INTRODUCTION & THEORIES ABOUT
POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
1
, Laura C. 2025/2026
What is positive Psychology? ____________________________________________ 3
Pleasure & positive emotions ___________________________________________ 10
Flow ___________________________________________________________________ 33
Happiness _____________________________________________________________ 45
Optimism ______________________________________________________________ 57
Mindsets _______________________________________________________________ 63
Self- determination theory ______________________________________________ 72
Implicit motivation _____________________________________________________ 83
Values ________________________________________________________________ 100
Authenticity ___________________________________________________________ 115
Meaning and purpose __________________________________________________ 133
Trust __________________________________________________________________ 142
Love and relationships _________________________________________________ 154
2
, Laura C. 2025/2026
What is positive Psychology?
Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive Psychology—An
Introduction. American Psychologist, 55, 5-14.
Positive psychology is as a science focused on positive subjective experiences,
individual traits, and institutions to enhance quality of life and prevent psychological issues.
Traditional psychology has been dominated by pathology, often neglecting the strengths
that make life meaningful, such as hope, wisdom, creativity, courage, spirituality, and
perseverance. The new movement emphasizes understanding factors that enable
happiness, autonomy, self-regulation, optimism, and resilience, and aims to build a
framework that helps individuals and societies flourish.
As the new millennium began, Americans faced a crucial choice: to continue
prioritizing economic and political dominance while neglecting human needs, or to pursue
well-being and flourishing. Social and behavioral sciences were identified as central to this
mission, as they could provide evidence on what leads to thriving individuals, families, and
communities. Despite psychology’s focus on what makes life worth living, historically the
field shifted toward healing and repairing damage rather than cultivating strengths.
The field of positive psychology operates on three levels:
the subjective level (well-being, optimism, satisfaction, flow, happiness)
the individual level (traits like perseverance, courage, interpersonal skill, creativity, and
spirituality)
the group level (civic virtues and institutions promoting responsibility, altruism, tolerance,
and work ethic).
This shift represents a move from pathology to building positive qualities.
Martin E. P. Seligman, elected president of the American
Psychological Association, shared a personal story about his daughter
Nikki, which inspired his conviction about positive psychology. Nikki
pointed out that she had decided to stopped whining and encouraged
her father to stop being a grouch. This realization taught Seligman that
raising children is not about fixing weaknesses (which might be fixed
because the individual takes initiative to do so themselves) but about
nurturing their strengths. The anecdote highlighted the importance of
amplifying individuals’ best qualities and helping them flourish.
Historically, psychology had three missions before World War II:
curing illness
making lives more productive
nurturing talent.
However, after the war, two events—the founding of the Veterans Administration
(1946) and the National Institute of Mental Health (1947)—shifted focus almost entirely to
pathology. Although this led to breakthroughs in treating mental illness (notably 14 major
disorders), the emphasis on curing disease overshadowed the broader mission of promoting
well-being and excellence.
3
, Laura C. 2025/2026
This pathology-focused view turned psychology into a discipline that often viewed
people as passive entities responding to stimuli. While effective in explaining disorders, it
neglected human strengths. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi also recognized
the need for positive psychology, recalling how, during World War II,
even strong and confident adults became helpless when stripped of
purpose and social support. Those with integrity and meaning, despite
being less educated or skilled, however, thrived despite hardships. His
observations reinforced the importance of fostering resilience,
meaning, and purpose as essential to flourishing. Mihaly looked for
answers to the question “what sources of strength make people
overcome adversity?” in history and religion books and discovered
psychology through the works of Jung and Freud in the 1950s.
Psychology appeared to offer a scientific discipline that addressed the fundamental issues of
life. However, when the author studied in the United States, they found psychology
dominated by skepticism, measurement, and behaviorism, often reducing humans to
passive subjects of stimuli. This stripped psychology of a value-based vision of what humans
could and should be.
The 1960s humanistic movement, led by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers, offered
a “third way” emphasizing self-actualization and personal growth (humanistic psychology).
Although it influenced culture and encouraged self-empowerment, it lacked cumulative
empirical support and sometimes descended into excessive self-focus. Still, its legacy
remains visible in popular psychology emphasizing therapy, healing, and self-discovery.
In the 1990s, prevention became a central theme, with the 1998 American
Psychological Association convention in San Francisco focusing on preventing problems like
depression, substance abuse, and violence. The challenge posed was how to stop such
issues in genetically vulnerable individuals or in toxic environments. Scholars argued that
prevention lies not in fixing weakness but in building competency and strengths.
Researchers have identified strengths that buffer against mental illness: courage,
optimism, perseverance, interpersonal skill, faith, work ethic, hope, honesty, and wisdom.
The task for psychology is to focus on amplifying these strengths. This requires psychologists
to foster supportive environments in families, schools, and communities that encourage
resilience. Theories have shifted away from seeing individuals as passive and toward viewing
them as decision makers with choices and agency (e.g., Bandura, 1986; Seligman, 1992).
This new perspective may not only prevent major emotional disorders but also enhance
physical health and reestablish psychology’s neglected missions: making normal people
stronger and fulfilling human potential.
Overview of the themes prevalent in positive psychology:
✓ positive experiences theme- explores what makes one moment better than another and
identifies the building blocks of happiness. Authors such as Kahneman (2000) examine
the quality of current experiences, while Diener (2000) focuses on subjective well-being.
Massimini and Delle Fave (2000) highlight optimal experience, Myers (2000) addresses
happiness, and Ryan and Deci (2000) emphasize self-determination. Other contributions,
4
, Laura C. 2025/2026
including those by Taylor, Kemeny, Reed, Bower, and Gruenwald (2000) and Salovey et
al. (2000), link positive emotions to physical health.
✓ positive personality theme, looks at human beings as self-organizing and adaptive
entities. Articles cover traits such as wisdom (Baltes & Staudinger, 2000), mature
defenses (Vaillant, 2000), and exceptional performance and talent (Lubinski & Benbow,
2000; Simonton, 2000; Winner, 2000; Larson, 2000). These works show how strengths
unfold across the lifespan and highlight the potential for growth and achievement.
✓ positive institutions and social context theme, emphasizes that human experiences are
embedded in communities and cultural systems. Buss (2000) links evolutionary
perspectives to happiness, while Myers (2000) stresses the role of relationships, and
Schwartz (2000) points to cultural norms that influence choice. Larson (2000)
underscores the importance of voluntary activities for youth development, and Winner
(2000) examines family influence on talent growth. Collectively, these works highlight
how flourishing depends on both individual strengths and supportive environments.
The Evolutionary Perspectives
David Buss (2000) argues that the legacy of the past weighs heavily on present
psychological states. He identifies three main reasons why positive mental states are often
elusive:
(1) modern environments differ greatly from ancestral settings, leaving people mismatched
with the conditions their minds and bodies were adapted for;
(2) evolved distress mechanisms, such as jealousy, have a purpose (e.g.: jealousy’s function
is to secure resources or fidelity but often undermine happiness);
(3) paradoxical changes in modern relationships, where people live among many others yet
often feel isolated, leading to loneliness and alienation. Buss not only highlights these
evolutionary obstacles but also proposes practical strategies to overcome them, making his
analysis both theoretical and applicable.
Fausto Massimini and Antonella Delle Fave (2000) expand this discussion by
exploring psychological and cultural evolution. Unlike Buss, who focuses on biological
evolution, they analyse how human consciousness and cultural artifacts shape and are
shaped by evolutionary processes. Their approach emphasizes self-organization and the
active role individuals play in selecting and creating the cultural “memes” that define their
identities. This perspective highlights that psychological selection is motivated not only by
survival pressures but also by the human drive for optimal experiences such as creativity,
competence, and achievement1.
Positive Personal Traits
Some positive personal traits support well-being, specifically subjective well-being,
optimism, happiness, and self-determination. These traits have been the subject of
extensive research over the past three decades, yielding valuable and sometimes
counterintuitive findings.
1
Whenever possible, people choose behaviours that make them feel fully alive, competent and
creative.
5
, Laura C. 2025/2026
Edward Diener (2000) reviews research on subjective well-being, which refers to
how people think and feel about their lives. His work examines personality correlates of
well-being, demographic differences, and the role of values and goals in shaping happiness.
Cross-cultural studies reveal important links between external events and subjective
interpretations, echoing ancient philosophers like Democritus and Epictetus, who argued
that well-being depends not on what happens, but on how it is perceived.
One dispositional trait that appears to mediate between external events and
personal’s interpretation of them is optimism. Christopher Peterson (2000) addresses
optimism, distinguishing between little optimism (short-term positive expectations) and big
optimism (broad confidence in the future). Optimism is tied to cognitive, emotional, and
motivational processes and has been shown to improve perseverance, success, and health.
David Myers (2000) synthesizes findings on happiness, noting that while many
elements contribute, certain factors—such as economic stability (to a threshold), religious
faith, and close personal relationships—have particularly strong associations with well-
being. Myers highlights how happiness research, though sometimes overlooked, has
produced robust and cross-cultural results.
Ryan and Deci (2000) explore self-determination theory, identifying three universal
needs:
✓ competence
✓ relatedness
✓ autonomy
When these needs are met, individuals are intrinsically motivated, resilient, and
capable of achieving personal growth and fulfilment. Their research shows that autonomy is
especially crucial and it is important to find ways to hold on to it even under external
pressures that deny it.
Barry Schwartz (2000) critiques autonomy, warning that too much emphasis on
personal freedom can create a “psychological tyranny” of choice, leading to dissatisfaction,
insecurity, and paralysis. He stresses the need for cultural constraints and norms to guide
meaningful and satisfying lives. Schwartz highlights the balance between fostering
autonomy and encouraging individual to rely on cultural values and social structures.
Implications for Mental and Physical Health
Positive psychology reshapes our understanding of mental health, moving beyond
the traditional focus on pathology. The psychiatrist George Vaillant (2000) stresses that true
psychological adaptation must be considered across the entire life span. Drawing on
decades of longitudinal research, he highlights how mature defenses—such as altruism,
sublimation, suppression, humour, and anticipation—contribute to resilience and a joyful
life. These defenses represent creative and proactive strengths rather than symptoms of
pathology, offering an alternative to the victim-centered approach of traditional
psychoanalysis.
Shelley Taylor and colleagues (2000) explore the health benefits of optimism. Their
studies of patients with life-threatening illnesses (e.g., AIDS) suggest that those with
optimistic outlooks often show fewer symptoms and survive longer. Optimism influences
health indirectly, by encouraging positive habits and strong social support, though it may
6
, Laura C. 2025/2026
also have direct physiological effects. This research emphasizes the potential of positive
affective states to improve health and strengthen prevention and care strategies.
Peter Salovey and collaborators (2000) review evidence on how emotions affect
physical health. While negative emotions and health risks are well documented, less is
known about the benefits of positive emotions. Salovey’s review notes that positive
emotions can directly affect physiological systems, including the immune system, and also
indirectly improve health by motivating beneficial behaviours. These findings highlight the
need for psychology to expand its focus from treating pathology to studying how positive
emotions promote resilience, healing, and flourishing.
Fostering Excellence
Psychology must not only alleviate suffering but also help “normal” people achieve
richer and more fulfilling lives. Early pioneers such as William James (1902/1958), Carl Jung
(1936/1969), Gordon Allport (1961), and Abraham Maslow (1971) highlighted themes like
spiritual ecstasy, play, creativity, and peak experiences, but these areas were later
overshadowed by medicalization. The articles in this section aim to restore focus to the
positive end of human experience.
Wisdom is discussed as one of the most valued traits across cultures. It is widely
believed that wisdom increases with age. Drawing on the Berlin wisdom paradigm, Paul
Baltes and Ursula Staudinger (2000) define wisdom as both a cognitive and motivational
resource, helping individuals and societies address fundamental problems of existence.
Wisdom can be understood as a cognitive and motivational heuristic for organizing
knowledge to achieve both individual and collective excellence. It embodies the best
subjective beliefs and life lessons distilled across generations. Defined as an expert
knowledge system for addressing fundamental and pragmatic issues of existence, wisdom
integrates experience with judgment to guide both personal and societal flourishing.
David Lubinski and Camilla Benbow (2000) focus on excellence in gifted children,
noting that one-third of the highest ability range falls within the top 1% of intelligence. They
stress the importance of identifying, nurturing, and educating gifted students, arguing that
neglecting their potential is a loss to society.
Dean K. Simonton (2000) addresses the relationship between creativity and
pathology, noting that while creative individuals often emerge from unusual backgrounds,
they also contribute profoundly to cultural and scientific advancement. His research
considers the conditions that foster or hinder creativity, noting that nationalistic revolts
against oppressive rules are followed a generation later by greater frequencies of creative
output. Ellen Winner (2000) expands the discussion on giftedness, defining it as including
not only intellectual ability but also motivation, creativity, and the social-emotional-
cognitive correlates of exceptional performance. She stresses that gifted children need
proper nurturing to maintain their strengths.
Reed Larson (2000) explores excellence in youth development, emphasizing the
importance of voluntary activities such as sports, arts, and civic engagement. These
opportunities promote self-directed effort and initiative, countering the passivity of school-
based learning.
7
, Laura C. 2025/2026
Challenges for the Future
One challenge is the Calculus of Well-Being, which questions the relationship
between momentary happiness and long-term well-being. Simple models of adding positive
experiences and subtracting negatives overlook complexities such as diminishing returns—
more income or pleasure does not necessarily lead to proportionally greater happiness
(Kahneman, 1999).
The Development of Positivity highlights the need to understand how positive
experiences at one stage of life (e.g., adolescence) affect well-being later. Questions remain
about whether delayed gratification is essential for long-term fulfillment or whether living in
the moment is equally valid.
Neuroscience and Heritability is another frontier. While progress has been made in
understanding the neurobiology of disorders like schizophrenia and depression, far less is
known about the neurochemistry of positive states such as flow, courage, or resilience
(LeDoux & Armony, 1999). Similarly, while much is known about the heritability of negative
traits, the genetic basis of positive traits remains underexplored.
The distinction between Enjoyment and Pleasure is also critical. Pleasure comes
from satisfying immediate needs, while enjoyment arises when people push beyond their
limits, as in creative or athletic activities. Research must clarify why people often choose
easy pleasures over deeper, more meaningful enjoyment.
Collective Well-Being raises the issue of balancing individual versus societal
happiness. For example, is one person’s use of a speedboat for pleasure equal in well-being
to another’s reading of poetry if the first also causes environmental harm? This points
toward a future science of positive community and institutions.
Authenticity questions whether positive traits are genuine, derivative of negative
traits, or separate systems entirely. Researchers must determine how resilience and positive
emotion emerge from the interplay of these systems, and whether too much positivity
might result in fragility.
Buffering explores how positive traits protect against illness. Building optimism,
courage, or interpersonal skills may help prevent depression, schizophrenia, or substance
abuse (Seligman et al., 1999).
Also, debates remain about whether positive psychology should be descriptive or
prescriptive. Should it merely document conditions that promote strengths, or should it
prescribe life courses and cultural ideals for flourishing?
Finally, there is the question of what is the relationship between positive traits like
optimism and positive experiences like happiness and being realistic? Can happiness coexist
with tragedy?
Conclusion
Psychology can become the science of positive human functioning that develops a
scientific understanding of what enables individuals, families, and communities to flourish.
While some may see this as overly idealistic, we can argue that the time is right for positive
psychology to emerge as a cumulative, empirical discipline.
Psychology’s past focus on the negative is explained by both evolutionary and
historical reasons. Evolutionarily, negative emotions are often stronger and more urgent,
8
, Laura C. 2025/2026
helping humans survive threats and dangers by increasing vigilance and prompting
behavioral change. In contrast, positive emotions can seem less pressing, even though they
are vital for adaptation and long-term thriving. Historically, psychology has reflected the
survival concerns of societies. For example, cultures facing instability and scarcity naturally
emphasized defense and control. By contrast, Athens, Florence, and Victorian England—
when enjoying relative stability—were able to prioritize virtues such as wisdom, beauty,
honor, and discipline.
Positive psychology does not require starting from scratch but a redirection of
scientific energy. Just as psychology in the past 50 years has built a strong science of mental
illness—with taxonomies, reliable measures, pharmacological and psychological treatments,
and effective interventions—it is now possible to build a science of positive traits and
flourishing. The same methods used to understand pathology can be redirected to study
and strengthen hope, courage, perseverance, and resilience.
Hopefully psychology won’t be/ remain just as a discipline that reduces suffering, but
one that helps people achieve fulfillment, purpose, and thriving. In doing so, psychology can
balance its dual missions: treating illness and promoting excellence and well-being, ensuring
that individuals and communities not only survive but also flourish.
9
, Laura C. 2025/2026
Pleasure & positive emotions
J. Gruber (2019). Misunderstanding positive emotions
June Gruber's "Misunderstanding Positive Emotion" discusses the neglected role of
positive emotions in understanding mental illness and human dysfunction.
Historically, research in psychopathology has focused extensively on negative
emotions (e.g., anxiety, depression, substance abuse) to understand and treat disorders.
Gruber highlights the significant lack of understanding regarding the role of positive
emotions in both human health and dysfunction. This neglect is a practical concern because
severe and chronic psychiatric diseases impose a massive societal burden, costing billions
annually and causing widespread disability, affecting up to 50% of the US population in their
lifetime. Understanding positive emotions could offer insights into the mechanisms of the
human mind and where they break down. It is also a theoretical concern because it
perpetuates long-standing misconceptions about the mind, particularly concerning how
positive emotions function in psychological well-being
Rethinking Positive Emotions
Emotions are evolutionary, hardwired responses that provide signals and
information about the environment, with subjective, behavioural, and physiological
components. Positive emotions, like joy, enthusiasm, pride, gratitude, love, or awe, are
typically thought to signal rewards or opportunities and guide us towards them, fostering
adaptive outcomes such as creative thinking, enhanced physical immunity, and stronger
social bonds. The common belief is that positive emotions are universally adaptive and
desirable. However, Gruber challenges this, suggesting it's an outdated misconception.
The "Dark Side" of Positive Emotions
Emerging research reveals that positive emotions, especially when experienced at
heightened levels or for prolonged durations, can predict maladaptive psychological
outcomes and health issues (e.g.: increased risk-taking, engagement in problematic
behaviours like pathological gambling or substance use, and even links to higher mortality
rates due to lowered inhibition). In clinical populations, heightened positive emotion,
particularly when contextually inappropriate (e.g., during loss or threat), is predictive of the
risk and recurrence of severe mood disorders like bipolar disorder. This suggests that the
adaptiveness of an emotion is context-sensitive; it depends on when, why, and how it is
experienced.
Studying Emotions in the Lab and Clinic
Studying emotions requires a multimodal approach due to their complexity.
Researchers elicit emotions using external stimuli (e.g., images, film clips) or internal
methods (e.g., recalling autobiographical memories). Emotions are measured across
multiple levels, including subjective self-ratings, live videotaping of behavioural expressions,
and physiological autonomic signatures (heart rate, respiration).
10
POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
1
, Laura C. 2025/2026
What is positive Psychology? ____________________________________________ 3
Pleasure & positive emotions ___________________________________________ 10
Flow ___________________________________________________________________ 33
Happiness _____________________________________________________________ 45
Optimism ______________________________________________________________ 57
Mindsets _______________________________________________________________ 63
Self- determination theory ______________________________________________ 72
Implicit motivation _____________________________________________________ 83
Values ________________________________________________________________ 100
Authenticity ___________________________________________________________ 115
Meaning and purpose __________________________________________________ 133
Trust __________________________________________________________________ 142
Love and relationships _________________________________________________ 154
2
, Laura C. 2025/2026
What is positive Psychology?
Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive Psychology—An
Introduction. American Psychologist, 55, 5-14.
Positive psychology is as a science focused on positive subjective experiences,
individual traits, and institutions to enhance quality of life and prevent psychological issues.
Traditional psychology has been dominated by pathology, often neglecting the strengths
that make life meaningful, such as hope, wisdom, creativity, courage, spirituality, and
perseverance. The new movement emphasizes understanding factors that enable
happiness, autonomy, self-regulation, optimism, and resilience, and aims to build a
framework that helps individuals and societies flourish.
As the new millennium began, Americans faced a crucial choice: to continue
prioritizing economic and political dominance while neglecting human needs, or to pursue
well-being and flourishing. Social and behavioral sciences were identified as central to this
mission, as they could provide evidence on what leads to thriving individuals, families, and
communities. Despite psychology’s focus on what makes life worth living, historically the
field shifted toward healing and repairing damage rather than cultivating strengths.
The field of positive psychology operates on three levels:
the subjective level (well-being, optimism, satisfaction, flow, happiness)
the individual level (traits like perseverance, courage, interpersonal skill, creativity, and
spirituality)
the group level (civic virtues and institutions promoting responsibility, altruism, tolerance,
and work ethic).
This shift represents a move from pathology to building positive qualities.
Martin E. P. Seligman, elected president of the American
Psychological Association, shared a personal story about his daughter
Nikki, which inspired his conviction about positive psychology. Nikki
pointed out that she had decided to stopped whining and encouraged
her father to stop being a grouch. This realization taught Seligman that
raising children is not about fixing weaknesses (which might be fixed
because the individual takes initiative to do so themselves) but about
nurturing their strengths. The anecdote highlighted the importance of
amplifying individuals’ best qualities and helping them flourish.
Historically, psychology had three missions before World War II:
curing illness
making lives more productive
nurturing talent.
However, after the war, two events—the founding of the Veterans Administration
(1946) and the National Institute of Mental Health (1947)—shifted focus almost entirely to
pathology. Although this led to breakthroughs in treating mental illness (notably 14 major
disorders), the emphasis on curing disease overshadowed the broader mission of promoting
well-being and excellence.
3
, Laura C. 2025/2026
This pathology-focused view turned psychology into a discipline that often viewed
people as passive entities responding to stimuli. While effective in explaining disorders, it
neglected human strengths. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi also recognized
the need for positive psychology, recalling how, during World War II,
even strong and confident adults became helpless when stripped of
purpose and social support. Those with integrity and meaning, despite
being less educated or skilled, however, thrived despite hardships. His
observations reinforced the importance of fostering resilience,
meaning, and purpose as essential to flourishing. Mihaly looked for
answers to the question “what sources of strength make people
overcome adversity?” in history and religion books and discovered
psychology through the works of Jung and Freud in the 1950s.
Psychology appeared to offer a scientific discipline that addressed the fundamental issues of
life. However, when the author studied in the United States, they found psychology
dominated by skepticism, measurement, and behaviorism, often reducing humans to
passive subjects of stimuli. This stripped psychology of a value-based vision of what humans
could and should be.
The 1960s humanistic movement, led by Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers, offered
a “third way” emphasizing self-actualization and personal growth (humanistic psychology).
Although it influenced culture and encouraged self-empowerment, it lacked cumulative
empirical support and sometimes descended into excessive self-focus. Still, its legacy
remains visible in popular psychology emphasizing therapy, healing, and self-discovery.
In the 1990s, prevention became a central theme, with the 1998 American
Psychological Association convention in San Francisco focusing on preventing problems like
depression, substance abuse, and violence. The challenge posed was how to stop such
issues in genetically vulnerable individuals or in toxic environments. Scholars argued that
prevention lies not in fixing weakness but in building competency and strengths.
Researchers have identified strengths that buffer against mental illness: courage,
optimism, perseverance, interpersonal skill, faith, work ethic, hope, honesty, and wisdom.
The task for psychology is to focus on amplifying these strengths. This requires psychologists
to foster supportive environments in families, schools, and communities that encourage
resilience. Theories have shifted away from seeing individuals as passive and toward viewing
them as decision makers with choices and agency (e.g., Bandura, 1986; Seligman, 1992).
This new perspective may not only prevent major emotional disorders but also enhance
physical health and reestablish psychology’s neglected missions: making normal people
stronger and fulfilling human potential.
Overview of the themes prevalent in positive psychology:
✓ positive experiences theme- explores what makes one moment better than another and
identifies the building blocks of happiness. Authors such as Kahneman (2000) examine
the quality of current experiences, while Diener (2000) focuses on subjective well-being.
Massimini and Delle Fave (2000) highlight optimal experience, Myers (2000) addresses
happiness, and Ryan and Deci (2000) emphasize self-determination. Other contributions,
4
, Laura C. 2025/2026
including those by Taylor, Kemeny, Reed, Bower, and Gruenwald (2000) and Salovey et
al. (2000), link positive emotions to physical health.
✓ positive personality theme, looks at human beings as self-organizing and adaptive
entities. Articles cover traits such as wisdom (Baltes & Staudinger, 2000), mature
defenses (Vaillant, 2000), and exceptional performance and talent (Lubinski & Benbow,
2000; Simonton, 2000; Winner, 2000; Larson, 2000). These works show how strengths
unfold across the lifespan and highlight the potential for growth and achievement.
✓ positive institutions and social context theme, emphasizes that human experiences are
embedded in communities and cultural systems. Buss (2000) links evolutionary
perspectives to happiness, while Myers (2000) stresses the role of relationships, and
Schwartz (2000) points to cultural norms that influence choice. Larson (2000)
underscores the importance of voluntary activities for youth development, and Winner
(2000) examines family influence on talent growth. Collectively, these works highlight
how flourishing depends on both individual strengths and supportive environments.
The Evolutionary Perspectives
David Buss (2000) argues that the legacy of the past weighs heavily on present
psychological states. He identifies three main reasons why positive mental states are often
elusive:
(1) modern environments differ greatly from ancestral settings, leaving people mismatched
with the conditions their minds and bodies were adapted for;
(2) evolved distress mechanisms, such as jealousy, have a purpose (e.g.: jealousy’s function
is to secure resources or fidelity but often undermine happiness);
(3) paradoxical changes in modern relationships, where people live among many others yet
often feel isolated, leading to loneliness and alienation. Buss not only highlights these
evolutionary obstacles but also proposes practical strategies to overcome them, making his
analysis both theoretical and applicable.
Fausto Massimini and Antonella Delle Fave (2000) expand this discussion by
exploring psychological and cultural evolution. Unlike Buss, who focuses on biological
evolution, they analyse how human consciousness and cultural artifacts shape and are
shaped by evolutionary processes. Their approach emphasizes self-organization and the
active role individuals play in selecting and creating the cultural “memes” that define their
identities. This perspective highlights that psychological selection is motivated not only by
survival pressures but also by the human drive for optimal experiences such as creativity,
competence, and achievement1.
Positive Personal Traits
Some positive personal traits support well-being, specifically subjective well-being,
optimism, happiness, and self-determination. These traits have been the subject of
extensive research over the past three decades, yielding valuable and sometimes
counterintuitive findings.
1
Whenever possible, people choose behaviours that make them feel fully alive, competent and
creative.
5
, Laura C. 2025/2026
Edward Diener (2000) reviews research on subjective well-being, which refers to
how people think and feel about their lives. His work examines personality correlates of
well-being, demographic differences, and the role of values and goals in shaping happiness.
Cross-cultural studies reveal important links between external events and subjective
interpretations, echoing ancient philosophers like Democritus and Epictetus, who argued
that well-being depends not on what happens, but on how it is perceived.
One dispositional trait that appears to mediate between external events and
personal’s interpretation of them is optimism. Christopher Peterson (2000) addresses
optimism, distinguishing between little optimism (short-term positive expectations) and big
optimism (broad confidence in the future). Optimism is tied to cognitive, emotional, and
motivational processes and has been shown to improve perseverance, success, and health.
David Myers (2000) synthesizes findings on happiness, noting that while many
elements contribute, certain factors—such as economic stability (to a threshold), religious
faith, and close personal relationships—have particularly strong associations with well-
being. Myers highlights how happiness research, though sometimes overlooked, has
produced robust and cross-cultural results.
Ryan and Deci (2000) explore self-determination theory, identifying three universal
needs:
✓ competence
✓ relatedness
✓ autonomy
When these needs are met, individuals are intrinsically motivated, resilient, and
capable of achieving personal growth and fulfilment. Their research shows that autonomy is
especially crucial and it is important to find ways to hold on to it even under external
pressures that deny it.
Barry Schwartz (2000) critiques autonomy, warning that too much emphasis on
personal freedom can create a “psychological tyranny” of choice, leading to dissatisfaction,
insecurity, and paralysis. He stresses the need for cultural constraints and norms to guide
meaningful and satisfying lives. Schwartz highlights the balance between fostering
autonomy and encouraging individual to rely on cultural values and social structures.
Implications for Mental and Physical Health
Positive psychology reshapes our understanding of mental health, moving beyond
the traditional focus on pathology. The psychiatrist George Vaillant (2000) stresses that true
psychological adaptation must be considered across the entire life span. Drawing on
decades of longitudinal research, he highlights how mature defenses—such as altruism,
sublimation, suppression, humour, and anticipation—contribute to resilience and a joyful
life. These defenses represent creative and proactive strengths rather than symptoms of
pathology, offering an alternative to the victim-centered approach of traditional
psychoanalysis.
Shelley Taylor and colleagues (2000) explore the health benefits of optimism. Their
studies of patients with life-threatening illnesses (e.g., AIDS) suggest that those with
optimistic outlooks often show fewer symptoms and survive longer. Optimism influences
health indirectly, by encouraging positive habits and strong social support, though it may
6
, Laura C. 2025/2026
also have direct physiological effects. This research emphasizes the potential of positive
affective states to improve health and strengthen prevention and care strategies.
Peter Salovey and collaborators (2000) review evidence on how emotions affect
physical health. While negative emotions and health risks are well documented, less is
known about the benefits of positive emotions. Salovey’s review notes that positive
emotions can directly affect physiological systems, including the immune system, and also
indirectly improve health by motivating beneficial behaviours. These findings highlight the
need for psychology to expand its focus from treating pathology to studying how positive
emotions promote resilience, healing, and flourishing.
Fostering Excellence
Psychology must not only alleviate suffering but also help “normal” people achieve
richer and more fulfilling lives. Early pioneers such as William James (1902/1958), Carl Jung
(1936/1969), Gordon Allport (1961), and Abraham Maslow (1971) highlighted themes like
spiritual ecstasy, play, creativity, and peak experiences, but these areas were later
overshadowed by medicalization. The articles in this section aim to restore focus to the
positive end of human experience.
Wisdom is discussed as one of the most valued traits across cultures. It is widely
believed that wisdom increases with age. Drawing on the Berlin wisdom paradigm, Paul
Baltes and Ursula Staudinger (2000) define wisdom as both a cognitive and motivational
resource, helping individuals and societies address fundamental problems of existence.
Wisdom can be understood as a cognitive and motivational heuristic for organizing
knowledge to achieve both individual and collective excellence. It embodies the best
subjective beliefs and life lessons distilled across generations. Defined as an expert
knowledge system for addressing fundamental and pragmatic issues of existence, wisdom
integrates experience with judgment to guide both personal and societal flourishing.
David Lubinski and Camilla Benbow (2000) focus on excellence in gifted children,
noting that one-third of the highest ability range falls within the top 1% of intelligence. They
stress the importance of identifying, nurturing, and educating gifted students, arguing that
neglecting their potential is a loss to society.
Dean K. Simonton (2000) addresses the relationship between creativity and
pathology, noting that while creative individuals often emerge from unusual backgrounds,
they also contribute profoundly to cultural and scientific advancement. His research
considers the conditions that foster or hinder creativity, noting that nationalistic revolts
against oppressive rules are followed a generation later by greater frequencies of creative
output. Ellen Winner (2000) expands the discussion on giftedness, defining it as including
not only intellectual ability but also motivation, creativity, and the social-emotional-
cognitive correlates of exceptional performance. She stresses that gifted children need
proper nurturing to maintain their strengths.
Reed Larson (2000) explores excellence in youth development, emphasizing the
importance of voluntary activities such as sports, arts, and civic engagement. These
opportunities promote self-directed effort and initiative, countering the passivity of school-
based learning.
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Challenges for the Future
One challenge is the Calculus of Well-Being, which questions the relationship
between momentary happiness and long-term well-being. Simple models of adding positive
experiences and subtracting negatives overlook complexities such as diminishing returns—
more income or pleasure does not necessarily lead to proportionally greater happiness
(Kahneman, 1999).
The Development of Positivity highlights the need to understand how positive
experiences at one stage of life (e.g., adolescence) affect well-being later. Questions remain
about whether delayed gratification is essential for long-term fulfillment or whether living in
the moment is equally valid.
Neuroscience and Heritability is another frontier. While progress has been made in
understanding the neurobiology of disorders like schizophrenia and depression, far less is
known about the neurochemistry of positive states such as flow, courage, or resilience
(LeDoux & Armony, 1999). Similarly, while much is known about the heritability of negative
traits, the genetic basis of positive traits remains underexplored.
The distinction between Enjoyment and Pleasure is also critical. Pleasure comes
from satisfying immediate needs, while enjoyment arises when people push beyond their
limits, as in creative or athletic activities. Research must clarify why people often choose
easy pleasures over deeper, more meaningful enjoyment.
Collective Well-Being raises the issue of balancing individual versus societal
happiness. For example, is one person’s use of a speedboat for pleasure equal in well-being
to another’s reading of poetry if the first also causes environmental harm? This points
toward a future science of positive community and institutions.
Authenticity questions whether positive traits are genuine, derivative of negative
traits, or separate systems entirely. Researchers must determine how resilience and positive
emotion emerge from the interplay of these systems, and whether too much positivity
might result in fragility.
Buffering explores how positive traits protect against illness. Building optimism,
courage, or interpersonal skills may help prevent depression, schizophrenia, or substance
abuse (Seligman et al., 1999).
Also, debates remain about whether positive psychology should be descriptive or
prescriptive. Should it merely document conditions that promote strengths, or should it
prescribe life courses and cultural ideals for flourishing?
Finally, there is the question of what is the relationship between positive traits like
optimism and positive experiences like happiness and being realistic? Can happiness coexist
with tragedy?
Conclusion
Psychology can become the science of positive human functioning that develops a
scientific understanding of what enables individuals, families, and communities to flourish.
While some may see this as overly idealistic, we can argue that the time is right for positive
psychology to emerge as a cumulative, empirical discipline.
Psychology’s past focus on the negative is explained by both evolutionary and
historical reasons. Evolutionarily, negative emotions are often stronger and more urgent,
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helping humans survive threats and dangers by increasing vigilance and prompting
behavioral change. In contrast, positive emotions can seem less pressing, even though they
are vital for adaptation and long-term thriving. Historically, psychology has reflected the
survival concerns of societies. For example, cultures facing instability and scarcity naturally
emphasized defense and control. By contrast, Athens, Florence, and Victorian England—
when enjoying relative stability—were able to prioritize virtues such as wisdom, beauty,
honor, and discipline.
Positive psychology does not require starting from scratch but a redirection of
scientific energy. Just as psychology in the past 50 years has built a strong science of mental
illness—with taxonomies, reliable measures, pharmacological and psychological treatments,
and effective interventions—it is now possible to build a science of positive traits and
flourishing. The same methods used to understand pathology can be redirected to study
and strengthen hope, courage, perseverance, and resilience.
Hopefully psychology won’t be/ remain just as a discipline that reduces suffering, but
one that helps people achieve fulfillment, purpose, and thriving. In doing so, psychology can
balance its dual missions: treating illness and promoting excellence and well-being, ensuring
that individuals and communities not only survive but also flourish.
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Pleasure & positive emotions
J. Gruber (2019). Misunderstanding positive emotions
June Gruber's "Misunderstanding Positive Emotion" discusses the neglected role of
positive emotions in understanding mental illness and human dysfunction.
Historically, research in psychopathology has focused extensively on negative
emotions (e.g., anxiety, depression, substance abuse) to understand and treat disorders.
Gruber highlights the significant lack of understanding regarding the role of positive
emotions in both human health and dysfunction. This neglect is a practical concern because
severe and chronic psychiatric diseases impose a massive societal burden, costing billions
annually and causing widespread disability, affecting up to 50% of the US population in their
lifetime. Understanding positive emotions could offer insights into the mechanisms of the
human mind and where they break down. It is also a theoretical concern because it
perpetuates long-standing misconceptions about the mind, particularly concerning how
positive emotions function in psychological well-being
Rethinking Positive Emotions
Emotions are evolutionary, hardwired responses that provide signals and
information about the environment, with subjective, behavioural, and physiological
components. Positive emotions, like joy, enthusiasm, pride, gratitude, love, or awe, are
typically thought to signal rewards or opportunities and guide us towards them, fostering
adaptive outcomes such as creative thinking, enhanced physical immunity, and stronger
social bonds. The common belief is that positive emotions are universally adaptive and
desirable. However, Gruber challenges this, suggesting it's an outdated misconception.
The "Dark Side" of Positive Emotions
Emerging research reveals that positive emotions, especially when experienced at
heightened levels or for prolonged durations, can predict maladaptive psychological
outcomes and health issues (e.g.: increased risk-taking, engagement in problematic
behaviours like pathological gambling or substance use, and even links to higher mortality
rates due to lowered inhibition). In clinical populations, heightened positive emotion,
particularly when contextually inappropriate (e.g., during loss or threat), is predictive of the
risk and recurrence of severe mood disorders like bipolar disorder. This suggests that the
adaptiveness of an emotion is context-sensitive; it depends on when, why, and how it is
experienced.
Studying Emotions in the Lab and Clinic
Studying emotions requires a multimodal approach due to their complexity.
Researchers elicit emotions using external stimuli (e.g., images, film clips) or internal
methods (e.g., recalling autobiographical memories). Emotions are measured across
multiple levels, including subjective self-ratings, live videotaping of behavioural expressions,
and physiological autonomic signatures (heart rate, respiration).
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