Positive Psychology

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Positive Psychology
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The Game Plan

• What is Positive Psychology?
• What is Happiness?

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Psychological Abstracts (1967-2000)

• Joy 415
• Happiness 1,710
• Life satisfaction 2,582

• Anger 5,584
• Anxiety 41,416
• Depression 54,040

Ratio 21/1
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What is Positive Psychology?

• The scientific study of the strengths and virtues
  that enable individuals and communities to
  thrive.

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What is Happiness?

• What You Think
• Happiness is
• Feeling good, Lack of negative emotions
• Optimizing likes and minimizing dislikes
• Self satisfaction
• Fortunate events
• Reaching Goals/Expectations
• Being content with what you have, not always
  striving

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What is Happiness?

• The Pleasant Life
• The Engaged Life
• The Meaningful Life
• Blend all 3 into The Full Life

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What is Happiness?

• Positive Emotions
  AND
  Positive Activities

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Positive Emotions

• Function of Negative Emotions
• Narrow attention and prep for action
• Function of Positive Emotions
• Broaden and Build Theory

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Positive Emotions
Negative Emotion
Positive Emotion
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Positive Emotions

• Are Positive emotions the ultimate good?
• Positive Illusions

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Signature Strengths

• 24 Character Strengths
• Individual Differences

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Signature Strengths

• Examples
• Creativity
• Love of Learning
• Bravery
• Gratitude
• Humor
• Spirituality

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Positive Activities

• The Good Life
• Using signature strengths to obtain abundant
  gratification in, for example, enjoying work and
  creative activities.

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Positive Activities

• Flow
• Mental state in which the person is fully
  immersed in what he/she is doing,

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Positive Activities

• Authenticity

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How to Measure Happiness?

• Overall Ratings
• Event Sampling

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What Makes You Happy?

• Love
• Pos events
• Achievement
• Small pleasures
• Humor
• Hobbies
• Friends/Family
• Lack of uncertainty
• Money
• Freedom
• Free time
• Sleep
• Parties people
• Food

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• Colbert Report clip
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Money and Happiness

• Does Money Happiness?

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GNP vs GNH

• The case of Butan
• Gross National Happiness to measure countrys
  well being instead of an economic indicator

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Money and Happiness

• Does Money Happiness?
• Not past a certain point
• Why do we think it does?

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Money and Happiness

• Lottery Winners
• Millionaires and Celebrities
• Media/Advertising

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Positive Psychology
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Where Happiness Comes From

• Set Point
• Genetically Predetermined

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Where Happiness Comes From

• The Hedonic Treadmill

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What Can Impact Happiness?
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Negative Impact

• Unemployment

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Negative Impact

• Lack of (political) freedom

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Negative Impact

• Too much choice

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Negative Impact

• Commuting

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Negative Impact

• Loss

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What Can Impact Happiness?
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Positive Impact

• Self Determination Theory
• Autonomy
• Competence
• Relatedness

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Positive Impact

• Meaningful
  Relationships

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Positive Impact

• What one thing in your life brought you the most
  happiness?

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Positive Impact

• Social Support

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Positive Impact

• Less time at work, more in play

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Thought Piece 7 Class Activity

• Sally is 18 yr old UT Freshman. She likes being
  outdoors and animals. Her parents want her to
  become an Engineer and she wants to make them
  proud, so she is majoring in Mechanical
  Engineering. Her class load is huge and she
  studies for multiple hours every night to make
  good grades. She spends most weekends in her
  dorm room studying. She talks to her family on
  the phone sometimes, usually about school but
  does not keep in touch with high school friends
  and has not made many new friends at UT. She
  choose to come to UT because her parents wanted
  her to be close to home (she is from Dallas), but
  she knows that she is smart and could have gotten
  into any college in the country. She would have
  really loved to gone someplace near the mountains
  so she could hike and ski. But it is important
  to her to make her family happy and proud.
• What are 3-5 threats to Sallys happiness and
  WHY?
• What are 5-10 ways Sally could increase her
  happiness?

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What Can You Do?

• Know Signature Strengths and utilize them in
  daily life.
• Be Grateful
• Join a group
• Keep a journal
• Pick goals that are in
  line with your wants

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Summary