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Happiness 101: Positive psychology, towards the scientific basis for happiness
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As overwhelmed as we are with what often seems like a never-ending avalanche of negativity, many of us may be surprised to find out that there’s a relatively new branch of psychological study dedicated to identifying and classifying the basic, constant and driving forces behind happiness. Called “Positive Psychology,” a term originally coined by Abraham Maslow in his theories on the hierarch of needs (see a brief explanation of how this fits in relationships and personal growth here), the movement has been the focus of both Dr. Martin Seligman and his Positive Psychology Center, based in the University of Pennsylvania, since about 1998.
The basis of this field of psychological study comes from the fact that, for most of the latter half of the last century, the focus of most psychological study has been on the side of problems, malfunctions, disease and disorder. Of course, these studies have changed the world, but Dr. Seligman began to propose that psychology also begin to study what tendencies, beliefs and practices make life actually meaningful, fulfilling, worth living. More than just the study of happiness and/or how to “find it,” the study of Positive Psychology (from their site “. . . is the scientific study of the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive, [with] . . .three central concerns: positive emotions, positive individual traits, and positive institutions.” (Seligman, 2002).
Put simply, each of these three foundations seem to be related to what we all define as “happiness,” in different ways: concentration in positive emotions seem to lead to more basic, hedonistic happiness; focus on positive individual traits seem to lead to the experience of engagment in life, or “flow” (another interesting psychological state being studied by groups led by M. Csikszentmihalyi); and work in positive institutions (working for something larger than yourself) seems to lead to a more meaningful life.
What’s truly exciting about this discipline in the scientific world is that it endeavors to provide consistent, empirical scientific study to back up the many pathways to happiness, and it could, one day, help us recognize more tangible paths to individual and cultural actualization. The thing that’s exciting for us lowly webslingers and readers in search of answers is that, increasingly, these studies are resulting in real, scientifically proven methods to work on improving our individual, communal and cultural states, with practical application.
For starters, there are a multitude of simple psychological tests that you can take on the Positive Psychology Center’s website that can help with some truly enlightening realizations about yourself - from your own personal level of happiness now, or your personal tendency towards optimism, to tests that can help show you things about your relationship tendencies and your tendencies towards togetherness and romance (I recommend sharing results on these tests with your partner, or taking them in their presence, for some enlightening conversations).
There are also many, many sites dedicated to providing direction in daily routines, or “positive interventions,” that can help you to increase your happiness on a daily basis, by yourself, as well as many that use test results to recommend ways to increase levels of satisfaction within your relationships, or repetitive methods to increase your overall engagement and purpose in life.
Portland Health and Happiness Examiner |
Give some of these a try, and expand your capacity towards satisfaction and happiness. As we all know, happiness is contagious, and the more we focus on making ourselves and our communities places of joy, the more success we’ll have in raising ourselves up and out of repetitive, boring and seemingly endless bad news and into lives full of fulfillment and actualization. How cool would that be?
What do you think? Respond to this with your thoughts, or send me an email (confidential)! Check out my page on Facebook, also, to suggest a topic, or to respond.
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