Question

Martin Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (2000) contend that if the study of human development turns towards a “positive psychology” then: …the social and behavioral sciences can play an enormously important role. They can articulate a vision of the good life that is empirically sound while being understandable and attractive. They can show what actions lead to well-being, to positive individuals, and to thriving communities. Psychology should be able to help document what kinds of families result in children who flourish, what work settings support the greatest satisfaction among workers, what policies result in the strongest civic engagement, and how people’s lives can be most worth living (44-45) One goal of positive psychology is to move beyond just describing our social reality to prescribing social policies that can transform society. Read Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (Selction 8 of Classic Editions). What three ideas do they present in contrast to ‘psychology as pathology’? What are the implications of their ideas for social policy and/or your life?

Answer 1

The ideas discussed by Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi in their seminal paper that offer a contrast to ‘psychology as pathology’ are stated as under:

• Shift focus from repairing things gone bad towards developing positive attributes and traits.
• Investigate the actions and behaviors that lead to or promote well-being in different spheres of life.
• Gain an understanding of how regular individuals function in day to day, benign situations.

With respect to policy changes and personal life, the positive psychology approach has huge implications. For starters, it represents a paradigm shift in the discipline psychology away from its negative bias. We all tend to be so focussed and preoccupied with negative emotions and experiences that we tend to overlook developing and encouraging praiseworthy aspects of humanity. Although it is natural to be concerned about social issues such as poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, military threat etc., human virtues should not only be cherished but also promoted. In one's own life as well, turning our attention towards our positive qualities would lead an overall sense of well-being.