Introduction & Overview of Positive Psychology

1. Introduction & Overview of Positive Psychology Amber GilewskiTompkins Cortland Community College

2. The Plight of Haiti • January 12, 2010 • Earthquake – 7.0 magnitude struck Haiti • Reflections on Haiti – CNN

3. Choice and Change • Autonomy – acting with a sense of true choice • Entity theory – belief that characteristics are fixed • Incremental theory – belief that characteristics can change

4. Control • Internal locus of control – belief that you control your destiny or future • External locus of control – belief that your fate is controlled by chance or by others

5. Constraints • Biology – genes contributing to differences • Environment – learning through our situations, family, culture, etc.

6. Positive Psychology • Derived from humanistic approach • Founded by Martin Seligman • Focuses on human strengths vs. weaknesses • Explores areas such as love, wisdom, commitment, and hope

7. Overview • We are creators of our worlds • We are creatures of our worlds • Psychology can help sort facts from falsehoods • People have a long history of looking at strengths • We can evaluate and measure our strengths

8. In the Real World… • Improving child education (motivation, mood, creativity) • Improving psychotherapy (hope, meaning, & self-healing) • Improving family life (love, concern, & commitment)

9. In the Real World… • Improving work satisfaction (involvement, flow, & contributions) • Improving organizations and societies (trust, communication, & altruism) • Improving the moral character of society (spirituality)

10. You at Your Best! • Think of a time when you were at your best, a time when you may have felt productive or happy.  • What were you doing? • Who were you with? • What strengths did you use?