Positive Psychology Exam 2 Study Guide

Front 1

Ogilvie's 1987 Key to Leisure Increasing Satisfaction

Back 1

The key to leisure increasing satisfaction is that we must be engaged in active types of leisure that we find personally meaningful

Front 2

Definition of Flow

Back 2

The condition wherein you are totally engaged in an activity. We experience it as a unified flowing form one moment to the next, in which we feel control of our actions, and in which there is little distinction between self and environment; between stimulus and response, or between past, present and future.
- being "in the zone"

Front 3

Csikszentmihalyi's 8 Characteristics of Flow

Back 3

1. The merging of action and awareness
2. Complete concentration on the task at hand
3. Lack of worry about losing control, which results in a sense of control
4. A loss of self-consciousness
5. Time no longer seems to pass in ordinary ways
6. Experience is done for its own sake, rather than a means to a goal
7. Match between challenge and skill level
8. Clear goals and immediate feedback

Front 4

Two Ways In Which We Experience Peak Performance

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1. Spontaneous Peak Performance - a spontaneous moment of peak performance that happens in a crisis situation
2. Deliberate Peak Performance - a conscious effort to induce moments of peak performance through training to master a specific skill

Front 5

Parameters of Peak Performance

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1. Clear focus of self, object, and relationship
2. Intense involvement in the experience
3. A strong intention to complete a task
4. A spontaneous expression of power

Front 6

Langer's Memo Study on Mindfulness

Back 6

Langer and colleagues sent out memos which said "Please return this memo immediately to room 247". Half of the memos looked like usual ones, the other half looked different.
RESULTS: 90% of the usual memos were returned and only 60% of the different ones were.

Front 7

Langer and Rodin (1989) Plant Study

Back 7

Langer gave half of the nursing home patients a plant to take care of. After 1.5 years, the plant residents were more cheerful, alert and active and half as many plant residents had died compared to others.
MORAL: The plant was an added incentive to pay more attention to their environment and exercise more control in their lives.

Front 8

Requirements for Drawing Novel Distinctions

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1. Overcome the desire to reduce uncertainty in our life
2. Override a tendency to engage in automatic behavior
Engage less frequently in evaluations of self, others, and situations

Front 9

Types of Savoring

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1. Basking - receiving praise and congratulations
2. Marveling - getting lost in the wonder of a moment
3. Luxuriating - indulging in a sensation
4. Thanksgiving - expressing gratitude

Front 10

Four Ways to Cultivate Savoring

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1. Absorption - allowing oneself to be immersed in the experience
2. Sharpening the senses - focusing on one sensation while blocking out others
3. Memory Building - doing something that helps you to remember the experience later
4. Sharing With Others - "Grief shared is halved, joy shared is doubled"
5. Self-Congratulation - allow yourself to feel good about relishing your experiences

Front 11

Results of Jacob and Brinkerhoff Mindfulness Study

Back 11

N/A

Front 12

Results of Harlow & Harlow's Monkey Study

Back 12

- Bodily contact most important for developing attachment
- Early attachments affect later attachments
- Female monkeys ignored their offspring

Front 13

Ainsworth's Attachment Types

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1. Avoidant Attachments (20%) - do not cry when their mother leaves and either ignore her when she returns or turn away
2. Secure Attachments (70%) - cry when their mother leaves and are comforted when she returns
3. Ambivalent Attachments (10%) - cry when their mother leaves and are not easily comforted when she returns

Front 14

Three Hormones Involved in the Chemistry of Love

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1. Oxytocin - hormone released in the brain in response to social contact, especially skin to skin touch... forms emotional bond between parent and infant
2. Dopamine - neurotransmitter responsible for reinforcement, feelings of pleasure, and addiction.
3. Endorphins - opiate neurotransmitter responsible for relieving pain

Front 15

Two Things Important for Self-Disclosure

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1. Depth (level of intimacy)
2. Breadth (range of topics)

Front 16

Sternberg's Triangular Theory of Love

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INTIMACY, PASSION & COMMITMENT
1. Liking - intimacy alone
2. Companionate Love - intimacy & commitment
3. Empty Love - commitment alone
4. Fatuous Love - passion & commitment
5. Infatuation - passion alone
6. Romantic Love - intimacy & passion
7. Consummate Love - all three!

Front 17

Hendrick's Love Styles

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1. Eros - passionate & erotic love
2. Ludus - playful & game playing
3. Storge - affectionate & compassionate
4. Pragma - practical & rational
5. Mania - obsessive & clingy
6. Agape - selfless love

Front 18

Positive Romantic Illusions

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-- The bigger the discrepancy in a positive direction between what your partner believes about your strength and what your friends believe, the bigger the romantic illusion that your partner has of you
-- The bigger the romantic illusion, the happier and more stable and satisfied the relationship

Front 19

Gottman's Balance Theory

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--Assumes that every couple will express both positive and negative behaviors.
-- Stability in relationships is about finding a balance between positive and negative behaviors.

Front 20

Equity Theory

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-- The more profitable a relationship is for BOTH people, the more likely it is to flourish
-- People calculate the costs and benefits involved in interacting with others
-- Social Exchange Theory - some resources can be exchanged for others

Front 21

Positive-Negative Interaction Ratio

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The ratio of positive interactions to negative interactions must exceed 5:1 ... for every complaint and criticism voiced, there needs to be at least 5 explicit compliments or positive comments.

Front 22

Responding Types

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1. Active-Constructive Responding - an enthusiastic response
2. Active-Destructive Responding - a response that points out the potential downside
3. Passive-Constructive Responding - a muted response
4. Passive-Destructive Responding - a response that conveys disinterest

Front 23

Communicating About Sex

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- Say what you'd like to try
- Non-verbal cues
- Let them know when they've hit the spot
- Be honest, positive, demonstrative

Front 24

Conflict and Good Relationships

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-- Good relationships have disputes but have productive ways of dealing with conflict by confronting it and expressing dissatisfaction

Front 25

Demand-Withdrawal

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When one person is demanding, critical or strongly expresses a number of complaints during a conflict, causing the other person to withdraw.

Front 26

Hippocrate's Four Humors

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1. Blood
2. Yellow Bile
3. Phlegm
4. Black Bile
-- Certain mental illnesses caused by an imbalance in the four humors

Front 27

Role of the Crusades

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Brought back Greek philosophy preserved by Islamic and Judaic scholarship... ushered an age of enlightenment

Front 28

Descarte's Mind-Body Explanation

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The mind and body are separate
-- body - a physical machine (reflexes, instincts)
-- mind - just exists (no substance, free, immortal)
** The mind interacts with the body at the pineal gland and pumps "animal spririts" through the nerve channels moving the body

Front 29

Suh et al's Study on Significant Life Events Versus Daily Hassles

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-- Impact of significant life events, such as marriage, death, birth of a child, loss of job... quite short-lived
-- Daily hassles are frequent and impact a person's mood, and a persistent negative mood impacts well-being more

Front 30

McClelland's Movie and Immune System Study

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Simply watching someone be kind an sympathetic to others may influence changes in our immune system responses

Front 31

Lefcourt's Study on Laughter and the Immune System

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Laughter can...
- Increase antibodies that fight infection
- Increase natural disease fighting killer cells
- Lower blood pressure

Front 32

Dimensions of Positive Coping

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1. Coping Styles - the basic and fundamental approaches we use to deal with challenges or difficulties
2. Coping Resources - specific skills and resources we can draw upon when under stress
3. Coping Strategies - the more complex behavioral strategies we use over control to cope with challenges

Front 33

Difference Between Emotion-Focused Coping and Problem-Focuses Coping

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Emotion-Focused Coping - finding a way to control your emotional responses to problems (cognitive and behavioral)

Problem-Focused Coping - using realistic strategies that could make a positive tangible difference in the situation that is causing the stress (changing the situation or the self)

Front 34

Social Support and Smoking

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Social support has been associated with: greater resistance to disease, lower rates of coronary heart disease, less arterial blockage, faster recovery from disease and surgery, increases compliance with medical treatments, and reduction in levels of medications.

-- Lack of social support is strongly related to mortality and is smoking

Front 35

Results of Nun Essay Study

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-- Researchers analyzed 178 nun essays for numbers of positive emotions expressed and then compared it to their longevity
-- Of the nuns who expressed the lowest amount of positive emotions, only 34% were still alive at age 85, while 90% of the positive emotion nuns were.

Front 36

Hardiness

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- A sense of control over one's life - confidence of ability to cope with crisis
- Autonomy, cognitive control, more coping strategies
- A sense that the stress they face are challenges rather than crises
- Sees crises as a catalyst for growth, having greater cognitive flexibility
- A sense of commitment to various areas of their lives
- A belief system that minimizes threats, a sense of purpose that prevents surrender, and involvement with others.

Front 37

Three Elements of Excellence

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1. Cognitive Skills - Memory skills and large knowledge base that is highly organized, allowing them to develop shortcut strategies for reaching decisions
2. Commitment - Determine to succeed and persevere in spite of difficulties, formation of mentor relationships
3. Practice - The earlier the practice begins, he greater the chance for excellence in the field

Front 38

Resonance Performance Model

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Performance excellence is the bi-product of living a life in such a way that people are fully engaged in what they do
-- The dream, preparation, obstacles, revisiting the dream

Front 39

Role of Curiosity In Aesthetics

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-- Interesting objects, curious patterns and unexpected color combinations can stimulate our sense of curiosity
-- Keeps us interesting in life, provides variety and stimulation which can help us learn about the world around us

Front 40

Avant-Garde Movement

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Art should challenge people to view the world, others and themselves in new ways and stimulate people to feel differently
-- Artists of the Avant-Garde movement insisted on greater creativity and set out to shake up the bourgeoisie, people who were rigid conformists

Front 41

Music and Healing

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Music aids healing and can help:

- patients heal faster after surgery
- cancer patients with treatment
- Alzheimer's patients remember past events
- people cope better with severe pain
- boost our immune system
- raise test scores

Front 42

Benefits of the Art of Tragedy

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Through art and tragedy we can experience three benefits:
1. Reminds us of our shared humanity and increases qualities such as compassion and charity
2. Builds a resolve to help stop future tragedies in the real world
3. Allows us to feel certain emotions without having to live through the real experience

Front 43

Location and Function of Experience Simulator

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-- The prefrontal cortex is the experience simulator.
-- We can try things out in our heads before they happen.

Front 44

Lowenstein's French Restaurant Study

Back 44

Volunteers that won a free dinner at a fabulous French restaurant delayed about a week before redeeming their offer in order to be able to look forward to the event for that week, increasing their pleasure.

Front 45

Reason We Imagine Future Pain

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Anticipating unpleasant events can minimize their impact

Front 46

Insight Learning and Imagination

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Insight Learning - learning by thinking, we use our experiences in prior unrelated situations and apply it to a new situation in our heads first
-- We use our imagination to come up with creative solutions to problems or to create new ways of doing things

Front 47

Reality First Principle

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- When we ask our brains to look at a real object and an imaginary one at the same time, it does the first
- When asking those at the gym to imagine being lost in the woods without food or water, those who were thirsty reported that thirst would be more unpleasant.

Front 48

Results of Candy Bar Study

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People were asked geography questions and told that they could pick a reward; the correct answers or the candy bar. Those who got to pick their reward before the questions chose the candy bars and those who picked their reward after chose the answers. (curiosity)