Speculation, Conceptualization, or Evidence?

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina A. Downey ◽  
Reggie E. Henderson
Keyword(s):  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Scientific Discipline ◽  
Institutional Characteristics ◽  
Ongoing Debate ◽  
Positive Functioning ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Behavior

This chapter traces the history of examinations of well-being since the founding of psychology in 1879. Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000) asserted that positive psychology as a scientific discipline was to focus on empirical examinations of valued individual experiences and traits, as well as group and institutional characteristics that mark positive functioning. Positive psychology set parameters on the types of evidence that would be given credence in the field. Many scholars had described well-being prior to 2000, but much of this work could not counted as within the bounds of the new positive psychology because of how the different movements approached gathering evidence. Therefore, the founding of positive psychology represented another step in an ongoing debate in psychology regarding the conduct of scientific research on human characteristics and behavior, and its accomplishments can be viewed as a paradigm shift in the study of well-being.

Positive Psychology: Past, Present, and Future

2009 ◽  
pp. 6-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ed Diener
Keyword(s):  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Good Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Good Life ◽  
Human Functioning ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Individual

This chapter briefly reviews the history of positive psychology, and the endeavor by scientists to answer the classic question posed by philosophers: What is the good life? One piece of evidence for the growth of positive psychology is the proliferation of measures to assess concepts such as happiness, well-being, and virtue. The chapter briefly reviews the importance of C. R. Snyder to the field of positive psychology. Several critiques of positive psychology are discussed. One valid critique is that there is too much emphasis within positive psychology on the individual, and too little focus on positive societies, institutions, and situations. We can profit from considering the various critiques because they will help us to improve the field. Positive psychology has important strengths, such as the number of young scholars and practitioners who are entering the field. The Handbook of Positive Psychology is an outstanding resource for all those who are working in this discipline, and also for others outside of the area, to gain broad knowledge of the important developments that are occurring in our understanding of positive human functioning.

Positive Psychology and Humanistic Psychology: Evil Twins, Sibling Rivals, Distant Cousins, or Something Else?

2017 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 262-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grant J. Rich
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Humanistic Psychology ◽  
The Past ◽  
Positivity Ratio ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Relationship

This article builds on earlier work by Rich in the Journal of Humanistic Psychology on relations between positive psychology and humanistic psychology and examines both developments and challenges over the past 15 years, including discussion of leading critics of positive psychology such as Brown, Friedman, Held, Kagan, Waterman, and Wong. The discipline of positive psychology is contextualized with respect to the history of psychology in general, and humanistic psychology in particular, and several notable examples of well-being research are examined critically, including work by Fredrickson on the positivity ratio, and mixed-methods research by anthropologists. The article explores some limitations of the use of quantitative methods in positive psychology, notes some advantages of the use of qualitative methods for positive psychology, and discusses issues regarding the relationship between positive psychology and humanistic psychology, including how, whether, if, and when scholars from the two disciplines could collaborate in meaningful and effective ways.

scholarly journals The Future of Positive Psychology and Disability

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael L. Wehmeyer
Keyword(s):  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Past ◽  
Strength Based ◽  
Human Functioning ◽  
People With Disability ◽  
History Of ◽  
Knowledge And Practice ◽  
Disability Research

For much of the history of the application of psychology to disability, the research and clinical focus of the field was deficits-oriented: documenting what people with disability could not do, proposing theories of why they could not do these things, creating measures to assess this incapacity and incompetence, and building interventions and treatments predicated on disease and pathology. It has been only in the last few decades that conceptualizations of disability allowed for consideration of strengths and positive attributes along with the presence of disability and only in the past two decades that a positive psychology of disability has emerged. This article will briefly summarize the factors that led to the emergence of a focus on the positive psychology of disability and a strength-based approach in the field, examine the state of knowledge and practice as it pertains to the positive psychology of disability, and will examine challenges that serve as barriers to progress in this area and opportunities for advancement. Among these is examining how “optimal human functioning” can be understood in ways that includes, and not excludes, people with disability. The importance of shifting the disability research and practice focus to emphasize flourishing, well-being, and self-determination of and for people with disability will be discussed, as well as the necessity for the field of positive psychology to more aggressively reach out to include people with disability among those populations whom the field values and includes.

scholarly journals Positive Psychology Within a Cultural Context

2009 ◽  
pp. 48-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Teramoto Pedrotti ◽  
Lisa M. Edwards ◽  
Shane J. Lopez
Keyword(s):  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Psychological Theory ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Multiple Contexts ◽  
History Of ◽  
Diverse Groups ◽  
Cultural Rules

As our capacity for communication with nations across the globe increases through the advances of technology, our interactions with others with different worldviews also become more frequent. This exposure to diversity on so many levels requires a better understanding of the multiple contexts in which people from different cultural backgrounds live and the strengths they possess that help them experience well-being. In order to define the characteristics that may be viewed as strengths in different groups, we must make efforts to remember that cultural rules and norms often dictate what can be called a strength versus a weakness. It is imperative that we are able to recognize that strengths may look very different in different contexts and that these diverse manifestations may come from a variety of worldviews. More work must be done in order to develop a better understanding of the way that cultural context plays a role in the operationalization, manifestation, and measurement of strengths in diverse groups. The following chapter provides a history of the connections between culture and positive psychology and discusses current issues regarding the link between cultural context and various personal characteristics. Examples from culturally sensitive positive psychological theory and research are also given in order to illustrate how researchers are better exploring positive psychology within a cultural context.

Positive Psychology Theory, Research, and Practice: A Primer for Rehabilitation Counseling Professionals

2013 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 131-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chih-Chin Chou ◽  
Fong Chan ◽  
Jacob Yui Chung Chan ◽  
Brian Phillips ◽  
Nicole Ditchman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Rehabilitation Counseling ◽  
Psychological Theory ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Worth Living ◽  
Counseling Professionals ◽  
Rehabilitation Professionals ◽  
Empirically Supported ◽  
Personal Strengths ◽  
History Of

Positive psychology is a scientific study that explores what makes life most worth living and applies psychological theory to understand the human strengths that are important for enhancing overall well-being and happiness. The rehabilitation counseling philosophy shares a similar emphasis on personal strengths and the importance of enhancing what is good rather than merely addressing the negative aspects of adversity. The field of rehabilitation counseling provides a solid foundation for the practice of positive psychology and there is great potential for improving services and outcomes for people with disabilities by applying positive psychology approaches in rehabilitation practice and research. The objective of this article is to provide rehabilitation professionals an overview of positive psychology and its application to rehabilitation counseling. Specifically, a brief history of the positive psychology movement, major constructs and research findings, measurement considerations, and empirically supported intervention frameworks will be reviewed.

scholarly journals Knowing Well-being: A History of Data

2021 ◽  
pp. 35-66
Author(s):  
Susan Oman
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Public Management ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Scientific Discipline ◽  
Human Welfare ◽  
Human Happiness ◽  
History Of ◽  
Universal Definition ◽  
Rational Process

AbstractWhat is well-being? Well-being has become synonymous with the multi-billion-dollar wellness industry, whilst also being rooted in ancient philosophy and religious practices. It has no universal definition across time, place or scientific discipline, yet the very term ‘statistics’ was invented to measure human happiness.This chapter contextualises the history of well-being data and development as one which is tied to political and technological change, firstly, in the desire to monitor human welfare, and secondly, for policy. Public management strategies embraced economic approaches to auditing, as a means to define value and efficiency in social policy choices. The chapter considers how well-being data became co-opted into an ostensibly rational process of decision-making and evaluation, becoming a tool of policy—for good and bad.

A Happier Balance

2018 ◽  
pp. 91-111
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Tomasulo
Keyword(s):  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Character Strengths ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Poor Health ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Positive Interventions ◽  
Symptoms Of Depression ◽  
History Of Development ◽  
Balanced Approach ◽  
History Of

This chapter describes how intentional well-being interventions integrate the development of character strengths and activation of positive emotional resources while reducing risks and alleviating symptoms of depression and poor health. The emergence of these interventions reaches back nearly half a century and each layer of development has led to a more robust platform for implementing these approaches. Now, based on the evidence-based principles of positive psychology, these positive interventions help to cultivate hope through a more balanced approach to well-being than traditional deficit-oriented methods of psychotherapy. This chapter looks at the history of development of these interventions and their likely next phase of development.

scholarly journals Positive Psychology within a Cultural Context

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Teramoto Pedrotti ◽  
Lisa M. Edwards ◽  
Shane J. Lopez
Keyword(s):  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Psychological Theory ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Multiple Contexts ◽  
History Of ◽  
Diverse Groups

As our workforce, neighborhoods, and country overall becomes more diverse, our interactions with others with different worldviews also becomes more frequent. This exposure to diversity on so many levels requires a better understanding of the multiple contexts in which people from different cultural backgrounds live and the strengths they possess that help them experience well-being. In order to define the characteristics that may be viewed as strengths in different groups, we must make efforts to remember that cultural values and norms often dictate what can be called a strength versus a weakness. It is imperative that we recognize that strengths may look very different in different contexts and that these diverse manifestations may come from a variety of worldviews. More work must be done to develop a better understanding of the way that cultural context plays a role in the operationalization, manifestation, and measurement of strengths in diverse groups. The following chapter provides a history of the connections between culture and positive psychology and discusses current issues regarding the link between cultural context and various personal characteristics. Examples from culturally sensitive positive psychological theory and research are also given in order to illustrate how researchers are better exploring positive psychology within a cultural context.

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