“Positive Psychology, An Introduction,” by Martin E. P. Seligman (
The article starts off with an introduction to the history of modern psychology. Then it breaks down the article into a section for Martin E. P. Seligman and what he has to say about positive psychology, as well as what Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has to say about it as well. The article ends with conclusions that can be gained regarding positive psychology, and what today’s psychologists must do to create more positive environment for everyone.
Per the article, society has two choices: stay where they are in their negative thinking of the world, or listen to the human needs of society. This may be so, however I believe that we as a society need some sort of guidance in order to do this, and I’m not sure that psychologists are the answer as this article suggests. Economic and political leadership play a big role here, and we may need them to help get the ball rolling.
The authors of this article suggest that “psychologists have scant knowledge of what makes life worth living,” yet has not that been their job all along? Maybe it is just me, but I thought that psychologists have already documented things such as the best ways to raise children and what makes for a good work setting, etc. If indeed they have not, then I agree the time is now to start doing something about it so people have some sort of help and direction in the world from the so called professionals – psychologists.
Martin E. P. Seligman
Martin E. P. Seligman gives us some insight as to the history of modern psychology. He starts off with a great story of what his five year old daughter Nikki made him realize as a result of being “grumpy” towards her while weeding in their garden. Seligman suggests that raising children “is vastly more than fixing what is wrong with them. It is about identifying and nurturing their strongest qualities, what they own and are best at, and helping them find niches in which they can best live out these strengths.” To me, this says it all about the whole point of positive psychology. It does not just relate to raising children, it is how society as a whole needs to act toward each other.
As for the history of modern psychology, Seligman states that before WWII, “psychology had three distinct missions: curing mental illness, making the lives of all people more productive and fulfilling, and identifying and nurturing high talent.” After reading this article I realized that this is what positive psychology should be all about, and what the authors want psychology to revert back to. Sadly, this all changed after the war because psychologists realized they could make more money focusing on solely treating mental illness and doing research about pathology. Clearly here is where positive psychology shifted to what I would call “negative psychology.”
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Next we will move onto what Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has to say about positive psychology. He starts off with a story about how he became interested in psychology after the aftermath of WWII. He noticed that some people’s attitudes remained positive and in tact, while others were miserable. Csikszentmihalyi wondered why the more misfortunate people were the ones to still have strength and a positive outlook on life. He wondered what caused this strength and decided to move to the Unites States where psychology was more of a science than it was in
Then Csikszentmihalyi explains how he too believes psychology needs to focus more on the “study of strength and virtue” as opposed to mental illness. His thoughts are directly in line with Seligman in that they both believe psychology is going down the wrong path. We need to focus on making people more positive and actually preventing people from getting mental illness altogether. Prevention is the key here, and I strongly agree. As Csikszentmihalyi puts it, psychology’s neglected missions are “making normal people stronger and more productive and making high human potential actual.”
About This Issue
Within this issue of American Psychologist, January 2000, in which the article “Positive Psychology, An Introduction” is from, there are various other articles that speak to many other aspects of positive psychology; however these articles are not included within the actual article “Positive Psychology, An Introduction,” so below is just some topics that are discussed:
· Evolutionary Perspectives
· Positive Personal Traits
· Implications for Mental and Physical Health
· Fostering Excellence
Challenges for the Future include:
- The Calculus of Well-Being
- The Development of Positivity
- Neuroscience and Heritability
- Enjoyment Versus Pleasure
- Collective Well-Being
- Authenticity
- Buffering
- Descriptive or Prescriptive
- Realism
The authors believe that “a psychology of positive human functioning will arise that achieves a scientific understanding and effective interventions to build thriving individuals, families, and communities.” My question would be, how long would it take to actually see that come into fruition?
Overall however, the article made some great points about positive psychology, why it is so important, and how negativity has for so long been the focus of psychology. It is true, for most of us, we think of the negative. After all, we often complain about the negative, and rarely boast about the positive things in life. I agree that it is time that positive emotions are so important and we need to be using them to their fullest potential. All this negativity is bringing the world down as a whole.
Psychologists may be able to create a “scientific momentum – a science that takes as its primary task the understanding of what makes life worth living,” but can this actually be done, and if so, how? I think it is a great idea, but rather far fetched with the way the economy the way it is today in such bad shape. The article even says, “cultures may turn their attention to creativity, virtue, and the highest qualities in life only when they are stable, prosperous, and at peace.” So now may not be the best time for psychologists to promote this, but I feel that it certainly is the right time to continue gathering research to promote positive psychology when the right time comes. Or maybe it is the right time. Maybe this is just the thing people need to get them out of the negative ruts they are in.
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