Positive Psychology

Learn about Seligman, Csikszentmihalyi, Sternberg, Howard Gardner, Goleman & Edward de Bono.

Research signature strengths, flow,  optimism, emotional intelligence, hope, happiness, creativity, well-being,  love triangle, wisdom, luck, positive relationships and decision-making.

Positive Psychology Glossary. Positive Psychology Toolkit. Positive Psychology recommended reading and  links.


Positive Psychology course - starting at City Uni on Thursday evening, October 8th

This Thursday evening we start another exploration of the exciting new subject of Positive Psychology and it would be great to have you join us.
The course is much more than  a survey of the subject, it's an interactive experience of positive psychology. Last year it resulted in  a significant increase in the happiness of most participants. How do I know that? Because students did questionnaires at the beginning and end of the course.
Moreover, this wasn't boosting happiness by osmosis - as part of the course students carry out many of the most effective interventions that have
been found to boost happiness.
We'll also have lively discussions, videos and student presentations. No previous experience of
psychology required.

To sign up, visit
http://www.city.ac.uk/cae/cfa/business/coaching_business_skills/positive_psychology.html


Tim LeBon says "If you buy one book on positive psychology make it Positive Psychology in a Nutshell."

"Positive Psychology is concerned with the enhancement of happiness and well-being, involving the scientific study of the role of personal strengths and positive social systems in the promotion of optimal well-being." (Alan Carr).

 


 

A Positive Psychology Glossary

 

Convergent thinking

Thinking that brings together information focussed on solving a problem (especially solving problems that have a single correct solution)

Creativity

 

The capacity to produce work that is both novel and useful”

Divergent thinking

 

Thinking that moves away in diverging directions so as to involve a variety of aspects and which sometimes lead to novel ideas and solutions; associated with creativity

Duchenne smile

A genuine smile, associated with better marriages and life satisfaction (cf Pan Am Smile)

Emotional intelligence

The capacity to reason with emotion in four areas: to perceive emotion, to integrate it in thought, to understand it and to manage it. (Salovey and Mayer)

Eudaimonia

 Life going well by an objective standard (Aristotle)

Flow

 

An optimal experience characterized by a distorted sense of time ,loss of self-consciousness,  Concentration and highly focused attention and a sense of serenity

Hope

The overall perception that one's goals can be met.

Lateral Thinking

Edward de Bono’s term for looking at things from a fresh, sideways perspective

Luck

The impact of chance opportunities, lucky breaks and being in the right place at the right time.

Multiple intelligences

Howard Gardner’s theory that there are 7 different sorts of intelligence:-

Visual/Spatial ,Verbal/Linguistic , Logical/Mathematical ,Bodily/Kinesthetic , Musical/Rhythmic ,Interpersonal & Intrapersonal Intelligence

Optimism

 

 

a) Expectation of good things (personality trait)

b) Explaining things positively (explanatory style)

Positive Psychology 

The scientific  study of the role of personal strengths and positive social systems in the promotion of optimal well-being   

Signature strength

Seligman’s term for personal strengths of character. For 6 virtues- wisdom and knowledge, transcendence, temperance, justice, love and courage – there are 3-5 strengths eg. The virtue of love is broken down into the three qualities of intimacy, kindness and social intelligence.

Sternberg’s love triangle

Various combinations of intimacy, passion and commitment lead to 7 types of relationship, the most desirable of which is consummate love (all 3)

Subjective well-being

How people evaluate their lives, including life satisfaction and marital satisfaction, lack of depression and anxiety, and positive moods and emotions

Wallas’s 4 stages of creative problem-solving

1.Preparation 2.Incubation 3. Illumination  4.Verification


Wisdom

The pinnacle of insight into the human condition and about the means and ends of a good life

 


 

 

A Positive Psychology Toolkit

 

 

Desired Outcome

Method

Change

Prochaska et al’s 6 stages of change model

Creativity

Find an environment with psychological safety, peacefulness, Avoid Distractions & time pressures

Creativity/Problem-Solving

Brainstorming

Creativity/Problem-Solving

Lateral Thinking

Decision-Making

Delphi Method

Decision-Making

Progress – see http://www.decision-making.co.uk

Decision-Making

Avoid the following traps:-

  • Availability
  • Representativeness
  • Anchoring
  • The Framing Effect
  • Sunk Costs

Emotional Intelligence

Develop the 5 abilities of emotional intelligence

1.  Be self-aware

2. Manage difficult emotions, such as anxiety, anger and sadness

3. Motivate yourself – develop self-control, reward yourself and create flow.

4.Recognise emotion in others

Watch body language and be empathic

5.Handle relationships well

Flow/Happiness

Find flow by engaging in activities (leisure and work) which are intrinsically motivating, have clear goals, immediate feedback, require the right level of skill and have a chance of completion. 

Happiness

Fordyce  Happiness Training Programme

Happiness

Seligman’s Gratitude journal

Happiness, Flow

Exercising signature strengths

Happiness,Positive relationships

Give priority to close relationships

Happiness, Relationships

Perform acts of kindness and altruism

Hope

Design specific goals

Create pathways to achieve them

Work on motivation even in the face of blockages

Luck

  • Respect your hunches and intuitions
  • Introduce variety into your life (talk to different people, try a different route into work).
  • Look for the positive side of any ill fortune.

Mindfulness/Positive self

Levine’s body, mind and thought mindfulness

Optimism, Creativity, Relationships

Cultivate an optimistic explanatory style

Become aware of your explanatory style.

See good things as permanent, global and internal             

See Bad things as temporary, specific and external

Problem-Solving

PMI (Plus, Minus, Interesting)

Problem-solving

Random word Technique

Problem-solving

Po technique

Relationships

Identify and feedback Partners signature strengths

Relationships

Various guidelines for relationships (Sternberg, Gottman, Seligman)

Self-esteem

Branden’s 6 pillars of self-esteem

Self-esteem, change

Affirmations

 


 

 

A Positive Psychology Reading List

Argyle,M. The Psychology of Happiness (London: Routledge, 2001)

Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics

Aspinall,L. & Staudinger, U. A Psychology of Human Strengths (Washington, APA, 2003)

Barr-On, R & Parker, J (2000) The Handbook of Emotional Intelligence (Jossey-Bass)

Benson, H.  (1975)The Relaxation Response (New York: William Morrow)

 Bolt, M   Pursuing Human Strengths: A Positive Psychology Guide

Branden, N. The Six Pillars of self-esteem

Buzan, T  (2000) The Mind Map Book London:BBC

Buzan, T  (2000) UseYour Head London:BBC

       Carr,A. Positive Psychology  (Hove and New York: Brunner-Routledge, 2004) 1

Csikszentmihalyi , M.  Flow: The Psychology of optimal experience   (1990)

Csikszentmihalyi . M.  Finding Flow (1997)

Clegg, B & Birch, P  (1999) Instant Creativity Kogan Page
Compton W,C.  Introduction to Positive Psychology
de Bono, E. (1982) de Bono's Thinking Course. London: BBC Books
de Bono, E . (2000) Six Thinking Hats.  London: Penguin

Epstein,S (1998) Constructive Thinking: The Key to Emotional Intelligence (Westport, Praeger)

Eysenck, M (1990) Happiness  (L.E.A)

Fromm, E The Art of Loving

Gelb, M (2004) How to Think like Leonardo da Vinci  Element Books

Gillham, J The Science of Optimism and Hope Philadelphia, PA: Templeton Foundation Press (2000)

Goleman, D. (1995) Emotional Intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ New York: Bantam

Goleman, D. (1998) Working with Emotional Intelligence: Bantam

Gottmann, J. & Silver, N. The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work

Gray, J  Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus (Harper Collins, 2002)

Harris, R. (1998) Creative Thinking Techniques

Keyes, C  and Haidt , J (ed) Flourishing: Positive Psychology and the Life Well-Lived
Levine, M. The Positive Psychology of Buddhism & Yoga (LEA, 2000)

Levinson, D. Season’s of a Man’s Life  (New York: Ballantine, 1986)

Linley P. & Joseph,S Positive Psychology in Practice Wiley (2004)

Shane J. Lopez (Editor), C.R. Snyder (Editor)  Positive Psychological Assessment: A Handbook of Models and Measures

Maslow, A. Motivation and Personality (Longman, 1987)

Myers, D.M. The Pursuit of Happiness (New York: Morrow, 1992)

Osborn, A. (1953) Applied Imagination.  New York: Scribners

Peterson, C & Seligman, M Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification
Pervin, L & John, O.  Handbook of Personality. New York: Guilford.

Rawlinson, J. (1986) Creative Thinking and Brainstorming. London: Gower

Russell, B. The Conquest of Happiness

Scott Peck,  M. The Road Less Travelled

Seligman, M Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life New York: Pocket Books

      Seligman, M. Authentic Happiness (New York: Free Press, 2002)

Snyder, C.R  (2000) Handbook of Hope. Orlando FL: Academic Press

Snyder, C.R . & Lopez, S (2002) Handbook of Positive Psychology. New York: OUP

Sternberg, R (1999) Handbook of Creativity Cambridge, UK

Vaillant, G.E. Adaption to Life (Harvard University Press, 1995)

Wiseman, R.  The Luck Factor (Arrow, 2004)

         


 

 

Positive Psychology On the Web

 

 Recommended Links

 Martin Seligman’s Authentic Happiness site including Signature Strengths survey

 

Journal of Happiness Studies (free content here)

 

Positive Psychology quotations (Talent Development Resources) and resources

 

Ed Deiner’s site

 

World Database of Happiness (Continuous register of scientific research on subjective appreciation of life)

 

How to be Happy (Guardian November 19th 2003)

 

Interview with Martin Seligman

 

 

HAPPINESS

David Myer's Site***

http://www.myhappiness.com/ **

Happiness Quotations

Daedalus - How not to buy happiness 

 Happiness Research

http://www.thehappyguy.com/

 

Tim LeBon's one-stop Happiness page

CREATIVITY

http://www.virtualsalt.com/crebook1.htm ***

http://cms.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-19920301-000031.html **

Edward De Bono's site

http://www.mindtools.com/brainstm.html

http://thinksmart.com/mission/workout/creative_person.html

http://tip.psychology.org/create.html

http://www.csun.edu/~vcpsy00h/psy444.htm

http://www.riverdeep.net/current/2001/02/022101_leonardo.jhtml

http://www.mindtools.com

http://rinkworks.com/brainfood/latreal.shtml

Tony Buzan Online site which includes downloadable software, free videos on how to Mind Map, and soon a Mind Mapping forum and Tony Buzan blog.

 

FLOW

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1175/is_n4_v30/ai_19571454 ***

http://www.psychwww.com/mtsite/achflow.html **

http://talentdevelop.com/Page8.html

http://www.unrealities.com/essays/flow.htm

http://psychology.about.com/od/shclassic/a/aa50shclassic15.htm

http://www.educationreformbooks.net/flow.htm

Tim LeBon's one stop Flow page

 

SELIGMAN

http://www.authentichappiness.com ***

http://www.positivepsychology.org/

http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/seligman04/seligman_index.html

http://www.eqtoday.com/optimism/seligman.html

http://www.psychotherapynetworker.org/interviews_seligman.htm

 

Tim LeBon's critique of Authentic Happiness

 

HOPE

http://www.psych.ku.edu/faculty/rsnyder/adults.htm

 

OPTIMISM

http://www.stanford.edu/class/msande271/onlinetools/LearnedOpt.html

http://www.thinkarete.com/wisdom/works/notes/1429/

http://www.noogenesis.com/malama/discouragement/helplessness.html

http://www.wilsonbanwell.com/articles/emotional_health/about_optimism.htm

http://www.meridianmagazine.com/myth/000707pollyanna.html

http://www.selfgrowth.com/freenews/newsletter45.html

http://www.webmomz.com/SelfCare/selfcare_Empowerment_6-Happiness-Tips.shtml

http://ezinearticles.com/?A-Bit-of-Pollyanna&id=5857

 

HOWARD GARDNER

http://www.psy.pdx.edu/PsiCafe/KeyTheorists/Gardner.htm

MASLOW


http://www.maslow.org/ ***

http://www.westga.edu/~psydept/os2/papers/serlin2.htm 

http://www.ship.edu/~cgboeree/maslow.html

http://web.utk.edu/~gwynne/maslow.HTM

http://www.psy.pdx.edu/PsiCafe/KeyTheorists/Maslow.htm

Tim LeBon's one-stop Maslow site

 

SELF-ESTEEM

http://www.nathanielbranden.com/fs/new.html ***

http://www.selfgrowth.com/esteem.html

http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/regsys/self.html

http://cms.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-19991101-000033.html

http://io.uwinnipeg.ca/~epritch1/social98b.html

http://www.more-selfesteem.com/articles.htm

 

POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS

http://www.gottman.com ***

http://cms.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20000701-000035.html **

http://www.psy.pdx.edu/PsiCafe/KeyTheorists/Sternberg.htm

http://www.mhhe.com/hper/health/personalhealth/labs/love/activ6-2.html


WISDOM

http://www.psych.utoronto.ca/~pgsa/Course%20Readings/ Memory%20&%20Aging/Staudinger%20et%20al.,%201998.pdf

 

EMOTIONS AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

The Emotional Competency website helps people explore the logic of passion. See: http://www.emotionalcompetency.com/


DECISION-MAKING

http://www.mapnp.org/library/prsn_prd/decision.htm

http://www.decision-making.co.uk

http://www.carolla.com/wp-delph.htm

 

 
LUCK

http://www.luckfactor.co.uk/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/thematerialworld_20031016.shtml

 


Sign up today for Tim's popular course on positive psychology at City University

To sign up, visit
http://www.city.ac.uk/cae/cfa/business/coaching_business_skills/positive_psychology.html



Book a consultation with Tim today - life coaching and psychotherapy withthe insights of Positive Psychology

Fancy a good read: Buy Wise Therapy  by Tim LeBon


                  http://www.timlebon.com/positive.htm

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                                               More free resources on practical philosophy &  psychology at Tim LeBon’s site