When thinking about psychology, what’s the first thing that came up? Is it “mental health”, “psychological issues”, “mental illness”, “clinical issues”, or something else? Undoubtedly, psychology has a lot of branches, and positive psychology is one of them. Let’s talk about it more and see how it relates to the first question that I asked before.
Read more: Concepting Positive Psychology: An OverviewI think when people mention psychology, and ask what it studies about, most will probably think it’s a study about fixing psychological or mental health problems. Indeed, that is correct, but, psychology is also more than that. Thus, in this article, I’m going to introduce you to a branch of psychology called “Positive Psychology”.
Positive Psychology? What is it?
Originally, psychology was more often about “negative” aspects of individuals such as their psychological problems or mental illness. As a result, positive psychology is introduced. Hence, it is a field of science that focuses on positive aspects of human life (1). Besides, it aims to optimize our function as a human being (2). Furthermore, most of the studies are about happiness, well-being, and flourishing (1). In addition, other positive aspects of life such as growth, morality, perseverance, resilience, personality, purpose in life, and quality of life, are also common topics.
Scope of Positive Psychology
According to Hart (2020), positive psychology covers these topics:
- Human nature’s positive assumptions. Overall, it relates to how this branch sees people as someone who have a desire to grow and optimize their potential.
- Holistic ideology. Specifically, this is about how this branch aims to promote flourishing beyond the work to fix someone.
- Positive aim and orientation. This means it is the antithesis of the common orientation of mainstream psychology that focuses on clinical problems and illness.
More Common Variables
Additionally, some of the common variables used are stated below.
- Subjective well-being
- Psychological well-being
- Optimism
- Positive emotions
Positive Psychology Practices
As a psychology branch, it has its applied methods and interventions. For example, some of the interventions are Wellbeing Therapy, Quality of Life Therapy, Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction, and Positive Psychotherapy. In specific settings such as work or school, it can be applied through some methods such as fostering calm for clear thinking, stimulating intrinsic motivation, and encouraging mindfulness and flow in the classroom or working environment.
Additional Notes
Indeed, each psychological branch of course has its criticism. Especially by bringing the term “positive”, the “negative” experiences might be ignored or neglected. Thus, resulting in positive psychology as just one side of a coin or lack of balance, since we also need negative experiences (1). Furthermore, the integration of positive and negative is also important to recognize (3), as it’s what it means to be human (4).
Read More
(1) Boniwell, I. (2012). Positive psychology in a nutshell: the science of happiness: The Science of Happiness. McGraw-Hill Education (UK).
(2) Seligman, M.E.P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55, 5–14.
(3) Linley, P. A., & Joseph, S. (2004). Positive psychology in practice. John Wiley & Sons.
(4) Linley, P. A., & Joseph, S. (2003). Putting it into practice. The Psychologist, 16, 143.
Hart, R. (2020). Positive Psychology. Routledge.
