Benefits of Positive Psychology

Since you’re reading this, you probably already know that Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi’s endeavour was wildly successful.

The plethora of projects and papers on positive topics has provided an enormous repository of knowledge on how to encourage ourselves and those around us to live the best lives possible.

It would be impossible to list all of the benefits of positive psychology, but we’ll try to give a comprehensive overview of some of the most impactful and influential outcomes of practicing positive psychology.

In general, the greatest potential benefit of positive psychology is that it teaches us the power of shifting one’s perspective.

This is the focus of many techniques, exercises, and even entire programs based on positive psychology because a relatively small change in one’s perspective can lead to astounding shifts in wellbeing and quality of life. Injecting a bit more optimism and gratitude into your life is a simple action that can give you a radically more positive outlook on life.

Of course, no respected positive psychologist would tell you to think about, act out, and focus on ONLY the positive in life—balance is important. Positive psychology was not established to replace traditional psychology, but to complement it with a positive bias that’s just as strong as psychology’s negative bias over the last several decades.

Studies and Research

Positive psychology teaches how to harness the power of shifting one’s perspective to maximize the potential for happiness in many of our everyday behaviours. For example, each of these findings gives us a concrete idea for improving our own quality of life:

People overestimate the impact of money on their happiness by quite a lot. It does have some influence, but not nearly as much as we might think, so focusing less on attaining wealth will likely make you happier (Aknin, Norton, & Dunn, 2009);
Spending money on experiences provides a bigger boost to happiness than spending money on material possessions (Howell & Hill, 2009);
Gratitude is a big contributor to happiness in life, suggesting that the more we cultivate gratitude, the happier we will be (Seligman, Steen, Park, & Peterson, 2005);
Oxytocin may provoke greater trust, empathy, and morality in humans, meaning that giving hugs or other shows of physical affection may give you a big boost to your overall wellbeing (and the wellbeing of others; Barraza & Zak, 2009);
Those who intentionally cultivate a positive mood to match the outward emotion they need to display (i.e., in emotional labor) benefit by more genuinely experiencing the positive mood. In other words, “putting on a happy face” won’t necessarily make you feel happier, but putting in a little bit of effort likely will (Scott & Barnes, 2011);
Happiness is contagious; those with happy friends and significant others are more likely to be happy in the future (Fowler & Christakis, 2008);
People who perform acts of kindness towards others not only get a boost in wellbeing, they are also more accepted by their peers (Layous, Nelson, Oberle, Schonert-Reichl, & Lyubomirsky, 2012);
Volunteering time to a cause you believe in improves your wellbeing and life satisfaction and may even reduce symptoms of depression (Jenkinson et al., 2013);
Spending money on other people results in greater happiness for the giver (Dunn, Aknin, & Norton, 2008).

Positive psychology also lends itself to improvements in the workplace; studies from the field have found that:

Positive emotions boost our job performance;
Positive emotions in the workplace are contagious, which means one positive person or team can have a ripple effect that extends through the entire organization;
Small, simple actions can have a big impact on our happiness, meaning that it doesn’t take much to encourage your workplace to become a happier and more positive place (Kjerulf, 2016).

One of the benefits of practicing a positive psychological outlook is, to put it broadly, success! Not only does success make us happier, feeling happy and experiencing positive emotions actually increases our chances of success (Lyubomirsky, King, & Diener, 2005).

However, don’t assume that refusing to brook any encroachment of negative emotions or outlooks will help you reach success. An important finding from positive psychology research is that forcing people who are not naturally optimists to “just think positively” can do more harm than good; unrealistic optimism is detrimental, along with intense pessimism (del Valle & Mateos, 2008; Dillard, Midboe, & Klein, 2009).

Another broad benefit of the positive psychology movement is a more well-defined idea of what “the good life” is.

Renowned positive psychologist Roy F. Baumeister and colleagues took on the challenge of determining what makes a good life, and they found some interesting findings that you can apply to your own life (2013). Their research showed that happiness and a sense of meaning in life do not necessarily go hand-in-hand, indicating that focusing on positive emotions alone will not bring the fulfilling and satisfying life you crave.

Some of their more specific findings included the following:

The satisfaction of one’s wants and needs boost happiness but have virtually no impact on meaningfulness; this indicates that focusing on obtaining what you want will increase your happiness, but you may have to supplement to get a deeper sense of meaning.
Happiness is present-oriented, rooted in the moment, while meaningfulness is more focused on the past and future and how they link to the present; this finding suggests that you can focus on the present to increase your happiness, but you might consider thinking more about your past and future to find meaning.
“Givers” experience more meaning, while “takers” experience more happiness; if you find yourself lacking in meaning, try giving back to others, but if you are lacking in happiness, try being accepting of others’ generosity to give yourself a boost.
Worry, stress, and anxiety are more likely to be felt by those whose lives are high in meaningfulness and low in happiness; this indicates that you shouldn’t get too down about experiencing negative emotions if you have a strong sense of meaning—a little negative emotion can actually be a good thing!
An intention to express your authentic self and a sense of strong personal identity are linked to meaning, but not to happiness; if you are searching for meaning, try working on your practice of authenticity.

Findings such as these have given rise to, and are driven by, a number of interesting theories that pepper the positive psychology literature.

Theory and Concepts

The most important thing to understand about positive psychology is that it is indeed science—it is a subfield of psychology, and although it is sometimes derided as a “soft science” or a “pseudoscience,” it is still based on the scientific method of evaluating theories based on the evidence. As University of Michigan professor and positive psychology legend Christopher Peterson put it:

“…positive psychology is not to be confused with untested self-help, footless affirmation, or secular religion—no matter how good these may make us feel. Positive psychology is neither a recycled version of the power of positive thinking nor a sequel to The Secret.” (2008)

Peterson goes on to outline the theories and concepts that have resulted from research so far (up to 2008, anyway):

For the most part, most people are happy;
Happiness is one of the causes of the good things in life, and also promotes more happiness;
Most people are pretty resilient;
Happiness, character strengths, and good social relationships act as buffers against disappointments and setbacks;
Crises reveal character;
Other people matter (in terms of what makes life worth living);
Religion matters (and/or spirituality);
Work also matters in terms of making life worth living, as long as we are engaged and draw meaning and purpose from it;
Money has diminishing returns on our happiness after a certain point, but we can buy some happiness by spending money on other people;
Eudaimonia (wellbeing, deeper form of satisfaction than happiness) is more important than hedonism (sole focus on pleasure and positive emotions) for living the good life;
The “heart” matters more than the “head,” meaning that things like empathy and compassion are just as important as critical thinking;
Nearly all good days have three things in common: a sense of autonomy, competence, and connection to others;
The good life can be taught.

For an overview of some of the most salient theories and concepts in positive psychology, the website positivepsychology.org.uk offers a great “mind map” of the field here. We’ll also cover a couple of the biggest topics later in this piece.

Goals of Positive Psychology (in Coaching)

Applying positive psychology to coaching can be a tricky business, but it is undertaken with the best of intentions and care for others.

In general, the goals of positive psychology in coaching are as follows:

To positively impact the client’s life—this goal is above all others, and all others feed indirectly into this goal. The main goal of coaching is to improve the client’s life. Positive psychology coaching is no different;
Increase the client’s experience of positive emotions;
Help clients identify and develop their strengths and unique talents;
Enhance the client’s goal-setting and goal-striving abilities;
Build a sense of hope into the client’s perspective;
Cultivate the client’s sense of happiness and wellbeing;
Nurture a sense of gratitude in the client;
Help the client build and maintain healthy, positive relationships with others;
Encourage the client to maintain an optimistic outlook;
Help the client learn to savor every positive moment (Mentor Coach, n.d.; Peppercorn, 2014).

You can probably easily see why the first goal is the biggest, and basically subsumes all the other goals. Each of Goals 2 through 10 can be considered milestones on the way to Goal 1—effective techniques and objectives that help the client and coach work their way towards the client’s biggest life goals.

An Introduction to the PERMA Model

The PERMA model is a widely recognized and influential model in positive psychology. Seligman proposed this model to help explain and define wellbeing in greater depth.

“PERMA” is an acronym for the five facets of wellbeing according to Seligman:

P – Positive Emotions: Even though seeking positive emotions alone is not a very effective way to boost your wellbeing, experiencing positive emotion is still an important factor. Part of wellbeing is enjoying yourself in the moment, i.e., experiencing positive emotions;
E – Engagement: Having a sense of engagement, in which we may lose track of time and become completely absorbed in something we enjoy and excel at, is an important piece of wellbeing. It’s hard to have a developed sense of wellbeing if you are not truly engaged in anything you do;
R – (Positive) Relationships: Humans are social creatures, and we rely on connections with others to truly flourish. Having deep, meaningful relationships with others is vital to our wellbeing;
M – Meaning: Even someone who is deliriously happy most of the time may not have a developed sense of wellbeing if they do not find meaning in their life. When we dedicate ourselves to a cause or recognize something bigger than ourselves, we experience a sense of meaning that there is simply no replacement for;
A – Accomplishment / Achievement: We all thrive when we are succeeding, achieving our goals, and bettering ourselves. Without a drive to accomplish and achieve, we are missing one of the puzzle pieces of authentic wellbeing (Seligman, 2011).

This model gives us a comprehensive framework for understanding wellbeing as well as a foundation for improving wellbeing. If you’re looking to enhance your own sense of authentic happiness and wellbeing, all you need to do is focus on:

Experiencing more positive emotions; do more of the things that make you happy, and bring enjoyment into your daily routine;
Working on upping your engagement; pursue hobbies that interest you, develop your skills, and look for a job more suited to your passions, if necessary;
Improve the quality (and/or quantity) of your relationships with others; work on building more positive and supportive relationships with your friends, family, and significant other(s);
Seek out meaning; if you don’t find it through your work, look for it in volunteering opportunities, personal hobbies or leisure activities, or acting as a mentor for others;
Keep your focus on achieving your goals—but don’t focus too hard; try to keep your ambition in balance with all of the other important things in life (Seligman, 2011).

These five aspects of the PERMA model are measurable, and also vital for an overall sense of wellbeing. This model pushes past the older model of authentic happiness in its consideration of more than just happiness or positive emotions. Of course, positive emotions are important—they’re part of the PERMA model itself, after all—but focusing just on positive emotions will not help you to develop a comprehensive sense of wellbeing, including engagement, meaning, success, and positive relationships with others.

Happiness alone will likely not propel you towards flourishing, but wellbeing will.

Meaning of Topics Like Flow and Flourishing

Speaking of flourishing, it’s a concept we’ve touched on in this piece already, but have not yet defined. We’ve also mentioned the topic of flow, though indirectly, which is an important concept in positive psychology as well.

Understanding these concepts is vital for understanding the field of positive psychology. Read on to learn more about them.

Flourishing

Flourishing is one of the most significant concepts in positive psychology, as it encompasses and extends to so many other positive concepts.

In short, “flourishing” refers to the state we are in when we pay attention to each aspect of the PERMA model and build up a solid sense of wellbeing. We flourish when we cultivate our talents and strengths, develop deep and meaningful relationships, feel pleasure and enjoyment, and make a meaningful contribution to the world.

We flourish when we find fulfillment in life along with achieving more traditional objectives related to success when we are truly living the “good life” (Seligman, 2011).

Positive psychologist and professor Dr. Lynn Soots (n.d.) describes flourishing as the following:

“Flourishing is the product of the pursuit and engagement of an authentic life that brings inner joy and happiness through meeting goals, being connected with life passions, and relishing in accomplishments through the peaks and valleys of life.”

Further, Soots emphasizes that flourishing is not a trait, a characteristic, or something you “either have or don’t have;” rather, flourishing is a process that requires action. While it might be disappointing that it doesn’t come easy, it’s encouraging to know that, truly, anyone can flourish!

Flow

Another well-known topic in positive psychology is that of flow.

The concept of flow was first scientifically explored and defined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (our second “founding father” of positive psychology).

In the last few decades of the 1900s, Csikszentmihalyi noticed that many artists fell into a particular state while they were working; this state was characterized by a particularly intense focus and great concentration on the task at hand, to the point of losing track of time for hours at a time.

He continued pursuing this topic and noticed it in others as well. Professional athletes, musicians, writers, and people from all sorts of artistic and creative trades frequently reported losing themselves into their work in a similar way. As he gathered more descriptions of this phenomenon, he observed six factors that characterize a flow experience:

Intense and focused concentration on the present moment;
The merging of action and awareness, or being fully present in your actions;
A loss of reflective self-consciousness (lack of attention to the self);
A sense of personal control or agency in the situation;
A distorted sense of time passing;
Experiencing the activity or situation as intrinsically rewarding (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975).

Those who enter into a state of flow are totally immersed in what they’re doing. This immersion arises when the challenges of the activity in front of us are significant and roughly equal to our skill at this activity.

When we have high skill and low challenge, we are bored. When we have a high challenge and low skill, we are overwhelmed. When we have “low skill and low challenge,” we are apathetic. It is only when both our skill and our challenges are high that we enter into a flow state.

Entering into flow is intrinsically rewarding and often an enjoyable experience; flow also seems to link to greater happiness and wellbeing, more academic (and, subsequently, career) success, and more positive and healthy relationships (Csikszentmihalyi & Csikszentmihalyi, 1988).

The use of the experience sampling method (or ESM), also referred to as a daily diary method.

Before the days of smartphones, you would be given a beeper or pager that goes off at random points during the day, alerting you to pause, notice what you were thinking, feeling, and doing at

that moment, and writing it all down. This is often used in positive interventions to help people realize how much of their day is actually quite positive.

The practice of keeping a gratitude journal.

A gratitude journal offers individuals a method of identifying and reflecting on all of the good things in their lives—all the things they have to be grateful for. Interventions often involve prompting people to write down three things they are grateful for each day, with the only stipulation being that they need to be different each day. Within a week, many people experience a boost in wellbeing along with an increase in gratitude.

Making a gratitude visit.

A gratitude visit (or letter) is an exercise in which an individual identifies a person to whom he or she is grateful and why; once they have these in mind, they can write a letter to this person expressing and explaining their gratitude. If the person lives close enough to visit, they are encouraged to drop off the letter in person and visit with them; if not, a phone call, video chat, or simply dropping the letter in the mail can work as well. This exercise provides a significant boost to both gratitude and wellbeing.

Focusing on building personal strengths instead of weaknesses.

One of the most significant differences between many other forms of coaching and counseling and one based in positive psychology is the focus on strengths instead of weaknesses. Positive psychology is based on the idea that building on our strengths is often a more effective path to success than trying to force excellence in areas we are simply not suited for. In practice, this technique involves identifying one’s strengths and working to provide yourself with more opportunities to use them.

Wellbeing therapy.

This holistic approach to therapy is similar to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) but focuses on both promoting the positive and alleviating the negative in the client’s life. It is founded on Carol Ryff’s model of wellbeing, which recognizes six facets or factors of wellbeing: mastery of the environment, personal growth, purpose in life, autonomy, self-acceptance, and positive relationships (Harvard Health Publishing, 2008).

Positive psychotherapy.

Positive psychotherapy is similar to wellbeing therapy, but generally packages several techniques and exercises into one treatment. Its focus is on building positive emotions, character strengths, and a sense of meaning in life. Twelve exercises are generally practiced in this form of therapy, including exercises on using your signature strengths, keeping a gratitude journal, making a gratitude visit (Harvard Health Publishing, 2008).

To read more about the power of putting positive psychological principles into practice, check out the aptly titled book, Positive Psychology in Practice, by positive psychologists P. Alex Linley and Stephen Joseph at this link. This book will walk you through the major facets of applying the relevant findings from the positive psychology literature, including:

The applied positive psychology perspective;
Historical and philosophical foundations;
Values and choices in pursuit of the good life;
Lifestyle practices for health and wellbeing;
Methods and processes for teaching and learning;
and positive psychology at work.

For more tools, exercises and techniques of positive psychology, click here for the free eBook with 3 positive exercises.

Criticism of the Movement in Perspective

Although positive psychology has been embraced by much of the psychology community (not to mention much of society at large), there are some common critiques of the movement—many of which have some valid points.

At the 2015 World Conference of Positive Psychology, some of the biggest names in positive psychology discussed a few of these criticisms. Below, we’ll outline some of the major criticisms and an evaluation of their merit in today’s field.

Research findings are often invalid, overstated, and misleading.

Like any other scientific field, mistakes are sometimes made. This often seems to be due to excitement over the potential of findings in positive psychology; it can be hard to maintain objectivity when you feel a finding has both broad and deep applicability to the real world.

However, this is no excuse for a lack of scientific rigor. While there is a bit more leeway in crossing your “t”s and dotting your “i”s in applied research, positive psychologists must be careful to keep their claims within reason and think critically about the limitations of their methods—there is always a limitation!

Today, positive psychology has overcome some of the initial obstacles and growing pains inherent to a new field. More critical attention is being paid to the research, which gives us all more confidence in the findings.

There is too much emphasis on self-report and cross-sectional survey data.

This is certainly a valid point; much of the positive psychology literature is built on survey data. However, this emphasis on survey data is not exclusive to positive psychology, and positive psychology does not exclusively use surveys. Receiving feedback from those close to an individual is increasingly being utilized to corroborate or compare self-report data to, which increases confidence in data.

Although positive psychology is not alone in this limitation, it is one that positive psychologists should continue to consider when planning, implementing and reviewing research.

Positive psychology has a cultural and ethnocentric bias.

It’s true that much of the research in positive psychology has been published by Western scholars, editors, reviewers, and journals. It is also true that positive psychology generally embraces a white, middle-class audience, in which injustice, poverty, and inequality are swept under the rug.

However, this bias seems to have been much over-hyped. Recently, more research from experts in non-Western countries and from a diverse range of backgrounds is being conducted (and published). The recent establishment of the International Positive Psychology Association is one sign of this attempt at broadening the perspective of positive psychology.

The field is too individualistic.

Another valid point is that positive psychology focuses too much on the individual—on personal experiences, individual traits and characteristics, and intrapersonal processes and phenomena. Positive psychology does indeed seem to have an overly narrow focus on the individual and a lack of attention paid to relationships, teams, groups, organizations, and communities.

Some have argued that this focus on individuals leads positive psychology to victim-blame (e.g., “If you can’t figure out how to be happy, it’s your fault”) and excuse those who are contributing to systemic issues (e.g., “It’s too hard to make corporations act ethically, so we’ll just help you make the best of it.”).

Positive psychology is just a promotion of a “Pollyanna” personality type, not an authentic exploration of the good life.

Of the major critiques of positive psychology, this may be one of those with the least merit. Although there is a good deal of research on “Pollyanna” types (happy, bubbly, cheerful, extroverted), that research is by no means representative of the entire field.

As cited earlier, there are studies on the dark side of happiness and optimism and the benefits of thinking pessimistically. There are also myriad studies on people from all across the spectrum of personality, from quiet and successful introverts to boisterous and struggling extroverts, and on the lack of fulfillment and meaning in the lives of some of the most “bubbly” individuals.

On the surface, it may seem that positive psychology is the study of the perpetually happy, but anything more than a cursory look will show you that the field is a rich exploration of all that which makes life good (and a bit of what makes it difficult as well).

Some of the criticisms of the field make excellent points.

Rather than struggling against these points, we should be open to considering them, thinking critically about the health of our field, and coming up with solutions for any big problems.

No field is immune from criticism, nor should it be; a healthy debate and a robust peer review process is what will keep positive psychology theory from lapsing into nothing more than an edict to “be positive” and positive psychology interventions from devolving into self-help material that is based on nothing but opinions or wishful thinking.

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