Humanistic and Positive psychology

Hierarchy of Needs

1. Biological and Physiological needs - air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep. 2. Safety needs - protection from elements, security, order, law, stability, freedom from fear. 3. Love and belongingness needs - friendship, intimacy, trust and acceptance, receiving and giving affection and love. Affiliating, being part of a group (family, friends, work). 4. Esteem needs - achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance, prestige, self-respect, respect from others. 5. Self-Actualization needs - realizing personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences.

Three paths to happiness/well-being

1. Life of Pleasure 2. Life of Engagement 3. Life of Meaning • Pursuit of pleasure is the least important for life satisfaction!

Intrinsic Needs

Autonomy (find your path, freedom of expression) Competence (identify & improve strengths) Relatedness (form positive social bonds)

Eudaimonia

Eudaimonia • Seeking to fulfill one's potential, pursing intrinsic goals • Universal needs • Autonomy (find your path, freedom of expression) • Competence (identify & improve strengths) • Relatedness (form positive social bonds)

Flow

Flow experience is complete absorption in the successful performance of an activity. 1. Balance between challenge and capability 2. Focused attention 3. Time passes quickly

Happiness interventions

Gratitude Interventions: Methods • Delivered to participants via the Internet 1. Placebo: Write about their early memories every night for one week. 2. Gratitude visit: Write and then deliver a letter of gratitude in person to someone who had been especially kind to them but had never been properly thanked. 3. Three good things in life: Write down three things that went well each day and their causes every night for one week. Intervention groups were happier (and less depressed)

Hedonia

Hedonia • Maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain

Peak experiences

High points in life when the individual is in harmony with him/herself and his/her surroundings. • e.g., profound moments of happiness, understanding, or awe • Sense of unity and knowledge of higher truth • Self-actualizing people have many more peak experiences than "average people".

Humanism

Humanism emphasizes whatever is seen as distinctive about being a human.

Humanistic psychology

Humanistic psychology focuses on the unique aspects of the human mind. • How humans differ from objects and nonhuman animals.

Angst, bad faith

If we don't ask existential questions - We're living in bad faith when we avoid problems; head in the sand

Construal

In social psychology, construals are how individuals perceive, comprehend, and interpret the world around them, particularly the behavior or action of others towards themselves.

Grit

Passion, perseverance, and stamina to reach goals • "Living life like it's a marathon, not a sprint" • Not related to talent or ability • Similar to hardiness, but more focused on long-term goals Gritty individuals more likely to • Practice and study • Attain higher levels of education • Perform better in competition • Finish difficult training

Phenomenology

Phenomenology concerns how it feels to be alive. (subjective experience) • Your construal (particular experience) of the world • Allows for free will • None of us has exclusive ownership of truth

Positive psychology

Positive psychology focuses on optimal human functioning. • Human strengths vs. weaknesses • Focus on promoting human strengths and improving subjective well-being

Self-Actualization

Self-actualization is the process of improving toward one's maximum potential. • Maslow and Rogers proposed that... • Humans have an innate drive to self-actualize. • Provides sense of meaning and purpose. • What would human behavior be like if we removed obstacles and encourage freedom of expression? • What is a human's potential? • What motivates us?

Self-Determination Theory

Two Types of Well-Being • Hedonia • Maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain • Eudaimonia • Seeking to fulfill one's potential, pursing intrinsic goals • Universal needs • Autonomy (find your path, freedom of expression) • Competence (identify & improve strengths) • Relatedness (form positive social bonds)

Existentialism

• Existentialism is a concern with the meaning of life. (subjective meaning)