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The Science of Positive Psychology:
Emerging Findings, Methods & Challenges
Stewart I. Donaldson
Claremont Graduate University
7th European Conference on Positive Psychology
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
July 3, 2014
Positive Psychology
APA Presidential Address 1998
Applied M.A. Program, University of Pennsylvania
2005
Research M.A. & Ph.D. Programs, Claremont
Graduate University 2007
Positive Psychology
The Scientific Study of What
Enables Individuals,
Organizations, and
Communities to Thrive
-
Vision
A SCIENCE of positive
subjective experience,
positive individual traits, and
positive institutions
Application
Positive Psychology promises
to improve quality of life
and to prevent pathologies
that arise when life is
BARREN & MEANINGLESS
An Addition Not a Replacement
The heavy focus of traditional
psychology on pathology is
amended with a positive model
of the human being and a new
research agenda on learning
what makes life worth living
Focusing on the Right Tail of the
Normal Distribution
Rapid Growth
1998 – APA Presidential Address
2000 – Special Issue: Happiness, Excellence, and Optimal Human Functioning
Professional Meetings Across the Globe
Funding & Awards
International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA)
Journal of Positive Psychology
Undergraduate Courses
20+ Graduate Programs
Positive Scholarship & Practice
Positive Business
Positive Organizational Scholarship
Positive Education
Positive Health
Positive Humanities
Positive Neuroscience
Positive Youth Development
Positive Community Development
Positive Aging
Critiques
Nothing New
Conceptual Clarity
Scientific Rigor
Taking Stock
Designing Positive Psychology: Taking Stock & Moving Forward (Sheldon, Kashdan, & Steger, 2011)
Applied Positive Psychology: Improving Everyday Life, Health, Schools, Work, & Society (Donaldson, Csikszentmihalyi, & Nakamura, 2011)
Positive Organizational Psychology, Behavior, and Scholarship: A Review of the Emerging Literature and Evidence Base. Journal of Positive Psychology, 5 (3), 177-191. (Donaldson & Ko, 2010)
Taming the Waves and Horses of Positive Organizational Psychology. Advances in Positive Organizational Psychology, 1, 1-21. (Donaldson & Dollwet, 2013)
Taking Stock
Tracing the Size, Reach, Impact, and Breadth of
Positive Psychology, Journal of Positive Psychology,
8(3) 207-221 (Rusk & Waters, 2013)
Peer Reviewed Articles in Positive Psychology 1999
to 2013 (Donaldson, Dollwet, & Rao, in press)
Critical Review of Evidence
Literature search
◦ Search for “positive psychology” with results were
limited to English and peer-reviewed articles that did
not fall into the following exclusion categories:
Book review, commentary, or editorial
Not in English (abstract was in English but not the full text)
Not related to Positive Psychology
No full text available
Finding
◦ 1336 articles published between 1999 and 2013
Peer Reviewed Articles in Positive
Psychology 1999-2013
Total # of articles (N) = 1336
1st Author Location
US55%
UK9%
Australia6%
Canada6%
Other24%
Location
1st Author Location
Other Locations: Belgium
China
Germany
Greece
Hong Kong
Iceland
India
Iran
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Korea
Kuwait
Malaysia
Malta
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Slovakia
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
Turkey
Uganda
Top Countries: Non-Empirical
1. USA: 367
2. UK: 46
3. Australia: 33
4. Canada: 30
5. All other countries 1-3 publications
Non-empirical publications are very Western,
English-speaking focused
Top Countries: Empirical
1. USA: 362
2. UK: 73
3. Canada: 42
4. Australia: 42
5. South Africa:25
6. Germany: 24
7. Netherlands: 22
8. Switzerland: 22
9. China: 15
Empirical publications are still predominately Western, English-speaking but empirical work is a bit more diverse
Popular Topics
FlowPositive Emotions
Creativity
Character StrengthsFlourishing Growth Thriving Communities
Optimal Performance Well-Being
Hope Wisdom Resilience
Gratitude Vitality
Topic Nr. Of Publications
Well-Being 339
Character Strengths 70
Hope 63
Gratitude 41
Resilience 39
Growth 34
What are the Benefits of
Happiness?
Happy People Appear to Function Better:
Have better social relationships
Better organizational citizens at work
Do more volunteer work
Have better health
Make more money
- Diener, 2011
How Much of Happiness is Pre-
Determined?
- Lyubomirsky, 2008
What is the Strongest Predictor of
Happiness?
The happiest people all over the world appear to
have strong and meaningful social relationships
Other important predictors:
Having basic physiological needs fulfilled
Working toward goals and achieving them
Learning something new each day
- Diener, 2011
Empirical Work: Samples
Samples
◦ Across the lifespan
35%
39%
16%
10%
Age
Adults College/Graduate Students
Children (18 and younger) not specified
Empirical: Key PredictorsOutcome Variable Key Predictors
# of studies investigating
outcome variable
Well-being Gratitude
Mindfulness/meditation
Strengths
Coaching
Hope
Spirituality
Curiosity
339
Growth Coping
Spirituality
Emotional expression
34
Performance PsyCap
Well-being
Self-discipline
Hardiness
Hope
Passion
31
Empirical Findings: Interventions
21% of all empirical studies were intervention studies (161
studies)
Interventions for all ages across the life span
80
44
79
29
40
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100Nr. of Intervention Studies
Empirical Findings: Interventions Significant Intervention Types:
Intervention Type Outcomes # of Interventions
Mindfulness:
enriched mind-body connection, yoga
• Reduced negative affect
• Reduced anxiety
• Well-being
• Resilience
• Self-compassion
15
Coaching:
solution-based cognitive model
• Well-being
• Cognitive hardiness
• Hope
• Resilience
• Engagement
• Self-motivation & awareness
• Goal-attainment
• Mental health
13
Positive Affect:
writing about positive experiences
• Health benefits
• Attributions
• Mindfulness
• Purpose in life
12
Strengths-Based:
identifying & using character strengths
• Personal growth
• Life satisfaction
• Well-being
10
Gratitude:
gratitude writing exercise
• Well-being
• Reduced depression
• Closure to unpleasant
emotional memories
• Reduced body dissatisfaction
9
Controversies
Scientific Rigor
Positivity
Authentic Leadership
The Future of Positive Psychology
Sound Science
Theory-Driven Intervention Design & Evaluation
“Best Way to Predict the Future is to Create it”
Peter Drucker