Psychology 1504Positive PsychologyBridging Ivory Tower and Main StreetThe objective of positive psychology is to unite the rigor of academic research with the accessibility of the self-help movement.House keepingFeedback or questionsIn case of an emergency well take a PP-breakPowerpoints and videotape on websiteActive note-takingRegular Time-Ins“Words are not the sole medium of exchange in teaching and learningwe educate with silence as well. Silence gives us a chance to reflect on what we have said and heard In authentic education, silence is treated as a trustworthy matrix for the inner work students must do, a medium for learning of the deepest sort.”The Road to Positive PsychologyHumanistic Psychology (50s)The Third ForceReaction to behaviorism (First Force)Reaction to psychoanalysis (Second Force)Lacked rigorous methodologyAbraham Maslow(1908-1970)Karen Horney(1885-1952)Meet the GrandparentsAaron Antonovsky(1923-1994)Meet 1504Meet the ParentsMartin SeligmanEllen LangerPhilip StoneIt is not merely about informationIt is also about transformation Covering less; uncovering more“In pursuit of knowledge, every day something is acquired; in pursuit of wisdom, every day something is dropped.”Lao Tzu“The soul grows by subtraction, not addition.”ThoreauIn Search of “WOW”There is no “WOW”!Making common sense more commonInformation is not enough“What is wrong is not the great discoveries of scienceinformation is always better than ignorance, no matter what information or what ignorance. What is wrong is the belief behind the information, the belief that information will change the world. It wont.”Archibald MaCleishInformation is not enough“Humanistic philosophy offers a new conception of learning, of teaching, and of education. Stated simply, such a concept holds that the function of education, the goal of educationthe human goal, the humanistic goal, the goal so far as human beings are concernedis ultimately the self-actualization of a person, the becoming fully human, the development of the fullest height that the human species can stand up to or that the particular individual can come to. In a less technical way, it is helping the person to become the best that he is able to become.” Abraham MaslowIt is not about providing definitive answers concerning the good lifeIt is about identifying the right questionsEducation is the quest for information and transformation, and therefore must begin with a question.“The most common source of mistakes in management decisions is the emphasis on finding the right answer rather than the right question.”Peter Drucker“The one real object of education is to leave a man in the condition of continually asking questions.”Bishop CreightonThe Question of QuestionsHow can we help ourselves and othersindividuals, communities, and societybecome happier? It is not a survey of positive psychologyIt is a selective exploration of the question of questions.Eclectic Cross cultural psychology“We were a little surprised by the Dalai Lamas seeming resistance to the notion of cultural differences.”Daniel GolemanStudying Ourselves (as well)“What is most personal is most general.”Carl Rogers“We must remember that knowledge of ones own deep nature is also simultaneously knowledge of human nature in general.”Abraham Maslow“There is one thing, and only one in the whole universe which we know more about than we could learn from external observation. That one thing is ourselves. We have, so to speak, inside information; we are in the know.”CS LewisIt is not English 10a or Math 55It is about rigorous fun“I would not give a fig for the simplicity on this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity.”Oliver Wendell Holmes A different kind of effort“On Monday, dont tell me how great it was; tell me what youre doing differently.” Peter DruckerFinal Project 20-30 minute Presentation Any topic within positive psychology Written text (10-15 pages double spaced) Slides (word or powerpoints) Include: Reference to research Optional: stories, film clips, exercises, etc Why a presentation? Teaching as learning Spread goodnessWhy Positive Psychology?Anger: 5,584Anxiety: 41,416Depression: 54,040Psychological Abstracts (1967-2000)Joy: 415Happiness: 1,710Life satisfaction: 2,582Ratio: 21/1Focusing on What Doesnt Work“The science of psychology has been far more successful on the negative than on the positive side; it has revealed to us much about mans shortcomings, his illnesses, his sins, but little about his potentialities, his virtues, his achievable aspirations, or his psychological height. It is as if psychology had voluntarily restricted itself to only half its rightful jurisdiction, and that the darker, meaner half.” Abraham MaslowPsychology Needs Help21/1 ratio is unhealthy but it reflects reality depression 10 times higher today than 1960 mean age for depression today is 14.5 (compared to 29.5 in 1960)Does Psychology Need Help?21/1 ratio of studies is unhealthy but it reflects realitydepression 10 times higher today than 1960mean age for depression today is 14.5 (compared to 29.5 in 1960)mental health crisis on campuses nationwide (Kadison, 2005)worldwide mental health epidemicWhy Positive Psychology?1.The importance of focusing on what works2.Happiness is not the negation of unhappiness3.Prevention through cultivating capacity1. The Importance of Focusing on What Works“The aim of Positive Psychology is to catalyze a change in psychology from a preoccupation only with repairing the worst things in life to also building the best qualities in life.” Martin SeligmanReframing Questions:The Case of At-Risk PopulationTraditional psychology (Post-WWII)“Why do these individuals fail?”Positive psychological approach (1980s-)“What makes some individuals succeed despite unfavorable circumstances?”Resilience“A class of phenomena characterized by patterns of positive adaptation in the context of significant adversity or risk.”Masten & ReedSuperkids?Ordinary characteristics, extraordinary resultsOptimismFaith and a sense of meaningProsocial behaviorFocusing on strengthsSet goalsA role modelSocial supportFrom Pathogenic Questions to Salutogenic Questions“All those familiar with the history of science are aware that important advances come with the formulation of new questions. The question is the breakthrough; the answer comes with difficulty, but it is the new question that is important. The salutogenic question, I submit to you, is a radically new question, which provides the impetus for formulating a new paradigm to help us understand health and illness. It has serious implications for researcher and clinician, biological and social scientist alike.”Aaron Antonovsky“We see what we look for and we miss much of what we are not looking for even though it is there. Our experience of the world is heavily influenced by where we place our attention.”Stavros and TorresRole modelsHigh ExpectationsFrom blame to responsibilityTough and respectfulOptimism and faith in futureFrom focusing on deficiencies to focusing on strengthsPassive Victim Vs. Active Agentself pityblamefrustrationanger _take actionresponsibilityconfidencehope and optimismReframing Questions:The Case of a Chicago SchoolTraditional Way“How can we keep students in school?”Marva Collins Way“How can we cultivate the seed of greatness in our students?”“How can we cultivate the seed of greatness in our selves and families, in our communities and organization, in our nation and our world?”2. Happiness isnt the Negation of Unhappiness Disease Model Health Model Focus on weaknesses Focus on strengths Overcoming deficiencies Building competencies Avoiding pain Seeking pleasure Running from unhappiness Pursuing happiness Neutral state (0) as ceiling No ceiling Tensionless as ideal Creative tension as ideal-_ 0 _ +neurosis, anger, anxiety,wellbeing, satisfaction, joydepression, psychosisexcitement, happiness3. Prevention through Cultivating PositiveIllness as the absence of health (vs. health as the absence of illness)“It neurosis is a falling short of what one could have been, and even, one could say, of what one should have been, biologically speaking, that is, if one had grown and developed in an unimpeded way. Human and personal possibilities have been lost. The world has been narrowed, and so has consciousness. Capacities have been inhibited.”Abraham Maslow“We have discovered that there are human strengths that act as buffers against mental illness: courage, future-mindedness, optimism, interpersonal skill, faith, work ethic, hope, honesty, perseverance, the capacity for flow and insight, to name several. We have shown that learning optimism prevents depression and anxiety in children and adults, roughly halving their incidence over the next two years. Similarly, I believe, that if we wish to prevent drug abuse in teenagers who grow up in a neighborhood that puts them at risk, that the effective prevention is not remedial. Rather it consists of identifying and amplifying the strengths that these teens already have.” Martin SeligmanCultivating CapacityStronger “psychological immune system”Larger and stronger “psychological engine”Mental health at Harvard“The message of the Positive Psychology movement is to remind our field that it has been deformed. Psychology is not just the study of disease, weakness, and damage; it also is the study of strength and virtue. Treatment is not just fixing what is wrong; it also is building what is right. Psychology is not just about illness or health; it is about work, education, insight, love, growth, and play. And in this quest for what is best, Positive Psychology does not rely on wishful thinking, self-deception or hand-waving; instead it tries to adapt what is best in the scientific method to the unique problems that human behavior presents in all its complexity.” Martin SeligmanBibliography and Recommendations www.psychologymatters.org http:/www.ppc.sas.upenn.edu/ Antonovsky (1979). Health, Stress, and Coping. San Fransisco: Jossey-Bass. Masten, A. S. & Reed, M. J. (2002). Resilience in development. In C. R. Snyder and S. J. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of Positive Psychology, 528-540. Oxford University Press. Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive Psychology. American Psychologist, 55, 5-14. Sheldon, K. M. & King, L (2001). Why Positive Psychology Is Necessary. American Psychologist, 56, 216-217. Snyder, C. R. & Lopez, S. J. (Eds.) (2002). Handbook of Positive Psychology, 528-540. Oxford University Press. Collins, M. & Tamarkin, C. (1990). Marva Collins Way. Putnam: New York. Werner, E. & Smith, R. (2001). Journeys from Childhood to Midlife: Risk, Resilience and Recovery. Cornell University Press.