Motivation and emotion/Tutorials/Positive psychology

Tutorial 11: Positive psychology

Resource type: this resource contains a tutorial or tutorial notes.

This is the eleventh tutorial for the motivation and emotion unit of study.

OverviewEdit

This tutorial is about assumptions of positive psychology, characteristics of self-actualisation, and types of happiness.

Take-home messages: Positive psychology assumes we 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 get what you want.

AssumptionsEdit

Growth psychology is a broad term which encompasses:

Humanistic psychology (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 psyHuchological 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)

Humanistic psychology: Characteristics of self-actualisationEdit

Self-actualising is the process of fulfilling your potential.
Maslow identified 16 characteristics of self-actualised people which can be grouped into 4 categories:
1. Priority of values like truth, love, and happiness
2. Internally controlled
3. High involvement, productivity, and happiness
4. High quality interpersonal relationships
Complete this Self-evaluation of self-actualisation (Google Form).
1. Before submitting, make note of:
  1. What are you doing particularly well that is helping you towards self-actualisation?
  2. What could you improve to better promote your growth towards self-actualisation?
  3. What self-actualisation characteristic(s) would you like to share or learn more about?
Review class responses

Positive psychology: Science of happinessEdit

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:
1. Pleasant life: Dealing with past, optimism about future, happiness in present (hedonic pleasure and the skills to amplify pleasure). Limitiations:
  - 50% heritable
  - short-lived, subject to the hedonic treadmill (i.e., pleasure wears off quickly).
2. Good life: Engagement (flow, absorption) or Eudaimonia;
3. Meaningful life: Connection to a higher purpose
Dan Gilbert suggests two types of happiness:
1. Natural happiness: What we feel when we get what we want
2. Synthetic happiness: What we feel when we learn to like what we get

Watch: The surprising science of happiness (Dan Gilbert, 2004, 21:05, 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.

RecordingEdit

Tutorial 11 recording, 2022

ReferencesEdit

Brickman, P., Coates, D., & Janoff-Bulman, R. (1978). Lottery winners and accident victims: Is happiness relative?. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36(8), 917-927.

Gilbert, D. (2009). Stumbling on happiness. Vintage.

External linksEdit

Authentic happiness (authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu)
The developmental assets framework (search-institute.org)
Ten years later: Dan Gilbert)
The common approach (aracy.org.au)