Positive psychology

The field of psychology is quite large and with each passing day, new studies and new theories emerge in the field. The positive psychology is a branch of psychology that has emerged in recent years, so it can be considered a relatively new science . While many other branches of psychology focus primarily on behavioral dysfunction in people, positive psychology focuses primarily on helping people to be happier.

Definition

The psychology positive is a science that is primarily concerned with knowing things that make a person feel good , beyond a simple medical treatment, seeking to find possible answers to what prevents happiness to later find solutions to the problem. It is a type of scientific study that makes people understand that life is worthwhile despite the presence of personal problems.

Characteristics of positive psychology

The main characteristics of positive psychology are the following:

• It gives more importance to the activities that the individual performs correctly.
• Try to understand the aspects of daily life that make life worthwhile.
• Its most important concept is that of ” eudaimonia ” which means “good life”.
• It indicates that people, in addition to having high levels of happiness , must be committed to what they do.
• The personal strengths are necessary to achieve the satisfaction and gratification.
• The most important topics it deals with are those related to happiness , self-esteem , satisfaction and personal values .
• Seeks the development of psychological interventions to develop positive attitudes.

Background

The term positive psychology has its antecedents in Abraham Maslow , a humanistic psychologist who made mention of the term in use in his books: “Motivation and personality.” 

Story

Despite the fact that the term had already been mentioned before, it was not until Seligman claimed that the branch of psychology had been submerged for many years focusing solely on the studies of mental illness and therefore encouraged his colleagues to change and they will focus more on how to improve the quality of daily life so that people can thus fully exploit their potential . It was in 1999 when the first summit on positive psychology was established and later the first International Conference on the subject was held. From that moment on, specialists and people in general they began to inquire more about the subject.

At the beginning, positive psychology was not a boom, however, with the passage of time, professionals began to view their theories as part of the behavior of the human being . By 2006, major universities such as Harvard began to include the subject in their careers and shortly afterwards the first organization that focused on the subject was founded.

Who is the father of positive psychology

Martin Seligman is the father of positive psychology, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania who was also director of the American Psychological Association.

What is it for

Positive psychology serves to promote proper development of positive emotions which have the ability to improve and promote the health of the individual, growth and personal development and wellbeing overall . Through it, the level of intellectual, physical and social resources that an individual has can be increased so that they can respond in a more positive way to complicated or difficult situations.

What do you study

It studies the emotional health of individuals, the pain they may experience and how it can be avoided and overcome. Studies the ways in which an individual may feel full , happy and done . Their studies include the analysis of positive qualities and the best way to develop them to achieve a satisfying and happy life.

goals

The main objective of positive psychology is to find and understand the best mechanisms to help people achieve happiness and tranquility , situations that can cause a good human existence.

Features

Positive psychology’s main function is to find a balance in the strengths that an individual possesses, so that in this way a more objective view of the person can be obtained.

Areas of positive psychology

Positive psychology focuses mainly on areas related to the happiness of the individual, with the ability that he has to develop optimism, the ability of the person to pay attention consciously to the experiences that arise, the flow of positive energy , strengths and virtues of character, hope , positive thoughts, and personal motivation.

Problems

One of the main problems is that on some occasions people could develop a feeling of superiority and invulnerability that would bring opposite and negative consequences, totally contrary to the objective of positive psychology. This at the same time can cause unnecessary risks to be taken or the accumulation of projects to be present causing the individual to become oversaturated and not be able to enjoy the good things that life has to give him.

Theories

The theories of positive psychology are as follows:

Theory of extension or construction

This theory implies that positive emotions have an adaptation function and also seeks to expand the skills to face problems in such a way that positive emotions help to face challenges more easily and the chances of reaching goals will be higher.

Flow Theory

Indicates that, when the person knows how to properly handle the level of difficulty of a task, the skills can experience a sensation where time flies without being aware of it, which generates at the same time that the energy wasted is minimal and that the personal motivation increase considerably.

Perma theory

It takes into account positive emotions , the commitment to put personal strengths into practice, fosters positive relationships to improve support and company , promotes giving meaning to life and the development of personal goals and achievements, as the goal to be pursued.

Forte theory

It implies the strength that an individual can develop in order to get ahead.

Importance

Positive psychology is important because it has the ability to highlight the positive qualities and characteristics of the human being, taking them as a point of reference to achieve goals in life, leaving aside those negative aspects that can influence the achievement of goals. . In addition, it gives the human being strength so that he can be influenced in a positive way by everything that surrounds him.

Representatives

Some of the most important representatives of positive psychology have been:

• Martin Seligman
• Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
• Carol dweck
• Daniel Gilbert
• Kennon sheldon

Examples

An example of the application of positive psychology would be to instruct the user to take a note after the day and write in it all the positive interventions that he has made so that in this way, they can realize how positive the day has been. The creation of a gratitude journal is another good example, it is done so that people can identify and reflect on the good things in life and for which they should be grateful.

Books on positive psychology

Some recommended books that discuss positive psychology are:

• The art of not embittering life
• Being happy is your decision
• Positive psychology
• True happiness
• And don’t forget to be happy