Positive Psychology

1. Positive Psychology • Article: Does Happiness Promote Success? Meta Analysis. • By Boehm and Lyubomirsky, 2008 • (longitudinal data) • People who felt more positive emotions than those who felt less positive emotions: • More likely to receive a 2nd interview several years later • More job satisfaction several years later • More financial security several years later • More likely to receive greater support from colleagues and supervisors a year later • More likely to be evaluated more favorably by the supervisors a year later • More effective at work (produce better sales) 6 months later • More present (less absent) at work months later

2. Positive Psychology • Article: Does Happiness Promote Success? • By Boehm and Lyubomirsky • People who felt more positive emotions than those who felt less positive emotions: • Less likely to lose their jobs • Less likely to be unemployed • If unemployed, likely to find a new job more quickly • Earn more money later in their life

3. Positive Psychology • Article: Does Happiness Promote Success? • By Boehm and Lyubomirsky, 2008 • experimental data • People who felt more positive emotions than those who felt less positive emotions: • More cooperative • Find more mutually beneficial solutions to problems • Less contentious (involvement in heated disagreements) • Setting higher goals • More persistent at difficult tasks • More positive evaluation of self • More optimistic about the outcomes of events • Better rate their own performance • Give others better ratings

4. Positive Psychology • Article: Does Happiness Promote Success? • By Boehm and Lyubomirsky, 2008 • experimental data • People who felt more positive emotions than those who felt less positive emotions: • Help others more • More creative • More curiosity • More disregard irrelevant info

5. Positive Psychology • Article: The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Hapiness Lead to Success? • By Lyubomirsky and King, 2005 • longitudinal • People who felt more positive emotions than those who felt less positive emotions: • More financial independence 8 years later • More fulfilled with meaning at work 1.5 years later • More autonomy (independence) at work 1.5 years later • More sense of variety (work not monotonous) at work 1.5 years later • Rated by supervisors as more productive at work 1.5 years later • Rated by supervisors as more dependable at work 1.5 years later

6. Positive Psychology • Article: The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Hapiness Lead to Success? • By Lyubomirsky and King, 2005 • longitudinal • People who felt more positive emotions than those who felt less positive emotions: • Rated by supervisors as superior in goal emphasis 3.5 years later • Rated by supervisors as superior in team building 3.5 years later • Had higher income 5 years later • Had higher income 16 years later • Less likely to experience long term-unemployment after college • More emotional support (others helping them and befriending them) 1 year later

7. Positive Psychology • Article: The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Hapiness Lead to Success? • By Lyubomirsky and King, 2005 • longitudinal • People who felt more positive emotions than those who felt less positive emotions: • More likely to be married 6 years later • More marital satisfaction 3 years later, 6 years later • More likely to be remarried 2.5 years later • More likely to have longer marriages • More likely to be given emotional and tangible (touchable) assistance from strangers • More likely to be befriended by strangers

8. Positive Psychology • Article: The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Hapiness Lead to Success? • By Lyubomirsky and King, 2005 • longitudinal • People who felt more positive emotions than those who felt less positive emotions: • More likely to receive empathy from others (physical or verbal comfort) • Less likely to suffer depression if they become unemployed later on • Less likely to have a mental illness disabling them to work 12 years later • Less likely to commit suicide 20 years later • Better physical health (cold, flu, hospitalization) 5 years later • Live 4 years longer after a diagnosis of renal disease • Live 7 years longer after a diagnosis of breast cancer • Live 11 years longer after a diagnosis of spinal cord injury

9. Positive Psychology • Article: The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Hapiness Lead to Success? • By Lyubomirsky and King, 2005 • longitudinal • People who felt more positive emotions than those who felt less positive emotions: • Live longer than their peers (20 months longer in one study; 2.5 times less likely to die in comparison to peers of certain age) • Greater sense of competence 2 and 3 decades later • More outgoing 10 years later • More time spent on recreation at a later time • More time spent on activities with friends and family at a later time • More hours spent on volunteering (which made them even happier) • Less likely to drink and smoke 5 years later

10. Positive Psychology • Article: The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Hapiness Lead to Success? • By Lyubomirsky and King, 2005 • longitudinal • People who felt more positive emotions than those who felt less positive emotions: • Less likely to develop a cold • Enhanced NK cell activity (in cancer patients) 18 months later • Evaluated as more creative by their employers 1.5 years later

11. Positive Psychology • Article: The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Hapiness Lead to Success? • By Lyubomirsky and King, 2005 • Experimental studies • People who felt more positive emotions than those who felt less positive emotions: • Assess their own task performance as superior • Like more a stranger • Rating job applicants higher • More likely to hire a job applicant • More likely to recall positive information about another person • More likely to initiate a conversation with a stranger • More likely to be attentive to what a stranger is saying

12. Positive Psychology • Article: The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Hapiness Lead to Success? • By Lyubomirsky and King, 2005 • Experimental studies • People who felt more positive emotions than those who felt less positive emotions: • More engage in social interaction with a peer stranger • More engage in self-disclosure with a peer stranger • Greater interest in planning a trip or vacation • Greater interest in going to a party • Greater interest in going to a sporting event • Greater interest in shopping • More likely to enjoy the task they are asked to perform

13. Positive Psychology • Article: The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Hapiness Lead to Success? • By Lyubomirsky and King, 2005 • Experimental studies • People who felt more positive emotions than those who felt less positive emotions: • Less preference for resolving conflict through avoidance • Less preference for resolving conflict through competition • Increased inclination for reducing conflict through collaboration • More likely to offer help to others (numerous studies) • Less likely to break off negotiation • Less likely to use an aggressive negotiation tactic

14. Positive Psychology • Article: The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Hapiness Lead to Success? • By Lyubomirsky and King, 2005 • Experimental studies • People who felt more positive emotions than those who felt less positive emotions: • More liking of others • More sense of advantageous resources that should be shared with others • More sense of good fortune that should be shared with others • Expect more that their helpfulness will result in more gratitude and appreciation than costs • More likely to recall the positive aspects of their past helping experiences • More likely to view themselves as: generous, confident, efficacious, resource laden, in control, and more skilled at helping

15. Positive Psychology • Article: The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Hapiness Lead to Success? • By Lyubomirsky and King, 2005 • Experimental studies • People who felt more positive emotions than those who felt less positive emotions: • Have higher pain thresholds • Have lower blood pressure reactivity to stress • Greater ability in managing illness • More optimism about the progression of their illness • Stronger intentions to follow the treatment regimen • Exert more effort to overcome the illness

16. Positive Psychology • Article: The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Hapiness Lead to Success? • By Lyubomirsky and King, 2005 • Experimental studies • People who felt more positive emotions than those who felt less positive emotions: • Less urge to smoke in those withdrawing from smoking • More will power once again after it has been worn down by temptation • Increased activity of the immune system (important for fighting diseases) • More original • More flexible thinking • Feel more safe and secure • Seek more variety in their choices (try more different things)

17. Positive Psychology • Article: The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Hapiness Lead to Success? • By Lyubomirsky and King, 2005 • Experimental studies • People who felt more positive emotions than those who felt less positive emotions: • Persist longer at tasks requiring perseverance • More likely to include more diverse people within their group • More likely to define others as part of their own group • Make faster and more efficient decisions regarding a personally relevant task • Perform better on a clerical error-checking task • Faster at diagnosing a disease • Less likely to review information they had already seen • More likely to eliminate alternatives that were not important for the task • Sometimes worse at problem solving, but can overcome these deficits if they are motivated to perform well at the task (if stakes are high, for example) • More careless when problem solving task not that important

18. Positive Psychology • Article: Positive Health • By Seligman, 2008 • People who felt more positive emotions than those who felt less positive emotions: • Better peripheral attention • Better health status 6 months after a heart-transplant • Better medication compliance 6 months after the heart transplant • Lowr risk of developing common cold • Less likely to suffer from stroke • Less rapid progression of HIV

19. Positive Psychology • Article: Positive Psychotherapy • By Seligman, Rashid and Parks, 2006 • About exercises that completely eliminated severe depression in some participants, and significantlyreduced depression in the remaining participants • One study lasted 6 months, and the other 1 year • Techniques/Exercises (that put you in a good mood)

20. Positive Psychology • Techniques/Exercises (that put you in a good mood) • Clients write a one page positive introduction, in which they tell a concrete story illustrating their personality strengths. • Clients discuss situations in which these signature strengths have helped them previously • Clients complete VIA-IS questionnaire online, which identifies client’s signature strengths. • http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/default.aspx Under Questionnaires, scroll down to VIA questionnaire • Clients asked to think of ways to use those strengths more in their daily life • Clients start a Blessings Journal in which three good things (big or small) that happened during the day are written. • Clients write a forgiveness letter describing transgression, related emotions and pledge to forgive transgressor (if appropriate) but may not deliver the letter

21. Positive Psychology • Techniques/Exercises (that put you in a good mood) • Clients write and present a letter of gratitude to someone they have never properly thanked (over the phone or to visit that person) • Clients are guided to think of times when they lost out at something important, when a big plan collapsed, and when they were rejected by someone. Then clients are asked to consider that when one door closes, another one almost always opens. • Clients are invited to recognize signature stranghts of a significant other • Clients ask family members to take VIA-IS questionalire then draw a tree that includes signature strengths of all members of their family including children. A family gathering is to be arranged to discuss everyone’s signature strenghts. • Clients encouraged to respond in a visibly positive and enthusiastic way to good news from someone else.

22. Positive Psychology • Techniques/Exercises (that put you in a good mood) • Clients plan pleasurable activities and carry them out as planned • Clients take the time to enjoy something that they usually hurry through (examples: eating a meal, taking a shower, walking to class). When it’s over, they write down what they did, how they did it differently, and how it felt compared to when they rushed through it. • Clients imagine that they have passed away after living a fuigrul and satisfying life. They write what would they want their obiutary to say? The write a 1-2 page essay summarizing what they would like to be remembered for the most. • Clients are to give the gift of time by doing something that requires a fair amount of time and whose creation calls on signature strengths—such as mentoring a childr or doing community service