Authentic Happiness: Cultivating Joy and Contentment in Everyday Life

1. Authentic Happiness – Positive Psychology Martin E. P. Seligman

2. Why bother to be happy? • Your thinking is faster and broader • You have (generally) better health & longevity • You are more productive • You build social resources better • Your thinking is generally more tolerant, creative, constructive and non-defensive. • You tolerate pain better

3. What External Circumstances Make us Happy? • Money – once above a certain level, no. • Marriage – robustly related to happiness • Social life – yes • Negative emotion? – complex • Age – no. Intensity of emotion changes with age. • Health – generally, no. • Education, climate, race, gender – no • Religion - yes

4. What circumstances will maximize happiness? • Live in a wealthy democracy, not an impoverished dictatorship (strong effect) • Get married (robust, but not causal effect) • Avoid negative events & negative emotions (moderate effect) • Acquire a rich social network (robust effect, but perhaps not causal) • Get religion (moderate effect).

5. What circumstances make little difference? • Making more money (Once above a certain comfort level, not important) • Stay healthy (subjective health, not objective health matters) • Get as much education as possible (no effect) • Change your race or move to a sunnier climate (no effect).

6. Authentic Happiness in the Present • Changing thinking patterns • Identifying pleasures and gratifications (reinforcers) • Developing strengths and virtues that increase the levels of gratification in our lives.

7. Authentic Happiness in the Present • Pleasures • The bodily pleasures • The higher pleasures • Enhancing the pleasures • Habituation • Savoring • Mindfulness

8. Authentic Happiness in the Present • Gratifications • Involve total absorption, suspension of consciousness, flow • About enacting personal strength and virtues.

9. Flow • The task is challenging and requires skill • We concentrate • There are clear goals • We get immediate feedback • We have deep effortless involvement • There is a sense of control • Our sense of self vanishes • Time stops

10. Flow – research findings • ‘Low flow’ teenagers • Are ‘mall’ kids • Watch TV a lot

11. Flow – research findings • ‘High flow’teenagers have hobbies • Engage in sport • Spend time on homework • Have deeper social ties • Are high on most measures of psychological well-being • Think their ‘low flow’ peers are having more fun • Do not perceive their engagement as enjoyable

12. What are the personal strengths and virtues?

13. Strengths and Virtues • The Virtues: • Wisdom and knowledge • Courage • Love and humanity • Justice • Temperance • Spirituality and transcendence

14. Strengths and Virtues • The strengths linked with Wisdom & Knowledge • Curiosity • Love of Learning • Judgement • Ingenuity • Social Intelligence • Perspective

15. Strengths and Virtues • The strengths linked with Courage • Valour • Perseverance • Integrity

16. Strengths and Virtues • The strengths linked with Humanity & Love • Kindness • Loving

17. Strengths and Virtues • The strengths linked with Justice • Citizenship • Fairness • Leadership

18. Strengths and Virtues • The strengths linked with Temperance • Self-control • Prudence • Humility

19. Strengths and Virtues • The strengths linked with transcendence • Appreciation of beauty • Gratitude • Hope • Spirituality • Forgiveness • Humour • Zest

20. Errata from the web-site www.authentichappiness.org • Satisfaction with Life Scale • Signature Strength survey • Children’s Strengths Survey • Optimism Survey