Positive psychology example

Positive psychology is a relatively new field of study that emerged in the late 1990s as a response to the traditional focus of psychology on the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness and dysfunction. Instead, positive psychology focuses on understanding and promoting positive emotions, behaviors, and traits that contribute to people's overall well-being and happiness. Positive psychology has gained significant attention and popularity in recent years, and many researchers, practitioners, and organizations are actively applying its principles to improve people's lives.

In this essay, I will explore positive psychology's fundamental principles, theoretical frameworks, and real-life applications to highlight how it can promote happiness, resilience, and optimal functioning.

The foundations of positive psychology are a number of core ideas that stress the value of pleasant feelings, inner resources, and supportive connections. One of the main tenets is that happiness and healthy functioning are strongly influenced by positive emotions like joy, appreciation, love, and satisfaction. Positive feelings can extend a person's perspective and behavior, increase resilience, and foster a positive social network (Fredrickson, 2013).

Get quality help now

Prof. Finch

Verified writer

Proficient in: Behavioral psychology

4.7 (346)

“ This writer never make an mistake for me always deliver long before due date. Am telling you man this writer is absolutely the best. ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

People have inherent personal qualities and virtues that they can cultivate to enhance their wellbeing and pleasure. This is another core tenet of positive psychology. Kindness, curiosity, courage, and perseverance are a few of these qualities that can improve people's interpersonal interactions, creativity, and coping mechanisms (Peterson & Seligman, 2004).

Last but not least, positive psychology emphasizes the significance of wholesome connections and social support in fostering wellbeing and happiness. Positive interactions can produce happy feelings, assist social development, and foster personal progress (Diener & Seligman, 2004).

There are numerous theoretical foundations for understanding and using the ideas of positive psychology. The broaden-and-build hypothesis of happy emotions put forward by Barbara Fredrickson is one of the well-known frameworks. According to the notion, experiencing good feelings broadens people's perspectives and behaviors, which in turn helps them develop their own resources including social support, resilience, and creativity (Fredrickson, 2013).

Martin Seligman's PERMA model, which specifies five components of well-being—positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment—is another theoretical paradigm. According to the concept, these qualities contribute to people's general wellbeing and happiness and may be developed through deliberate practice and effort (Seligman, 2011).

Numerous practical applications of positive psychology can enhance wellbeing and happiness in people and businesses. Positive psychology interventions, which are planned activities intended to support uplifting feelings, inner resources, and wholesome connections, are one of its most well-liked uses. Gratitude journals, meditation, random acts of kindness, and strength-based coaching are a few examples of positive psychology interventions (Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009).

Interventions in positive psychology have been found to increase people's resilience, well-being, and happiness. As an illustration, a 2005 study by Seligman et al. discovered that a thankfulness intervention in which participants composed and delivered a gratitude letter boosted participants' happiness and life satisfaction and lowered symptoms of sadness.

The implementation of positive psychology interventions can serve as an effective strategy to foster the well-being and productivity of employees in the workplace. For instance, the findings of a study conducted by Grant and colleagues in 2007 revealed that a coaching intervention that focused on identifying and nurturing individual strengths resulted in heightened employee engagement, job satisfaction, and overall job performance.

Moreover, positive psychology approaches can prove to be beneficial in the realm of education as well, with the potential to promote student well-being and academic success.