Abnormal Psychology: Positive Emotions

-understand life by determining whether actions benefit others and whether they have made the world a better place. -"having fun lies in the satisfaction of consuming or "taking in" commodities, sights, food, drinks, cigarettes, people, lectures, books, movies-all are consumed and swallowed." -Is this alienation human nature? Are Big Mac's, Mickey Mouse and reality TV human nature? -price of happiness

Eric Fromm

-society embodies progress on many different levels: technology/wealth/freedom -we are not necessarily more happy; progress comes up with a new set of problems often conceptualized as a moral decline

American paradox

-thinking that material things make us happy when in reality it does not make us happy

American paradox

Who is the founder of positive psychology?

Martin Seligman

from Top to Bottom: 1. Need for Self Actualization 2. Esteem Needs 3. Belongingness/Love Needs 4. Safety Needs 5. Physiological Needs -List of basic needs that have to be satisfied before people can become self actualized -low level needs must be met before trying to satisfy higher level needs Maslow's HON

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

- suggests that the best prevention for helplessness is experience with mastery -Based on life histories of people who were resilent in situations likely to cause helpleness -people are very resilence -self efficacy: belief that you can do something, what you can do and what you cannt do

Seligman

TRUE OR FALSE: Can't force yourself to be opitmism or believe things that are different from reality The more you try to force yourself, the worst you are gonna be

True

True or False: -Self and Wellbeing Positive Illusions Unrealistic Optimism Regarding their future students tend to rate their own chances as above average for positive events and below average for negative events.

True

True or False: Maslow rejected Freud's ideas

True

True or False: Maslow rejected Freud's ideas. Gratitude is short term

True

What are the two camps that psychology is split into:

academics more interested in science, clinicians more interested in psychotherapy

Our society embodies progress on many diffferent levels: technology, wealth and freedom

american paradox

-negative information/behaviors command more attention and have greater impact than positive ones -it is only through negative life events that people develop the capacity for goodness and achieve health and happiness. BISTTG

bad is stronger than the good

Optimism predicts multiple forms of preventive health __________ and self-care, including greater _________, healthier _________ and not smoking B, E, D

behavior, exercise, diet

- show significant increases in self-esteem and satisfaction over time. -perform better academically -form more supportive friendship networks. -make more progress on their personal goals.

benefits of defensive pessimism (In comparison to equally anxious students who do not use defensive pessimism those who do (Norem & Chang, 2002)

-preoccupation with becoming happier is evident in countless books and magazine articles promising the secret to a happy life.

can we make ourselves happy research

Why do we pay more attention to negative things in our environment?

defense mechanism, Need to know if something is gonna be dangerous

cognitive strategy to set low expectations for upcoming performance, despite having performed well in previous similar situations DP

defensive pessimism

strategy used by anxious people to help them manage their anxiety so they can work productively; -ower their expectations to help prepare themselves for the worst. -mentally play through all the bad things that might happen.

defensive pessimism

way of anticipating the worst-case scenario despite knowing that it won't happen in reality; prepare for the worst and plan responses for a host of health challenges. who keep their expectations on the lower side as a means of helping them prepare for the worst.

defensive pessimism

What does Seligman suggest is the best prevention for helplessness? EI with M

early intervention with mastery

arises when engaging in activities demanding skill and challenge, but are not too difficult.

flow

-Is flow (as originally defined) necessarily positive? What about a larger perspective? -Is flow so important if it is only about pockets of experience? After all, how many activities in everyday life can we have that meet the criteria? -How about a mental flow (day dreaming)?

flow questions

-Csikszentmihalyi studied this, based on Maslow's writings. -A state of "flow" arises when engaging in activities demanding skill and challenge, but are not too difficult. -Well-being can be specific rather than universal, so we may not be able to justifiably make generalisations. -Interventions may have only superficial and short term effect, if done in isolation. Rather than being a part of a coherent framework, a philosophy of one's life. -The value and potency of interventions may be lost if they are done for 'wrong reason' or artificially (relevant for training).

flow-the optimal experience (humanistic approach-abraham maslow- state of self actualization)

What are optimism and positive affect also associated with?

greater perceived social support and more frequent, higher-quality social interactions

observed tendency of humans to quickly return to a relatively stable level of happiness despite major positive or negative events or life changes. - theory that proposes that people return to their level of happiness, regardless of what happens to them. -tendency of a person to remain at a relatively stable level of happiness despite a change in fortune or the achievement of major goals. heory that people return to a relatively stationary level of happiness, sometimes considered a happiness "set point -explains why people who achieve wealth, status, and fame continue to seek more HD

hedonic treadmill

the more we try to make ourselves happy, the more we stay the same ht

hedonic treadmill

well-cited study showing that people who had befallen great fortune (lottery winners) or great tragedy (recent paraplegics) returned to their preexisting levels of happiness within a year following the event. -re-analysis of the data from the study showed that the paraplegics' level of happiness really never fully returned to baseline. -follow-up showed that people do adapt emotionally to most of the good and bad events in life and have a surprising tendency to remain very near their preexisting level of happiness despite life's slings and arrows. (can we make ourselves happy?)

hedonic treadmill

What is the largest predictor of happiness ten years from now?

how happy you are now

people naturally bounce back from difficult events; ability to cope with a crisis o e process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or significant sources of stress — such as family and relationship problems, serious health problems or workplace and financial stressors

human resilience

-despite all the difficulties of life, majority of people manage to live with dignity and purpose. -Positive psychology adopts a more optimistic perspective on human potential, motives, and capacities. -

human strengths

-despite all the difficulties of life, majority of people manage to live with dignity and purpose. -Positive psychology adopts a more optimistic perspective on human potential, motives, and capacities. -Humanistic psychology with scientific methods.

human strengths

-Can solve own problem  with their own unconditional positive regard -people are good -Strong motivating force to for -Can achive self actualization (being all you can be, achieving human potential) HP

humanistic paradigm

-abraham maslow -positive instincts to fulfill human potential -strong motivating force to do good -be the best that they could be -self actualization -client centered therapy of carl rogers HP

humanistic psychology

sychological perspective that emphasizes thestudy of the whole person -Carl Rogers -client centered

humanistic psychology

situation in which a person feels he or she is powerless to change a situation that is, in fact, changeable.

learned helplessness

What does the current disease model imply?

mental health is the simply the absence of mental illness

In reality, our emotions are often _________, have _________/________ sides. (love/pride/hope/anxiety/etc)

mixed, negative, positive

-pathology of normal -Fulfilling one's potential sounds a lot like self-actualization. -Maslow believed only a few people could reach self-actualization. Elitist. -Positive psychology has wider view. -"Average" individuals hold potential. -Study regular people with large samples.

more than Maslow....take on humanistic psychology

Why is it good? Martin Seligman's message sometimes too one-sided and messianic: "Pessimists are losers on many fronts" (Authentic Happiness) Implicit message that "accentuating the positive" (and ignoring the negative) is maximally beneficial.

optimism and hope

need this to be motivated and to live describes a cognitive bias that causes someone to believe that they themselves are less likely to experience a negative event leads people to believe that they are more likely to experience good over bad events. defined as the difference between a person's expectation and the outcome that follows belief that things will be better in the future

optimism bias

What are imitations of positive psych?

overly simplistic, can lead someone in the wrong direction, need balanced emotions,

-emphasis on research -most people adapt/adjust to life in creative ways -resilience- bouncing back after loss -life takes on new meaning/focus -study this strength/resilience using scientific method -what makes life worth living

positive psychology

of happiness, flourishing, and what makes life worth living; elps people achieve greater well-being by focusing on happiness in the present moment and emphasizing positive PP

positive psychology

scientific study of the strengths that enable individuals and communities to thrive.; belief that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within themselves, and to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play.

positive psychology

- Positive emotions. - Happiness-what is happiness? - Satisfaction with life. - Optimism and hope. - Sources of energy and confidence.

positive subjective states

-look at life histories of people who were resilient in situations likely to cause helplness -self efficacy/competenece already in existence; serve as a buffer

prevention of helplessness

help more people if we can prevent problems before they exist

primary prevention

-Objective factors (including marriage, age, sex, culture, income, and life events) explain relatively little variation in people's levels of well-being. -Lyubomirsky, Sheldon, and Schkade offer an optimistic perspective regarding the possibility of creating sustainable increases in happiness. According to their model, chronic happiness, or the happiness one shows during a specific period in life, is influenced by three factors—one's set point (50%), one's life circumstances (10%), and the intentional activities (40%) in which one engages. -40% is not valid -Lyubomirsky misuses heritability estimates They describe variation in a group, and cannot be applied to any individual person. There are undoubtedly people whose happiness lies largely within their control, and others who suffer from life circumstances that will likely cause lasting and inescapable misery. -Even if the 40 percent estimate were valid (which, as I just explained, it isn't), it is not accurate to claim that whatever portion of our happiness is not due to genetics and not due to as-of-yet carefully studied demographic variables is by default within our control. -The evidence for the effectiveness of existing happiness interventions is shaky and unclear. -The trouble with the denominator: It might be surprising to most people to learn that personality psychologists have found that positive and negative affect (PA and NA) are independent of each other. This means the people who experience the most positive emotions are not necessarily the people who experience the least negative emotions. Suggest that people would get more bang for their buck by trying to eliminate the causes of negative emotion in their lives than by trying to increase the positive. Positive psychologist's "declaration of independence" depends on their determination to focus on increasing the positive and not dwelling on the negative

questions/data on can we make ourselves happy

-"For a civilization so fixated on achieving happiness, we seem remarkably incompetent at the task—we can't even agree on what "happiness" means. What if—maybe—we're just going about it exactly the wrong way? What if "positive thinking" and relentless optimism aren't the solution, but part of the problem?" - Journalist Oliver Burkeman, author of The Antidote, argues just that: An alternative "negative path" to happiness and success involves embracing failure, pessimism, insecurity, and uncertainty—all those things we spend our lives trying to avoid.

quotes

-someone experiences a trauma or something happens in their life, -traumatic life event -Pay more attention to negative info in our environment ; something we do automatically

reactive depression

-triggered by traumatic life event (ex: death of a loved one) -negative info/behaviors command more attention and have greater impact than positive ones -passivity -difficulty in learning responses that bring relief -physical symptoms -stress related symptoms -this is brought on by. specific events in a person's life

reactive depression

-satisfication with life -optimism and hope -source of energy/confidence

researchers definition of happiness

We hope to be ________ and ________ together.

science/practice

intervene before they get worse

secondary prevention

realization or fulfillment of one's talents and potentialities, especially considered as a drive or need present in everyone; volves fulfilling your potential and being all you can be -final stage process by which an individual reaches his or her full potential SA

self actualization

what did Seligman find as a buffer?

self efficacy

In terms of the prevention of helplessness, what two things could serve as a buffer? SE/ C

self efficacy/competence

this is to fulfill one's potential realization or fulfillment of one's talents and potentialities, especially considered as a drive or need present in everyone. , represents growth of an individual toward fulfillment of the highest needs;

self- actualization

individual's belief in their innate ability to achieve goals.; s one's belief in one's ability to succeed in specific situations or accomplish a task. - defined as people's beliefs about their capabilities to produce designated levels of performance that exercise influence over events that -plays a critical role in how we think, feel, and behave. - commonly defined as the belief in one's capabilities to achieve a goal or an outcome. - belief in yourself and in your ability to accomplish your goals successfully. It helps us perform better and cope with challenges in the world. S-E

self-efficacy

-dogs in the escapable shock quickly learned to jump to the safe side -dogs inescapable shock did not jump to safe side; agitated at first, but later laid down and took the shock -dogs in inescapable shock group learned helplessness

shuttle box behavior

focus on one thing and ignore everything else, focus on what youre doing

state of flow

treatment

tertiary prevention

-Encourage depressed people to get back into life. Ex: not willing to leave home. -Small steps. (Go out to movie, then mall.) -Increase difficulty. -Show them they do have control over their lives. -Motivational, learning and emotional gains.

treating people with depression

Positive psychology seeks to shift some of the focus from ___________ to ___________. T, P

treatment/prevention

-committing acts of kindness -expressing gratitude -visualizing best possible selves -processing happy life events

ways to make ourselves happy

What is psychoanalysis based off of? WWW

what went wrong

For Freud- psychoanalysis is based on what went __________ Theories based on clinicaly ______ patients. Repressing strong _______ urges Human behaviors have _______ emotions underlying them

wrong, ill, sexual, negative