What is Positive Psychology?
“Positive Psychology is the scientific study of human flourishing, and an applied approach to optimal functioning. It has also been defined as the study of the strengths and virtues that enable individuals, communities and organization to thrive.” (Taher, 2015). Positive psychology can be broken down into three topics: the study of positive subjective experiences (emotions such as; happiness, fulfillment, and enjoyment), the study of positive individual traits (virtues, talents, temperament) and lastly the study of positive institutions (families, cultures, schools) all of which allows one to have positive traits and because of this have positive experiences (Lazurus, 2010). The beginning of Positive
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Without a study being valid it allows holes in the research and later leads to incorrect conclusions. It is well known that no research is perfect when initiating causality, in the case of cross- sectional research, it is especially vulnerable because the study is observational and research is known as descriptive instead of relational or causal. The research is much like a snapshot of observation of a certain group at a particular time and then it is later compared to another snapchat of the same group at a later time. This research does not rule out a possible third coincidence that could be causing the effects (Lazurus, 2010). Emotion Valence: ‘One man’s trash is another man’s treasure’ is a phrase that explains how just because something may bring happiness to one person doesn 't mean it’s going to bring happiness to everyone. This is the flaw with emotion valence, placing emotions into two large categories (positive and negative) does not help one progress in research for understanding how emotions may play a role in ones mental health. Grouping emotions into two categories restricts us to saying, this emotion is bad and this emotion is good, when in the broad sense of things emotions can be either or (Lazurus, 2010). Individual Differences: When studying people you will always have individual differences when it comes to research. Each difference is important but in …show more content…
It showed that most people who were bestowed with quick fortune or extreme tragedies, will return to their baseline happiness within a year after the event. They called this the “hedonic treadmill theory” because regardless of how fast someone runs or even how slow (life’s ups and downs), they will always remain in the same spot emotionally. This shows that people have resiliences to handle any scenario that comes their way, but it also states that we cannot change our own happiness (Lazurus,
Without a study being valid it allows holes in the research and later leads to incorrect conclusions. It is well known that no research is perfect when initiating causality, in the case of cross- sectional research, it is especially vulnerable because the study is observational and research is known as descriptive instead of relational or causal. The research is much like a snapshot of observation of a certain group at a particular time and then it is later compared to another snapchat of the same group at a later time. This research does not rule out a possible third coincidence that could be causing the effects (Lazurus, 2010). Emotion Valence: ‘One man’s trash is another man’s treasure’ is a phrase that explains how just because something may bring happiness to one person doesn 't mean it’s going to bring happiness to everyone. This is the flaw with emotion valence, placing emotions into two large categories (positive and negative) does not help one progress in research for understanding how emotions may play a role in ones mental health. Grouping emotions into two categories restricts us to saying, this emotion is bad and this emotion is good, when in the broad sense of things emotions can be either or (Lazurus, 2010). Individual Differences: When studying people you will always have individual differences when it comes to research. Each difference is important but in …show more content…
It showed that most people who were bestowed with quick fortune or extreme tragedies, will return to their baseline happiness within a year after the event. They called this the “hedonic treadmill theory” because regardless of how fast someone runs or even how slow (life’s ups and downs), they will always remain in the same spot emotionally. This shows that people have resiliences to handle any scenario that comes their way, but it also states that we cannot change our own happiness (Lazurus,