I' Positive Psychology: A New Perspective on Human Behavior

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I. Positive PsychologyA New Perspective on
Human Behavior
Martin Seligman
Csikszentmihalyi
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• A. Psychologys focus before World War II was
  threefold
• 1. Curing mental illness
• 2. Making the lives of all people more fulfilling
• 3. Identifying and nurturing high talent

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• B. After the war, psychologys focus shifted to
  curing mental illness and has been largely
  successful.
• 1. According to Seligman (as cited in Seligman
  Csikszentmihalyi, 2000), 14 different disorders
  have been identified and can be successfully
  treated.
• 2. The DSM-IV is a helpful tool for psychologists
  in identifying and treating mental disorders.

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• C. As society becomes wealthier and healthier,
• we might expect that people would become happier
  and more fulfilled, but this is not the case.
• 1. Of the people in the United States, 15 to 20
  will fall prey to severe depression, and about
  half will experience a milder form of depression
  at some point in life (Saroyan, 1998).
• 2. Todays average age of onset of depression is
  15 years old, compared to 30 years old many years
  ago (McGuire, 1998).

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• D. Positive Psychology seeks to refocus the
  science of psychology toward the other two goals.
• 1. Definition of Positive PsychologyPositive
  Psychology is the scientific study of optimal
  human functioning. It aims to discover and
  promote factors that allow individuals and
  communities to thrive (Sheldon, Frederickson,
  Rathunde, Csikszentmihalyi, 2000).

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• 2. Goal of Positive PsychologyThe goal of
  Positive Psychology is to consider optimal human
  functioning at several levels, including
  biological, experiential, personal, relational,
  institutional, cultural, and global.
• To accomplish this, studying the following is
  necessary
• a. The dynamic relationships among the processes
  in the levels listed above
• b. The human ability to create order and meaning
  in response to inevitable adversity
• c. The means by which the good life may emerge
  from these processes (Sheldon, Frederickson,
  Rathunde, Csikszentmihalyi, 2000)

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• E. Positive Psychology seeks to understand and
  encourage factors that allow individuals,
  communities, and societies to flourish.

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CRITICAL THINKING EXERCISE A

• Directions Write a minimum-of-1-page paper
  discussing the following questions.
• Bring the paper to class for discussion.
• A. How important is it to study positive human
  qualities? Should the same amount of attention
  and funding be given to positive qualities as to
  negative qualities (illness)? What advantages
  could be gained from the study of positive
  qualities?