Have you ever heard the term positive psychology? You may suspect it has something to do with feeling good, but what is the true essence of this concept?
The open encyclopaedia puts it like this:
Positive psychology is a branch of psychology that analyses and studies positive feelings, such as joy, happiness, love and hope. It also deals with developing an individual’s positive character traits, such as optimism, curiosity and a sense of humour.
Table of contents
What is positive psychology in a nutshell?
Why take an interest in positive psychology, you ask? Well, most psychiatrists and clinical psychologists devote their lives to studying negative psychological phenomena, such as sadness, hopelessness, despair, depression and frustration. An opposing group emerged in contrast to them, one that studies joyful feelings. Its aim is to bring together all aspects of a person’s personality, both positive and negative.
💡 Tip: Personal growth is one of the supporting pillars of positivity. Discover the best books on personal growth and motivation!
How can positive psychology, as the science of happiness, help us in everyday life? And why is it worth engaging with it in the long term? We will look at this later in the text.
The main idea of positive psychology? Human flourishing!
To begin with, a few historical milestones: the “father of positive psychology” is the American psychologist Martin Seligman, who laid the theoretical foundations of this field in 1998 (partly thanks to this, he was elected President of the American Psychological Association). He developed the concept of well-being, and he “locked” the initial letters of its main pillars into the acronym PERMA. What does it stand for?
- Positive Emotions
- Engagement
- Relationships (positive relationships)
- Meaning
- Accomplishment
According to Seligman, the main idea of positive psychology is this: “If you build positive emotions and relationships, engage meaningfully in a cause and keep up good performance, you will lead a lastingly satisfying life!”
Seligman’s most important concepts (besides well-being) are the theory of learned helplessness and the theory of flourishing. Both are closely linked to positive psychology, so it makes sense to look at them in more detail.
The theory of learned helplessness, or “Nothing I do can change what happens!”
On the table we see a container of white mice, which a laboratory worker gives weak electric shocks. Repeatedly. Animals that learn there is no way to avoid the painful shock sink into a state of demotivation and apathy.
According to Seligman, it is similar with people. They also sink into a state of helplessness in which “the situation cannot be controlled, so there is no point trying to change anything”, even though opportunities clearly exist.
Such people see negative experiences as something “completely normal” and believe “there is no point trying to avoid or prevent them”. As a result, these individuals show remarkable passivity in how they act (“I’ll leave things as they are!”) in matters that actually call for action. In the end, they handle the situation badly and suffer a “defeat”, which deepens their feelings of helplessness even further.
Professor Seligman describes three basic “situations” in which a person affected by learned helplessness cannot use the means available to solve a problem and would rather “learn to live” with it:
- A completely passive reaction to any traumatic event,
- An inability to learn that something can consciously be done about a negative experience,
- A heightened sense of helplessness in a particularly stressful situation.
How is this state linked to positive psychology? The only way to overcome learned helplessness is “positive psychology” therapy. It helps to encourage, to try to “inject a little optimism into the veins”, to bring about changes that lead to positive thinking, to build healthy self-confidence and to gain control over one’s own gloomy thoughts.
The theory of flourishing, or “Happiness isn’t just a good mood!”
Professor Martin Seligman has published many academic works. His book “Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being” presents refined findings from the field of positive psychology.
🗣️ Professor Seligman says: The Western world sees happiness merely as a good mood. In my view, it is really about “human flourishing”, that is, the serious deepening of mental and physical well-being. Happiness may be the driving force of our lives, but from a psychological point of view it makes no sense. Only well-being can set positive emotions flowing in a person, lead them to adopt the PERMA principles and help them flourish!
Seligman develops this theory further in another non-fiction book, “Authentic Happiness”. In it, among other things, he teaches readers how to change their thinking and their outlook on life.
💡 Tip: Take Professor Seligman’s advice to heart and learn how to be happy!
What do other leading figures say about positive psychology? “Not just optimism and joy, but also hope and forgiveness!”
Professor Seligman was not the only one to explore the main idea of positive psychology; many other leading figures in the field did too. The most important include:
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi,
- Christopher Peterson,
- Charles Snyder,
- Jaro Křivohlavý,
- Alena Slezáčková,
- Jiří Mareš.
All of them have something to say on the subject and are well known for their groundbreaking discoveries. Let us look at them briefly.
The Hungarian concept of flow
The Hungarian-born American psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi described a specific “state of mind” called flow, that is, a state of complete happiness. It is linked to optimal experiences, creativity and motivation (both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation). Thanks to his thorough description of this phenomenon, Csikszentmihalyi ranks second in positive psychology, right behind Seligman.
In English, this state is called flow, and it is “a state of such deep absorption that a person stops noticing their surroundings and focuses fully on the task at hand”.
🗣️ Professor Csikszentmihalyi says: Flow is a state of completely focused motivation. It is characterised by a positive mood, joy in doing well and the excitement of being close to success. If a person is fed up, grumpy and demotivated, they cannot reach a state of flow.
🎓 Did you know? The state of flow is accompanied by a sense of self-control and a loss of self-reflection.
Peterson’s study of optimism and well-being
Michigan professor Christopher Peterson chose the influence of optimism and well-being on people’s health as the topic of his thesis.
🎓 Did you know? He often works with Martin Seligman and has received many awards “for excellence in teaching”.
Snyder’s research on hope and forgiveness
“Positive psychology isn’t just joy, optimism and happiness. Hope and forgiveness belong to it too.” So says the American psychologist Charles Snyder. He focused mainly on the effects of hope on a person’s health and work performance and became a kind of “spiritual” member of the scientists studying positive psychology.
🗣️ Professor Snyder says: Hope is a positive emotional stance, a kind of cooperation between effort and goal.
Czech clinical psychologists have also contributed their insights
Three notable names among Czech experts:
- Jaro Křivohlavý,
- Anežka Slezáčková,
- Jiří Mareš
All of them have undeniably contributed to the development of positive psychology. Professor Křivohlavý works in health psychology and even published a book called “Positive Psychology”. Alena Slezáčková is the founder of the Centre for Positive Psychology and the author of “A Guide to Positive Psychology”. She focuses on hope, mindfulness, well-being and mental hygiene. Professor Jiří Mareš is primarily an educator and specialises in communication (especially in schools).
How can positive psychology benefit us? How can we make the most of it?
Positive psychology focuses on studying positive influences on a person’s life. These include positive experiences (joy, love and inspiration) and positive traits (gratitude, kindness and compassion). In positive psychology, discussion usually revolves around these topics:
- Strengths and weaknesses,
- Life satisfaction,
- Self-confidence,
- Well-being,
- Gratitude,
- Compassion,
- Hope,
- Life goals and values,
- Optimism.
Studying these and similar topics will help you understand how to adapt your everyday life so that you can bring out the best in yourself. Analysing your feelings will help you identify practices rooted in positive psychology and develop positive character traits.
🗣️ Professor Seligman says: Focus on building your personal strengths instead of dwelling on your weaknesses.
💡 Tip: Want to discover the secrets of psychology? Start by watching the greatest psychology films of all time.
What are the benefits of practising positive psychology?
As mentioned at the beginning of the chapter, positive psychology therapy can benefit you greatly. Potential benefits include:
- Higher self-esteem,
- A change of perspective,
- Better relationships,
- Less excessive self-criticism,
- Higher productivity,
- Greater success.
Obviously, we will not cover each of these points (as there are so many), but one of them deserves attention, and that is the power of perspective.
Positive psychology therapy can teach you how important perspective is. Simply applying more positive thinking (with the approach “I’ll be a little more optimistic than the pessimists!”) can work wonders. However, this does not mean you should ignore everything negative. Positive psychology says you should bring positivity into your life whenever it is at all possible.
💡 Tip: A great way to develop positive thinking is to have meaningful, motivational conversations and to watch motivational films.
Positive psychology therapy sessions, what can you expect at a psychotherapist?
Experts point to the immense influence of positive psychology with the following statements:
- It fully complements traditional psychotherapeutic practice.
- It is gradually becoming a valuable part of personal counselling and coaching.
- It is catching up in importance with the much-discussed “negative psychology”.
Do not underestimate this field of psychology! It can really change your life for the better. Harvard University’s educational website mentions three main approaches to positive psychology therapy. At a psychotherapist, you are most likely to come across:
- Well-being Therapy
- Positive Psychotherapy
- Integrating Positive Psychotherapy in Practice
💡 Tip: By mastering the basics of positive psychotherapy, you will finally get an idea of how to learn quickly and effectively.
Well-being Therapy
This type of therapy aims to reduce the effects of long-term depression and other affective disorders, with the therapist focusing the patient on positive experiences and life events in order to reduce the negative ones.
The principle of well-being was developed by Professor Seligman, but it was introduced into clinical practice by Giovanni Fava at the University of Bologna. In this, he was helped by the thesis of Carol Ryff, who set out six principles of the so-called multidimensional model of subjective well-being, which include:
- Environmental mastery,
- Personal growth,
- Purpose in life,
- Autonomy,
- Self-acceptance,
- Positive relationships.
In practice, well-being therapy is similar to cognitive behavioural therapy. The patient keeps a diary in which they record positive events as they happen. They then begin to recognise negative thoughts that distract them and disrupt the positive events. The ultimate goal is to change negative ways of thinking so that positive events can have a greater impact on the patient’s life.
Positive Psychotherapy
Seligman and his colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania developed the positive psychotherapy method, which focuses on “treating depression by building positive emotions, meaning in life and character strengths”. According to Seligman, reducing negative emotions, such as sadness, is simply a logical step in mastering positive thinking.
This therapy uses a list of 12 exercises that can be practised individually or in groups. They might look like this:
- Character strengths
Write down a list of five strengths of your character and try to use them in a different way than you have so far.
- Three good things
Every evening, write down three good things that happened that day in your diary. Think about why they happened. Write down your thoughts.
- Gratitude letter
Write a letter to a specific person and thank them in it for everything they have done for you. Share the content of the letter with the recipient by phone or email.
🎓 Did you know? These and other tasks were tested on a randomised group of people. The study showed that these three tasks were the most beneficial for the participants.
Positive psychotherapy in practice, or Positive Psychotherapy in Practice
Psychologist Carol Kauffman discussed four techniques for integrating positive psychology into more traditional types of individual or group therapy. She included the following in this process:
- Shifting attention from the negative to the positive
Most people tend to dwell on negative thoughts or emotions and ignore positive ones, which the right therapy can reverse. One way is to use techniques for shifting attention to the more positive sides of life.
Example: Every night before you go to sleep, reflect on and “scan” the events of the past day. Think about what happened. Make a “Done” list instead of writing down what needs to be done and what you have not managed yet.
- Developing your character strengths
Patients often talk about pain, conflict and anger. Although these are ever-present aspects of life, people may find it harder to talk about positive qualities, or even to think of them in connection with themselves.
🗣️ Kauffman says: We often use so-called strength coaching when counselling patients. Just as an athlete trains certain muscles to get stronger, there is a theory that people who regularly exercise their strengths will function better in life. To strengthen mental health, I recommend identifying your “greatest character strength” and then using it at least once a day.
- Balancing the good and the bad
It is extremely important to balance the negative with the positive. When patients identify their positive qualities and realise that their life consists of larger or smaller happy events, they balance out the bad.
🎓 Did you know? When assessing employees, managers can mix praise with criticism to support their growth.
- Creating a strategy that builds hope
Building hope in someone can help that person cope with adversity. One way to cultivate hope is to reduce the size of the problem. Break it down into parts that can be tackled one by one. Another way is to identify skills and coping mechanisms for difficult situations that make it possible to overcome a specific challenge, see the “light at the end of the tunnel” and find the resolve to deal with it.
💡 Tip: Mastering the process of positive psychology will teach you responsibility and boost your self-confidence.
