is also a Pali
word for insight and clear awareness and carried out in a manner to gradually enhance
mindfulness (Gunaratana, 2002 in Davis and Hayes, 2011, p. 199).
Mindfulness meditation came to be popular in the western world owing to the efforts
of Kabat-Zinn (1982), who utilized it for a novel “mindfulness-based stress reduction”
(MBSR) programme. There are number of interventions based on mindfulness
meditation that we will discuss later on in this unit.
247
Positive Cognitive States Dimensions of Mindfulness
and Processes
Based on the above discussion on the meaning of mindfulness, Shapiro et al., (2002)
outlined the following qualities of mindfulness, which a person can experience during
the ‘moments of mindfulness’.
 Non-judgmental: Witnessing the passing thoughts and the present moment
without evaluating or putting them in any categories.
 Non-striving: Not trying to achieve any specific goals, not getting attached to
desirable outcomes.
 Acceptance: Being open and accepting of things as they are in the present. It
does not indicate passive resignation or unwillingly accepting, but recognizing
one’s experiences with awareness and openness.
 Patience: Having a composed mind to let things unfold at their own pace.
Being patient with ourselves, people around, situations and present moment.
 Trust: Having trust in one’s body, one’s feelings and that whatever is happening
in life it is supposed to be like that
 Openness: Receiving everything as it is happening for the first time. Recognizing
possibilities by being fully in the present moment.
 Letting Go: Not getting attached to any thought, feeling or experience
 Gentleness: Quality of being soft, tender and considerate.
 Generosity: Being and giving in the present with love and compassion without
getting attached to gains in return.
 Empathy: Trying to understand other person feelings, perspective and situation
in the present
 Gratitude: The quality of appreciating and feeling grateful for the present
 Loving-Kindness: The feeling of forgiveness, compassion and unconditional
love
11.10 HOW DOES MINDFULNESS WORK?

(a) Biological changes in brain and body
Studies of the biological basis of higher levels of trait mindfulness (e.g., Frewen et
al., 2010) propose that mindfulness is linked to differential brain activation during
emotional processing (Schutte and Malouff, 2011, p. 1116). Recent advancements
in the field of neuroscience have revealed that the brain structure and its functions
are not permanent from childhood, rather brain remains plastic and moldable
throughout life. A large number of studies using brain imaging/MRI techniques and
Randomized Control trials (RCT) methodology to inquire the impact of mindfulness
are propounding that mindfulness training have a profound altering effect on the
brain’s structure and functioning to enhance the quality of cognitions and feelings.
Mindfulness meditation apparently reshapes the neural connections, thereby
enhancing the complexity and density of connections in centers linked with thinking
248 abilities (attention, focus, awareness of self, introspection etc.) as well as emotion
areas responsible for kindness, compassion and rationality. At the same time they Flow and Mindfulness
tend to decrease the activity and growth in brain areas associated with negative
emotions like anxiety, hostility, worry and impulsivity (Davidson and Lutz, 2008;
Hölzel et al, 2011a and b, in Weare, 2014, p. 5).
Research based on RCT have shown that subjects in a mindfulness meditation
group had a significantly higher number of immunoglobulin (antibodies) in the blood
in reaction to an influenza vaccine as compared to people in the wait-list control
group (Davidson et al, 2003; Davidson and Lutz, 2008).A study using pre-post
analysis found that twenty five minutes mindfulness meditation for five days by
adults improved their immune-reactivity and led to decrease in stress hormone
cortisol (Hölzel et al, 2011a, in Weare 2014).
(b) Personal-psychological changes
Those who practice mindfulness meditation report that over a period of sustained
practice and training of mind they learn to focus their attention and consciousness
in the present and accept their experience open mindedly as it is, rather than
judging and typing it (as positive, negative, right-wrong etc.), by concentrating
their attention on the felt physical sensations of the breath and the body to hold the
wandering mind. Thoughts are perceived in a detached manner as mental events
that come and go. This re-perception helps one to have control and reduce the
habitual, mindless automatic mental activity including depressing thoughts,
rumination, worrying and leads to less reactivity and impulsiveness, and a better
ability to examine thoughts and emotions more objectively, to own them rather
than deny or blame others. Conclusively, it can be remarked that meditational
practice helps one to gradually come over and modify habitual mental sets and
behavioral patterns leading to negative psychic states like stress, depression,
frustration, and promote positive mental states like compassion, calm, happiness,
receptivity (Weare, 2014) .
11.11 BENEFITS OF MINDFULNESS

Research has shown a number of benefits and positive effects of mindfulness in different
facets of people’s life.
(a) Mindfulness and Well-being
Keyes (2005) regarded well-being as constituting of three domains: emotional
well-being, involving the combination of positive emotions and life satisfaction;
psychological well-being, involving contentment with one’s achievements and
believing inhaving a larger purpose in life and developing as an person; and social
well-being, including the quality of one’s proclivity toward others. (Howell, Digdan
& Buro, 2010, p. 419).
Researchers have contended that mindfulness not only has a direct effect on well-
being, but it is also an indirect predictor of wellbeing through its impact on enhanced
self-regulated functioning (Brown & Ryan, 2003; Brown, Ryan, & Creswell,
2007b; Shapiro& Schwartz, 1999, 2000 in Howell, Digdan & Buro, 2010, p.
420).Shapiro et al. (2006) propounded that reperceiving/decentring can have a
beneficial impact upon wellbeing (in Lomas et al, 2017, p.134). Mindfulness is
regarded to be leading to increased levels of well-being; particularly, mindfulness
249
Positive Cognitive States is believed to be directly enhancing well-being by making any experience more
and Processes
richer and fuller. Mindfulness can indirectly promote well-being by boosting healthy
self-regulation, including a heightened focused attention to, openness and approval
of one’s personal needs or values and an enhanced ability to act in accordance to
them (Brown & Ryan, 2003; Brown et al., 2007a, in Howell et al, 2008, p. 773).
(b) Mindfulness and Physical Health
Research studies indicate that mindfulness meditation results in number of health
benefits like enhanced immune functioning (Davidson et al., 2003; see Grossman,
Niemann, Schmidt, &Walach, 2004, in Davis and Hayes, 2011, p.
201).Randomised control trial methodology (RCTs, involving comparison of two
groups, one who receives the intervention and the other does not, with randomly
distributed participants) indicate that mindfulness leads to a decreasein varied
physiological problems including chronic pain, fatigue, heart disease, type-2
diabetes, cancer etc. both in adults and youth (Baer 2003; Mental Health
Foundation, 2010 in Weare, 2014, p.6). Mindfulness is associated with better
heart functioning through a reduced degree of cigarette smoking, greater physical
movement, and a healthier body mass index (Loucks, Britton, Howe, Eaton,
&Buka, 2015). Furthermore, mindfulness is also positively related with improved
blood pressure (Tomfohr, Pung, Mills, & Edwards, 2015), successful weight loss
for obese adults and improved eating behaviours (Rogers, Ferrari, Mosely, Lang,
& Brennan, 2017 [cited in Ackerman, 2017].
Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) has been carried out for patients
with a vast variety of chronic clinical ailments, as well as among groups of
comparatively healthy individuals who have made efforts in the direction of
developing their capacities for coping with stressors of day-to-day life. Initial reports
have indicated significant improvement for individuals suffering from chronic pain,
fibromyalgia, cancer, anxiety disorders and depression (Arcari, 1997, Astin, 1997,
Baime, 1996 in Grossman,Niemann, Schmidt, &Walach, 2004, p. 36).
(c) Mindfulness and Cognitive Functioning
To be able to function and perform to the fullest capability, one requires optimum
cognitive functioning like attention, memory, thinking, reasoning, decision making,
language etc. When we engage in multitasking, it becomes difficult to carry out
focused attention when it is required. Focused attention is not only important for
better performance but also for one’s sense of psychological well-being. Low
level of focused attention can also result in experiencing greater anxiety as our
thoughts get us to worry about the future (Cabrera, 2016).The practice of
mindfulness meditation can help people to pay focused attention to the present
moment and enhance their sense of well-being by reducing stress levels.
Corcoran et.al.(2010) propound that mindfulness meditation develops
metacognitive awareness, reduces rumination by way of disconnection
frompersisting cognitive activities, and promotes attentional abilities through
improvement in working memory; these cognitive benefits, consecutively add to
effective emotion regulation strategies (in Davis and Hayes, 2011, p. 200).
Mindfulness-based interventions diminish those mechanisms that produce and cause
cognitive distortions (Ong, Shapiro, &Manber, 2008; Yook et al., 2008 in Howell
et al, 2010 p. 419).
250 Thus it is helpful to healthy sleep-related functioning.

(d) Mindfulness, Emotional Well-Being and Psychological Health Flow and Mindfulness
Mindfulness can help individuals to attain and maintain a positive state of mind, an
acceptance of one’s self and being comfortable with it. Mindfulness as a trait
perspective assumes some people to be more mindful than others; thus people
can be trained to be more mindful. Studies have shown dispositional mindfulness
(the extent to which a person is mindful) to be associated positively with self-
esteem, and self-acceptance (Thompson and Walz, 2008 in Weare, 2014, p. 14).
Research has also shown that when mindfulness is improved with the help of
interventions like meditation training, it results in subsequent increase in well-being
(Falkenstrom, 2010; Fredrickson, Cohn, Coffey, Pek, &Finkel, 2008; Zautra et
al., 2008 in Shutte and Malouff, 2011, p. 1116). Other research studies point out
that higher levels of mindfulness are linked with more adaptive emotional functioning,
termed as emotional intelligence (Baer, Smith, & Allen,2004; Brown & Ryan,
2003 in Shutte and Malouff, 2011).
Weinstein, Brown, and Ryan (2009) proposed that the more mindful individuals
gave more positive stress appraisals and displayed a lower use of avoidance coping,
resulting in higher subjective well-being (SWB). Studies have also showed that
mindfulness has the capacity to lower negative emotional outcomes resulting from
neuroticism (Barnhofer et al., 2011; Feltman et al., 2009). Neuroticism is believed
to lead to mood spillover effects because of its association with rumination (Nolen-
Hoeksema, Wisco, &Lyubomirsky, 2008). Considering mindfulness intervention
programs can reduce ruminative thinking (Deyo, Wilson, Ong, & Koopman, 2009),
it seems possible that mindfulness will lower the effects of neuroticism on well-
being. (Wenzel et al, 2015, p. 69).
An experimental study by Manaset.al. (2011) examined the effectiveness of
mindfulness training to lower the levels of stress and sick leave taken by 31
secondary teachers, wherein 16 were there in the experimental group and 15
were kept in the control group. Findings indicated significant decrease in stress
levels of teacher and the duration of sick leave, in addition to decrease in feelings
of pressure and feelings of being demotivated and better coping in the experimental
group as compared to the control group (Weare, 2014, p. 12).
(e) Mindfulness and Social Well-being
A healthy relationship with one’s family, society and community is integral to
experience a sense of well-being. Studies have also revealed mindfulness to be
effective in relationship building, and predictive of a higher sense of relatedness
and interpersonal proximity (Brown and Kasser, 2005; Brown and Ryan, 2003 in
Weare, 2014, p. 14). Many scholars in the field are trying to find the link between
mindfulness and interpersonal behavior and are examining concepts like “mindful
relating” (Wachs& Cordova, 2007), “mindful responding” in couples (Block-
Lerner, Adair, Plumb, Rhatigan, &Orsillo, 2007), and “mindfulness-based
relationship enhancement” (MBRE) (Carson, Carson, Gil, & Baucom, 2006) [in
Davis and Hayes, 2011, p. 201].
There is research evidence to support that trait mindfulness predicts a number of
interpersonal issues and behaviors such as ability to manage relationship stress
constructively, competence in identifying and expressing emotions to partner,
relationship satisfaction, frequency of relationship conflict, level of negativity, and
empathy (Barnes, Brown, Krusemark, Campbell, & Rogge, 2007; Wachs & 251
Positive Cognitive States Cordova, 2007). Barnes et al. (2007) report that individuals with better dispositional
and Processes
mindfulness expressed low level of emotional stress when faced with relationship
conflict and reported low level of anger and anxiety during conflict discussion.
Studies also show that mindfulness is conversely related to ‘distress contagion’
and positively linked to the tendency to be aware in one’s actions in social situations
(Dekeyser, Raes, Leijssen, Leyson, & Dewulf, 2008 in Davis and Hayes, 2011,
p. 201).
The above mentioned benefits relating to physical, psychological and social well-
being is achieved and maintained by a number of mindfulness based interventions,
some of which are discussed below.
11.12 MINDFULNESS-BASED INTERVENTIONS

Mindfulness meditation has been popularized in the West by Kabat-Zinn who has
conceptualized and developed a mindfulness-based stress reduction program at the
University of Massachusetts Medical Centre in 1979. In 1995, he came up with ‘The
Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society’. The beneficial effects
of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in the area of physical and mental health
are supported by a plethora of research and have been discussed above. Some of the
most popular mindfulness-based interventions are outlined below:
(a) Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
MBSR was the first mindfulness-based program for relieving stress and advancing
physical-mental health and well-being of individuals. It involves an 8-week course
structured in a group format in order for participants to learn and benefit from their
collective experience. It is designed to be both education-based and experience-
based, combining conventional Buddhist mindfulness meditation techniques (where
participants learn to center their focus on the breathing and moving it towards a
heightened awareness of other objects of attention like sensations, feelings,
thoughts), simple yogic and muscle stretching exercises, practices like the ‘body
scan’, whereby participants concentrate on their bodily parts with mindful awareness
and journal tasks to help them integrate mindfulness into daily practice (Kabat-
Zinn, 2003).
The program was conceptualized with the purpose of determining the possibility
of mindfulness and relaxation exercises to benefit people with chronic health issues
like BP problems, anxiety disorders and chronic pain. The intent is to promote
overall well-being by helping individuals to focus their attention on their thoughts,
feelings and internal states in the present(Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand,
2011).
During the meditation, participants try to do (a) body scanning, which includes
nonjudgmental awareness of sensations and feelings in different bodily parts; (b)
meditation while sitting, where par-ticipants concentrate on their breath, at the
same time having a nonjudgmental awareness of any thoughts that crop up; and
(c) Hatha yoga involving stretching exercises for strength-ening and easing the
musculo-skeletal system. (Cabrera-Caban et al, 2016).
MBSR can be better discerned through the four processes suggested by Hölzel
252 and col-leagues (2011): (a) attention regulation, (b) body awareness, (c) emotion
regulation, and (d) change in self-perspective (cited in Cabrera-Caban et al, 2016, Flow and Mindfulness
p. 122). Generally, participants first learn attention regulation by the way of

focused meditation, wherein they are cognizant of and pay attention to a given
thought, feeling, or object. Over a period of time, with practice, participants are
able to focus attention for a longer duration and are better equipped to filter out
distractions of the mind. Another technique, body awareness, entails focusing
attention on sensory experiences and breathing to help individuals to align their
thoughts and feelings with the outside world. This is expected to result in better
clarity (Marianetti & Passmore, 2009) and emotional intelligence (Keng et al.,
2011). The third process, emotion regulation, refers to the modification of
emotional responses from impulsive reactivity to reflective thinking assisting
participants in recognizing their experiences in an accepting, non-judgmental manner.
At the last, change in perceptionof the self refers to a transformation from a
feeling of static-rigid self-perception to a more dynamic self-image. The belief
here is when people feel less static about self, they become more liberated and
experience a more positive self-image (Flaxman & Bond, 2010, cited in Cabrera-
Caban et al, 2016, p. 123).
(b) Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)
MBCT has its roots in the collective-based, eight-week programme MBSR, but
was developed by Zindel Segal, Mark Williams and John Teasdale (2002) to be
used by individuals who were suffering from or had experienced multiple incidence
of depression in their lives. It combines characteristics of cognitive therapy with
mindfulness practices. MBCT is different from cognitive therapy as it involves
non-judgmental acceptance of one’s thoughts and emotions, instead of making an
attempt to assess or modify the content of thoughts. This idea of perceiving the
mind as a place of ‘being’ rather than ‘doing’ reduces rumination and helps
depression-prone individuals to prevent relapse. In their book Mindfulness Based
Cognitive Therapy, Segal, Teasdale and Williams (2002) proposed that:
‘The ultimate aim of the MBCT program is to help individuals make a radical shift
in their relationship to the thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations that contribute
to depressive relapse’. It also aims to ‘help participants choose the most skillful
response to any unpleasant thoughts, feelings or situations they meet’.
(c) Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) was given by Marsha Linehan, as a cognitive-
behavioural and mindfulness-based therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder
(BPD). It was the first psychotherapy propounded to be effective in successfully
treating BPD in controlled clinical trials. The essential dialect is between the
contradictory forces of change and acceptance, i.e., accepting the things as they
are, at the same time working towards their improvement. In DBT mindfulness is
learnt as a skill set with the help of systematic exercises. These involve observing,
comprehending and engaging in one’s present moment experience in a non-
judgmental, singular focus and effective way. DBT trains one in how to make use
of the ‘wise mind’ – the latent ability to have clear awareness of one’s thoughts
and feelings. DBT currently has a substantial research support and is regarded as
one of the most effective therapy for BPD as evident from the documented success
rates.
253
Positive Cognitive States (d) Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
and Processes
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a psychological intervention,
based on observations and experience, which aims to improve ‘psychological
flexibility’ in individuals by combining acceptance and mindfulness strategies, with
commitment and behaviour change strategies. It is regarded by American
Psychological Association as an empirically validated intervention for treating
depression. ‘Psychological flexibility’ here means complete engagement with the
present moment having full consciousness and, based on what the situation entails,
modifying or persisting with the behavior aligning with the person’s preferred values.
The therapy draws heavily from cognitive-behavioral framework but diverge in its
dominant application of mindfulness exercises to help individuals in attaining flexibility.
The effectiveness of MBIs is undeniable based on the outcomes of meta-analytic
studies. However, there are a number of methodological rigor issues that interferes
in the global acceptance of MBIs as established psychotherapeutic interventions.
The validity of MBI studies gets limited by factors such as wide variations in MBI
program design; lack of adequate control for probable confounding factors; paucity
of long-term follow-up data assessing the maintenance effects of MBIs; over-
dependence on self-report measures etc. Questions have also been raised about
the trustworthiness and competence of MBI facilitators. Despite these criticisms
mindfulness has witnessed a tremendous increase in popularity over the years and
has carved a powerful niche in mainstream psychotherapy (Shonin, Gordon,
Griffiths, 2013).

1. The term mindfulness is a translation of which word in Pali language?
2. According to Siegel (2014), what are the three components of
mindfulness?
3. What is ‘Vipasana’?
4. Name certain dimensions of mindfulness.
5. Who developed the mindfulness-based stress reduction program?
6. What is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)?
11.13 ASSESSMENT OF MINDFULNESS

Having understood the effectiveness of mindfulness based programs on physical and
psychological health of participants, it may be helpful to gain awareness about various
assessment tools and psychological tests that have been constructed to evaluate
mindfulness. This is important for those interested to work in this area, and also to gain
an insight about one’s own mindfulness. Some of the questionnaires that measure
mindfulness as abroad, trait-like inclination for being mindful in day-to-day life are:
Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (Buchheld, Grossman, &Walach, 2001); Kentucky
Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS: Baer et al., 2004); Mindful Attention Awareness
Scale (MAAS: Brown & Ryan, 2003); Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (Baer
et al., 2006); Cognitive Affective Mindfulness Scale-Revised (Feldman, Hayes, Kumar,
254 Greeson, & Laurenceau, 2007); Toronto Mindfulness Scale-Trait Version (Davis,Lau,
& Cairns, 2009); Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale (Cardaciotto et al., 2008); and Flow and Mindfulness
Southampton Mindfulness Questionnaire (Chadwick et al.,2008, in Keng, Smoski
and Robins, 2011, p. 3).
Few of these questionnaires conceptualize and assess mindfulness as a uni-factor
construct, i.e., based on a unitary factor. For example, the MAAS (Brown & Ryan,
2003) uses a one-dimensional structure of open/receptive attention and awareness to
assess mindfulness as the overall inclination to be aware of and observant of daily life
situations. There are other questionnaires which assess mindfulness as a multi-factor/
multi-dimensional construct. For example, the ‘KIMS’ (Baer et al., 2004) entails sub-
scales that comprises of four mindfulness competencies underlined in DBT’s framework:
being aware of one’s moment-to-moment experiences, detailing one’s feelings and
experiences in words, participation with awareness, non-judgmental receptivity of one’s
experiences. Besides trait measures of mindfulness, state measures of mindfulness are
also given to assess transient mindful states. The psychological tests for this purpose
include the Toronto Mindfulness Scale (Lau et al., 2006) and Brown and Ryan’s (2003)
state version of the MAAS (in Keng, Smoski and Robins, 2011, p. 3).
Mindfulness is not limited to meditation exercises, it can be practiced in each and every
action of ours in daily living including day to day activities like speech, listening, walking,
eating, exercise etc. Some of the common practical applications of mindfulness are
given in the boxes below.
Mindful Eating
 Is an increased awareness of what, how, why and when one is eating
 Involves eating slowly and focusing on food while eating, avoid distraction
activities like watching Television or seeing mobile etc.
 being aware and able to distinguish between physical and psychological
hunger cues and triggers for eating
 Paying attention to the taste, colour, smell, flavors of the food being eaten
 Is beneficial when trying to make changes in one’s diet, or lose excess
weight, avoid binge eating
Mindful Stretching Exercises

 Involves stretching body muscles, strengthening exercises and simple yoga
poses done at slow pace with increased awareness of one’s breath at
each moment
 Help reduce stress and calms one’s mind
 Helpful in connecting with one’s body
Mindful Breathing and Meditation

 Involves deep breathing and heightened awareness of one’s bodily
sensations at the here-and-now
 Choose any comfortable space to sit
255
and Processes  Can choose to place or not place a timer
 Focus on breathing, and each passing breath in and out of your nostril
 Witness the passing thoughts, watch them from a distance as an observer
 Do not get bothered by wandering thoughts, come back again to focus on
breathing
 Attention can be focused on any object, sound, image, sensation, thought
11.14 LET US SUM UP

In the present Unit, you learned about flow and mindfulness, two important positive
psychology constructs. The meaning of flow was explained and it was differentiated
from engagement. Further you learned about how to assess flow and how it impacts
our well-being. Mindfulness was described in detail and the benefits of mindfulness on
our physical, mental, emotional and social well-being was discussed. Research is abound
with the positive impact of mindfulness on different aspects of an individual’s being:
physical, intrapersonal, interpersonal, cognitive and other aspects. Various mindfulness-
based interventions were described such as MBSR, MBCT, DBT, and ACT. People
of all age groups, gender orientation, and societies can benefit from mindfulness based
programs. Mindfulness based approaches represent an emerging area in the field, one
with much potential promise.
11.15 KEY WORDS

Flow : is a feeling which is characterized by a state of concentration,
fulfillment, complete absorption, engagement and competency,
and a disregard of the sense of time, ego, bodily needs during
the activity.
Autotelic : refers to the activities like play, dance, games, artistic drawing
etc. which are inherently rewarding to the person doing those
activities.
Mindfulness : is the state of being attentive to and aware of what is going on
in the present.
Non-striving : refers to not trying to achieve any specific goals, and not getting
attached to desirable outcomes.
Loving-Kindness : refers to the feeling of forgiveness, compassion and
unconditional love.
Dialectical : (DBT) trains one in how to make use of the ‘wise mind’ – the
behavior therapy latent ability to have clear awareness of one’s thoughts and
feelings.

256 1. Mihály Csíkszentmihályi (1975, 1990)

2. A few characteristics of the flow experience are altered sense of time, merging Flow and Mindfulness
of action and awareness, centering of attention, loss of ego etc.

3. Hindu philosophy of Karma Yoga
4. The Flow State Scale II (FSS II) (Jackson &Eklund, 2002), and the Work
related Flow scale (WOLF), (Bakker, 2005)
1. Sati
2. The three components of mindfulness are awareness, present experience and
acceptance.
3. Vipassana is a form of meditational practice that derives from Theravada
Buddhism.
4. Non-judgemental, non-striving, acceptance, trust, patience, openness, loving-
kindness etc.
5. Kabat-Zinn
6. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a psychological intervention,
based on observations and experience, which aims to improve ‘psychological
flexibility’ in individuals by combining acceptance and mindfulness strategies,
with commitment and behaviour change strategies.

1. Explain the meaning of ‘Flow’.
2. Differentiate between flow and engagement.
3. Discuss mindfulness as a meditational practice.
4. Discuss the mechanisms of mindfulness.
5. Explain how mindfulness contributes to our well-being.
REFLECTIVE EXERCISES:
 Based on your understanding of the concept of Flow, identify and
reflect on those activities where you have a feeling of enjoyment,
absorption and flow.
 Attempt to make nonjudgmental observations when interacting with
classmates, family or friends.
 While travelling try to practice some of the skills of mindfulness like
letting go, acceptance, moment-to-moment awareness of your
thoughts.
 When out for a walk, try to be observant of your surroundings, the
outside environment, and focus on your bodily sensations.
257
and Processes 11.18 REFERENCES
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 Kabat-Zinn, J. (2005). Wherever you go there you are. Hachette Books
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Positive Cognitive States and Processes

8.1 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

8.3 CONCEPT OF SELF

8.3.1 Different Aspects of Self

Self Assessment Questions 1

8.4.1 Real Self and Ideal Self

Increasing Your Self-Esteem: Some Tips

 Be clear about your goals and values

 Do not hesitate to talk to others and take their help

 Take self care

Self Assessment Questions 2

Are You a Self-Regulated Learner?

to our long-term goals.

 Self-reinforcement. This technique involves rewarding behaviours that have

Now ponder on the questions:

 Why have they delayed or made you wait?

 What important things it must have taught you?

 Discuss with your friends and write a short note on that.

Self Assessment Questions 3

2. According to Rogers, ___________________drive all human behaviour

3. Self-regulation refers to our ability to organise and monitor our own

4. Self-regulation focuses on the short-term goals than long-term goals. True/

8.8 LET US SUM UP

8.9 KEY WORDS

8.10 ANSWERS TO SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

8.11 UNIT END QUESTIONS

8.13 SUGGESTED READINGS

9.1 Learning Objectives

9.1 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Srinivasa Ramanujan, the great Indian mathematician faced some initial

9.3 RESILIENCE RESEARCH: BACKGROUND AND

9.4 FOUR WAVES OF RESILIENCE RESEARCH

Figure 9.1: The Four Waves of Research in Resilience

Viktor Frankl, Martin Seligman, _____________ Psychology

Anandi Gopal Joshi, Sigmund Freud, _____________ Medicine/Psychiatry

Gayathri Ramprasad, ReshmaValliapan Mental health advocacy

Milkha Singh, P.T. Usha, _____________ Sports

Kailash Satyarthi, Nelson Mandela, _____________ Social reform

DhirubhaiAmbani, Steve Jobs, __________ Entrepreneurship

9.5.1 Quantitative approach

Resilience measures Author(s)

9.5.2 Qualitative approach

Self Assessment Questions 1

9.6 EVOLUTION OF THE CONCEPT OVER TIME

Resilience as a Trait, Process, Skill and an Outcome

9.7 KEY CONCEPTS IN RESILIENCE RESEARCH

(a) Child abuse: __________________________________________

(b) Chronic physical illness: __________________________________

(c) Mental illness: ________________________________________

2. Indicate whether the following statements are True or False.

(c) For a person who is temperamentally anxious, new situations may

Self Assessment Questions 2

Internal Protective External Protective

9.8 THEORETICAL MODELS OF RESILIENCE

Figure 9.2: Grotberg’s (1999) Paradigm of Resilience

Other resilience models such as those proposed by Kumpfer (1999) and

9.9 DEBATES AND DISCUSSIONS IN RESILIENCE

9.9.1 Criteria for defining resilience