I. Positive Psychology:A New Perspective on Human Behavior

Martin Seligman Csikszentmihalyi

• A. Psychology’s focus before World War II was threefold:

• 1. Curing mental illness• 2. Making the lives of all people more fulfilling• 3. Identifying and nurturing high talent

• B. After the war, psychology’s focus shifted to curing mental illness and has been largely successful.

• 1. According to Seligman (as cited in Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000), 14 different disorders have been identified and can be successfully treated.

• 2. The DSM-IV is a helpful tool for psychologists in identifying and treating mental disorders.

• C. As society becomes wealthier and healthier, we might expect that people would become happier and more fulfilled, but this is not the case.

• 1. Of the people in the United States, 15 to 20% will fall prey to severe depression, and about half will experience a milder form of depression at some point in life (Saroyan, 1998).

• 2. Today’s average age of onset of depression is 15 years old, compared to 30 years old many years ago (McGuire, 1998).

• D. Positive Psychology seeks to refocus the science of psychology toward the other two goals.

• 1. Definition of Positive Psychology—Positive Psychology is the scientific study of optimal human functioning. It aims to discover and promote factors that allow individuals and communities to thrive (Sheldon, Frederickson, Rathunde, & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000).

• 2. Goal of Positive Psychology—The goal of Positive Psychology is to consider optimal human functioning at several levels, including biological, experiential, personal, relational, institutional, cultural, and global.

• To accomplish this, studying the following is necessary:

• a. The dynamic relationships among the processes in the levels listed above

• b. The human ability to create order and meaning in response to inevitable adversity

• c. The means by which “the good life” may emerge from these processes (Sheldon, Frederickson, Rathunde, & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000)

• E. Positive Psychology seeks to understand and encourage factors that allow individuals, communities, and societies to flourish.

CRITICAL THINKING EXERCISE A

• Directions: Write a minimum-of-1-page paper discussing the following questions.

• Bring the paper to class for discussion.• A. How important is it to study positive human

qualities? Should the same amount of attention and funding be given to positive qualities as to negative qualities (illness)? What advantages could be gained from the study of positive qualities?