Introduction to Theories in
Positive
Psychology
-an overview of the target articles-
Laura C.
2025/2026
,PLEASURE AND POSITIVE EMOTIONS .................................................................................................................................................................. 3
FLOW ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 4
HAPPINESS ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 6
OPTIMISM .........................................................................................................................................................................................................10
MINDSETS ........................................................................................................................................................................................................12
SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY .........................................................................................................................................................................15
IMPLICIT MOTIVATION .......................................................................................................................................................................................17
VALUES ............................................................................................................................................................................................................19
AUTHENTICITY ..................................................................................................................................................................................................23
MEANING AND PURPOSE...................................................................................................................................................................................26
TRUST ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................28
LOVE AND RELATIONSHIPS ...............................................................................................................................................................................30
2
, Pleasure and positive emotions
Lyubomirsky, S. King, L. & Diener, E. (2005). The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success? Psychological
Bulletin, 131, 803-855. DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.131.6.803.
Research Does happiness lead to success, or is the happiness–success link only because success makes people happy?
Question(s)
Variables and Happiness (defined as the frequent experience of positive emotions/Positive Affect [PA])
Main Concepts Subjective Well-Being (SWB)
Success (defined by positive outcomes across multiple life domains: marriage, friendship, income, work
performance, health).
Study Design Meta-analytic review drawing on three classes of evidence: cross-sectional (type a, measuring associations at one
point in time); longitudinal (type b, measuring if one variable precedes another in time); and experimental (type c,
manipulating pa to test causality).
Reasons Why To show that the alternative causal pathway—that happy people are likely to acquire favourable life circumstances—
They Did the is at least partly responsible for the associations found in the literature. The authors propose a conceptual model arguing that
Research positive affect engenders success.
(Purpose/Aim)
Result Happiness is associated with and precedes numerous successful outcomes and behaviors paralleling success.
Findings were robust across major life domains (work, relationships, health). Experimental evidence confirmed that positive
affect causes a range of adaptive behaviors (e.g., sociability, altruism, conflict resolution).
Conclusion The evidence strongly suggests that happiness causes many of the successful outcomes with which it correlates.
Positive affect is inferred to be the critical mediator underlying the relationship between happiness and culturally valued
success.
3
, Flow
Baumann, N. & Scheffer, D. (2010). Seeking flow in the achievement domain: The achievement flow motive behind flow experience.
Motivation and Emotion, 35, 267-284. DOI: 10.1007/s11031-010-9195-4
Research Is there a stable motive disposition to seek for flow-arousing situations?
Question(s) What is the role of this flow motive behind flow experience, and how can the underlying functional mechanisms be
decomposed?
Reasons Why To complement and extend previous work by looking at the stable causes of flow motivation: the need to seek and
They Did the master challenges. To investigate stable individual differences in the need to experience flow, which had been neglected. To
Research offer a way to operationalize Csikszentmihalyi’s concept of autotelic personality. The study also aimed to link the
(Purpose/Aim) achievement flow motive to flow experience using the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) (Study 4).
Variables and Achievement Flow Motive (AFM): The intrinsic component of the achievement motive, defined as the need to seek
Main Concepts and master difficulty.
Flow: A state of intrinsic motivation characterized by merging action and awareness, sense of control, and high
concentration.
Autotelic Personality: The tendency to position oneself in situations that enable frequent flow states, operationalized
by the AFM.
Operant Motive Test (OMT): The implicit measure used to assess AFM.
Overt Behaviors (Mediators): Seeing difficulty (e.g., planning, analytical problem solving, task focus) and mastering
difficulty (e.g., high commitment, spreading optimism, staying power).
Study Design A multimethod approach involving four separate studies:
→ Study 1 tested stability (test–retest correlation over 2 years)
→ Study 2 tested self-determination using a non-reactive memory measure (False Self-Ascriptions, FSA)
→ Study 3 tested work efficiency using Multi-Source Feedback (MSF) ratings from multiple external sources
→ Study 4 tested the mediation model using the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) for flow experience and Behavior
Expectation Scales (BES) (rated by independent observers) for overt behaviours during outdoor team tasks.
4
Positive
Psychology
-an overview of the target articles-
Laura C.
2025/2026
,PLEASURE AND POSITIVE EMOTIONS .................................................................................................................................................................. 3
FLOW ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 4
HAPPINESS ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 6
OPTIMISM .........................................................................................................................................................................................................10
MINDSETS ........................................................................................................................................................................................................12
SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY .........................................................................................................................................................................15
IMPLICIT MOTIVATION .......................................................................................................................................................................................17
VALUES ............................................................................................................................................................................................................19
AUTHENTICITY ..................................................................................................................................................................................................23
MEANING AND PURPOSE...................................................................................................................................................................................26
TRUST ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................28
LOVE AND RELATIONSHIPS ...............................................................................................................................................................................30
2
, Pleasure and positive emotions
Lyubomirsky, S. King, L. & Diener, E. (2005). The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success? Psychological
Bulletin, 131, 803-855. DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.131.6.803.
Research Does happiness lead to success, or is the happiness–success link only because success makes people happy?
Question(s)
Variables and Happiness (defined as the frequent experience of positive emotions/Positive Affect [PA])
Main Concepts Subjective Well-Being (SWB)
Success (defined by positive outcomes across multiple life domains: marriage, friendship, income, work
performance, health).
Study Design Meta-analytic review drawing on three classes of evidence: cross-sectional (type a, measuring associations at one
point in time); longitudinal (type b, measuring if one variable precedes another in time); and experimental (type c,
manipulating pa to test causality).
Reasons Why To show that the alternative causal pathway—that happy people are likely to acquire favourable life circumstances—
They Did the is at least partly responsible for the associations found in the literature. The authors propose a conceptual model arguing that
Research positive affect engenders success.
(Purpose/Aim)
Result Happiness is associated with and precedes numerous successful outcomes and behaviors paralleling success.
Findings were robust across major life domains (work, relationships, health). Experimental evidence confirmed that positive
affect causes a range of adaptive behaviors (e.g., sociability, altruism, conflict resolution).
Conclusion The evidence strongly suggests that happiness causes many of the successful outcomes with which it correlates.
Positive affect is inferred to be the critical mediator underlying the relationship between happiness and culturally valued
success.
3
, Flow
Baumann, N. & Scheffer, D. (2010). Seeking flow in the achievement domain: The achievement flow motive behind flow experience.
Motivation and Emotion, 35, 267-284. DOI: 10.1007/s11031-010-9195-4
Research Is there a stable motive disposition to seek for flow-arousing situations?
Question(s) What is the role of this flow motive behind flow experience, and how can the underlying functional mechanisms be
decomposed?
Reasons Why To complement and extend previous work by looking at the stable causes of flow motivation: the need to seek and
They Did the master challenges. To investigate stable individual differences in the need to experience flow, which had been neglected. To
Research offer a way to operationalize Csikszentmihalyi’s concept of autotelic personality. The study also aimed to link the
(Purpose/Aim) achievement flow motive to flow experience using the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) (Study 4).
Variables and Achievement Flow Motive (AFM): The intrinsic component of the achievement motive, defined as the need to seek
Main Concepts and master difficulty.
Flow: A state of intrinsic motivation characterized by merging action and awareness, sense of control, and high
concentration.
Autotelic Personality: The tendency to position oneself in situations that enable frequent flow states, operationalized
by the AFM.
Operant Motive Test (OMT): The implicit measure used to assess AFM.
Overt Behaviors (Mediators): Seeing difficulty (e.g., planning, analytical problem solving, task focus) and mastering
difficulty (e.g., high commitment, spreading optimism, staying power).
Study Design A multimethod approach involving four separate studies:
→ Study 1 tested stability (test–retest correlation over 2 years)
→ Study 2 tested self-determination using a non-reactive memory measure (False Self-Ascriptions, FSA)
→ Study 3 tested work efficiency using Multi-Source Feedback (MSF) ratings from multiple external sources
→ Study 4 tested the mediation model using the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) for flow experience and Behavior
Expectation Scales (BES) (rated by independent observers) for overt behaviours during outdoor team tasks.
4
