Applications of Positive Psychology

This research study identifies the principles, history and theories of positive psychology. It also analyzes current research on positive psychology. Finally, it shows how these concepts can be used in practice, even in organizations.

Researching the history of positive psychology, Dr Martin Seligman is the happiness professor and the unofficial father of positive psychology, the controversial study of human happiness. Humanistic Abraham Maslow, in his 1954 book about motivation and personality first used the term positive psychology. Martin Seligman made it the theme of his presidency of the American Psychological Association in 1998. He claimed psychology up to then was answering no and I, instead of yes and we. Getting people to be constructive is a better predictor of increased commitment and love than teaching people how to fight. William James argued that in order to study optimal human functioning thoroughly, one has to consider the subjective experience of an individual.

For that belief, in 1906, James is considered, by some psychologists, to be America’s first positive psychologist. Earlier influences on positive psychology came from philosophical and religious sources. The ancient Greeks had many schools of thought. During the Renaissance, individualism started to be valued. Utilitarian philosophers, such as John Stuart Mill, believed that moral actions are those actions that maximize happiness for the most number of people, and that an empirical science of happiness determine which actions are moral. Thomas Jefferson and other democrats believed that Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are inalienable rights, and that it justifies the overthrow of the government. The Romantics valued individual emotional expression and sought their emotional true selves.

According to Dr. Seligman, during hard times, strengths and positive emotions help people get through. Seligman defines a “good life” by using own strengths consistently. Work, leadership, institutions and culture are interrelated and integral to positive psychology. Even if people were financially free, people would still do something with their time, after getting all the fun and travel out of their system. Therefore, happiness at work transfers and contributes to people’s life happiness. Work naturally shapes people’s network or circle of influence, as humans like to group up with people who share commonalities with their work, industry, and professional experiences.

Individuals can also think of times when they were not stimulated at work; their work was repetitive and meaningless. Studies have shown that the workers, who thrive, are the ones who are continuously challenged in meaningful ways, so work can become fun and play. Besides, more and more scholarly articles stress the importance of happiness at work and slowly but surely more organizations are realizing it and make it their goal and mission with employees. To create positive institutions, it is important not to keep secrets, following a mission and have effective conflict resolutions skills. According to Seligman, there are five traits to positive institutions: continue growing, CEO modeled, being bigger than its sums of the parts, empowering to make decisions, and being clear with the mission or purpose. Positive leaders create positive companies and institutions. Again, positively and positive energy is contagious, because, from a quantum physics perspective, everything is energy.

Therefore, people tend to gravitate towards other positive people, positive leaders, positive teams, institutions and positive cultures. The proposed model to link positive psychology and business, to make businesses successful and sustainable, is to center them around the VIA Human Strengths. Institutions or organizations are seen as micro-society and micro-communities that expand outward. Coming from strength or love, versus lack or fear, always produces far better results and outcomes. Change is about strength. All of these principles could be summarized by saying that it is best to see, focus on and bring out the best in people. These principles are true across different cultures worldwide. Optimism for the future reduces anxiety. Hope for life after death helps coping with death, but denial of life after death helps celebrating and appreciating life more. The essence of joy is enjoying the present. The thought of eternity or immortality helps valuing life, as there would be no reason to keep something of no value.

Positive psychology studies happiness and how that relates to love and gratitude. What faith offers, such as community, gratitude, forgiveness, purpose, acceptance, altruism, and eternity, increases well-being. Marriage is the hope for happiness. We choose a career, or fly believing, hoping, or having faith. The chance for error in faith makes humans humble and open to hope that feeds love and joy.

Positive psychology also studies meaning and motivation and how these relate to happiness. Life purpose is the meaning and direction of one’s reality or experience and goal creation and pursuit. Quality relations and quality life are achieved through negotiation of adversities. To understand whether a political action is good or bad, it is possible to look at motivation or the motive, such as the general group/public good purposive and committed principle, versus a personal self- need.

Reading articles on positive psychology, evidence shows optimists lead healthier, less stressful, and more successful lives than pessimists (Weisberg, 2010). Positive psychology studies the power of optimism and its correlation to more resiliency and health. Resiliency is exemplified in the book of Viktor Frankl about a man in search for meaning. Frankl studied why some of his fellow concentration camp mates made it like him and other did not, given the same constant conditions. Frankl hoped to see his wife again. Psychiatrist J. Nardini, another camp survivor claimed: “It was important to think of one’s self as better than what the environment implied.” According to Martin Seligman, optimism allows to overcome challenges. Seligman describes pessimism or giving up as learned helplessness. Managers with a positive attitude made better decisions than other colleagues. Negotiators with positive facial expressions were more likely to gain concessions than those who with a poker face. “Positivity” generates less stress-related hormones, and diminishes inflammatory reactions to stress.

Here is a wonderful application of positive psychology. IntenSati is a high-energy cardio workout that incorporates positive psychology. Positive affirmations, balance work and feel-good talk, accompany the exercises with themes for mindfulness, positive psychology and the law of attraction. Moreno created this mind/body fitness routine after struggling with her weight. Participants burn about eight hundred calories per class. The class starts with warm up chanting, “This week, who are you becoming? I take responsibility for my thoughts and actions, every day, in a very true way; I co-create my reality “. Every pose has a declaration. The rhythm of the words creates a sequence of movements. Participants of all ages love it. Music is in the background. “I am becoming all I want to be! I feel my joy and power. It feels so good. I am on fire!” Some examples of movement names are: greatness, fearless and grace.

Positive psychology shows how happiness or optimism, positive emotions and affect are useful, leading to better health and greater success. Happy, or positive, people are more successful at work. Positive psychology proposes mind over matter. Graduates of University of Pennsylvania in positive psychology coauthored a popular business self-help book, founded a consulting group to bring positive psychology into the public schools, through workshops on such topics as measuring and nurturing character strengths and virtues and learning tools for building optimism and resilience. Most opportunities of applied positive psychology are in organizational consulting and business coaching.

Another application of positive psychology is found in health coaching. Health coaches use patient activation, motivational interviewing and positive psychology to elicit behavior change, ensure clients manage themselves and positively impact health. The Patient Activation Measure (PAM) is a scale that asks people about their beliefs, knowledge and confidence of health behaviors. Motivational interviewing skills can provide a foundational framework for health coaching interaction. Positive psychology links positive emotions and well-being with both health and longevity. Coaching psychology explores the client’s mental state and physical condition. Positive psychology is used in coaching clients to identify life issues that are keeping them from being their best self in managing organ and weight issues. Health and happiness are correlated. Coaching is intellectual exercise. Not exercising can lead to depression. PAM is used in ambulatory and telephone coaching programs. Engaged clients are motivated. Medical and business fields accept health coaching. It is beneficial to have primary care providers who can coach.

Positive psychology also focuses on creating resiliency and positive attitudes instead of curing emotional problems. Many people are unhappy with their jobs, and they also are afraid of losing them, as a result of a lack of confidence. To build self-confidence, it is important to be an optimist, to break through fears and take action, be surrounded with positive people and to be mentored. Finally, it is crucial to become a mentor to help others. Everyone has learned what that can highly benefit others. Marshall Goldsmith, famous executive coach advises to find a positive spirit toward what the person is doing now, that starts from within. It is possible to create a positive spirit by becoming more self-confident. Successful people are self-confident and optimists. They face their fears and act, surround themselves with positive people, find mentors and become mentors.

Positive psychologists apply state-of-the-art psychological research to people’s lives. Positive Psychology goes beyond overcoming the unhappiness of past problems. Positive psychologists focus on where people want to go in their lives so that they can empower them to get there. An early part of the change process is education. Learning about success and personal fulfillment is the starting point because it shifts the client’s mindset. As Einstein said, people cannot solve problems with the same mind that created them. Positive psychologists engage with clients to move them from suffering to thriving, with new experiences. Otherwise, the person remains stuck on old programs and preconceived patterns of operating. This activity generates a positive first step.

Positive psychologists counsel to live life according to the principles that research shows successful. Some of these principles involve passion for achieving positive outcomes, bringing an abundance of positive energy to relationships, facing challenges with optimism, using strengths to achieve goals, replenishing energy to meet goals, and making a difference in the world. If positive psychologists have experienced and learned these principles, it is easier for them to counsel others to do the same and be the change they want to see in the world, like Gandhi taught us. Positive psychologists ask: What is the dream? Who might be able to help get there? What challenges will there be? What strengths will overcome those challenges? How will the positive energy be kept to reach goals?

What will the achievement of the dream cause in the world? Change starts by enlightening people. After the first positive psychology meeting or session, clients understand that it is possible to obtain a positive outcome because their experience was outside of their norm. Clients are encouraged to experience something new to end their struggles. The psychologist offers proven strategies to help clients realize their goals. Each session measures progress. Positive psychologists are guides. To achieve authentic happiness, people must put the same level of time and energy into working toward optimal functioning. To improve their lives, people must learn specific positive ways and suggestions of responding to their concerns, doubts, anxieties and criticisms. They need continuous encouragement to use their strengths, think optimistically around challenges, and stay positive in their relationships.

Some other applications of positive psychology consist of focusing on a few things that went well during the day, before sleep, increases wellbeing. Asking what works well and why brings out powerful solutions. Positive psychology relies on serious scientific research.

A central topic of study in positive psychology, like mentioned before, is gratitude. Gratitude can amplify happiness and the good. Positive psychology can lead to a healthy and happy balance between work and life. The demands of juggling work and home lead many women to try to do everything. In the effort to be superwomen, many women lose sight of what makes them happy and they fail to realize how important their happiness is to being a good worker and a good mother. The key to being the best at everything one does is to take care of happiness the way health is taken care of, through conscious choices every day. People can use positive psychology to shift from a scarcity mentality to an abundance mentality for workplace success. This helps tapping into the sense of joy every day for own happiness and the happiness of those around.

It is important to have all the things that really matter. Cathy L. Greenberg, PhD, founded h2c, which stands for happy companies, healthy people, the first organization to specialize in coaching leaders on the art and science of building happy, high-performance companies. Her motto, saying that happiness equals profit, has become a mainstay for both her personal life and those she serves around the world. Gratitude is one of the most endorsed strengths worldwide. Gratitude is character strength and contributes to life fulfillment and satisfaction. Gratitude implies awareness and being thankful. Gratitude can be built by focusing on positive aspects. There are reliable and validated exercise to build gratitude, such as journaling and writing structured gratitude letters. Studies and experiments show a directly proportional correlation between happiness and gratitude and an indirect correlation between gratitude and depression, which is in line with the definition and diagnosis of depression.

Gratitude or the expression of appreciation for someone or something else produces best results if it is practiced daily, in an honest way. It is agreed by most philosophies that gratitude is a necessary manifestation of virtue and necessary part of wellness. More studies show a directly proportional correlation between optimism and gratitude. More research and coaching shows that grateful individuals make more and faster progress towards personal goal achievements. Individuals who score high in gratitude levels reported more enthusiasm and energy than those individuals who score lower. Grateful people are focused outwards or on helping others or external causes; therefore, they are socially well positioned. Gratitude brings out other positive virtues in people.

Overall, positive psychologists and clinical positive psychologists agree on the correlation between gratitude and human flourishing or wellness or health or well-being. It is strongly hypothesized that gratitude also positively correlates to positive emotions and sociability and more studies are being conducted. Gratitude can be a positive emotion when favors happen and when valued benefit occur. In this light, gratitude is a moral thermostat or gauge or predictor for outcomes. It is interesting to notice that gratitude is given gratis, hence the word. Studies show that gratitude benefits the person being grateful and the person who receives the gratitude. More studies on the motivations of gratitude are being conducted. The younger individuals are, the more they are going to benefit from gratitude; that is why it is important to promote gratitude at the youngest age possible. More and more research is proving this finding.

Positive thinking is everywhere. It has entered the corporate and business world every day. Happiness is what helps people to lead an authentic life; it is what can help live in the now rather than deferring to a future that never comes. To be happy in the present moment, people have to give up all hope of a better past.

Supporters of the positive psychology movement believe one can learn to be happy. People tend to become instantly negative, in front of positive people, and this is where many people get it wrong. The future is largely how one defines it. As Winston Churchill said, optimists see opportunities in every failure. MRI scanners show parts of the brain light up when people smile. The more people stimulate the happy part of the brain, the less the other dark side gets a look in hence why jolly people say that everything is great, the whole time. The mind clocks that people are feeling enthusiasm and produces happy chemicals just from the tone. If people jot down what success means for them on a particular day, being specific. By day five they become more optimistically ambitious, saying that today is going to be a good day!

In conclusion, this research study shows that positive psychology is based on scientific studies proving that happiness is possible and easy to learn. It takes focus and practice. The results are life changing!

The Place of Ethical Concerns in Psychology

Ethics plays an important role in psychology from the beginning of the treatment process through rehabilitation. There are many ethical concerns that can arise all of which must be dealt with along the way. These various concerns can also vary from one psychological setting to another. These settings include: hospitals, physical rehabilitation centers and facilities specializing in chronic diseases to name only a few. As the number of psychologists and other professionals working in this field increases, so does the need to focus on areas of ethical concern (Lucignano and Lee). The ethical issues that can arise reach far beyond the medical setting and are present in other situations as well.

Important Ethical concerns include: role delineation, working within the medical model, taking on multiple responsibilities and maintaining confidentiality (Lucignano and Lee). Before any ethical issue can be recognized it must first be clearly defined. Though this article cannot encompass them all, those listed here are commonly encountered and must be dealt with on a regular basis.

The first ethical concern that will be discussed is role delineation. This is a primary concern because it lays the ground work for the responsibilities and expectations of the psychologist; however, there is not a consensus on specifically what constitutes the role of the psychologist in a medical setting. Since many psychologists work in the medical profession, this can present somewhat of a gray area. Instead, diverse terminology has often been used to define this particular role. Terms used include: health psychology, medical psychology, clinical psychology and behavioral medicine. This has presented past arguments over whether or not this lack of clarity in actual definition of terms is more than semantic confusion (Lucignano and Lee). The primary argument here is whether a psychologists’ actions and activities are included under one of these terms that are, for the most part, considered to be unstandardized in this context.

Working within the medical model is another ethical concern that must be considered in the medical field. In these instances, psychologists are usually working on teams that include a physician, social worker, speech pathologist, physical therapist and occupational therapist. Though all teams may not include every role listed above, it is very likely there will be at least two members on each. When this is the case, it is necessary for each person to work within his or her role in order to provide maximum treatment. Ethical awareness is an essential part of providing psychological treatment within the medical model. In a hospital, for instance, unique areas of stress may be present which effect both patients and members of the treatment team (Lucignano and Lee). As a result, there may be difficulties when it comes to the overall decision making process. There may be several causes for this because many people are working to rehabilitate one person. There are several patients so that team may, in effect, be responsible for rehabilitating a wide range of people all of whom are dealing with very different situations. Team members will not always agree on everything and important issues may need to be carefully examined by each team member when it comes to resolving them.

Taking on multiple responsibilities can also bring up ethical issues for psychologists no matter where they work. When treating patients, psychologists take a look at each as an individual and treat each situation accordingly. There are, of course, many responsibilities that come with providing treatment and the solution to a particular need may not always coincide with traditional means and methods of resolution. A psychologist in this type of situation may feel pressured by the many responsibilities he or she must tackle on a daily basis and may be torn between handling a specific one through traditional means or in a way that is unique to the situation. The more administrative duties the psychologist is given, the less time he or she will be able to spend rehabilitating patients. While this may not be an issue that is of top concern, it can arise nonetheless and will need to be dealt with in a way that allows the psychologist to take care of important job-related duties and provide the best treatment possible to all patients.

Maintaining confidentiality is a very important concern. While psychologists don’t have a problem keeping important patient details confined within the facilities with which they are employed, ethical issues can arise when it becomes necessary to discuss certain situations with other professionals. When this occurs, the psychologist involved must decide whether or not the information needs to be passed onto the person requesting it or if a particular piece of information needs to be disseminated to someone else for treatment purposes.

In other situations, a psychologist may be asked for specific information about a current or former patient. While the information in question may be important in the given context, the confidentiality of the patient may be breeched if it is provided. Here the psychologist is faced with a moral dilemma of sorts. He or she knows the information is important and the person requesting it probably should be made aware, but is under a professional obligation to the patient to keep from sharing it. Should this occur, the psychologist can talk to the patient about the situation, informing him or her of the request and why it was made. The final decision of whether or not to provide the information will then be left up to the patient who will be responsible for its dissemination should this be the end result.

When it comes to solving ethical dilemmas, it is important to first understand the code that has been established. When going to work for a particular entity, psychologists will receive information that will instruct them on the various policies and regulations. In order to solve the issues that are bound to arise at one time or another, they will need to assess the individual situations and make a determination on what to do based on the ethical principles that have been set forth. Some dilemmas will be easier to solve than others and will be based around more black and white issues of right and wrong. Other times, distinguishing between right and wrong will not be so easy to do. In some cases, the answer will not lie in a simple context of right and wrong, but instead will be specific to the various factors involved. When this occurs it is often not quite so easy to make the determinations that solve these ethical dilemmas. When this happens, psychologists depend heavily on the ethical principles they have learned as well as the specific policies established by the entities for which they are employed.

One common problem that occurs is in solving particular ethical dilemmas by using the principles when the situation is not completely clear. Sometimes problems arise that call for extensive decision making based on individual factors that cannot be figured into the original ethical principles. Each situation is different and must be treated as such and therefore, will have an individual set of issues that may arise. When this occurs, the psychologist must make a determination based on the specific factors involved while using the ethical principles in a way that will solve the problem without causing an ethical conflict.

Ethics are present for a reason. They are necessary when solving a wide variety of problems that may arise on an individual basis. Though these issue are just that, individual, a uniform code is needed to help psychologists understand and deal with certain types of situations. The place of ethical concerns in psychology applies to psychologists both as researchers and practitioners. Ethics are present in every aspect of psychological practices and must be adhered to in every context. A set of ethical guidelines has been established to aid psychologists in figuring out what to do when these situations arise. All psychologists are bound by these guidelines.

Though ethical guidelines have been established, there is often a debate on whether or not certain issues fall within them and what psychologists should don when they occur. Still, the place of ethics in psychology is not newly found. Aristotle made several important psychological observations concerning the limits beyond which humans cannot control their own behavior, sanity and their capacity for emotional response (Upton). Though these principles have been studied for many years, other issues have arisen specific to new situations and debates. That is why understanding the code of ethics and why it has been established is essential to solving various issues that can, and often do occur.

The code of ethics outlines the responsibilities of the psychologist and establishes what is considered acceptable and unacceptable in regards to the practice of psychology. This code of ethics is multi-dimensional and must be adhered to in order for a psychology to maintain his or her license (Kafka). Since licenses are granted by each individual state of residence, a psychologist working in any particular location is bound by the specific practices established in that place. This practice is defined through roles and obligations a psychologist will possess so there will be consistency within the field. Likewise, the license a psychologist obtains will have meaning to the public who can easily learn what is expected of a professional working in the field.

The main goal is the psychological code of ethics is to insure that all clients and patients are treated in a professional, lawful and respectful manner when seeking treatment (Kafka). Here behaviors are defined that specify how the psychologist will handle the various situations that may arise during the course of treatment for all clients or patients. The ethical code regulates the way in which many behaviors are dealt with and how situations may be resolved. This includes both the private and institutional practice of psychology. This guarantees that anyone who receives service from a psychologist who is adhering to the code of ethics is insured professional, humane treatment that causes no psychological or physical harm. Should the ethical code be breeched for any reason, the situation is investigated and handled accordingly.

The code of ethics is also designed to protect the public from uses and abuses that may result from the mishandling of a particular situation. These protections include: physical, emotional or even financial and cover a wide range of factors related to the practice of psychology. The code contains numerous clauses that clearly specify practices that are considered to be acceptable in regards to billing procedures, file maintenance procedures and even what should occur during appropriate therapy termination. Many aspects include: job handling, office management and client handling. The acceptable versus unacceptable behaviors are defined as well as what actions should be taken if any part of the code is breeched.

The code of ethics directs both the psychologist and client or patient away from conflicts of interest. The existence of dual roles is one conflict that can occur when inappropriate relationships are established between psychologists and those they serve. The ethical code specifies how these situations should be handles and helps both parties in maintaining lawful, socially responsible behavior. This insures the psychologist will be able to treat clients or patients in a positive manner that will promote rehabilitation while clearly drawing the line for those receiving the treatment that clearly defines the appropriate relationship of psychologist and patient. While there may be many arguments surrounding specific situations and what actually constitutes an ethical dilemma, the code is clearly defined and should be closely followed at all times. There are many situations that can certainly present ethical dilemmas, but the code remains in place to help guide psychologists when they must deal with issues that may prove rather difficult. This well-established code not only serves as a guide but also as a way of protecting everyone involved in the treatment process. The ethical code is an important part of the psychological practice because it clearly defines how to deal with important issues that can arise during the course of treatment. This aids psychologists in making important decisions and helps them to better understand the psychological professional as a whole.