POS. PSYCH

TYPES OF TIME PERSPECTIVES

1) FUTURE TIME PERSPECTIVE: - works towards future rewards - delays gratification - perspective linked to high success, attainment of goals (especially long-term goals) and agency - correlates with well-being, meaning, self-efficacy, realism, and persistence 2) PRESENT HEDONISTIC TIME PERSPECTIVE: - little concern for the future - behaviors determined by physical needs, emotions, stimuli, and social input - instant gratification- can lead to addiction, accidents/injuries, and academic/career failure 3) PRESENT FATALISTIC TIME PERSPECTIVE: - characterized by hopelessness - views one's life as controlled primarily/entirely by outside forces 4) PAST POSITIVE TIME PERSPECTIVE: - sentimental/nostalgic view of the past - helps maintain relationships, preserve traditions, and foster continuity of self 5) PAST NEGATIVE TIME PERSPECTIVE: characterized by focusing on past events that were adverse

FIVE COMPONENTS OF A POSITIVE BODY

1) INTERPERSONAL TOUCH - Romanian orphans who did not experience adequate physical touch exhibited reduced health, intelligence, and well-being. They also experienced neurological abnormalities that persisted even after childhood - babies born in the NICU (did not experience skin-to-skin contact) had worse social and well-being outcomes later in life - touch ---> release of oxytocin ---> fostering/strengthening of social bonds 2) SEXUAL BEHAVIOR - positive relationship found between sexual activity and happiness - satisfaction with sexual activity (quality rather than frequency) positively correlates with meaning in life - higher meaning in life correlates with healthier attitudes towards sex/sexual behaviors, which also increases happiness (unhealthy ---> regret ---> lower well-being) 3) PHYSICAL ACTIVITY - negatively correlated with depression, anxiety. Positively correlated with meaning, emotional satisfaction, and positive emotions. - meaning in life ---> increased physical activity 4) NUTRITION - US study surveyed more than two million people and found a positive relationship between eating more fruits and vegetables, and feeling more positive emotion/less negative emotion - there is a positive relationship between nutrition and experiencing well-being and meaning in life. However, it's sort of cyclical, because meaning in life *also* predicts nutrition and well-being. 5) EXPERIENCING PAIN - chronic pain decreases emotional well-being and increases depression - however, it's more about how a person *reacts* to chronic pain than the chronic pain itself. If a person knows and can act on strategies for managing chronic pain, they will be less likely to develop depression and more likely to flourish. However, chronic pain + pain catastrophizing and psychological inflexibility = depression. - flourishing increases physical health and coping ability

CURIOSITY + CORRELATES

curiosity correlates with... - openness - growth in intelligence (greater growth over time *and* faster growth than those who are not curious) - physical health - emotional well-being - psychological well-being - positive social outcomes

CAPITALIZATION RELATIONSHIPS

when others engage with, as well as show positive responses to your feelings and thoughts, it boosts your well-being. Conversely, if they are dismissive or negative, well-being decreases.

GRATITUDE TESTS

GQ-6: - gratitude questionnaire created by McCullough, Emmons, and Tsang, 2002 - measures dispositional gratitude - 6-item, 7-point (42-point total) scale GRAT: - gratitude, resentment, and appreciation test - created by Watkins, Grimm, and Hailu, 1998 - 44 items w/ 3 dimensions

HEDONIC V. EUDAIMONIC STEREOTYPES

HEDONIC: + easy + fun o affective (relies on mood/emotion) - momentary - cowardly, avoidant EUDAIMONIC: + enduring + noble o cognitive - effortful - difficult

HOW TO EXPERIENCE HIGH WB...

Diener and Seligman, 2004 1) live in a democratic, stable society that provides resources to meet the needs of its citizens 2) have supportive friends and family 3) have rewarding, engaging work with adequate income 4) be healthy + have the ability to access treatment for mental problems 5) have goals related to your values 6) have a philosophy/religion that promotes guidance, purpose, and meaning

WELL-BEING + BODY

HEFFRON 2015: - studied the relationship between 'embodiment' and well-being; how does being a creature made of a body impact emotion, creation/maintenance of personal relationships, and body image? - looked at well-being as an extension of the body; we can see and understand well-being by looking at a person's body TYLKA 2012: - positive body image "appreciates, accepts, respects, celebrates, and honors" the body - positive body image contributes to higher self-esteem, optimism, and adaptive coping strategies

OTHER GRATITUDE STUDIES

LAMBERT 2010: feeling gratitude towards someone leads to you view that relationships as stronger, especially when you express that gratitude. EMMONS + MISHRA, 2011: "the benefits of saying thanks" - promotes adaptive coping and personal growth - decreases likelihood of upward social comparison (this person/group of people is better than me), which decreases envy- focuses on what you do have rather than what you don't - reduces materialism - correlates with stable and high self-esteem - boosts retrieval of positive memories - builds social resources - motivates moral behaviors - encourages spirituality - facilitates goal attainment - promotes physical health

MODELS OF SELF-ESTEEM:

*SOCIOMETER MODEL OF SELF-ESTEEM*: - looks at whether one believes that they are included/excluded by a given group - children and adolescents who feel accepted by their parents have higher self-esteem. Conversely, social exclusion results in depression and lowered self-esteem. - low self-esteem individuals are hostile, disruptive, and aggressive, NOT because of low self-esteem, but because of exclusion. Exclusion --> low self-esteem --> aggression --> exclusion *TERROR MANAGEMENT MODEL OF SELF-ESTEEM*: - self-esteem functions to shelter us from the deeply-rooted dread of being human. We're nothing but animals, struggling to survive a meaningless existence that inevitably ends in death. - Ryan and Deci think this is bs because most people tend to want to engage with life, rather than back away from it high self-esteem doesn't necessarily produce positive outcomes- s.e. a product of high competence and good performance. A loser with high self-esteem is still a loser.

HEALTH

- *a state of complete mental, physical, and social well-being; not merely the absence of disease or weakness* - absence of mental illness *does not equal* presence of mental well-being. Each person has different levels of mental illness and mental health that combine to create their overall mental well or ill-being.

OPTIMISM + LOCUS OF CONTROL

- *perceived control*: a person's assessment of their own ability to exert control over their lives - 3 strategies for maintaining control: 1) changing goals 2) creating new avenues for control 3) accepting circumstances - *locus of control*: 1) Rotter, 1966 2) *internal locus of control*: you control your own success/failure; I succeed/fail due to my own effort 3) *external locus of control*: my success/failure is controlled by external forces. My effort does not matter. 4) LOC is a fixed personality trait, but varies from situation to situation 5) internality and externality both explain positive *and* negative outcomes- multidimensional - benefits of internal LOC: 1) more likely to work towards goals 2) greater tolerance for delay in rewards 3) developing plans for long-term goals 4) better ability to tolerate anxiety 5) greater social support 6) increased exercise 7) controlled weight 8) decreased alcohol consumption 9) higher academic achievement (better grades, increased effort, more time spent studying and completing homework) - external locus of control leads to lowering of goals - internal locus of control leads to increased levels of guilt

OPTIMISM + SELF-EFFICACY:

- *self-efficacy*: 1) the belief that one can reach their goal/desired outcome. I can take control and succeed because I am competent and effective! 2) influences motivation (facts about situation + the beliefs a person holds about their own capabilities), well-being, and accomplishment 3) doesn't necessarily lead to success, but one of the predictors. Self-efficacy is not expecting a certain outcome: it is the confidence that your skills will lead to a certain outcome 4) high self-efficacy: - better functioning - resilience - increased exercise + dieting - increased stress management - safe sex - overcoming addiction - increased following of treatment regimens - better immune response during stress - increased activation of endorphins - encourages goal-setting, effort, persistence, and self-regulation 5) low self-efficacy: increased depression, anxiety, and avoidant behaviors 6) *collective efficacy*: - a group's shared belief in its collective ability to organize and execute the course of action required to achieve a certain goal - linked to marital satisfaction, team success, and academic achievement 7) JUDGE 2002: - constructed/carried out 4 different studies to see if self-efficacy was its own construct, or if it's a 'mesh' of multiple constructs - self-esteem, neuroticism, self-efficacy, and locus of control all *strongly* correlated. May all be part of one, even BIGGER construct!

SCHWARTZ + VALUES

- *values: beliefs about desirable ends*. Goals you always and generally would like to see achieved by both yourself and others - often transcend specific situations- extremely generalized - guide how people select and evaluate themselves and others - relate to one another and are of relative importance. Forms a system of value priorities SCHWARTZ 1994: 10 universal values, 4 dimensions 1) SELF-ENHANCEMENT: - achievement - power 2) SELF-TRANSCENDENCE: - universalism (fairness + respect for all living things) - benevolence 3) CONSERVATION: - conformity - tradition - security 4) OPENNESS: - hedonism - stimulation (novelty/entertainment) - self-direction (freedom to make your own choices) Dimensions are correlated values- having one value in a dimension increases the likelihood that you will have another, or all, the values in that dimension

MODELS OF INTEREST

- Berlyne 1960 - interest has 4 parts... 1) novelty 2) complexity 3) uncertainty (prompts desire to learn more) 4) conflict (approach v. avoidance) - Silvia 2008 - interest is made up of... 1) novelty-complexity (how unique something is v. how difficult it seems to 'figure out') 2) comprehensibility (does the subject of interest make sense to you?)

GRATITUDE

- Emmons and McCullough 2003: gratitude is a positive emotion resulting from the recognition that one has obtained a positive outcome due to an external agent - consistent- an emotional response (similar internal experience each time; exists in degrees) with physiological responses brought on by similar/related events - gratitude is outcome-based. Lots of stuff can happen, so there are lots of ways to be grateful. - "transition emotion"- overlaps with other positive emotions (so it's easy to 'slide' into one of them), but is also distinct from them - contributes to subjective well-being: positive affect, meaning, and life satisfaction - positively correlated with empathy, forgiveness, and willingness to help others. Negatively correlated with depression and stress.

OPTIMISM + SELF-ESTEEM

- Rosenburg 1965: 'the totality of one's thoughts and feelings about themselves' - 'the disposition towards experiencing oneself as competent in coping with challenges and as worthy of happiness' - self-esteem correlates with subjective well-being, neuroticism, and optimism - high self-esteem: 1) greater perseverance 2) more likely to perceive themselves as intelligent and happy - low self-esteem: 1) depression 2) bulimia 3) body dissatisfaction 4) experimentation with drugs and sex 5) aggression - too much self-esteem: 1) tendency towards anger/aggression 2) denial 3) oversensitive to feedback/criticism

TIME PERSPECTIVE AND CORRELATES

- educational achievement - health - sleep - dreaming patterns - choice in romantic partners - marriage quality after child - nutrition and health choices - desire to spend time with loved ones - perceived time pressure - risky driving - delinquency - unsafe sexual behaviors - substance/alcohol abuse - while there is no relationship between time use and well-being, there is a relationship between how we allocate time for things that are important to us and well-being (it's not what you use, it's how you use it) - satisfaction with time use also positively correlates with well-being - higher income correlates with overall life satisfaction, but not in-the-moment life satisfaction - time management does not predict performance, but it *does* increase feelings of control. Time management also *improved* (not predicted) grades, but had no effect on job performance

TIME RESEARCH

- an area in positive psych that deals with how different individuals relate to the past, present, and future- where they prefer to 'go' when thinking - the way an individual relates to time is influenced by their culture, religion, education status, social class, and family structure. - relation to time influences experience, motivation, thought, and behavior - *subjective time*: a person's perception of their own time use - *time personality*: includes dimensions such as punctuality, planning, time awareness, and impatience - *time urgency*: refers to individuals who are time-aware, chronically hurried, ambitious, efficient, prioritizing, and who use deadlines to measure time

HAPPINESS + HEALTH

- correlated, but at different levels for different groups - a study of 42,000 US residents found that Black Americans have lower 'mental correlations' between happiness and good health

TODD KASHDAN

- created the Curiosity and Exploration Inventory in 2009 - looks at dimensions of stretching (appreciation of and interest in the novel, complex, and unfamiliar) and embracing (engagement in and exploration of situations) - measures curiosity as a trait - high curiosity = high stretching and/or embracing

EMMONS & MCCULLOUGH, 2003, GRATITUDE

- experimental study that wanted to examine how gratitude affected physical and psychological well-being - studies 1 and 2 focused on undergraduate students. Students were randomly assigned to four conditions: either gratitude, hassle, neutral, or downward social comparison (basically, I'm better off than xyz because...) - study 1 recorded once every week for 9 weeks; study 2 recorded daily for 13 days - study 3 focused on adults with neuromuscular diseases. Subjects were randomly assigned to either gratitude or control groups. Recorded daily for 21 days. - results of study 3 showed that subjects who experienced more gratitude also experienced less chronic pain, as well as increased optimism. In all studies, daily gratitude had a greater effect than weekly gratitude

PAUL SILVIA, "GETTING THE CHILLS FROM MUSIC"

- initially hypothesized that chills predicted high experience/expertise with certain topics - interest/lack of interest (reasonably correlated w/ expertise) in what genre of music was playing did not predict chills. However, openness to experience (which is highly correlated with interest and curiosity) did, as did a highly generalized interest in music as a subject - Silvia conducted another experiment where he showed subjects two different pieces of art and they would choose which one of the two that they preferred to look at - hypothesis: did training in art/interest in art predict a desire to look at more complex pieces? - people with training in art were *much* more likely to choose to look at complex pieces over simple ones (as compared to people without training), although everyone in the study had more interest in complex over simple

OPTIMISM + POSITIVE ILLUSIONS

- most people are biased towards viewing themselves in an optimistic light. They think their personalities, accomplishments, and actions are better than they actually are - positive illusions foster an unrealistic sense of control + the belief that the future will be good even when facts and evidence suggests otherwise - self-deception can be a coping strategy for managing the amount of negative info one processes (loss, death, lack of control, etc.)

SCHEIER + CARVER, 2009

- optimism linked to stronger self-regulation - expectancy theory of motivation: all behavior is goal-oriented, so there has to be a goal, or there's no action. In order to reach their goals, humans must regulate their actions/behaviors - optimists more likely to 'push through' roadblocks than pessimists. Additionally, if someone is confident they can achieve a goal, they are more likely to attempt (versus lack of confidence, which = disengagement from goal). - Scheier + Carver defs. of optimism/pessimism: "broadened versions of confidence or doubt operating to most situations in life"

OPTIMISM + DEPRESSION AND STRESS

- optimists experience less stress during adversity than pessimists - explanatory style predicts coping (pos. strategies for optimism v. avoidant strategies for pessimism) - extreme pessimism ---> extreme disengagement coping. Moderated by increase in hope - optimism counteracts low self-esteem, external locus of control, and desire for control - optimism prevents/decreases post-partum depression

OPTIMISM + HEALTH

- pessimism correlates with mortality in young patients with recurring cancer - Reed 1994: studied 78 men with AIDS. Optimism associated with living longer: patients who engaged in 'realistic acceptance' of death lived 9 months less than those who engaged in unrealistic optimism. - positive illusions increase meaning, which increases well-being

GRIT

- popularized by Angela Duckworth - a combination of passion (sustained interest for a certain activity, topic, area, etc.) and persistence (sustained effort towards achieving within that topic/area) GRIT SCALE: - 12 items, 5 points each (60 items total) - 2 factors: passion + persistence - total score more important than 'factor scores' CONTRAVERSIES: - effect size in one of Duckworth's major papers was described incorrectly, making the effects sound much greater than they actually were - the impact of grit is unimportant to larger, more generalized populations (grit high among the initially-studied, 'successful' subjects). However, use of grit is *still* applied to averagely successful populations, such as struggling schools- these kids lack basic resources! Improve their environments or teaching them tenacity won't actually do anything! - nearly identical to contentiousness, which we already "have", and which we already know predicts achievement. However, contentiousness is not "changeable" in the way Duckworth claims that one can develop grit - Duckworth says that interest, practice, purpose, and hope all fall underneath the grit umbrella. Does grit cause i, p, p, and h, or does one of those factors cause grit?

GOALS + VALUES

- setting goals that align with your values leads to increased happiness, greater achievement, and greater life satisfaction - knowing your values also helps you develop clear goals - people who are able to regularly align their goals with their values exhibit greater positive affect

Algoe, Haidt, and Gable, 2009

- studied sophomore, junior, or senior sorority students mentoring freshmen - "little sisters" felt gratitude not only for the initial actions of the big sisters, but felt gratitude when they expressed said gratitude and it was positively received - in other words, gratitude can be increased 'after-the-fact' (after initial incident has occurred) if the person someone is grateful for responds positively. Conversely, expressing gratitude that is then returned in a negative or disinterested manner decreases initial gratitude. - moderate-high gratitude + moderate-high responsiveness ---> closer relationships, higher quality relationships, more time spent together, and more positive emotions

PURPOSE OF VALUES

- tell us who we are (beliefs, personality, what motivates us) and what is important to us - motivate behaviors; help us judge/justify behaviors - organize groups of people - get us to do "the right thing"

WHY WE FAIL

1) energy/motivation is "used up" for less important but more pressing goals 2) motivation and passion can be difficult to maintain over long periods of time 3) the 'wrong goals' (extrinsic) ---> disengagement and abandonment

HOW TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS

1) stay passionate (work now leads to desirable outcomes later) 2) make time for your goals 3) write down and/or discuss your goals (increases commitment)

HOPE THEORY MODEL

3 PARTS TO HOPE: 1) LEARNING HISTORY - frequency of hope thoughts. Hope thoughts influence pathways (things I can do to achieve my goals) and agency (I can do the things that will help me achieve my goals) - 'sets up' emotions sets (emotion set defined as types of emotions/intensities of emotions that occur when trying to achieve a goal) - informs us what emotions/intensities will motivate us to what extent, and what kinds of thoughts we will have when trying to achieve goals. Based on past experiences - learning not only bolsters skill and teaches you how to interact with obstacles- it increases and solidifies (how far does my agency stretch?) perceived sense of agency. Increased sense of agency also increases the number of pathways you consider. 2) PRE-EVENT - outcome must be viewed as important, or we will not take initiative to achieve it. Importance ---> action. 3) EVENT SEQUENCE - pathway thoughts and agency thoughts influence attainment (or lack thereof) of goal - goal attainment also influenced by stressors and surprise events (surprise events affect agency) GENERAL: - the hope theory model is a feedback loop. outcome of goal influences learning history (hope thoughts prompted by emotion about goal attainment/non attainment), which influences goal achievement. - pathway and agency thoughts shaped by failure/success- the way in which you fail/succeed affects self-confidence and ability to learn from past experiences STEGER: - basically, the hope theory model teaches you how to hope/stop hoping - it starts with what we've learned about ourselves (in this case, pathways + agency) from past experiences and our ability (learning from past experiences) to execute goals - motivation ---> utilizing pathways + agency ---> outcome - what did you learn? Your takeaway influences hope thoughts, pathway thoughts, and agency thoughts

HOW TO LEARN OPTIMISM (Seligman 1998)

A- analyze ADVERSITY- the who, what, when, where, why, and how B- examine BELIEFS- why do I think this happened? What do I think will happen next? C- predict CONSEQUENCES- what are my feelings/actions in response to these beliefs?

APPROACH-AVOIDANCE CONFLICT

APPROACH-ORIENTED MOTIVATION: I want to learn more about a new situation; I will approach ANXIETY-ORIENTED MOTIVATION: this new situation could be dangerous; I will leave/not interact Weighing risk v. reward and deciding whether or not to approach a new situation is called the *approach avoidance conflict*

SHELDON + KASSER, 1995, CONGRUENCE

CONGRUENCE: the pursuit of goals due to self-determined reasons and motivation VERTICAL CONGRUENCE: consistency between higher-level (more valuable) and lower-level (less valuable) goals HORIZONTAL CONGRUENCE: consistency between similarly-valued goals

FIXED V. GROWTH MINDSET

FIXED: - views goals in terms of outcome (you win, or you lose) - losing means lack of ability - fear of losing (and confirming lack of ability) stops people from forming goals GROWTH: - views goals in terms of learning, mastery, and improvement, not winning or losing - losing is positive: it creates the ability to learn and improve GROWTH MINDSET PREDICTS: 1) what types of goals you set (learning v. achievement) 2) the way you approach goals ("I can learn" v. have-it-or-don't mentality) 3) goal monitoring (adresses goal expectations v. fosters negative emotions) META-ANALYSIS: 1) growth mindset is better for attaining goals than fixed mindset 2) the mental states/behaviors fostered by growth mindset are mostly helpful for achieving desires outcomes. The way people with a growth mindset set and work towards goals positively affects goal achievement, but the lack of negative emotion means that one cannot use anxiety as a motivator 3) growth mindset helps you survey your goal progress, and adjust your goals when facing surprise events HOW TO FOSTER GROWTH MINDSET? 1) don't try to change your traits (can't suddenly become 'more conscientious'); change your mindset! 2) try to separate the process from the outcome 3) try to be curious rather than anxious or outcome-focused 4) value learning over winning 5) practice being ok with multiple outcomes

KEYES + MENTAL HEALTH

FLOURISHING: - presence of mental health - 'symptoms' of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being LANGUISHING: - absence of mental health - stagnation and emptiness KEYES AND GRZYWACZ: PEOPLE W/O MENTAL ILLNESS: *77% of study* 9.5% languishing 50.7% moderately mentally healthy 16.8% flourishing PEOPLE W/ MENTAL ILLNESS: *23% of study* 7% languishing 14.5% moderately mentally healthy 1.5% flourishing KEYES AND GRZYWACZ, 'SYMPTOMS' OF FLOURISHING: - fewer health limitations - fewer missed days of work + fewer half-days of work - healthier psychosocial functioning (lower helplessness, clearer goals, better resilience, and higher intimacy) - lower risk for MDD episodes; protective factor against development of mental disorders - lowered risk for cardiovascular disease - lowered number of chronic, physical diseases - lower utilization of healthcare

INTEREST V. CURIOSITY

INTEREST: - things you like to do, engage with, and learn about - used in I-O psych to suggest vocation CURIOSITY: - an emotional state. Similar mental experiences and physiological changes such as... a) tilting one's head b) speaking faster and/or with greater pitch fluctuation (shows interest) c) facial expression changes to express attention and concentration - a 'prompt' to seek, discover, and explore; motive - intrinsic motivator: pursued for its own sake rather than hope of external reward - can increase effectiveness- we try new ways of doing tasks and become better and faster at them - helps broaden and build - state rather than trait- usually fluctuates depending on interest, situation, object, etc. However, consistent and/or strong curiosity *can* be considered a trait, because it's a stable part of that person's personality - subjective- things are not inherently 'boring' or 'interesting'- our mental interpretations are what make them boring/interesting! Both interest and curiosity are defined as *"a positive motivational-emotional state associated with exploration"*

SCHEIER, CARVER, AND BRIDGES, 2002- OPTIMISM V. PESSIMISM

OPTIMISTS: - seek additional information about problems - active coping with/planning for problems - positive reframing of problems - seeking benefits from problems ("silver lining") - use of humor to cope - acceptance PESSIMISTS: - suppress negative thoughts - give up - distract themselves from problems - avoid problems - focus on distress - deny problems

PATHOGENIC V. SALUTOGENIC MODEL

PATHOGENIC: - focuses on removal of illness. no symptoms = success! - the 'medical' model: patient comes in + explains symptoms; expert decides what is wrong and prescribes course of action to patient - focuses on source of illness- knowing where it came from helps us understand how to treat it - reactive; treats disease SALUTOGENIC: - focuses on cultivating well-being - focuses on leaning into what's good in your current lifestyle, as well as actively building other health behaviors - you are the expert - proactive; focuses on disease prevention and promoting health

HOW TO INCREASE CURIOSITY

SILVIA: in order to enhance curiosity, enhance either the complexity or the comprehensibility of a situation PETERSON: interact with people who share your interests; that way, you can 'bounce' curiosity and interest off of one another, as well as learn more about said interest

GOALS

TYPES OF GOALS: INTRINSIC: - Deci + Ryan, 2000 - goals you pursue for their own sake, not for external reward SELF-CONCORDANT: - Sheldon + Elliot, 1999 - goals relating to one's traits (beliefs, personality, cognition, interests, etc.) VALUE: - Carver + Scheier, 1999 - assesses values to form goals SMART GOALS: S- specific M- measurable A- attainable R- realistic T- timely - when evaluating progress towards our goals, speed is more important than attainment. 'Suitable' progress increases positive affect and life satisfaction, while goal attainment often comes with a sense of emptiness. - to combat this, work on multiple goals and develop improvement-based, not outcome-based, goals - goal attainment also requires intelligence, conscientiousness, and grit

UNREALISTIC OPTIMISM + DEFENSIVE PESSIMISM

UNREALISTIC OPTIMISM: - Weinstein, 1980 - perceives risk as lower than it actually is (unrealistic optimists perceive themselves at lower risk for cancer, heart disease, failure, and emotional distress than they actually are) - leads to unrealistically favorable expectations for the outcomes of risky behaviors (unprotected sex, reckless driving, criminal activity, drug use, etc.) - underestimates risk + overestimates reward - optimists are less prepared for serious traumatic events than pessimists DEFENSIVE PESSIMISM: - Norem and Cantor, 1986 - plans/prepares for negative outcomes - COGNITIVE RESULTS: 1) gives the 'prepper' feelings of control 2) increases safety + readiness for neg. events; sees and negates consequences 3) sets low expectations for upcoming performances in order to cushion blow of failure 4) prompts reflection and rehearsal 5) "harnesses" anxiety for motivation 6) increased problem-solving skills Both defensive pessimists and optimists become more anxious/perform worse if they are not 'allowed' to express their dispositional styles

WELL-BEING IS BEST DEFINED USING...

distributional data (the bell curve)

INTEREST V. ENJOYMENT

interest prompts learning, but does not necessarily prompt positive emotion; enjoyment, however, prompts both learning *and* positive emotion

THE OPTIMAL RATIO

3 pos. emotions: 1 neg. emotion

DEPENDENT V. INDEPENDENT VARIABLE

DEPENDENT: the variable that changes after the experiment INDEPENDENT: the variable that is manipulated in order to cause change within the experiment

HEDONIC V. EUDAIMONIC

HEDONISM: - pleasure - self-gratification - not associated with limits or rules (i.e. addiction. Many people would say that giving into addictive impulses for the sake of self-gratification and pleasure would lead someone to feel deeply unhappy). - pleasure comes from self-glorification - cares about yourself EUDAIMONISM: - *thoughtful* self-expression - self-development through self-understanding - recognizes social interconnectedness and mutual responsibility - "the unexamined life is not worth living" - cares about yourself *and* others

HOPE V. OPTIMISM

OPTIMISM: - belief system/mindset (unconscious 'this is how the world works') - 'apathetic'; positive outcomes *will* happen, so I don't need to do anything to foster them HOPE: - positive outcomes *could* happen if I work towards fostering them - motivated; I will increase the chances of good things happening if I work towards them

STRENGTHS V. TALENTS

STRENGTH: - innate/instinctual - non-moral - can be utilized (or NOT utilized) for good or bad ends TALENT: more 'optional'- easier to act/not act upon

EMOTIONS + THE BRAIN

THALAMUS: - relays sensory information to the higher-processing parts of the brain. Processes information at a base level (oh, that's a shape), then sends it for further analysis (uh oh, that's a tiger!). - decides whether or not to process information by working with the amygdala. Strong emotion = further processing, no automatic response/emotion = it's probably fine. AMYGDALA: - activates strong emotions - active emotional regulation reduces amygdalic activity HIPPOCAMPUS: - creates memories of stimuli/experiences - processes new stimuli based on past experiences HYPOTHALAMUS: - regulates hormones/neurotransmitters - regulates the thalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus - regulates the 4 F's: fighting, fleeing, freezing, and fmating - turns thoughts/emotions into bodily responses

THE POSITIVE EMOTION CYCLE

positive emotion ---> openness ---> connection/bonding with others ---> positive emotion

AFFECTIVITY

the extent to which an individual experiences positive and negative moods POSITIVE AFFECT: the extent to which a person experiences positive emotions. - 'sources' of positive affect include: 1) the dopaminergic system- controls drives and drive-fulfilling behaviors 2) the opiate/oxytocin system- controls feelings of soothing/contentment - pos. affect is mediated by three factors: 1) active positive affect 2) relaxed positive affect 3) safe/content positive affect A lack of safe/content positive affect correlates most closely with depression, anxiety, stress, self-criticism, and insecure attachment NEGATIVE AFFECT: - the extent to which a person experiences negative emotions. - the same singular event can trigger many different emotions and responses depending on the individual it happens to. This is called an *affective style*. An affective style is the broad range of individual reaction/difference in different parameters of emotional reactivity, including threshold to respond, post-response recovery, and response duration

CAROL RYFF:

*PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING* includes... 1) self acceptance self acceptance differs from self-esteem. It's not just feeling good about yourself; it's being comfortable and secure with who you are and liking yourself even though you have bad qualities 2) personal growth 3) purpose 4) relationships what you give to others as well as what others give to you. an ideal relationship has reciprocal, healthy care on both ends. 5) environmental mastery ability to manage one's environment in order to move towards their goals 6) autonomy Ryff takes a more classical, western definition. All-American independence, babey. - purpose and relationships seen as the two most vital characteristics to have

MOOD

- "generalized", rather than caused by a specific circumstance or event. "Unfocused". - longer-lasting and more enduring than an emotion - processed on a less conscious level than emotions - *free-floating or objectless, more long lasting, and occupying the background consciousness*

POS. PSYCH + HIGHER EDUCATION

- Boniwell and Seligman studied well-being of students working on master's degrees in positive psychology - students majoring in positive psychology felt... 1) "called" to the profession 2) open to personal transformation 3) positive emotions 4) intellectual stimulation 5) connected to others 6) like a part of something bigger

MISCONCEPTIONS + THE HAPPINESS FORMULA

- Deepak Choprah: happiness is 50% genetics, 10% circumstantial, and 40% one's thoughts/actions - the psychological research that this pop psychology formula came from is from Sonja Lyubomirsky's "The How of Happiness", published 2007. - in this book, Lyubomirsky talks about how different factors relate to happiness and studied to what degree genetics and heritability make people who are related to one another similar. While psychology has a heritability factor, it is rarely so clearly and confidently defined - psychology confirmed that around 50% of all similarities between twins are genetic (the other half is undefined, which means we do not know if it was affected by things like research error or unique circumstances). Therefore, all related people are 50% similar to one another in all aspects ---> 50% of your capacity for happiness is determined by the genetics passed onto you by your mother and father - ALSO: genetics are affected by your environment- how much of what makes you you is your "set point", and how much of it was altered by the environment over time? What genetics did my parents "start" with, and which were altered by the environment around them and passed to me? - to study happiness, Lyubomirsky had participants engage in singular, controllable activities traditionally thought to boost happiness. Because of the results of this study, she came to the conclusion that happiness is at least partially based on making the effort to be happy (*very* loosely estimated at around 40%). This led to "happiness is 40% about your thoughts and actions". - Choprah combined the results of these two studies together (which I don't know why you can't do, but you can't), and then went, "well, the twin study gave us 50% of the factors relating to happiness, and Lyubomirsky's study gave us 40%. What else could we use to get a full pie chart? I've got it- circumstances!"

CLIFFTON STRENGTHS FINDER

- Lopez and Ackerman, 2009 - 34 talent themes - talents form the bedrock for strengths; strengths are produced when talents are improved upon - created by Donald Clifton, who interviewed traditionally successful people to determine what characteristics aided in their success. Gathered, tested, and refined observations to 34 different themes - used in business settings to reduce employee turnover and increase productivity and profit through focusing on utilizing employee strengths

THE PERMA MODEL

- Martin Seligman - "I just thought it was neat" - well-being = *P*ositive emotion *E*ngagement (flow) *R*elationships *M*eaning *A*ccomplishment

LEARNED OPTIMISM

- Seligman 1991 - we can learn to look for solutions to problems even if we have had negative events happen to us in our past - counter to learned helplessness

EXPLANATORY STYLE

- Seligman 1998 - 'the habitual way in which one explains the causes of events' - 'used' to create expectancies (certainty) about future events - presents optimism as a practicable skill (unlike the dispositional optimism/pessimism model, where optimism/pessimism is a personality trait). Attribution style is concerned with why past outcomes happened; disposition is concerned with future outcomes. - GLOBAL: generalized. Most things in the world are good/bad. - INTERNAL: 1) whether or not one attributes an event to themselves or forces around them (my fault/not my fault) 2) locus of control (within/not within my control) 3) optimisms = internal explanations for pos. events. Pessimists = internal explanations for neg. events. - STABLE: pessimists have good explanations for bad events, and bad explanations for good events, while optimists have good explanations for good events and bad explanations for bad events - PESSIMISTIC EXPLANATION FOR NEG. EVENTS: 1) INTERNAL- I caused this 2) CHRONIC- this is going to continue 3) GLOBAL- this affects *everything* - OPTIMISTIC EXPLANATION FOR POS. EVENTS: 1) EXTERNAL- something else caused this 2) UNSTABLE- this is not going to continue 3) LOCAL- this will only affect a certain portion of my life

SELIGMAN 2005

- Seligman asked subjects to participate in various experiences. Control = doing activities that elicited neutral responses (writing about memories). Also worked as a placebo; subjects through they were doing things that would improve their mental health, but it wasn't scientifically backed. - pos. activities included gratitude visits, "3 good things", "you at your best", identifying strengths, and using strengths - subjects instructed to do given activities for a week - non-random selection: subjects signed up for study - short term longitudinal study (6 months w/ periodic measure) - RESULTS ANALYSIS: 1) subjects reported higher happiness, lower depression immediately after gratitude visit, "you at your best", and identifying strengths 2) people reported higher happiness, lower depression down the line with "3 good things" and using strengths 3) continued participation in pos. exercises = greater long-term benefits

EMOTION

- a psychological state defined by both subjective feeling and characteristic patterns of physiological arousal, thought, and behavior - a discrete, consistent response to an internal/external event or events which have a particular significance for the organism experiencing them

WW2 AND THE "MEDICALIZATION" OF PSYCHOLOGY

- after WW2, the US was pretty much the only major economy left standing b/c the Germans never ended up coming overseas to kick the shit out of us - our troops came back from the war, and they came back different. Because we had the money to figure out how to heal them and put them back into the workforce, we looked into it - psychology post WW2 was largely diagnose problem/symptom(s) ---> identify root of problem/symptom(s) ---> treat

MINDFULNESS

- awareness of the present experience; attitude of non-judgement and acceptance (thoughts without reactions). Positive judgement + awareness of present experience = savoring. - mindfulness is not the same thing as meditation- meditation is *one* way to be mindful. There are many ways to practice mindfulness besides meditation. - *meditation*: the practice of developing a greater awareness of one's body, mind, and environment through use of the senses - mindfulness measured using the Mindfulness Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS; Langer) - WAYS TO PRACTICE MINDFULNESS: 1) yoga 2) meditation 3) guided exercises 4) savoring 5) mindful walking 6) "mindful events"- making an effort to pay attention to a specific person or thing - BENEFITS OF MINDFULNESS: 1) increased understanding/retention of experiences 2) decreased automatic bias 3) aids in managing stress, which allows you to become less 'muddled'/'stuck' with negative reactions. Broadens action repertoire and gives you space to choose.

MEANING

- because it is much more detrimental to feel as though your life is meaningless than to feel that your life has no positive affect, some researchers argue that finding meaning, not pleasure, is the key to achieving happiness in life. If your goal in life is to experience positive emotions rather than feel fulfilled, it may increase levels of depression, hopelessness, and suicidal thoughts. Conversely, a sense of meaning enhances mental and physical health/wellbeing, life satisfaction, and coping ability, while reducing suicidal behaviors and stress. - common sources of meaning are achievement, acceptance, relationships, intimacy, religion, self-transcendence, and fairness. - KING + NAPA and MCGREGOR + LITTLE: well-being = happiness + meaning - COMPTON ET. AL: well-being = happiness + personal growth

POSITIVE PSYCH + EDUCATION

- children and adolescents suffering from depression have higher levels of academic and/or interpersonal difficulties, smoking, drinking, and attempted suicide - by teaching well-being and flourishing in schools (counter to depression), children and adolescents may receive preventative and/or diminishing benefits (no depression or less depression) - school-wide programs (programs involving students *and* staff) are more likely to promote well-being than class-only programs because of social learning theory. Children see adults modeling well-being behaviors, and they want to model well-being behaviors as well. - school-wide programs also result in a more positive learning environment, lower stress levels for both students and staff, and better academic results *PENN RESILIENCE PROGRAM* - proven to result in long-lasting prevention of depression and anxiety. 13 randomized, placebo-controlled trials carried out across more than 2000 participants. 11 studies showed reduction in depression, while 2 showed reduction in depression *and* an increase in well-being (less anxiety and behavioral problems) - an intervention program that aims to increase resilience and promote optimism, coping skills, and problem solving through the use of CBT. - teaches children empathy, self-efficacy, how to identify feelings, how to tolerate ambiguity, how to analyze problems, and how to try new things *BOUNCE BACK!* - developed in Australia by psychologists Helen McGrath and Toni Noble - the benefits of short-term programs are not always sustainable- therefore, Bounce Back! revisits concepts over time - we don't *just* want to decrease anxiety and depression- we want to increase well-being by developing positive emotions, positive relationships, and meaning *MAKING HOPE HAPPEN* - children create stories about navigating obstacles, play games about pursuing goals, write hopeful stories about goals, and design hope cartoons - obviously, increases hope scores

MIXED MODEL OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

- created by Daniel Goleman - defines EI as *the ability to adaptively perceive, understand, regulate, and harness emotions in oneself and others*; views EI as a combination of emotional skill and personality - measured by the Emotional and Social Competence Inventory, or ESCI. Uses self-reported data, which can be inaccurate and is vulnerable to distortion in the name of social desirability/impression management. A person's knowledge of their emotional intelligence is often ingrained on a subconscious, inaccessible level- it's just instinct, not something you understand and analyze. - FIVE MAIN AREAS: 1) MANAGING IN SELF the ability to reframe anxiety and diminish feelings of stress 2) USING - utilizing emotions as fuel for positive motivation - delaying instant gratification in favor of long-term success 3) RECOGNIZING allows one to practice empathy 4) MANAGING IN OTHERS helps with diminishing stress and encouraging motivation 5) SELF-AWARENESS the ability to identify and understand our own emotions

THE FLOURISHING APPROACH

- developed by Diener; a combination of Ryff and Seligman's approaches - well-being = a) meaning (major factor) b) relationships (major factor) c) engagement d) contribution to others e) competence (major factor) f) self-esteem g) optimism h) feeling respected

REALISE 2

- developed by the Centre for Applied Positive Psychology (CAPP), by Alex Linley - THREE MAIN QUESTIONS: 1) Does this attribute have the ability to re-energize you? 2) Are you good at this attribute? 3) How often do you use this attribute in daily life? - FOUR DIMENSIONS: 1) REALIZED STRENGTHS: strengths that you're aware of/use; strengths that enable you to perform at your best 2) UNREALIZED STRENGTHS: strengths that you are unable to express on a daily basis, but that you derive energy and satisfaction from 3) LEARNED BEHAVIORS: you've learned x skill, but do not enjoy it. Performing this skill drains you and inhibits your ability to perform at your best 4) WEAKNESSES: strengths you have not yet learned; draining. Can create issues and must be managed in order to promote flourishing. - this method helps you prioritize strengths, develop "lesser" strengths, and moderate stressful behaviors, and minimize weaknesses

PERSONALITY

- distinctive, relatively stable individual differences in the way we think, feel, and act that categorize one's response to a situation - there is a strong positive correlation between extraversion and positive disposition. Neuroticism and extraversion are the 2 big five traits most strongly correlated with happiness (positive correlation v. negative correlation) - extraversion is also positively correlated with pride, love, compassion, amusement, and awe - conscientiousness is positively correlated with joy, contentment, and pride - agreeableness is positively correlated with love and compassion - openness is positively correlated with awe, amusement, joy, love, and compassion - neuroticism is negatively correlated with love, contentment, pride, and joy

BIDIRECTIONALITY

- each item in a survey can be negative, positive, or neutral (goes from + ---> - ) - encourages greater consideration of question (higher cognitive level) - ability to measure negative and positive means that researchers can measure multiple concepts with the same scale at the same time (ex. self love; neg. self love = self-loathing)

BAR-ON MODEL OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

- emotional intelligence is *the skill of being able to understand yourself and those around you; the ability to connect with yourself and with others* - studied in the form of a self-measurement test which gauges social and emotional skills

EUDAIMONIA

- life is more than interacting with what gives us positive emotions and avoiding what doesn't. A good life isn't just pleasure; conversely, many important or 'feel-good' moments in one's life cannot be categorized as solely 'positive' and negative'. Complex and even negative experiences can contain positive aspects within them. - emotion is triggered not just by what we interact with, but what memories/feelings those interactions bring up - the eudaimonic philosophy uses pain and pleasure as fuel for achieving something greater. In the eudaimonic view, long-term satisfaction > short-term satisfaction - about fulfilling your potential and taking responsibility for your own choices. By fulfilling your potential, your life will be given meaning, which is what will make it 'good'. - Aristotle and Epictetus - modern promotes of the eudaimonic view include humanistic psychology and humanistic psychologists such as Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. - WATTERMAN: a key element of eudaimonia is the ability to express yourself. We're all pretty similar, but we each have our own unique tidbits we can add to the world- like different covers of the same song. - What does personal growth actually mean? Do people have the ability to accurately determine what makes them happy?

OPTIMISM

- even if you think it is an illusion, it's not necessarily *unhealthy*- positivity bias is an indicator of being psychologically stable. Additionally, pessimism is closely tied to depression (which causes cognitive distortions and decrease in psychological well-being). - early psychologists thought that optimism meant psychological ill-being- you're in denial. To have positive mental health, you had to have an absence of naive and/or illusory optimism. Used "reality testing" to make sure that a person was psychologically healthy- in this case, they held 'realistic' expectations and had a 'balanced' view of the world. - modern psych: optimism is necessary for building resilience and happiness - *pessimism*: overall future anticipation of negative outcomes. *Optimism*: overall future anticipation of positive outcomes - *dispositions*: personalities traits related to general outcomes expectancies. Broad (extends across most things), distinctive (a characteristic), and stable (similar situations ---> similar reactions) - BENEFITS OF OPTIMISM: 1) better mental + physical health 2) active coping w/ stress and illness 3) longevity 4) increased positive affect (pos. affect ---> optimism ---> pos. affect), which also predicts better immune functioning 5) Optimistic HIV patients engaged in healthier behaviors (medication compliance, less smoking/drinking, better diet, more exercise). Optimists can't control their health as much as they think they can, but optimism ---> persistent, health-promoting behaviors ---> better health - early environment "forms" optimism. Childhood socioeconomic status and optimism are linked, even if/when the child moves into a different socioeconomic status in the future. Additionally, environment "forms" optimism because parents (do or do not) model and teach optimism, hope, and coping styles

WHAT POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY IS NOT:

- forced positivity, optimism, or happiness. No "delusion"- general psychology recognizes that forced positivity is actually harmful - a quick fix- happiness takes time and continuous effort! - dichotomous- there is no "happy people always do X, Y, and Z, and if you don't, you are not happy". No clear-cut, entirely yes or entirely no answers, no oversimplification. Over-simplifying things like this prompts less effort, which allows people to find "quick fixes" - a cult. There are very rarely "gurus". No one person claims to know more about psychology than anyone else. Gurus often base their advice on acting confident rather than research-proven information. "It's your fault if it doesn't work."

POS. PSYCH + PARENTING

- good parenting results in healthy development, social adjustment, academic achievement, and healthy self-esteem - *7 PILLARS OF PARENTING (CAMERON + MORGAN):* 1) CARE AND PROTECTION- shows the child that they are important to the parent 2) SECURE ATTACHMENT- diminishes anxiety and acts as a protective mechanism 3) POSITIVE SELF-PERCEPTION 4) EMOTIONAL COMPETENCE- allows the child to develop successful relationships 5) SELF-MANAGEMENT 6) RESILIENCE- children understand what has happened to them, develop empathy, and are able to achieve their goals 7) SENSE OF BELONGING

THE HEDONIC TREADMILL

- habituation to pleasure - pursuit of pleasure without "getting anywhere" (does not lead to long-term fulfillment and satisfaction) - hedonic happiness is short term- if we only use the hedonic method, we're constantly seeking other/bigger hedonic methods to make us happy - MONEY! Short term-rush does not leave you with fulfillment and satisfaction, so people turn to repeating that rush by gaining more money - gaining more money ---> spending more money ---> need for more money ---> spending more money - while lottery winners are initially very happy, studies show that all of them are exactly as happy, or even less happy, than they were before they got the money after a period of just one year. Probably due to hostile social environment (everyone wants your money and some people will do anything to get it) + habituation

SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING + PEAKS

- humans tend to focus on/remember the 'peaks' in life (very good or very bad events) rather than more neutral experiences - the more time has passed between a given peak and the present, the more than peak influences our perceptions - therefore, peaks influence global (overall) ratings, which means they influence overall feelings, and influence overall SWB

SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING

- idea coined by Ed Diener- specifically, Diener, Suh, Lucas, and Smith- in 1999. Did not look at how to be happy based on approaches to happiness- looked at whether or not people evaluated their lives as happy (level of well-being; whether people had negative or positive evaluations of their own lives). - happiness = an abundance of positive affect and an overall lack of negative affect - a person's satisfaction with life and their experiences with positive versus negative affect - to be happy, you must judge your life to be satisfying. Conversely, to live a satisfying life, you must have happiness. - SBW = LS (life satisfaction) + PA (positive affect) - NA (negative affect)

EXISTENTIAL PSYCHOLOGY

- in order to be happy, you must accept that suffering is the human condition - 3 types of mature happiness: 1) AUTHENTIC- being yourself 2) EUDAIMONIC- doing good things 3) CHAIRONIC- "As humans, we all have the ability to be happy! Isn't that great?" - happiness is an evolving process, not an end result. To find happiness, you must work for it, and you must find meaning. Being content can be a bad thing, because it leaves you with no goal to work towards, while discontent can lead to personal growth. - Wong's duality hypothesis: positives cannot exist apart from negatives; authentic happiness grows from pain and suffering. - embracing the idea that you will die encourages you to live authentically, which gives you a higher chance at self-actualization - 3 ATTITUDES TOWARDS DEATH: 1) NEUTRAL DEATH ACCEPTANCE- death is part of life, so we should live life to the fullest while we still have the opportunity to live it 2) APPROACH ACCEPTANCE- there is a pleasurable afterlife, so I don't have to worry about dying 3) ESCAPE ACCEPTANCE- death is preferable to a miserable life

BENEFITS OF WELL-BEING

- increased optimism - increased assertiveness - increased emotional stability - increased self-esteem - decreased loneliness

BISWAS-DIENER 2006

- interviewed 123 Kenyans, 71 Greenlanders, and 519 Americans; found a high rate of agreement on the existence and desirability of most virtues - however, different cultures had different views amongst themselves, based mainly on gender. - in the UK, both genders scored fairly similarly on open-mindedness, curiosity, fairness, and love of learning. Older British citizens all scored fairly similarly in curiosity, love of learning, fairness, forgiveness, and self-regulation.

BENEFITS OF EXPRESSING CHARACTER STRENGTHS

- lasting, increased happiness (as opposed to those who cannot regularly exercise their strengths) - decreased depressive symptoms

BENEFITS OF POSITIVE AFFECT

- more positive perceptions of yourself and others - more sociable and well-liked - more open - stronger relationships/more connected to others - better performance - more autonomy - better at coping with distress (increased ability to find resources); more resilient - better at maintaining/regulating negative emotions - less likely to experience conflict and physical pain

CHARACTER STRENGTHS + NATION DEMOGRAPHICS

- most globally common: fairness, curiosity, judgement, love of learning, honesty, kindness, gratitude, creativity, love, and appreciation of beauty - most common in the United States: kindness, fairness, honesty, gratitude, and judgement - all states fairly similar expect for ratings of religion characteristic - least globally common: humility, prudence, self-regulation

CHARACTER STRENGTHS

- most people are proud when another person exhibits a character strength, even when it's a strength that person lacks/has less of. - "reverse DSM"- character strength psychology recognizes good traits and works on building them (v. recognizing bad traits + diminishing) - Peterson + Seligman characterization of strengths: 1) present across an individual's behaviors, thoughts, feelings, and actions. General. 2) contributes to the fulfillment of the 'good life' for themselves and others 3) intrinsic moral value (valued for their own sake) 4) benefits, rather than diminishes, others 5) measurable 6) distinguishable 7) society provides institutions/'rituals' for cultivating them - exercising strengths increases optimism, confidence, and vitality, as well as preventing health issues such as allergies, diabetes, chronic pain, and mental disorders. Exercising strengths also builds resilience and generate positive emotion

HAPPINESS IN RICH V. POOR NATIONS

- poor countries sit at all different points of the happiness spectrum - wealthier countries also vary, *but* are all generally pretty high on the happiness spectrum - studies measuring GNP over time in the United States show that GNP is not correlated with happiness- as GNP goes up, life satisfaction ratings stay fairly constant - basically: on an individual level, increased wealth does not increase happiness. However, on a societal level, if your country passes a certain amount of wealth, it increases your happiness. Poor country ---> rich country = increased happiness; rich country ---> richer country = no change in happiness

THE HEDONIC VIEW

- pos. emotion always = good, neg. emotion always = bad - we are attracted to the good and repelled by the bad on a base level (of course, our judgements on what is 'good' and 'bad' can sometimes err). Therefore, gaining what looks good to us will make us happy - maximize pleasure and minimize pain by avoiding the bad stuff and seeking out the good stuff - Aristippus and Epicurus - according to Daniel Kahneman, we're not good at being rational about what will/won't make us happy. If we were truly rational about happiness, we would see happiness as the sum of happy moments - the sum of painful/unhappy moments- NOT happiness = having entirely happy moments. Happiness is concrete. - is positive emotion alone enough to feel like you've lived a good life? What kind of emotions are actually "good" for well-being? What does it really mean to be happy?

POSITIVE EMOTION + OWN RACE BIAS

- positive emotion combats the *OWN RACE BIAS*, which is the inclination to recognize faces of members of our own races better than faces of members of other races - because people with high levels of positive emotion (high pos. affect) are more open, sympathetic, and compassionate, they are more easily able to relate to those unlike themselves

SIGNATURE STRENGTHS

- positive traits that a person owns, celebrates, and frequently exercises - most people have anywhere from 2-5

MARTIN SELIGMAN

- president of the APA (American Psychological Association) - developed the theory of learned helplessness (via dog torture) - we should focus on positive psychology, too! Let's work to make things better for ourselves! - how do we become psychologically healthy?

SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY

- published by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan - leading theory in the psychology of happiness the three basic 'mental needs' are... 1) AUTONOMY - the ability to act towards one's own wants and needs - the ability to choose/abstain from an action - the internal (self-control) and external (environmental) ability to regulate one's own behavior - does not matter whether the choice is one you developed, or whether it was set up by someone else. It just matters that you are able *to* choose - tendency to resist pressure, coercion, and control 2) COMPETENCE - being interested and open to new ideas; a desire to learn new skills and master previous ones. - allows one to affect their environment in order to achieve desired outcomes 3) RELATEDNESS: connection to and care for (and cared for by) other group members

ARE WE BORN WITH CHARACTER STRENGTHS?

- scores of character strengths remain relatively stable over time - Kor looked @ subjects in Israel; measurements of strengths relatively stable over a 14-month period - Duan and Ho looked @ subjects in China; looked at correlation between ind. strength scores over time. Med-strong correlation: .39-.57. - Loker looked @ orphans in China and strength measurements over time. Strengths relatively stable over a period of 2 years. - Gander looked @ subjects in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria- strengths remained relatively stable over periods of 2-3.5 years - cha professor conducted research on twins in order to examine how hereditable certain characteristics were. Spirituality, persistence, forgiveness, self-regulation, and creativity were most genetic/inherited (nature). Humor, citizenship, modesty, and love were most environmental (nurture).

HOPE

- the belief that one can find a pathway/s towards their desired goal; one is motivated to use those pathways to succeed in their goals. Hope is about wanting something and formulating a goal to get it. - 'the determination to achieve goals and the belief that there are many ways to do so' - *agency*: the belief that one can initiate and sustain 'striving' behaviors until a goal is attained - *pathway thinking*: an individual's (perceived) ability to formulate routes to achieve goals - measured by the Trait Hope Scale (Synder 1991) and the State Hope Scale (Snyder 1996). Trait hope = people fall on a 'hopefulness spectrum'. State hope = *but*, an individual's level of hope can vary from situation to situation. - BENEFITS OF HOPE (RAND + CHEAVENS, 2012): 1) better performance 2) increased physical health 3) better psychological adjustment 4) better interpersonal relationships - hope energizes goal-directed behaviors, particularly with goals that have uncertain outcomes. High hope --> setting, and *achieving*, more difficult goals - hope used in CBT to facilitate agency and pathway thinking (remoralizes) - hope correlates with... 1) self-esteem 2) positive emotion 3) coping 4) academic achievement 5) physical health (higher hope --> more preventative actions) 6) success - hope buffers against self-deprecation and negative emotions

THE CONTROL-THEORY PERSPECTIVE

- the goals we set for ourselves become 'reference values' that we refer to when acting and making decisions. Because of this, are constantly attempting to minimize the distance between where we are and where we want to be. We are always thinking and behaving in relation to our goals, long-term or short-term, and constantly assessing whether or not we are close enough to them. - discrepancies between actions and values cause behavioral adjustments. - we rate progress not by the fact that it's happening, but by how *fast* it's happening

FLOW

- the intense experiencial involvement in moment-to-moment activity. Attention is fully invested in the task at hand and the person performing the task functions at their fullest capacity - causes psychic negentropy, which enhances positive affect - discovered by Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi, who wanted to answer the question, "Why are people led to "non-rewarding" behavior? Why do people experience intrinsic motivation? What makes something intrinsically motivating?" First looked at flow by doing case studies on 'successful' people + how what was happening to them during peak performance. Then measured flow across social demographics and countries by making people carry ESM beepers with them; then, when the beepers went off (randomized intervals), people were required to answer flow-related questions. - common activities where we experience flow are sports, dance, creative arts, sex, socialization, studying, listening to music, reading, and writing - benefits of flow include peak performance, enhanced skill acquisition, increased positive affect, and greater engagement with the task at hand - Csikszentmihalyi: "Flow is the secret to happiness." "A good life is characterized by complete absorption in what one does." - experienced at similar rates/intensities across age, gender, class, and culture - FAVE 2011, MULTINATIONAL STUDIES: 1) 85% of adults report experiencing flow 2) most adults reported experiencing flow during work and/or structured leisure 3) introspective activities (poetry) were more commonly used to trigger flow in the East; leisure activities (sports) more commonly used to trigger flow in the West CONDITIONS OF FLOW: 1) participation in a structured activity with clear goals and immediate feedback. The activity has "rules" and we can confirm/deny whether or not we are on the right track. 2) balance of challenge with skill. Too much challenge = anxiety, but too little = boredom. 3) complete concentration. The activity "takes up" all of your conscious awareness. You are not focusing on yourself; you are only focusing on the task. 4) sense of control. Complete concentration leads to lack of self-consciousness. Combined with the appropriate level of challenge v. skill, you feel competent and in control. 5) transformation of time 6) activity for activity's sake- there is no obvious reward for engaging in the task, nor is there any external force pushing you towards the task 7) personality- some people are more susceptible to flow that another. While 10-15% of the US/European population has *never* experienced flow, another 10-15% of the US/European population experiences flow *every day*!

STRESS

- the requirement placed on an organism to adapt to its environment - Rob Sapolsky, "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers": humans have the unique ability to experience stress because (as far as we know) we're the only animal with the capacity for imagination. Imagination allows us to 'experience' stressful scenarios at any time; and, even if they aren't really happening, our body still reacts as if they are. - RESULTS OF STRESS: 1) high blood pressure 2) heart disease 3) tension 4) clotting 5) digestion issues 6) problems sleeping 7) weight gain 8) headaches 9) decreased immune response 10) depression 11) anxiety 12) issues remembering/concentrating

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

- the study of optimal human functioning. Aims to discover and promote factors that allow both individuals and communities to thrive. - major players are CARL ROGERS and ABRAHAM MASLOW (self-actualization through hierarchy of needs)

SELIGMAN'S VIEW OF THERAPY

- therapy has 2 parts: tactics (aids in coping w/ current problems) and deep strategies (instilling pillars of positive psych in the client in order to enhance good and diminish bad) - therapy must also have 'outside' factors (factors not tied to how you 'teach' therapy itself), including... 1) attention 2) authority figures 3) rapport 4) payment for services 5) trust 6) opening up 7) naming the problem

POS. PSYCH + BUSINESS

- wants to enable individual, group, and organizational flourishing, as well as shape positive states and outcomes for both individuals and groups (enhances performance) - in 2004, James Henry proposed pillars of positive industrial-organizational psychology such as... 1) task variety 2) intrinsic motivation (increased through increasing employee autonomy, relatedness, and feelings of competence) 3) confidence 4) creativity 5) strengths work- a strength-based, rather than weakness-based, approach to employee/company development 6) team-building 7) metaperspective- realistic about employee strengths and weaknesses 8) flow 9) participatory working- employees are able to determine how and when they work 10) open climate, empowerment, and self-organization- employees are kinda just doing their own thing - people who thrive in their careers are more likely to be using their strengths regularly than those who don't. Additionally, people who use their strengths during work can be up to 6 times more engaged than those who can't. Businesses that promote use of employee strengths also see enhanced productivity and employee well-being.

TERROR MANAGEMENT THEORY

- we all have an innate, biological drive to survive - when people are reminded of death, the *MORTALITY SALIENCE HYPOTHESIS* states that they will lean further into their previously held worldviews, conform to the beliefs/behaviors of their culture, and use distractions to prevent themselves from thinking about the idea of death

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE PREDICTS...

- well-being - self esteem - prosocial behaviors - smoking/alcohol use - positive affect - acts of violence - academic, occupational, and relationship success - leadership performance

NORMAL DISTRIBUTION

-1.5 standard deviation = lowest 25% +1.5 standard deviation = highest 25%

RESEARCH METHODS

1) ASSESSMENT - surveys - questionnaires 2) QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH - correlational research - experimental research 3) QUALITATIVE RESEARCH - naturalistic observation - interviews 4) MIXED-METHOD

FLOW QUESTIONAIRRE ITEMS

1) I get involved + 2) I get anxious - 3) I clearly know what I am supposed to do + 4) I get direct cues as to how well I am doing + 5) I feel I cannot handle the demands of the situation - 6) I feel self-conscious - 7) I get bored - 8) I have to make an effort to keep my mind on what is happening - 9) I would do it even if I didn't have to + 10) I get distracted - 11) time is 'altered' + 12) I enjoy experiencing and using my skills +

THE THREE PILLARS OF POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

1) POSITIVE SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCES: - do you feel like you're flourishing? - positive emotions such as well-being, flow, meaning, optimism, and hope 2) POSITIVE INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS: - what are your tools that you can use to flourish? - traits such as gratitude, resilience, forgiveness, kindness, curiosity, morality, and grit 3) POSITIVE ENVIRONMENTS/INSTITUTIONS: - does this environment promote flourishing? If not, how can we alter it so that it does? - includes institutions like school, the workplace, and w/in relationships

WAYS TO MEASURE SIGNATURE STRENGTHS

1) SELF-REPORT QUESTIONAIRES - Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS. Peterson + Seligman, 2004) - VIA Inventory of Strengths for Youth (VIA-Youth; Peterson + Park, 2006) - Gallup strengths finder - Realise 2 2) STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS 3) INFORMANT REPORTS: strengths of an individual as reported by others 4) CASE STUDIES 5) CONTENT ANALYSIS

SELIGMAN'S THREE ROUTES TO HAPPINESS

1) THE PLEASANT LIFE- the experience of positive emotions and gratification (hedonic) 2) THE GOOD LIFE- experiencing absorption, flow, and engagement in what you do (eudaimonic) 3) THE MEANINGFUL LIFE- using one's strengths to work towards a bigger purpose (eudaimonic)

PARTS OF THE BRAIN INVOLVED IN POS./NEG. EMOTION

1) THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX: - aids in emotional regulation and achievement of long-term goals (delays instant gratification in pursuit of long-term rewards of greater satisfaction and regulates impulses) - an overactive right prefrontal cortex leads to difficulties in regulating emotion - the left prefrontal cortex is activated by both positive and negative emotions. Because the left prefrontal cortex is linked with goal attainment, nearing a goal produces positive affect (this process is referred to as the behavioral reward activation system, or *BAS*), while threats to our goals produces negative affect (the behavioral inhibition system, or *BIS*), arousing anxiety and neurosis. - whether you rely more on BAS or BIS seems to be decided by outside social influences - whether we engage more with BAS or BIS will determine how failing to achieve our goals affects us 2) THE AMYGDALA: produces negative affect

LYUBOMIRSKY, BOOSTING WB THROUGH POS. ACTIVITY

1) choose activities that work for you 2) put in the effort! 3) use multiple activities 4) perform both 'one off's and daily activities 5) have support!

RATIONAL EMOTIONAL BEHAVIORAL THERAPY (REBT)

1) created by Albert Ellis in order to deal with emotional distress and allow clients to lead happy, fulfilling lives 2) restructures cognition in order to allow individuals to harness their strengths 3) leading a "rational" life - pos. emotion - absence of neg. *dysfunctional* emotions- it's ok to feel negative emotions; you just have to manage it. (In Ellis's view, negative emotions are *very* rational as a response to negative thoughts and situations.) - determination to solve problems in life - goal-directed behaviors 4) helps individuals experience short-term pos. affect and long term goal attainment and psychological well-being *11 PRINCIPLES OF REBT:* 1) SELF-INTEREST- you are your #1 priority! Prioritize yourself! Be kind to yourself! 2) SOCIAL INTEREST- *BUT*, don't be a tool. Be kind to others. 3) SELF-DIRECTION- you are responsible for your own happiness. 4) SELF-ACCEPTANCE- you do not need to be "good enough" 5) TOLERANCE- understand that human beings are diverse and flawed. 6) SHORT-TERM HEDONISM- pleasure is good, but long-term focus on hedonism is detrimental to well-being 7) FLOW 8) RISK-TAKING/EXPERIMENTING- to develop as a person, you must take risks. It's ok- failure is part of life! 9) HIGH FRUSTRATION TOLERANCE AND WILLPOWER 10) PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS 11) SCIENTIFIC THINKING

FREDRICKSON'S POSITIVE EMOTIONS

1) joy 2) gratitude 3) serenity 4) interest 5) hope 6) pride 7) amusement 8) inspiration 9) awe 10) love - encompasses all other 9 - triggered by being around others - seen as the most important positive emotion

GARDENER'S MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES

1) linguistic 2) logical/mathematical 3) spacial 4) bodily/kinaesthetic 5) musical 6) interpersonal 7) intrapersonal 8) naturalistic

A BREIF, NOT-SO-BREIF HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY

1906: Pavlov + classical conditioning (pairs otherwise unrelated stimuli together in order to create specific responses when exposed to that unrelated stimulus) 1909: Freud + the id (human nature is all about satisfying urges and drives) 1920: Watson + Raynor, Little Albert and fear conditioning (we scared a baby while he was looking at white rabbits; the color white now elicits panic attacks :) ) 1924: Piaget, mental development of children 1938: Skinner, pigeons and operant conditioning (we learn based on the consequences of our choices; the "if, when, then" formula) 1942/43: Rogers + Maslow, unconditional positive regard + human nature is inherently good 1951: first DSM published 1951: Sherif, Robber's Cave + intergroup conflict (two groups hates each other based solely on hearsay from others, but can bond/work together when prompted by outside forces) 1954: Thorazine (treatment for schizophrenia) 1956: Miller, short-term memory (we can remember around 7 things in our short-term memory at any time) 1961: Bandura, the Bobo Doll + social learning (kids who saw an adult kick the shit out of a doll were more likely to kick the shit out of a doll) 1963: Milgram, obedience (participants administered fake shocks to others; fake authority figures pressured most of them into 'killing' them) 1971: Zimbardo's Prison Experiment (like Lord of the Flies, but in psychology. Edgy outlook on human nature, not great scientific evidence pointing towards cruelty/corruption by power as the universal human behavior.) 1987: Prozac (treatment for depression and anxiety) 1994: Loftus, false memories (they're easy to create- moving on!)

TYPES OF THERAPY

BEHAVIORAL: changes behaviors, which changes thought processes COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL: changes thought processes, which changes actions PSYCHOANALYTIC: uncovers and treats unconscious issues CLIENT-CENTERED: walks the client through their own ideas, beliefs, and decisions. The client knows best; we're just here to help them act on what they want for themselves TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS: nobody is 'broken' or bad; we all have the power to change our situations INTEGRATIVE THERAPY: uses multiple, or all, of the above

CHARACTERISTICS, CONDITIONS, AND OUTCOMES OF FLOW

CHARACTERISTICS (CZIKSENTMIHALYI + NAKAMURA 2012): 1) intense and focused concentration 2) present-focused 3) merging of action and awareness (you're only focused on the task because your brain is giving 100%) 4) intrinsically motivating and rewarding 5) loss of self as a social actor (lack of self-consciousness) 6) sense of control over one's own actions 7) distortion of time 8) utilizes skills CONDITIONS OF FLOW: 1) balance between amount of skill and level of challenge - challenge greater than skill level ---> anxiety - challenge less than skill level ---> boredom - low challenge, low skill ---> apathy - high challenge, high skill ---> flow 2) voluntary 3) clear goals + immediate feedback OUTCOMES OF FLOW: 1) commitment/achievement in school 2) increased self-esteem 3) increased work satisfaction 4) lower delinquency after adverse events 5) reduction of depression and anxiety 6) increases flow in others

BENEFITS OF MINDFULNESS

DAVIS + HAYES 2011: - higher well-being - increased pos. affect - decreased neg. affect - decrease in depression/anxiety symptoms - less rumination - better emotional regulation - better concentration - higher working memory capacity - faster recovery from stress - higher relationship satisfaction CARSON 2007: - increased heart health - decreased smoking - lower BMI - increased physical activity - better immune functioning - lower blood pressure

DISPOSITIONAL V. EXPLANATORY OPTIMISM

DISPOSITIONAL: 1) Scheier + Carver, 1987 2) explanatory style relating to generalized outcome expectancies 3) expects positive outcomes 4) "things will turn out all right in the end" 5) "I can overcome challenges" EXPLANATORY: 1) negative events happen because of factors outside my control 2) bad doesn't last forever 3) things are generally good

POSITVE AFFECT NEUROTRANSMITTERS

DOPAMINE- - the "magnetic" neurotransmitter- draws us towards pleasurable behaviors - found mainly in the limbic system and prefrontal cortex - drives pleasure, interest. curiosity, craving/desire, and attention NOREPHINEPHRINE- - found in all areas of the brain - controls alarm and high arousal responses - projects down the spinal cord in order to influence the whole body (fight or flight) SEROTONIN- - found in all areas of the brain - creates positive bias - aids in emotional regulation - many mental disorders are related to an imbalance of serotonin

MISC. RESEARCH METHODS:

ELECTRONICALLY ACTIVATED RECORDERS (EARs): records what is happening around the subject at randomized or set intervals throughout the day GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS (GISs): shows where the subject is at any point throughout the day NATIONAL SURVEY RESEARCH: a huge collection of data about all different studies from all different countries; allows researchers to compare demographics when looking at a specific topic

"BROADEN"

ISEN ET. AL: - presented subjects with lists of words that had common 'threads' (eg. 'chicken', 'gold', and 'Denver' all tied by the word 'nugget') - when subjects were in good moods, they were better at thinking of 'tie' words than if they were in bad moods JOHNSON AND FREDERICKSON: - doctors were presented with x-rays and asked to find any fractures. One group of doctors was in a good mood; the other, in a neutral or bad mood. - pos. mood ---> better ability to detect fractures in comparison to the neutral/neg. mood group GLOBAL BIAS + ENLARGED ACTION URGES: subjects watched different types of videos to feel different emotions; when asked about things that they wanted to do later, people who were influenced towards positive emotions listed more options than people influenced towards negative INCLUSIVE SOCIAL PERCEPTION: - the more negatively you feel about a certain group, they worse you will be at differentiating between/recognizing members within that group - one study looked at the ability of subjects to recognize faces from different races while in different emotional states - lack of pos. emotion (neutral or negative) led to an increase in own-race bias, while subjects with pos. emotions showed no difference in accuracy of recognizing faces from their own race vs. accuracy of recognizing faces from other races

THE REALITY OF EUDAEMONIA V. HEDONIA

In moderation, eudaemonia and hedonia are both good! In excess, *both* are bad! It's just that one is the slow route to happiness, while the other is the fast route. Most models of happiness utilize both 'types'.

CHARACTER STRENGTHS + MISC. DEMOGRAPHICS

KIDS: highest in love, kindness, creativity, and curiosity COLLEGE STUDENTS: highest in gratitude, hope, humor, love, teamwork, and zest ADULTS: highest in appreciation of beauty, authenticity, leadership, open-mindedness, prudence, forgiveness, and religiousness MARRIED people have higher rates of forgiveness than SINGLE people WOMEN have higher levels of gratitude, kindness, and love than MEN "heart strengths" (hope, gratitude, and love) as well as zest and curiosity, are associated with higher levels of WELL-BEING. Changes in humor also result in changes in well-being (r= .24-.34.) people who have recovered from SERIOUS ILLNESS are higher in bravery, appreciation of beauty, curiosity, gratitude, forgiveness, and creativity people who have recovered from PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS are higher in curiosity, appreciation of beauty, creativity, gratitude, and love of learning POST-TRAUMATIC GROWTH heightens kindness, love, bravery, honesty, perseverance, appreciation of beauty, creativity, and curiosity

PURPOSE OF POSITIVE + NEGATIVE EMOTIONS

NEGATIVE: - negative emotions evolved to hone our focus onto what was important in the moment, and to get us to think about what we would do in response. They give us a set of "prompts" we can choose from when deciding what to do about our problems - we focus more on the negative than the positive because in the past, if we didn't focus on the danger found in potential negatives, we would die POSITIVE: - according to Fredrickson's "broaden and build" theory, positive emotions are useful because they broaden our thought/action repertoires (gives us more "options" to choose from when placed in a situation, because we've experienced more responses). This gives us the ability to think about situations in outside-the-box ways. - positive emotions help increase our creativity and "undo" the effects of negative emotions and build resilience - broadening our emotions also allows us to 'escape' from/use frames other than negative frames of thinking - accumulating positive resources creates a "feedback loop". additional resources ---> increased positive emotion ---> additional resources. Alternatively put by the *broaden and build theory*, experience of positive emotions ---> broader thought/action repertoire ---> more resources ---> upward spiral - positive emotions may come from... 1) our material brains (Davidson) 2) our perceived progress towards our goals (Carver + Scheier) - together, our accumulation of positive and negative frames helps us build a collection of resources that we can use when dealing with situations. - types of resources include... INTELLECTUAL RESOURCES: - problem-solving abilities - learning abilities PHYSICAL RESOURCES: - cardiovascular health - coordination SOCIAL RESOURCES: ability to create/maintain relationships PSYCHOLOGICAL RESOURCES: - resilience - optimism - sense of identity - orientation towards goals

MISC. POS. PSYCH THERAPIES:

ORGANISMIC VALUING PROCESS: - created by Carl Rogers - provides unconditional positive regard in order to strip away internalized conditions of worth (saw relatedness as the strongest predictor of therapy outcomes. It's not as much what you do to treat a person as *how* you do it.) WELL-BEING THERAPY: - does this individual have psychological well-being? If not, how can we get this to occur? - self-observation based on Carol Ryff's psychological well-being scale. Aims to increase environmental mastery, personal growth, purpose, autonomy, self-acceptance, and positive relationships PLAY LISTS: - form of QOL (quality of life) therapy - as we grow, the urge to play doesn't go away! Unfortunately, adults don't get nearly as many chances to play as they used to during childhood. - clients encouraged to participate in recreational activities they might enjoy on a regular basis - active participation is key!

SYMPATHETIC + PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM

PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM: - mantains homeostasis - causes you to feel mellow and relaxed - regulates sleep, digestion, voiding, and energy storage - slows heartbeat and constricts blood vessels SYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM: - deals w/ stress and survival situations - increases breathing rate, blood pressure, and heartbeat to quickly get increased levels of oxygen to the muscles (fight or flight) - triggers release of adrenaline + inflammatory hormones - halts digestion - pupils dilate to increase amount of light, increasing perception - triggers sweat glands - increases clotting (good when you're running from something trying to kill you)

"BASIC" EMOTIONS

PAUL EKMAN: 1) anger 2) disgust 3) fear 4) joy 5) sadness 6) surprise CARROLL IZARD: 1) joy 2) shame 3) surprise 4) anger 5) contempt 6) disgust 7) distress 8) fear 9) guilt 10) interest

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY V. SELF-HELP

POS. PSYCH: - difficult to access - difficult to read/understand - can present impractical tactics + researched-backed; effort taken to be objective + peer reviewed + no gurus (usually) + main goal isn't to make money (it's supposed to be about the science) SELF-HELP: + accessible + offers practical advice/solutions + easy to read (can lead to alteration of data, false solutions, and misconceptions that can persist not just through psychology but through popular culture for decades) - poorly thought out (little/no scientific backing), anecdotal, and subjective (presents author's version of happiness). A one-size-fits-all approach where one size does *not* fit all - no peer review - gurus - main objective is to make money

"BUILD"

PSYCHOLOGICAL: - pos. emotion increases resilience and life satisfaction (Cohn 2009) - pos. emotion increases strategies for/ability to cope (Frederickson + Joiner, 2002) SOCIAL: pos. emotion increases social connectedness (Mauss 2011) PHYSICAL: - pos. emotion improves cardiovascular vagal tone (what links the nervous system to cardiac regulation) (Koh + Frederickson, 2010) - pos. emotion provides an "undo" effect- quicker recovery from stress - *FREDERICKSON + LEVENSON, 1998:* 1) subjects exposed to anxiety-provoking situations, then shown short films designed to elicit a variety of emotional reactions (amused, content, neutral, or sad) 2) subjects shown amusing/contenting films had highest rate of cardiovascular recovery; neutral had next quickest, and sad had the longest UPWARD SPIRAL: 1) pos. emotions broaden thought/action repertoire 2) broadened though/action repertoire ---> novel activities + feelings, can lead to novel relationships + skills 3) novelty builds personal resources (increased social support, resilience, coping skills, and knowledge) 4) more personal resources = better equipped to deal with problems = enhanced health + fulfillment 5) enhanced health + fulfillment ---> pos. emotions

RELIABILITY V. VALIDITY

RELIABILITY: - has internal consistency (research 'aims' for the same point every time; not random) - has test-retest reliability (gets the same results when testing on the same subject in the same circumstance; relatively stable) VALIDITY: - measures what it claims to measure - the results are true

PARTS OF THE BRAIN

REPTILIAN: controls basic functions such as temperature regulation, sleeping, and waking PALEOMAMMALIAN: controls the limbic system, instinctual/survival movement, and some emotions NEOMAMMALIAN: controls abstract thought, planning, and lower-functioning skills. Also causes feelings of pleasure REWARD SYSTEM: causes feelings of pleasure PLEASURE SYSTEM: "what you are doing/experiencing is good" VENTRAL TEGEMENTAL AREA (VTA): aids the dopamine system NUCLEUS ACCUMBENS: aids the reward system. Holds the highest concentration of dopamine receptors found anywhere in the brain. PREFRONTAL CORTEX: controls working memory ORBITAL FRONTAL CORTEX: gives us the ability to make decisions

SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING CRITICISMS

RYAN AND DECI: claim that the idea of subjective well-being is a form of hedonism. Subjective well-being also fails to explain what "being well" actually means. VITTERSO: subjective well-being ignores the fact that happiness can be complex. Subjective well-being also fails to explain the concept of personal growth, despite the fact that subjective well-being is contributed to by having meaning and purpose

MINDFULNESS ACRONYMS

S- stop T- take a breath (engages w/ parasympathetic nervous system) O- observe (how do I feel?) P- proceed (where do I want to go from here?) P- pause (creates 'mental space') R- reflect (how do I feel? How am I reacting to my feelings? Is this effective?) I- inhale D- design (consider alternate courses of action) E- engage (choose an alternate course of action; what happens as a result?)

SWB, PWB, eudaemonia and hedonicism

SWB: - *SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING*: if you feel like your life is going well, it is. - relates to hedonism. Minimizing pain and maximizing pleasure ---> positive emotions ---> positive evaluation of your well-being ---> life is good! PWB: - *PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING:* one's well-being depends on multiple different and complex factors, all of which bring meaning into one's life. The goal of life is to find meaning. - relates to eudaemonia. All about using your strengths in order to reach larger goals and achieve your full potential.

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY THERAPY

We shouldn't just focus on eliminating/managing the bad; we should also focus on fostering the good! By recognizing, using, and building strengths, we can prevent mental illness and ill-being.

SALOVEY AND MAYER

emotional intelligence is *the ability to monitor one's own feelings and emotions/the feelings and emotions of others. The ability to discriminate among emotions and use emotional information to guide one's thoughts and actions.* THE ABILITY MODEL OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE: a task-based emotional intelligence test that sees EI as a set of competencies/skills that occur in 4 different stages. The 4 stages of EI are... 1) PERCIEVING: - the ability to recognize emotions in oneself and in others - How do I feel? How do they feel? - equips you to deal with social interactions 2) USING: - management/facilitation of one's mood - noticing how your mood influences your thoughts, and how those influence your decisions 3) UNDERSTANDING: Why am I feeling this emotion? What does this mean? What caused this emotion? 4) MANAGING: - self-regulation (recognizing where/when an emotion is appropriate and expressing that emotion at the right time) - higher self-regulation = more able to manage both yourself and others - What can I do about this emotion? How can I regulate it?

CORRELATIONAL RESEARCH

examines the relationship between x and y (if applicable) 1) make a hypothesis about the relationship between 2 variables 2) obtain measurements 3) analyze correlation between variables CORRELATION: - no correlation = 0 - positive correlation = 0 to +1 - negative correlation = 0 to -1 THE CORRELATIONAL COEFFICIENT: measures correlation using affect size; ranges from -1 to +1 AFFECT SIZE: - small affect: r = .10 (r² = 1%) - medium affect: r = .30 (r² = 9%) - large affect: r = .50 (r² = 25%) - r² = percentage of variance ('width' of scatter)

SELF-REPORTING

o can be global (ex. looks at well-being overall) or domain-specific (ex. looks at how social anxiety disorder impacts/relates to well-being) o can be single-item or multi-item + cost effective and efficient - easily influenced, open to interpretation (if the subject interprets x topic in a different way than the researcher, we get research about a different subject!)

DAY RECONSTRUCTION METHOD

o developed by Kahneman in 2004 as an alternative to the experience sampling method o basically a diary. Subjects generate detailed accounts of their entire day; these accounts are broken down into 'sections' depending on what the subject finds relevant and what the researchers are studying +: 1) less expensive/intrusive than ESM 2) better able to record rare but significant events -: 1) significant time commitment 2) potential for turning in backdated entries (waiting-until-the-last-minute procrastination)

EXPERIENCE SAMPLING METHOD (ESM)

o used by Csikszentimihalyi in his research on flow o participants were asked question that related to their experience of flow at randomized intervals throughout the day +: 1) having a device that reminds subjects to answer flow-based questions means that subjects won't have to set those reminders themselves and risk forgetting to do it 2) provides important information about context (place, time of day, activity, etc.) 3) looks at overall pattern of flow -: 1) still takes a lot of time, commitment, and effort 2) intrusive 3) may miss rare but significant events 4) costly

THE CIRCUMPLEX MODEL OF EMOTIONS

relies on FREQUENCY (activation/deactivation of interest), and INTENSITY (pleasantness/unpleasantness) ACTIVATION tense alert upset happy UNPLEASANT PLEASANT sad content bored calm DEACTIVATION PROBLEMS: are these the only dimensions of human emotion?