Positive Psychology

“Persons are judged to be great because of the positive qualities they possess, not because of the absence of faults.”

— John Fitzgerald

What is Positive Psychology?

Positive Psychology emerged late in the 20th century, and was borne out of an observation made by Martin Seligman, the then president of the American Psychological Association, regarding the apparent imbalance of focus within the field of psychology. Seligman recognised that psychology had focused almost exclusively on illness and pathology. This discrepancy can be highlighted by doing a simple search on any one of the main academic search engines using the words “sadness” vs “happiness”. Chances are you will find a ratio of around 100:1 in favour of sadness. Psychology had been ignoring the upper end of the human experience – wellbeing and thriving – and had instead been focusing on surviving.

In reaction to this discrepancy, Seligman advocated for research into “positive emotions, character traits & enabling institutions” (Seligman & Cziksentmihalyi, 2000). Since the taboo has been lifted on research relating to the positive aspects of human existence, an abundance of research interest has been generated, resulting in significant scientific advancements in a relatively short period of time.

TED talk with Dr Martin Seligman on Positive Psychology

Essentially positive psychology can be described as the scientific study of what enables individuals and communities to thrive. It is important to emphasise the word scientific, as there has been many “gurus” who proclaim to know the secret to happiness. Positive psychology is different in that it has used rigourous scientific methods to investigate happiness and wellbeing, as a means of making valid and reliable discoveries (more on this below).

Positive Psychology is now used as an umbrella term to group all the topics in psychology that are in some way related to wellbeing, happiness, and excellence. This means that many topics in psychology (e.g. self-esteem) could theoretically be considered part of the broader umbrella term of positive psychology, which can make things confusing (the concept map below illustrates this nicely). Despite complexities, Positive Psychology is making significant advancement in the science of happiness and wellbeing, and much of which can be applied in our lives to enhance our personal and community wellbeing.

Adapted from “Positive Psychology in a Nutshell” by Ilona Boniwell (2008)

Myths and Criticisms of Positive Psychology

Positive psychology has not been universally accepted by all within the field of psychology. Much of the criticism however comes from a misunderstanding of positive psychology, and therefore it is important to address some of the key criticisms and myths relating to positive psychology:

“Positive Psychology ignores the negatives”: Positive psychology is NOT a ‘Pollyanna’ approach. It recognises that difficult emotions have a place, and understands the importance of listening to and experiencing negative emotions. Happiness and wellbeing are not seen as the absence of negative emotions, but the addition of positive states (e.g. meaning, vitality, life satisfaction, etc.).
“Positive Psychology is ALL New”: Despite much new research, it is important to recognise the historical roots of positive psychology. Although psychology has predominantly focused on the negative, there has been small pockets of research into the positive aspects of the human experience. Furthermore, other fields such as philosophy, have been investigating happiness and wellbeing for many years. Therefore, it is important to recognise that positive psychology has emerged from these historical foundations, as illustrated by the picture below.

Image from “Positive Psychology in a Nutshell” by Ilona Boniwell (2006)