Positive Psychology: Test 1

Discuss interventions to enhance intrinsic motivation.

- Build the "seed" of interest --Incorporate activites with novelty/relevance to boost curiosity --Incorporate activites with aesthetic value - Build competence, autonomy, & relatedness --Competence (is it something you feel you can do well?): Autonomy (do you feel you have freedom to determine your own behavior?): Relatedness (do you feel there are people around you who care about you?) --Build skills; incorporate mentoring;avoid demeaning evaluations; present optimal challenges --Provide choices; allow individual goal-setting; avoid deadlines/time pressure/commands; approach vs. avoidance goals --Facilitate supportive personal relationships; develop a "safe" environment; avoid threats

What are the proposed evolutionary functions of negative emotion? Explain.

- Fear: Healthy avoidance of danger. - Disgust: Avoidance of unhealthy/dangerous situations. - Anger: Motivates us to take action/ someone is trespassing against us. - Sadness: Promotes social bonds and attachment/loss may be happening. --Since these are all potential threats to survival, their purpose is to keep you out of trouble or inhibit behavior that could lead to pain or punishment. --Negative emotions have an evolutionary basis, (link to survival), this suggests that human nature has a predisposition toward negative emotion.

Discuss the history of the field of positive psychology. Who first used the phrase "positive psychology"?

- Humanistic Psychologist, Maslow, first used the term "Positive Psychology." -- Humanistic psychologists tended to emphasize theory more than empirical research and application of research findings: Mostly theoretical; less empirical/ applied focus. --- Always studied what is healthy, adaptive and creative. - Science of Psychology had been far more successful studying human shortcomings & problems, but knew little about the positive side of human nature. -- WWII and helping veterans deal with PTSD; emphasize healing what's wrong.

When discussing education, be sure to explain research by Lepper et. al and the overjustification effect.

- Lepper (expected reward, unexpected reward, control) - Overjustification Effect: If children feel controlled in an activity (e.g., offering incentives to coerce them to read), they will assume the activity is not inherently worthwhile (otherwise, why would they have to be bribed to do it?).

Describe different potential sources of motivation.

- Obtain rewards/avoid punishment - Gain approval from others (e.g. seeking conditional positive regard) - Reach desired outcomes - Derive satisfaction merely in doing the activity

What role did Martin Seligman play in promoting positive psychology (Seligman was very strong in advocating for sound science as a backbone of the initiative)?

- Reintroduced the term "Positive Psychology" in 1998, while serving as President of APA. - Challenged members of APA to develop new research on human strengths/well-being. - Organized scholars working on positive topics. - Emphasized the importance of scientific elements.

How might signature strengths be related to well-being?

- Seligman sees the healthy exercise and development of strengths and virtues as a key to the good life - a life in which one uses one's "signature strengths every day in the main realms of your life to bring abundant gratification and authentic happiness." --The good life is a place of happiness, good relationships and work, and from this point, Seligman encourages people to go further to seek a meaningful life in the continual quest for happiness - The good life: using your signature strengths to obtain abundant gratification (through activities we like doing) in the main realms of your life. - The meaningful life: using your signature strengths and virtues in the service of something much larger than you are.

Describe top-down and bottom-up theories of subjective well-being.

- TD: Well-being is related to a general tendency to evaluate and interpret experiences in a positive way - BU: Well-being is a summation of a person's positive experiences and you then add them up.

What are the implications/consequences of intrinsic or extrinsic motivation?

- There can be positive and negative consequences of intrinsic or extrinsic motivation. Examples: High self esteem/low self-esteem Knowing oneself/losing oneself Positive thinking/negative thinking

Consider traditional and contemporary perspectives on emotion. Traditionally, has positive or negative emotion received more research attention? Why might this be? Give examples.

- Traditional work on emotion, has focused mostly on negative emotions. - Negative emotions can be harmful, but also have valuable/evolutionary benefits. --Anger may have evolved for reasons such as survival (important to humans and animals) ---Negative Can be our first line of defense against external threats.

What are the 3 criteria for strengths (as presented in Seligman- strengths have these qualities)?

- Traits that people exhibit across situations & time - Pertain to morality (e.g., often taught by parents/social institutions), so valued in their own right. - Learnable & voluntary.

Explain how the psychological needs competence, autonomy and relatedness are linked to intrinsic motivation.

-Competence related to intrinsic motivation is something you feel you can do well -Autonomy is when you have the freedom to determine your own behavior -Relatedness is when you feel there are people around who care about you.

What sorts of topics are studied by positive psychologists?

1) Positive subjective states- - Emotions /feelings(e.g., happiness, joy, love, contentment, vitality, energy). - Thoughts (e.g., optimism & hope) 2) Positive individual traits- - Strengths & virtues (e.g., courage, love/kindness, leadership) 3) Positive institutions- -' Work, education, family, community, athletics.

Identify and describe the three dimensions of positive psychology presented in class and in the Compton chapter.

1. Positive Subjective States: Emotions/ feelings (e.g., happiness, joy, love, contentment, vitality, energy) Thoughts (e.g., optimism & hope) 2. Positive Individual Traits: Strengths and virtues (e.g., courage, love/kindness, leadership) 3. Positive Institutions: Work, education, family, community, athletics.

What are the 6 core virtues (as presented in Seligman)?

1. Wisdom: Intellectual strengths that help you gain and use information. 2. Courage: Strengths of will that help you accomplish goals in the face of fear and internal or external obstacles. 3. Humanity: Interpersonal strengths that help you befriend others and tend to your relationships. 4. Justice: Social or civic strengths that help bolster a healthy community. 5. Temperance: Protective traits that help you avoid excess and stay on track in the face of temptations. 6. Transcendence: Strengths of meaning that connect you with the larger world and provide meaning.

Describe positive psychology goals and interventions.

1st Goal: of positive psychology is promoting strengths/values- preventing and combating mental illness - Focus on developing strengths to buffer individuals from mental illness. -- Examples: Optimism, Courage, Spirituality, Altruism, Love, Humor. - Emphasize positive emotions to counteract negative emotions. - Focus on developing strengths to buffer individuals from mental illness. 2nd Goal: Make Normal Life More Fulfilling for the average person.

Identify and describe the important themes/assumptions of positive psychology presented in class and in the Compton chapter.

1st Theme: The "Good Life"- well-being and satisfaction (not linked to wealth). - Elements of the "Good Life": -- Positive social relationships ---Number of friends ---Romantic partner ---Amount of social activity. -Important Elements of the "Good Life": --Meaningful leisure/work experiences ---Engagement ---Intrinsic Motivation ---Draws on strengths ---Spirituality/Religiousness. Authentic Happiness- as lasting happiness rather than momentary happiness. It's about long-term well-being, satisfaction, and contentment. Comes from investing ourselves in meaningful ways. - Can't buy happiness. - Being able to love and form meaningful relationships. - Social activity helps the well-being. The assumptions made about human nature are different from what has been the traditional view. Positive psychologists begin with the assumption that human nature is inherently good. Traditional views: - Humans driven by primitive instincts (aggression; simple pleasure) - Emphasis on self-interest (survival of the fittest) Contemporary view: - Social relationships & contexts are important - Strengths & virtues are important - People can adapt, "bounce-back", thrive & flourish.

Describe research findings that provide evidence that positive emotions enhance coping and have an "undoing" effect on negative emotions.

A study in Fredrickson's article proves that positive emotions undue the effect on negative emotions through induced reactions of heart rates.

***Are people happy world-wide? What exceptions have been found? Summarize findings presented by Myers (2000).

According to "The Funds, Friends, and Faith of Happy People", Myers concluded that those living in countries that have political freedom are more satisfied with life and have more positive emotions. This is partly due to the wealth in these countries, they tend to be more satisfied with their life and to be happier people. Age, gender, and wealth give a little clue to someones happiness. Even better clues come from knowing peoples traits and the quality of their work and leisure experiences, knowing whether they enjoy a supportive network of close relationships, and knowing whether the person has a faith that encompases social support, purpose, and hope. Countries societys emphasises on physical and materical well-being and psychology's historic preoccupation and negative emotions - which is why a decent amount of people are "happy" but a large majority of the world "unhappy".

Discuss evidence regarding the reliability (e.g., test-retest and internal consistency) of happiness and life satisfaction tests.

According to test-retest, happiness and life scores are relatively stable over time. Internal consistency states that responses to different items of a given measure tend to be consistent.

Explain adaptation processes and discuss why they may be an important aspect of human nature. Also consider their importance to happiness. Describe the hedonic treadmill and give examples.

Adaptation process: After time you don't notice the situation anymore and get used to it. Adjust to environment, then notice changes in stimuli Hedonic Treadmill: individuals rapidly & inevitably adapt to good things by taking them for granted "the new normal"

What does Seligman mean when he discusses "signature strengths"?

Character strengths that are most essential to who we are. - humanity, temperance and persistence.

How is the field of humanistic psychology similar and different from positive psychology?

Differences: - Humanistic Psychologists have always studied what is healthy, adaptive, and creative. -- Mostly theoretical, less empirical/ applied focus. Primary Interest in optimal functioning. - Positive Psychologists focus on human strengths/ well-being. Similarities: - Maslow and other humanistic psychologists have always studied the positive. - Always been research on positive aspects of human experience, but numbers are unbalanced.

Explain how intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are relevant to the fields of health and education. Give specific examples to illustrate these applications.

Education - Overjustification effect --Rewards & threats can both undermine intrinsic motivation --In education, we don't want to emphasize external rewards for behaviors such as reading because that could diminish the inherent value that children place on the act of reading. Thus, they could experience the overjustification effect, as you mention. Health - When it comes to health, compliance is a big issue. People often don't take their medicine or do other prescribed behaviors such as exercise. If patients can feel more intrinsic motivation to engage in these behaviors, they are more likely to comply. For example, a dr. could remind a patient that by taking their meds and exercising they will live longer to have time with their grandchildren. That could raise their intrinsic motivation to comply with the prescribed behaviors.

Consider whether adaptation is inevitable and equivalent for all events and people.

Extent of adaption varies across event/circumstances

Identify the personality traits that are linked to well-being and consider why.

Extraversion, optimism, positive self-esteem, internal locus of control, and altruism. These traits help a person bounce back from failure, find the positives in hard situations, and give a person just a strong backboard for happiness throughout the day.

Discuss the link between dispositional affectivity and the personality traits of extraversion and neuroticism. Why might these variables be linked?

Extraversion: associated with positive affectivity Ex: (I start conversations, I am the life of the party, I feel comfortable around people) Neuroticism: associated with negative affectivity Ex: (I am easily disturbed, I get stressed out easily, I often feel blue)

Discuss factors that may increase or decrease subjective evaluations of the self (e.g., explain how social comparisons and internal guides affect this process). Be sure to distinguish between maximizers and satisficers and give examples of each.

Factors that may influence subjective evaluations are social comparison and internal guides. Social comparisons have 3 levels, lateral (how am i doing), downward (im better off), or upward (others are better off).

Be sure to discuss the role of positive psychology in prevention of mental illness as well as treatment of it.

Focuses on helping us get more of what we do want/ Promoting Strength.

Give examples of persons high in positive affectivity, low in positive affectivity, high in negative affectivity and low in negative affectivity.

High in Positive Affectivity: A person high in positive affectivity might be cheerful, upbeat and energetic Low in Positive Affectivity: A person low in positive affectivity might be sluggish and glum. High in Negative Affectivity: A person high in negative affectivity might be highly anxious. Low in Negative Affectivity: A person low in negative affectivity might be serene and calm.

How do most people score on tests that assess subjective well-being?

High, mose people report that they are happy and satisfied with life

***First, describe the variables identified in the readings and in class that have zero to small associations with well-being. Be sure to discuss research findings that examine the link between wealth/income and well-being and consider why the link is rather weak.

In Myers (2000), the link between wealth and happiness is complicated. He talks about how in a study where he asked people "Could money buy you happiness" and most said no. However, when asked "would a little bit more money make you a little happier" many said yes. There is some correlation between wealth and well-being, especially in poorer countries such as India, being in a higher caste does correlate with better well-being since they are not struggling with human basic needs. However, when people obtain more money, their happiness levels will rise, but they will "level back out" after 3 months to how happy they were before the newfound wealth.

Discuss what research has revealed about the link between marriage and well-being and social activity and well-being.

Individuals who are married report higher subjective well-being than individuals who are not married.

Provide examples of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation from everyday life.

Intrinsic Examples: -writing music for personal pleasure -working out for personal achievement -getting nails done to look good for oneself. Extrinsic Examples: -going to church to appease parents -being paid to do a job -going on a morning job to keep up with siblings.

Define intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation and then compare and contrast them.

Intrinsic motivation is the primary source of motivation that is an internal source and extrinsic motivation is an external source of motivation. Intrinsic: -enjoyable/satisfying -experiences a sense of freedom to do what is interesting, personally important or energizing Extrinsic: -may or may not enjoy activity -may feel a sense of being "controlled"

What is required for intrinsic motivation to occur?

Intrinsic motivation requires at least a seed of interest.

Describe research findings that support the argument that positive affect broadens thinking.

Isen Johnson and colleagues conduct a study that required participants to watch films that induced specific emotions of joy and anger. After the film the participants were asked to imagine being in situations of similar emotions. Results found that participants were able to identify more positive emotions than negative, thus proving that positive emotions broaden their thinking abilities.

Explain the importance of distinguishing between internal and external sources of motivation.

It is important to distinguish between internal and external sources of motivation because it is imperative to know which motivation is guiding you and to have an idea of if you're doing an action for personal satisfaction or to please others.

Describe research findings that support the idea of a Happiness Set-point.

Levels of emotion eventually rebound after many major life events, usually within 3 months (Diener & Lucas) Study by Brickman Compared ratings of everyday happiness for (1) Recent winners of the Illinois state lottery (50,000-1 million), (2) Recent victims of catastrophic accidents who had become paraplegic (3) Control group Rate the amount of pleasure you get from everyday activities (chatting with a friend, watching tv, eating breakfast, laughing at a joke) Lottery winner 3.33/5; accident victims 3.48/5; control group 3.30/5

Discuss the predictors of subjective well-being.

Meaning and Purpose. So like the quality of leisure/work experiences (are you doing something productive with your down lime like a puzzle or something to stimulate the brain or are you watching mindless tv)

Are positive and negative affectivity polar opposites? Can you be high in both or low in both? Explain.

Moderate negative correlation. But they are NOT polar opposites

Define motivation and explain how it may be viewed as a continuum.

Motivation is the psychological impetus for action that gives purpose and direction to behavior. It may be viewed as a continuum by involving different degrees of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. For example: obtain rewards/avoiding punishment, reach desired outcome, gaining approval from others.

Discuss the relationship between positive and negative emotion. Are they polar opposites? Explain. How does negative affect correlate with each of the 3 dimensions of positive emotion?

No, positive and negative emotion are not polar opposites. For example, a freshman could feel happy to start college but also nervous or fearful at the same time. Negative affect correlates with joviality by being cheerful and guilty at the same time. Confident and angry at the same time. Alert and fearful at the same time.

Describe different measures of positive and negative affectivity (e.g., the Fordyce Emotions Questionnaire).

PANAS (Positive and Negative Affect Scale) Indicate the extent to which you feel each emotion most of the time Fordyce Emotions Questionnaire

Discuss the importance of personal control. Be sure to draw distinctions between internal and external locus of control and to identify examples of each. Describe possible determinants of locus of control orientation and discuss the implications of locus of control for achievement, relationships, coping and well-being.

Personal control is viewed as how much say/control you have over your own life events (like getting hired/fired). - 2 ways of viewing this: Internal LOC vs. External LOC. Internal looks at the perception that one controls his/her fate (I get what I want because I work hard for it) vs External looks at the chance or outside forces beyond one's personal control determining their fate. Some determinants for ELOC or ILOC are experiences such as socioeconomic class, parenting styles enforced on you, academic successes, abuse, and divorce. Associations between LOC and achievement, well-being, coping, health, and relationship behavior = ILOC's achieve more, feel less depressed and anxious, are more healthy and act more independently than ELOC's Coping strategies also differ, either problem-focused (the attempt to understand, define and solve a problem) or emotion-focused (attempts to manage distress). No sex differences for generalized locus of control College students are more internal and people become more internally oriented as they grow older

According to research that tests the two theories, what % of variance in well-being is accounted for by personality and what % is accounted for by situational events? Explain how the two theories suggest different paths to greater well-being.

Personality accounts for 52%, 48% is situational events

Define positive psychology and explain how this burgeoning field offers a new perspective on human behavior.

Positive Psychology: The scientific and applied approach to uncovering people's strengths and promoting their positive functioning O Positive psychology seeks a view of human functioning that is balanced. O As much emphasis on strength/virtue as has been placed on weakness/damage.

Explain how positive affectivity may be related to longevity, physical health, marital satisfaction, life satisfaction and well-being. Describe research findings that support this link.

Positive affectivity predicts fewer health complaints as well as later satisfaction with significant aspects of your life such as your job and marriage, as well as your overall sense of well-being. Seligman discusses research that examines these tendencies. One set of studies examined autobiographical sketches created by nuns. Objective raters scored these sketches to assess the amount of positive feelings conveyed. Results showed that the nuns who expressed the most positive emotion lived significantly longer. For example, 90% of the most cheerful group was still alive at age 85, while only 34% of the least cheerful group was still alive by that age

Analyze components of a "very good day" to illustrate various predictors of well-being (refer back to our in-class exercise).

Predictors of well-being are surrounding the ideas of meaning and purpose. One of my components of a good day was completing a task/tasks because it fostered a feeling of accomplishment. Other elements of well-being were: it is simply pleasurable, it fosters a sense of purpose/meaning, it enhances a feeling for personal control, it promotes positive emotion, it engages your mind, it promotes positive relationships, it promotes a positive evaluation of the self, it promotes a sense of optimism, and it enhances physical well-being.

Consider why religiousness is positively tied to well-being.

Religiousness supports top-down theory because it is related to a general tendency to evaluate and interpret experiences in a positive way.

Describe research findings that support the argument that positive affect builds social resources.

Research findings support the argument that positive affect builds social resources because with the broaden-and-build theory, positive emotions are vehicles for individual growth and social connection. By building people's personal and social resources, positive emotions transform people for the better, giving them better lives in the future.

Consider the link between self esteem and well-being.

Self-esteem does not equal a higher sense of self love/acceptance. You can wither be a Satisficer (seeking the 'good enough') or a Maximizer (seeks the best option/outcome)

Discuss the method most commonly used to assess happiness and also life satisfaction and give an example of measures used to assess each.

Self-report. Measures are Reliability and Validity.

Explain Lykken & Tellegen's notion of a Happiness Set-point.

Smaller events we bounce back quicker. Bigger events takes longer Individuals have an average base line of happiness that is relatively stable Individuals return to base line after adjusting to temporary highs and lows

How might the social context impact motivation? Discuss activities and environments that support or inhibit intrinsic motivation.

Social context might impact motivation because it could persuade or dissuade intrinsic motivation. For example, if a person grew up in a religious home, he or she might pray often to reach a personal level of spirituality. On the contrary, a religious background could also dissuade intrinsic motivation because of being around it often when growing up.

Differentiate traits and states.

States: temporary behaviors/feelings/emotions or thoughts that depends on a person's situation and motives at a particular time. - momentary emotional reaction to internal and/or external trigger(s) which also involves physical, behavioral, cognitive and psychological reactions. Traits: Stable characteristics, permanent presence and a stable level of emotion. - Traits present the tendency of an individual to constantly feel, think and behave in a certain way. Emotion is constantly present in the individual's life.

Define strengths and virtues.

Strengths: built-in capacities for certain thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Virtues: a behavior showing high moral standards. - The characteristics associated with these virtues are labeled character "strengths." For example, one person might gain the virtue of wisdom by using the strength known as curiosity.

Describe the Broaden and Build theory of positive affect proposed by Fredrickson.

The Broaden and Build theory of positive affect suggest that positive emotions broaden the scopes of attention, cognition, and action and they they build physical, intellectual, and social resources.

Describe the PANAS developed by Watson & Clark. Describe the 3 dimensions of positive emotions assessed by the PANAS, citing specific examples. Describe the negative emotions assessed by the PANAS, citing specific examples.

The PANAS is a scale that measures positive and negative effects. The 3 dimensions of positive emotions are joviality (cheerfulness, enthusiasm), assurance (confidence, daring) , and attentiveness (alertness, concentration, and determination).

Discuss the idea that negative emotions tend to have specific action tendencies. How does this relate to the function of negative emotions? Give examples.

The idea that negative emotions tend to have specific action tendencies is because when we go into negative emotion our attention goes narrow. For example, in a scary situation, an individual would either fight or flight. They would do one of these two actions when in fear because the narrowing of attention allows quick and decisive action.

Discuss the idea that positive emotions tend to have nonspecific action tendencies. How does this relate to the function of positive emotions? Give examples.

The idea that positive emotions tend to have non specific action tendencies is because when we go into positive emotions our attention broadens. For example, in responses to love, we may explore numerous ways to express this feeling.

Describe negative affectivity and explain what it means to be high or low on this variable.

The tendency to be distressed & upset. A tendency to feel anger, irritability, fear or nervousness.

Describe positive affectivity and explain what it means to be high or low on this variable.

The tendency to experience positive emotion. A tendency to be cheerful and energetic

Discuss evidence regarding the validity of happiness and life satisfaction tests. Are there "hard diagnostic tests" to measure happiness or life satisfaction? Explain.

There are no set diagnostics for happiness because it is subjective. Someone who is always at a 10 might be at a 7 one day and report feeling alright while someone at a 4 might rate a 7 as being in a really good place.

Explain the heritability estimates for dispositional affect. To what extent do genes account for positive affectivity? To what extent do genes account for negative affectivity?

Twin studies provide evidence that genes are linked to long-term emotionality Heritability estimates 40% of variability in positive affectivity among individuals is due to genetics 55% of variability in negative affectivity among individuals is due to genetics

Describe the types of research studies that examine the heritability of emotion.

Twin studies- Lykken & Tellegen 1996 Comparing identical & fraternal twins reared together or apart Identical twins (who share all their DNA) are more alike in positive emotionality and negative emotionally compared to fraternal twins (who only share some genes in common) Even when reared apart identical twins seem to be quite similar in positive and negative emotionally

Why is positive psychology needed today?

We're paying more attention on what's right with people.

Are there possible evolutionary functions of positive emotion? Explain.

Yes, there are possible evolutionary function of positive emotion because positive emotions or pleasant moments can be long term as well.