What is Positive Psychology?

Positive psychology is an exciting and fairly new branch of psychology. It was established in 1998 by Prof Martin Seligman, and today, it is taught at a degree level only in few universities. However its ideas, the research behind it, its tools and strategies are now beginning to spill out of the ivory towers of academia into our everyday lives through the media, and through the self-development industry and through the ideas and ideologies behind coaching.  

Positive psychology is defined as "the study of the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive".   Positive psychologists seek "to make normal life more fulfilling" and "to find and nurture genius and talent".

"Positive psychology is the scientific study of what enables individuals and communities to thrive."

Positive Psychology has therefore three central concerns: 

Firstly, to enable individuals to improve their psychological states and to enable them to be happier, more successful and healthier. 

The second aim is preventative: to help people develop better psychological resilience, which would enable them to address life's  challenges with less distress. 

The third aim is to create a bridge between the ivory tower of the academia and the self development industry. This can be done by conducting rigorous research on topics which thus far have only been dealt with by the self-development industry, and testing some of its known strategies to evaluate their effectiveness.   

In the following video clip, Prof Martin Seligman, the founder of Positive Psychology, explains what is Positive Psychology and how it differs from traditional psychology.

Why practice Positive Psychology?

Is there Negative Psychology?

Since the Second World War, much of psychology has been concerned with mental illness, or as Prof Seligman puts it - with making miserable people less miserable.  These are indeed important goals, however, as a result of this focus on illness, suffering and weakness, psychology neglected healthy and normal people, and very little research was conducted in search of ways to improve people's lives: how to make life more fulfilling, more successful and happier.

Positive psychology sets out to right this imbalance, and  it argues that there is as much merit in the study of optimal functioning as there is in studying illness.

So, what is Positive psychology about? 

It is about positive emotions: happiness, well-being, contentment, pleasure, hope, etc.

It is also about human traits, such as capacity for love, interpersonal skill, aesthetic sensitivity, compassion, perseverance, forgiveness, originality, wisdom, social intelligence, courage, etc.

And at a group level, positive psychology is interested in groups, organisations and communities, and it addresses issues around work ethics, citizenship, contributions, responsibility, altruism, tolerance, etc.

For more information about Positive Psychology and some of its exciting 

ideas and research, please click here to visit our Positive Psychology website, 

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