---- POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY by Martin Seligman
POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
This is POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
that Martin E.P. Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi called for
in American Psychologist (Journal of the APA) January, 2000
“A science of subjective experience, positive individual traits and positive
institutions promises to improve quality of life and prevent the pathologies
that arise when life is barren and meaningless. The exclusive focus on
pathology that has dominated so much of our discipline results in a model
of the human being lacking the positive features that make life worth living.
Hope, wisdom, creativity, future mindedness, courage, spirituality,
responsibility and perseverance are ignored or explained as transformations
of more authentic negative impulses. . . ”
“At this juncture [in American history], 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. . .”
“The aim of positive psychology is to begin to catalyze a change in the
focus of psychology from preoccupation only with repairing the worst things
in life to also building positive qualities. . . .”
“The field of positive psychology at the subjective level is about valued
subjective experiences: well-being, contentment, and satisfaction (in the past):
hope and optimism (for the future); and flow and happiness (in the present).
At the individual level, it is about positive individual traits: the capacity for
love and vocation, courage, interpersonal skill, aesthetic sensibility,
perseverance, forgiveness, originality, future mindedness, spirituality,
high talent, and wisdom. At the group level, it is about the civic virtues
and institutions that move individuals toward better citizenship: responsibility,
nurturance, altruism, civility, moderation, tolerance, and work ethic.”
(Martin E.P. Seligman, University of Pennsylvania, Written during his term
as President of the American Psychological Association).
The Promise of Positive Psychology for the Assessment of [and Building] Character (2OO4)
James O. Pawelski is Assistant Professor of Human and Organizational Development and Religious Studies at Vanderbilt University.
ABSTRACT
Positive psychology is a new and rapidly expanding field focused on the empirical study of human flourishing. One of its central missions is the development of an operationalized classification of the strengths and virtues that constitute character. The aim is to foster the identification, measurement, and cultivation of these strengths and virtues. Also supportive of this aim is the recently published Positive Psychological Assessment: A Handbook of Models and Measures. This presentation gives a brief overview of the positive psychology movement, examines its operationalized definition of character, and considers some of the advantages and disadvantages of the empirical study of character. Appended is a brief annotated bibliography of some important sources in positive psychology.
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The theme of this year’s Institute is “Moral and Civic Responsibility: Can We Assess the Character Outcomes of College?” The answer one gives to this very important question will be guided, of course, by one’s definition of character. For present purposes, I will take my general definition from Marvin Berkowitz, who defines character as an Individual’s set of psychological characteristics that affect that person’s ability and inclination to function morally (2002, 48, italics deleted). More specifically, I would like to explore the way this relevant set of psychological characteristics is understood in the new field of positive psychology. This in turn will lead to some important answers to the questions of whether and how character outcomes might be assessed.
Positive psychology was launched in 1998 by Martin Seligman during his term as president of the American Psychological Association. In his presidential address to the Association, Seligman pointed out that since World War II psychology has focused largely on pathology. By focusing on the identification and treatment of mental illness, he observed, psychology has found effective treatments ”and even cures” for a range of psychological diseases. But Seligman argued that healing disease is only part of psychology’s mission, a mission which, more broadly, is about making the lives of all people better. Accordingly, one of his presidential initiatives was to spearhead the empirical study of flourishing individuals and thriving communities in order to learn how to foster such individuals and such communities (Seligman 1998).
Positive psychology has grown rapidly since 1998 and now involves hundreds of researchers in the U.S. and around the world. These researchers are studying optimal human functioning in order to discover and promote the factors that allow individuals and communities to thrive (Sheldon, Fredrickson, Rathunde, Csikszentmihalyi, and Haidt, 2000). They take Positive psychology to be a science of positive subjective experience, positive individual traits, and positive institutions (Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi 2000, 5). One of the central projects positive psychologists are undertaking is the creation of a classification of human strengths, intended to function as a counterpart to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) published by the American Psychiatric Association. Called the Values in Action (VIA) Classification of Strengths Manual (Peterson and Seligman 2003), the goal of this “manual of the sanities” is to identify the core virtues that are consistently valued across cultures and across time. The main virtues identified are wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence.
For positive psychology, good character is a function of these six virtues. The problem, though, is how to define and measure them. Courage, for example, can mean different things in different contexts (physical bravery on the battlefield, for example, or moral integrity under pressure). In order to facilitate the definition, cultivation, and measurement of character, positive psychologists have ranged a total of twenty-four strengths under the six virtues. They are as follows:
Positive Psychology Values in Action (VIA) Classification of Strengths and Virtues (Seligman 2002, 140-158)
Wisdom and Knowledge
1. Curiosity/Interest in the World
2. Love of Learning
3. Judgment/Critical Thinking/Open-Mindedness
4. Ingenuity/Originality/Practical Intelligence/Street Smarts
5. Social Intelligence/Personal Intelligence/Emotional Intelligence
6. Perspective
Courage
7. Valor and Bravery
8. Perseverance/Industry/Diligence
19. Integrity/Genuineness/Honesty
Humanity and Love
10. Kindness and Generosity
11. Loving and Allowing Oneself to Be Loved
Justice
12. Citizenship/Duty/Teamwork/Loyalty
13. Fairness and Equity
14. Leadership
Temperance
15. Self-Control
16. Prudence/Discretion/Caution
17. Humility and Modesty
Transcendence
18. Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence
19. Gratitude
20. Hope/Optimism/Future-Mindedness
21. Spirituality/Sense of Purpose/Faith/Religiousness
22. Forgiveness and Mercy
23. Playfulness and Humor
24. Zest/Passion/Enthusiasm
The goal of the VIA Classification is to provide operationalized definitions, measurements, and interventions for each of these character strengths. Some of these are already available in therecently-published Positive Psychological Assessment: A Handbook of Models and Measures (Lopez and Snyder 2003). Among the character strengths addressed in this work are creativity, optimism, hope, emotional intelligence, forgiveness, humor, and gratitude.
The work of positive psychologists is making significant contributions to our ability to assess the character outcomes of college. First, positive psychology’s definition of character is a rich one that, while independent of particular philosophical or religious creeds, is not inimical to them. This allows for this approach to character development to be used in many different contexts. Second, positive psychology’s definition of character is empirically oriented. It encourages the development of a variety of interventions whose results are empirically measurable. Third, positive psychologists are developing resources for the empirical testing of the outcomes of character development initiatives. Some of this work involves gathering into one place instruments that have already been developed, and some of this work involves developing brand new instruments.
Of course, this work is not easy, and it raises questions that must be answered. One area of concern is the reliance on self-report in these instruments. To what extent might self-report mask changes that are or not taking place in character development programs? A second area of concern is the quantitative nature of these instruments. How accurately can something as complex as character development be measured quantitatively? How might qualitative assessments be used to help offset the dangers of reductionism? Finally, if we define character in terms of psychological strengths, is it possible that character development programs will be developing strong characters instead of good characters? What is to guarantee that strong characters will also be good?
Much work remains to be done. But there is much promise in this work.
Accepting positive psychology’s definition of character has definite theoretical advantages. It also has important practical implications for the construction of character development programs and for the assessment of their effectiveness.
So, in conclusion, Can we assess the character outcomes of college?
Yes. Can we do so perfectly? No. But we are getting better at it. And the rich theoretical and practical resources of positive psychology are a very promising aid in this important endeavor.
Works Cited
Berkowitz, Marvin W. 2002. “The Science of Character Education.” In
William Damon, ed.
Bringing in a New Era in Character Education. Stanford: Hoover
Institute Press, 43-63.
Lopez, Shane J. and C. R. Snyder, ed. 2003. Positive Psychological
Assessment: A Handbook of Models and Measures. Washington, DC: American
Psychological Association.
Peterson, Christopher, and Martin E. P. Seligman. 2003. Values in
Action (VIA) Classification of Strengths Manual. At
www.positivepsychology.org/taxonomy.htm.
Seligman, Martin E.P. 1998. “The President’s Address.” In APA
1998 Annual Report at www.positivepsychology.org/aparep98.htm.
Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize
Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Seligman, Martin E. P., and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. 2000. “Positive
Psychology: An Introduction.” In American Psychologist 55.1: 5-14.
Sheldon, Kennon, Barbara Fredrickson, Kevin Rathunde, Mihaly
sikszentmihalyi, and Jonathan Haidt. 2000. “Positive Psychology Manifesto.” At www.positivepsychology.org/akumalmanifesto.htm.
Some Sources in Positive Psychology www.positivepsychology.org,This
Positive Psychology Network website gives a good overview of the positive psychology movement.
www.authentichappiness.org This website supports Authentic Happiness,
Martin Seligman’s new introduction to positive psychology (see below). Here you can take a number of psychological assessments for free, including the Values in Action (VIA) Inventory of Strengths to identify your signature strengths.
The American Psychologist, 55:1 (January 2000). This entire issue is dedicated to positive psychology. See especially “Positive Psychology:
An introduction” by Martin Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi,
5-14.
The American Psychologist, 56:3 (March 2001). This issue contains a special section on positive psychology.
Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly, Flow (New York: HarperPerennial) 1990.Very helpful description of flow, a powerful positive psychological state.
Lopez, Shane J. and C. R. Snyder, ed., Positive Psychological
Assessment: A Handbook of Models and Measures (Washington, DC: American Psychological Association) 2003. More than 30 scholarly articles describing a wide variety of instruments for assessing strengths.
Myers, David G., The Pursuit of Happiness (New York: Avon Books) 1992. Surprising research results about what makes us happy and what
Doesn’t.
Peterson, Christopher, et al., VIA Classification of Strengths Manual (forthcoming in 2003 from Oxford University Press). Excerpts can be seen at www.positivepsychology.org/taxonomy.htm. This manual of strengths is intended to be a counterpart to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Human Disorders (DSM IV).
Seligman, Martin E. P., Authentic Happiness (New York: Free Press)
2002. This is the best place to start. Written for a popular audience, this book is a very accessible introduction to positive psychology.
Seligman, Martin E. P. and James O. Pawelski, “Positive Psychology
FAQs,” forthcoming in2003 in Psychological Inquiry.
Snyder, C. R. and Shane J. Lopez, ed., Handbook of Positive Psychology (New York: Oxford University Press) 2002. More than 50 scholarly articles on a wide variety of topics from leading researchers in positive psychology.
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