Lecture 1 - Introduction
Positive Psychology → Positive psychology is the scientific study of what enables individuals
and communities to thrive.
Dimensions of positive psychology: Three broad areas of human experience
1. Positive subjective states
a. Positive emotions such as happiness and inspiration
2. Positive individual traits
a. Traits at the individual level.
b. These tend to be stable in an individual
c. Curiosity, courage, etc.
3. Positive institutions
a. Development, creation, and maintenance of positive institutions
b. How to maintain healthy families, work environments, etc.
The Good Life is a combination of 3 elements (Factors that lead to well being)
→ Main idea is that people want to find out what holds the greatest value in life...what makes life
worth living.
1. Positive individual traits
a. Sense of integrity
b. Ability to be creative
c. Virtues
2. Positive connections to others
a. Ability to love
b. Altruistic concerns
c. Ability to forgive
3. Life regulation qualities
a. Sense of autonomy
b. Regulate day to day activities that help achieve our goals.
c. Sense of control
Flourishing
What do people do correctly in life?
→ Despite life’s difficulties, some people adjust extraordinarily well, how do they do this?
,We can apply the above idea to the 3 levels of wellbeing (emotional, psychological, social) and
we get a model that consists of 12 different classifications of mental health.
→ Complete mental health is low mental illness + high emotional wellbeing + high social
wellbeing.
History of Positive Psychology I
Hedonism → The focus in life should be to try and get as much positive experience as possible,
through things like eating, drinking, etc.
➔ These pleasures are really short lived and dont have long lasting impacts on our mental
health so this is a very basic theory.
,Aristotle: The Golden Mean
He was not a fan of Hedonism and he argued that we should try to avoid emotional extremes in
life. Emotions were to be tamed by rigorous self discipline to accept the dictates of reason.
We need to search for a golden mean → the state of balance between the two extremes of
excess and deficit:
= These golden means are characteristics that can lead a person to the state of Eudimonia.
History of Positive Psychology II
Eudaimonia → A condition of meaning and self realization...of flourishing and completeness, of
enduring joy
Main difference between Eudaimonia and Hedonism is that certain goals in life produce positive
emotions but these emotions do not necessarily lead to a worth living life.
History of Positive Psychology III
Christianity
The way to happiness is the message of the life of Jesus: Love and compassion.
The virtue theory in the middle ages was the struggle between spirit and flesh.
➔ Internal battle
➔ 7 deadly sins
◆ Anger
◆ Envy
◆ Sloth
◆ Pride
◆ Lust
◆ Intemperance
◆ Greed
➔ 4 Cardinal virtues:
◆ Justice
◆ Prudence
◆ Fortitude
◆ Temperance
, History of Positive Psychology IV
Renaissance: Value of independent thought
1. Creativity and the rise of the artists → Artists Possess a special gift (that others lacked);
the rise of individualism.
2. The rise of science → The idea was that rational persons can decide for themselves
what is true. The tools used to seek the truth were logic, objectivity, and empiricism.
3. The rising importance of the social world → Utilitarianism → Happiness for all people =
ultimate aim of all human actions.
History of Positive Psychology V
Romanticism
→ Growing importance of personal emotional expression for living a full life.
This era saw the rise of individualism and the growing importance of life. The ideas included
things like marriage should be based on affection between two people or autonomy and that the
true self exists below social masks.
History of Positive Psychology VI
20th Century: BEfore WWII
History of Positive Psychology VII
Humanistic Psychology
Positive Psychology → Positive psychology is the scientific study of what enables individuals
and communities to thrive.
Dimensions of positive psychology: Three broad areas of human experience
1. Positive subjective states
a. Positive emotions such as happiness and inspiration
2. Positive individual traits
a. Traits at the individual level.
b. These tend to be stable in an individual
c. Curiosity, courage, etc.
3. Positive institutions
a. Development, creation, and maintenance of positive institutions
b. How to maintain healthy families, work environments, etc.
The Good Life is a combination of 3 elements (Factors that lead to well being)
→ Main idea is that people want to find out what holds the greatest value in life...what makes life
worth living.
1. Positive individual traits
a. Sense of integrity
b. Ability to be creative
c. Virtues
2. Positive connections to others
a. Ability to love
b. Altruistic concerns
c. Ability to forgive
3. Life regulation qualities
a. Sense of autonomy
b. Regulate day to day activities that help achieve our goals.
c. Sense of control
Flourishing
What do people do correctly in life?
→ Despite life’s difficulties, some people adjust extraordinarily well, how do they do this?
,We can apply the above idea to the 3 levels of wellbeing (emotional, psychological, social) and
we get a model that consists of 12 different classifications of mental health.
→ Complete mental health is low mental illness + high emotional wellbeing + high social
wellbeing.
History of Positive Psychology I
Hedonism → The focus in life should be to try and get as much positive experience as possible,
through things like eating, drinking, etc.
➔ These pleasures are really short lived and dont have long lasting impacts on our mental
health so this is a very basic theory.
,Aristotle: The Golden Mean
He was not a fan of Hedonism and he argued that we should try to avoid emotional extremes in
life. Emotions were to be tamed by rigorous self discipline to accept the dictates of reason.
We need to search for a golden mean → the state of balance between the two extremes of
excess and deficit:
= These golden means are characteristics that can lead a person to the state of Eudimonia.
History of Positive Psychology II
Eudaimonia → A condition of meaning and self realization...of flourishing and completeness, of
enduring joy
Main difference between Eudaimonia and Hedonism is that certain goals in life produce positive
emotions but these emotions do not necessarily lead to a worth living life.
History of Positive Psychology III
Christianity
The way to happiness is the message of the life of Jesus: Love and compassion.
The virtue theory in the middle ages was the struggle between spirit and flesh.
➔ Internal battle
➔ 7 deadly sins
◆ Anger
◆ Envy
◆ Sloth
◆ Pride
◆ Lust
◆ Intemperance
◆ Greed
➔ 4 Cardinal virtues:
◆ Justice
◆ Prudence
◆ Fortitude
◆ Temperance
, History of Positive Psychology IV
Renaissance: Value of independent thought
1. Creativity and the rise of the artists → Artists Possess a special gift (that others lacked);
the rise of individualism.
2. The rise of science → The idea was that rational persons can decide for themselves
what is true. The tools used to seek the truth were logic, objectivity, and empiricism.
3. The rising importance of the social world → Utilitarianism → Happiness for all people =
ultimate aim of all human actions.
History of Positive Psychology V
Romanticism
→ Growing importance of personal emotional expression for living a full life.
This era saw the rise of individualism and the growing importance of life. The ideas included
things like marriage should be based on affection between two people or autonomy and that the
true self exists below social masks.
History of Positive Psychology VI
20th Century: BEfore WWII
History of Positive Psychology VII
Humanistic Psychology
