How old is positive psychology

Martin Seligman had just been elected head of the American Psychological Association and was in search of a transformational theme for his presidency. While weeding in his garden one day with his young daughter, Seligman found himself distracted and frustrated as Nikki, then 5, threw flowers into the air and giggled.

Seligman yelled at her to stop, at which point Nikki took the professor aside. She reminded him how, from ages 3 to 5, she had been a whiner, but on her fifth birthday, had made a conscious decision to stop. Seligman had an epiphany. What if every person was encouraged to nurture his or her character strengths, as Nikki so precociously had, rather than scolded into fixing their shortcomings? Seligman told the crowd that psychology had lost its way. The APA leader called on his colleagues to join him to effect a sea change in psychology and to create a science that investigates and nurtures the best human qualities: a science of strengths, virtues, and happiness.

And it is expressly designed to build moral character by cultivating the six cardinal virtues of wisdom, courage, justice, humanity, temperance, and transcendence. Today, Seligman is the foremost advocate of the science of well-being.

But it was when Seligman shifted toward the psychology of happiness with the publication of Authentic Happiness , followed in with Flourish , that Seligman started to become a household name. Despite his association with the science of happiness, Seligman is by his own admission brusque, dismissive, and a grouch.

As a scientist, he insists on the value-neutral purity of the research he directs, yet presides over a movement that even its fans say seems to have some of the characteristics of a religion. To many of its followers, the movement is a godsend, answering a need to belong to something larger than themselves and holding out the chance of better, fuller lives through truly effective techniques backed by science.

But how valid are these concerns, and do they matter if positive psychology makes people happy? Positive psychology has grown at an explosive rate since Seligman ushered it into the public conscious, surprising even Seligman himself. The field has attracted hundreds of millions of dollars in research grants.

Its World Congress was attended by 1, delegates from 70 countries. Some say positive psychology offers common-sense maxims, like those contained in All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum, as well as in the hundreds of self-help books lined up on library shelves and at the check-out counter in bookstores. Do we need scientists to tell us to live in the present or exercise?

Pessimists, meanwhile, boast a distinguished lineage. Ecclesiastes states that riches, toil, and pleasures are all meaningless, and with wisdom comes sorrow. Seligman believes the world is getting better and learned optimism will make its inhabitants flourish.

Citing the optimism preceding the Iraq War, the irrational exuberance causing the Great Recession, income inequality, and the upbeat propaganda that supports dictators, Ehrenreich argues that in an unfair, still dangerous world, realism and defensive pessimism are necessary. Critics question specific conclusions: Is there a genetic set point for happiness?

Is the influence of money underestimated? Do we actually adjust to setbacks, such as divorce and unemployment, or to catastrophes like COVID? Historians of happiness, such as Darrin M. McMahon, note that sages in the past have discovered some of the insights of positive psychology, often writing with more depth and eloquence.

Aristotle noted that happiness is more than amusement and requires virtue and moderation. Jesus preached gratitude and kindness. For five years, as a teacher and former head of school, I traveled around the country, talking to students about heroes and heroines of American history, acknowledging their strengths and their imperfections, and, through a Q and A, encouraging students to differentiate heroic men and women from celebrities.

But I believe positive psychology relies too much on lists and practices and not enough on biographies of exemplary lives. He has no use for the self-esteem movement in education that excludes achievement and offers facile optimism. He believes that critical thinking, the reigning goal in all schools, should be supplemented by nonintellectual strengths; that middle school students should learn to dispute catastrophic thoughts and adopt an optimistic, explanatory style; and that all students should learn life skills such as empathy, grit, and resilience.

Schools and teachers trained in positivity have improved in both achievement and mental health. It embraces history, civics, literature, journalism, education, gender relations, and religion. History is not merely a tale of woe, literature an insistence on tragedy. Fifty years ago, men dominated psychology graduate departments and studied conflict, stress, and dominance.

Seligman analyzes presidential elections and concludes that the more optimistic candidate usually wins. He predicts that the Enlightenment belief in reason, science, and progress will win out. Seligman criticizes a fearful God of the Old Testament and its nullification of human agency. In a world with less and less suffering, the crucifix, he argues, loses much of its appeal. He is, however, sympathetic to religion, recognizing that it contributes to well-being by promoting social bonds and praising kindness.

At the conclusion of The Hope Circuit , Seligman repudiates skepticism and suggests there is a hope circuit in the brain that anticipates positivity in Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Seligman can come across as reactionary. He criticizes the narcissism and excessive individualism that he says erupted in the s and which persist today. He stresses character more than personality. A moralist, he criticizes popular culture and people who are indifferent to great thinkers and comfortable with contentment.

It has made its way into K—12 schools through a renewed emphasis on social-emotional learning. It has influenced schools in Australia and the United Kingdom and has made inroads into corporations promoting advancement at work , the military contributing to a psychologically fit army , and hospitals boosting immune systems.

Hundreds of magazine articles and dozens of books have been published on positive psychology. Thousands of researchers have produced papers on it. Online, a reader can fill out questionnaires that probe individual well-being and recommend exercises to improve it. The International Positive Psychology Association sponsors a world congress whose members include geneticists, economists, and professors of business education.

The Nordic countries rank high. Donald Clifton further dedicated research to strengths-focused assessments that changed the way we understand career fulfillment and employee engagement. Today, positive psychology is applied by professionals in a variety of fields. Organizations use positive psychology to study employee engagement, retain key talent, improve job satisfaction, and match individuals to their most effective roles within their companies. Key research gives insight when providing constructive feedback or creating mental and physical wellness programs within the workplace.

Positive psychology plays a crucial role in nearly every department, and empowers leaders to motivate employees with a better understanding of happiness. Marketing professionals use positive psychology in the science of story. As marketers, we tap into the deepest emotions of our audiences. We speak to their past experiences, current circumstances, and future hopes and dreams.

We understand the importance of identity and the value of positive communication. It focuses on behaviors that can lead to a more optimized frame of mind as well as on thought patterns that lead to more functional behaviors. Shortly after WWII, the primary focus of psychology shifted to the first priority: treating abnormal behavior and mental illness.

In the s, humanist thinkers like Carl Rogers , Erich Fromm , and Abraham Maslow helped renew interest in the other two areas by developing theories that focused on happiness and the positive aspects of human nature.

Here are a few more significant dates in the history of positive psychology:. Other important figures in positive psychology have included:. General interest in positive psychology has grown tremendously since the concept was introduced. Today, more and more people are searching for information on how they can become more fulfilled and achieve their full potential. Ever wonder what your personality type means?

Sign up to find out more in our Healthy Mind newsletter. Psychology Today. What is positive psychology, and what is it not? May Seligman ME, Csikszentmihalyi M. Positive psychology. An introduction. Am Psychol. Joseph S. Contextual positive psychology: Policy recommendations for implementing positive psychology into schools.

Front Psychol. Prosocial spending and happiness: Using money to benefit others pays off.