Question

What modern perspective is positive psychology most like? How does positive psychology primarily differ from this older perspective?

Answer 1

Positive psychology is the scientific study of optimal human functioning, the goals of which are to better understand and apply those factors that help individuals and communities to thrive and flourish . Positive psychology has a research tradition that goes back decades. Yet despite this rich tradition, many topics that we would describe as within the scope of positive psychology have typically remained isolated from each other, lacking any shared language or common identity. Positive psychology in the modern perspective has provided a conceptual home for researchers and practitioners interested in all aspects of optimal human functioning. In viewing the many different strands of research from which positive psychology is drawn, and seeing them as sharing a common core identity, psychologists have taken a sustained and serious interest in the study of human nature as a whole. Unlike clinical psychology and psychiatry, who share the common language of the DSM, for researchers and practitioners interested in human potential and fulfillment, there has been no integrative grouping, classification, language, or even collective identity with which to identify and to label our work and interests. The single most important contribution of positive psychology has been to provide a collective identity—a common voice and language for researchers and practitioners from all persuasions who share an interest in health as well as in sickness—in the fulfillment of potential as well as in the amelioration of pathology. Positive psychology is unique in the ways that it transcends traditional dichotomies and divisions within psychology and offers ways of working that are genuinely integrative and applicable across settings. It is as natural for a neural scientist studying positive affect to identify themselves as a positive psychologist as it is for a social psychologist who studies varieties of religious experience, a developmental psychologist who studies resilience, or a health psychologist who works to promote health and well-being. The major distinction between mainstream psychology and positive psychology is that mainstream psychology gives priority to negative behavior and various forms of dysfunctions. Positive psychology, on the other hand, concentrates on positive experiences and positive character or virtues. Positive psychology is thus articulating the presumptions of the Aristotelian approach to human nature and development. This includes the view of the good person; the idea of the individual with a positive character, strengths, and given virtues; and the idea of the basic distinction between “man as he happens to be” and “man as he could be if he realized his essential nature” (MacIntyre, 1984, p. 52).

In the past decade, research in positive psychology has proliferated. Positive psychologists today are calling for a vital balance in which all people are understood according to both their weaknesses and strengths (Lopez et al., 2003). Research to date has resulted in a number of positive psychological approaches to therapy and specific activities and exercises based on the principles of positive psychology that therapists can utilize in their treatment of clients. This include practices of Strengths-Based Counseling, Strengths-Centered Therapy, Positive Psychotherapy, Quality of Life Therapy, Well-Being Therapy, and Hope Therapy.