Motivation and emotion/Tutorials/Positive psychology
Tutorial 11: Positive psychology
This is the eleventh tutorial for the motivation and emotion unit of study.
The 2023 tutorial is complete. |
Overview edit
This tutorial:
- considers assumptions of positive psychology
- discusses characteristics of self-actualisation
- explores types of happiness
Take-home messages:
- Positive psychology assumes that people have a natural motive towards personal growth
- Several characteristics are exhibited are people who are self-actualised (higher values, autonomy, deep engagement, and quality interpersonal relationships)
- Happiness can be counter-intuitive – sometimes is it better to not get what you want
Assumptions edit
Growth psychology is a broad term which encompasses:
- Humanistic psychology (1950s-1960s)
- Positive psychology (1990s-)
To what extent do you agree with the underlying assumptions of growth psychology?
Not sure?
Consider these questions :
- Do you think that "evil" (or anti-social) behaviour is:
- inherent in human nature?
- a product of a sick culture?
- How does learning best occur? Does it follow from:
- well-developed curricula and expert teaching?
- having one’s interests identified, facilitated, and supported?
- Does psychological therapy work best by:
- fixing what is broken?
- nurturing what is best?
- Which answers correspond to positive psychology paradigms? (the 2nd answer in each case)
Characteristics of self-actualisation edit
- What is self-actualisation? (Self-actualisation is the fulfillment of your potential; self-actualising in the process of becoming self-actualised).
- Maslow identified 16 characteristics of self-actualised people which can be grouped into 4 categories:
- Priority of values like truth, love, and happiness
- Internally controlled
- High involvement, productivity, and happiness
- High quality interpersonal relationships
- The last three categories map closely to self-determination theory (autonomy, competence, and relatedness). The first category relates to meaning/purpose.
- Complete this Self-evaluation of self-actualisation (Google Form).
- Before submitting, make note of:
- What are you doing particularly well that is helping you towards self-actualisation?
- What could you improve to better promote your growth towards self-actualisation?
- What self-actualisation characteristic(s) would you like to share or learn more about?
- Before submitting, make note of:
- Review class responses
Science of happiness edit
Since the emergence of positive psychology in the 1990s, there has been a renewed focus on psychological theory and research about happiness.
- Martin Seligman suggests three components of happiness which he calls the:
- Pleasant life: Dealing with past, optimism about future, happiness in present (hedonic pleasure and the skills to amplify pleasure). Limitations:
- 50% heritable
- short-lived, subject to the hedonic treadmill (i.e., pleasure wears off quickly).
- Good life: Engagement (flow, absorption) or Eudaimonia;
- Meaningful life: Connection to a higher purpose
- Pleasant life: Dealing with past, optimism about future, happiness in present (hedonic pleasure and the skills to amplify pleasure). Limitations:
- Dan Gilbert suggests two types of happiness:
- Natural happiness: What we feel when we get what we want
- Synthetic happiness: What we feel when we learn to like what we get (instead of what we wanted)
Watch: The surprising science of happiness (Dan Gilbert, 2004, 21:00 mins, YouTube, TED Talk)
Take-home message: The science of happiness is counter-intuitive. People are subject to many biases, including the "impact bias" (i.e., we overestimate the hedonic impact of good and bad events) which undermines our decision-making about how to be happy. But we have a "psychological immune system" which "synthesises happiness" when we don't get what we want.
Recording edit
- Tutorial 11 (2023)
See also edit
- Additional tutorial material
- Instructor notes
- Problems for discussion
- Fully functioning person
- Happiness - Practical exercises
- Meaning and coherence
- Optimal human functioning
- Book chapters
- Happiness (Category)
- Positive psychology (Category)
- Wikipedia
- Lectures and tutorials
- Growth motivation and positive psychology (Lecture)
- Time perspective (Previous tutorial)
- Review (Next tutorial)
References edit
Gilbert, D. (2009). Stumbling on happiness. Vintage.[1]
Wilson, T. D., & Gilbert, D. T. (2005). Affective forecasting: Knowing what to want. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14(3), 131–134. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0963-7214.2005.00355.x
External links edit
- Authentic happiness (authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu)
- The developmental assets framework (search-institute.org)
- Ten years later: Dan Gilbert (blog.ted.com)
- The common approach (aracy.org.au)