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I am a Positive Psychology enthusiast and had recently conducted a talk on this subject at Hyderabad, India
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A TALK ON POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
LAMAKAAN, HYDERABAD, 10TH AUGUST 2013
Sandeep Kulshrestha
ABOUT ME
MBA in Leadership and Entrepreneurship, MA in Psychology, Certificate in Positive Psychology, Certified Life Coach, PhD (Management)
18 Years of Corporate Experience in Human Resources
Enthusiastic about Positive Psychology and generating awareness about this field, besides learning more about it
BEFORE I BEGIN
Positive Psychology is not pop-psychology as it works on the practical aspects of life – say it delves into a real “self-help” approach (although cynics and skeptics are welcome for their views!!)
Positive Psychology is an accepted branch of Psychology, primarily in the western world, with leading Universities in the US and Europe offering programmes till PhD level
The field is in a pretty nascent stage and hence a lot of research is happening (so a lot of opportunities for researchers)
Meditation (especially Mindfulness Meditation) is an accepted concept in Positive Psychology and not related to any religious practice, although influenced largely by the eastern construct
A STARTING PLACE
Martin Seligman
American Psychological Association President 1996
Psychology split into two camps:
Academics more interested in science.
Clinicians interested in practice of psychotherapy.
Hoped to bring science and practice together.
NIKKI AND THE WEEDS
Seligman’s inspiration:
Weeding garden.
5-year old daughter throwing weeds.
Seligman irritated, yelled at Nikki.
“Daddy. From when I was 3 until I was 5, I was a whiner. I whined every day. On my 5th birthday, I decided I wasn’t going to whine anymore. That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. If I can stop whining, you can stop being such a grouch.”
RESULTANT ACTION
Seligman resolved to change.
His purpose in life was not to correct his daughter’s shortcomings.
Instead, raising her to nurture the strength she displayed (social intelligence).
Can psychological science be about identifying and nurturing strengths?
TRADITIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
The scientific study of the human mind and its functions, esp. those affecting behavior in a given context.
Great Psychologists like Freud, Jung and others have given a lot of scientific insights
Lost out on the positive approaches after the World War II
Contributions of Psychology has been great in treating a great lot of disorders and abnormalities
Has been more used in the analysis of negative side of human behavior
POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
Positive psychologists seek to find and nurture genius and talent, and to make normal life more fulfilling
Scientific study of optimal human functioning and what makes life worth living
Psychology of the characteristics, conditions and processes which lead to flourishing
Researching what goes right for Individuals, communities and organisations
Launched a decade ago, distanced itself from other branches of Psychology, although still a part of Psychology
Roots in humanistic psychology
PIONEERS OF POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY MOVEMENT
Dr Sonja LyubomirskyDr Martin Seligman Dr Mihaly
CsikszentmihalyiMe-high Chick-sent-me-high
Dr Christopher Peterson
DR MARTIN SELIGMAN
Seligman is the Professor of Psychology in the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Psychology. He was previously the Director of the Clinical Training Program in the department. He is the director of the university's Positive Psychology Center. Seligman was elected President of the American Psychological Association for 1998. He is the founding editor-in-chief of Prevention and Treatment Magazine (the APA electronic journal) and is on the board of advisers of Parents magazine.
Seligman has written about positive psychology topics such as The Optimistic Child, Child's Play, Learned Optimism, Authentic Happiness, and Flourish.
MARTIN SELIGMAN'S MODEL OF WELL BEING
MARTIN SELIGMAN’S TREATISE ON OPTIMISM AND PESSIMISM Permanence:
PEOPLE WHO give up easily believe the causes of the bad events that happen to them are permanent: The bad events will persist, will always be there to affect their lives. People who resist helplessness believe the causes of bad events are temporary
Extracted from, “Learned Optimism” by Dr Martin Seligman
CONTRIBUTION OF DR MIHALY CSIKSZENTMIHALYI (ME-HIGH CHICK-SENT-ME-HIGH)
Dr Mihaly, an Hungarian immigrant to the US is a Professor of Psychology at Claremont Graduate University
DISCOVERY OF PSYCHOLOGY OF “FLOW”
Dr Mihaly began by interviewing lots of people who had one thing in common. They did an activity purely for its own sake – not for the money or status, just for the joy of it. Czikszentmihalyi found that these people– chess players, dancers, mountain climbers and the like – had remarkably similar experiences – which he came to label as ‘flow’
HOW CAN I TELL I'M IN PSYCHOLOGICAL FLOW?
You have a feeling of oneness, even of ecstasy
Example: Listening to a moving piece of music
You feel completely involved and concentrated on whatever you are doing
Example: Being completely involved in a game of tennis
The task involves a strong challenge but you feel able to meet it
Example: Playing a tough piece on the piano
EXAMPLE OF A “FLOW” AUDIT
CONTRIBUTION OF DR CHRISTOPHER PETERSON The Character Strengths and Virtues (CSV) handbook of human strengths and virtues, by Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman, represents the first attempt on the part of the research community to identify and classify the positive psychological traits of human beings
It is an extensive handbook and classification of character. In the book, they look at the historical views of virtue and then use them to help classify what they call character strengths.
CONTRIBUTION OF DR CHRISTOPHER PETERSON (CONTD..) Virtues
Peterson and Seligman studied the virtues that were part of the major spiritual and philosophical traditions throughout history. They looked at Confucianism and Taoism from China, Buddhism and Hinduism from South Asia, and the religions of ancient Greece, Judeo-Christianity and Islam from the West. From these studies they concluded that the following six items were universal core virtues:
Wisdom and knowledge
Courage
Humanity
Justice
Temperance
Transcendence
Since these virtues seemed universal across many cultures, they felt the virtues were built into the human psyche and could form a basis for a list of positive character traits.
ONLINE CHARACTER PROFILE (BASED ON PETERSON’S WORK)
INTRODUCING MINDFULNESS MEDITATION Mindfulness is the focusing of attention and awareness, based on the concept of mindfulness in Buddhist meditation, but is defined in many ways. It has been popularised in the West by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Despite its roots in Buddhism, mindfulness is taught independent of religion in the West.
Research suggests that mindfulness practices are useful in the treatment of pain, stress, anxiety, depressive relapse, disordered eating, and addiction. There are also studies looking into the benefits of mindfulness for those who do not suffer from these disorders, such as Mindfulness-based stress reduction.
Mindfulness is awareness of the present moment. It’s living here and now. Through mindfulness, you are freed from becoming entangled in thoughts of your past, and you are freed from worrying about the future.
In the here and now, everything just is...and there is great peace in that.
A SMALL MINDFULNESS EXERCISE NOW AS THE MUSIC PLAYS, CLOSE YOUR EYES AND START EASY BREATHING THROUGH YOUR NOSE
AFTER 3-4 BREATHS, GO TO YOUR OWN FAVOURITE PLACE IN YOUR IMAGINATIONS. IT MAY BE A LIBRARY, YOUR OLD CHILDHOOD ROOM, A LAKE, A BEACH AND BE THERE
FEEL THE SOUNDS AROUND YOU BUT DON’T DISTRACT FROM YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE. FOCUS ON BOTH. START TOUCHING YOUR BOOK OR THE GRASS NEAR THE LAKE IN YOUR IMAGINATIONS. TRY TO FEEL IT
AFTER 3-4 MINUTES OPEN YOUR EYES
SUGGESTED READINGS
RESOURCES
http://www.positivementor.co.uk for free eBooks and resources on Positive Psychology
