The Intrigue of Positive Psychology and Why You Should Make It a Part of Your Life Part 2

(You can read the first part of this two-part article here)

Early Theory and Concepts

Although sometimes called a soft science or pseudoscience, positive psychology is indeed a science, and perhaps most aptly, a social science. A subfield of psychology, positive psychology is based on the scientific evidence pertaining to what makes life worth living.

A newer science, much of the research published in the field has come out during this century. Christopher Peterson (University of Michigan) outlines the early theories and concepts, which include:

• Happiness is one of the causes of the good things in life, and the good life can be taught.
• Happiness, character strengths, and good social relationships buffer us against disappointments and setbacks.
• In terms of what makes life worth living, other people matter, as does religion/spirituality for many, and engagement in purposeful, meaningful work.
• After a certain point, money has diminishing returns on our happiness, but we can buy some happiness by spending money on other people.
• Most good days include feeling a sense of autonomy, competence, and connection to others.

Focus of Positive Psychology

Positive psychology focuses on the positive events and influences in life, defined as:

1. Positive experiences (like happiness, joy, inspiration, and love)
2. Positive states and traits (like gratitude, resilience, and compassion)
3. Positive institutions (applying positive principles to entire organizations)

As a field, positive psychology research is dedicated to topics like character strengths, life satisfaction, wellbeing, (self) compassion, hope, and elevation. These topics are studied to learn how to help people flourish and live our best lives.

Benefits of Positive Psychology

In general, the greatest potential benefit of positive psychology is that it teaches us the power of shifting our perspective. It has been found that relatively small changes in perspective can lead to astounding shifts in wellbeing and overall quality of life. For example, injecting a bit more optimism and gratitude into our life is a simple action that can provide a radically more positive outlook on life. Likewise, a growth mindset has been found to help people reframe negative reactions to failure. Growth leads to all kinds of positive emotions, including curiosity, hope, courage, and creativity. So, we are not ignoring the negatives that are bound to occur, but rather using the experience of them to help us develop tools to practice mindfulness, optimism, and new learning.

Newer findings provide concrete ideas for improving our quality of life.

Connections between money and happiness:

• Spending money on other people results in greater happiness for the giver (Dunn, Aknin, & Norton, 2008).
• Spending money on experiences provides a bigger boost to happiness than spending money on material possessions (Howell & Hill, 2009).
• People overestimate the impact of money on their happiness. Although it has some influence, not nearly as much as we might think. Therefore, focusing less on attaining wealth will likely make you happier (Aknin, Norton, & Dunn, 2009).

Connections between our treatment of others and happiness:

• Happiness is contagious; those with happy friends and significant others are more likely to be happy in the future (Fowler & Christakis, 2008).
• People who perform acts of kindness towards others not only get a boost in wellbeing, but they are also more accepted by their peers (Layous, Nelson, Oberle, Schonert-Reichl, & Lyubomirsky, 2012).
• Volunteering time to a cause you believe in improves your wellbeing and life satisfaction. It may even reduce symptoms of depression (Jenkinson et al., 2013).

Connections between other positive emotions and happiness:

• Gratitude is a big contributor to happiness in life, suggesting that the more we cultivate gratitude, the happier we will be (Seligman, Steen, Park, & Peterson, 2005).
• Oxytocin may provoke greater trust, empathy, and morality in humans, meaning that giving hugs or other shows of physical affection may give a boost to your overall wellbeing (Barraza & Zak, 2009).
• “Putting on a happy face” won’t necessarily make you feel happier, but putting in a little bit of effort likely will (Scott & Barnes, 2011).

Connections between positive emotions and job performance:

• Positive emotions are contagious, which means one positive person or team can have a ripple effect that extends through the entire organization.
• Small, simple actions can have a big impact on our happiness; it therefore doesn’t take much to encourage your workplace to become a happier/more positive place (Kjerulf, 2016).

How do YOU intend to make positive psychology a part of YOUR LIFE today?