Positive Psychology Research Paper

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Positive psychology is the scientific examination of that which makes life worth living. Cutting across traditional boundaries of clinical, social, and developmental psychology, positive psychology examines the nature of happiness, the power of hope, and fundamental human strivings such as the search for meaning. As a subfield of psychology that has received much attention recently, it is particularly fitting to discuss the shape positive psychology may take in the 21st century. We will begin this discussion by providing a brief review of the history of the positive psychology initiative before defining positive psychology as it stands at the beginning of the 21st century. We will then review three areas of positive psychology that have been emphasized in recent years: positive emotions, character strengths, and positive mental health. We will conclude with a brief glimpse of some recent fascinating findings, a discussion of the current limitations of positive psychology, and a perspective on where positive psychology may go as the 21st century unfolds.

History Of Positive Psychology

Positive psychology is not a new field. For decades, psychologists have examined topics such as the nature of positive mental health (Jahoda, 1958), the effects of hope (Menninger, 1959) and the correlates of happiness (Wilson, 1967). The reason that positive psychology is often characterized as a new subfield is that these early pioneers of positive psychology were few and far between. For much of the 20th century, the focus of psychology, particularly clinical psychology, was on understanding that which can go wrong with people in order to alleviate symptoms of distress. This focus was derived from the legitimate and noble goals of understanding the causes of and treatments for psychological distress and mental illness and the practical realities of the sources of funding after World War II (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). This focus and related efforts led to remarkable progress in psychologists’ understanding of and ability to effectively treat a variety of forms of mental illness, but this progress came at a cost. Whereas psychology had once been concerned with positive topics such as giftedness and the pursuit of meaning, psychology in the 20th century became imbalanced and dominated by a medical model that primarily focused on the flaws and troubles of humanity. This focus on the negative has been demonstrated by examination of the psychological literature, which found a ratio of 17 to 1 when examining the number of psychological articles examining negative states relative to the number of articles examining positive states (Myers & Diener, 1995).

The positive psychology initiative grew out of a gradual recognition of this imbalance. Research in the areas of positive psychology was rare for much of the 20th century, became more common in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and has exploded in the 21st century. Notable figures in the history of positive psychology (and their respective areas of research) include Albert Bandura (self-efficacy), Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (flow), Ed Diener (subjective well-being), Chris Peterson (character strengths), Carol Ryff (psycho-logical well-being), Martin Seligman (learned optimism), and C. R. Snyder (hope). Each of these researchers has been a leader in positive psychology for over a decade, and each has helped to provide the foundation of the positive psychology movement as it currently stands.

Positive Psychology In The 21st Century

Before describing specific areas of positive psychology, it may be useful to identify and counter some common misconceptions about the nature and goals of positive psychology. Positive psychology is not happyology. Although happiness is an important goal for humanity and a worthy topic of study, positive psychology does not focus exclusively on the hedonistic pursuit of pleasure. Positive psychology also is not a condemnation of previous psycho-logical research. An unfortunate implication of the title of positive psychology is that the rest of psychology is “negative psychology,” which is an unintentional, unfortunate, and unfair characterization. The goal of positive psychology is not to replace past psychological research, but rather to augment and balance the progress psychologists have made in understanding and treating mental illness with an improved understanding of the nature of mental health as well as the factors that can promote well-being.

Finally, positive psychology should not be confused with so called “pop-psychology” methods and practices that have little to no empirical basis. The results of positive psychology research have a tremendous potential to facilitate optimal human functioning, but just like clinical psychology practice, it is critical that the applied practice of positive psychology be firmly grounded in empirical science. Efforts have been made in recent years to highlight how the findings of positive psychology might be used most appropriately in applied settings, but the degree to which “life coaches” or other purported positive psychology practitioners follow such guidelines is unclear. Although life coaches may use the findings of positive psychology and be helpful to clients, they are not bound by any licensing or ethical standards and are not necessarily pursuing the scientific exploration of positive psychology topics.

Although positive psychology is broadly conceived as the study of the factors that make life worth living, three particular areas of study have been identified as the “pillars” of positive psychology and have been the focus of the majority of positive psychology research to date (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000): (a) the study of positive subjective experiences or positive emotions (e.g., contentment and joy), (b) the study of positive individual differences or traits (e.g., hope and curiosity), and (c) the study of positive institutions (e.g., good schools and healthy workplaces). Most research to date has focused on examining the first two of these pillars, and we will do the same in this research-paper. Specifically, we will discuss the current state of research in the areas of positive emotions, character strengths, and positive mental health.

Positive Emotions

Some positive psychology scholars have begun to explore questions about the potency and potentialities of positive emotions. Isen found that when experiencing mild positive emotions, we are more likely to (a) help other people (Isen, 1987), (b) be flexible in our thinking (Ashby, Isen, & Turken, 1999), and (c) develop solutions to our problems (Isen, Daubman, & Nowicki, 1987). In classic research related to these points, Isen (1970; Isen & Levin, 1972) performed an experiment in which the research participants either did or did not find coins (placed in position by the researcher) in the change slot of a public pay phone. Relative to those participants who did not find a coin, those participants who did were more likely to help another person to carry a load of books or to help in picking up their dropped papers. Therefore, the finding of a coin and the associated positive emotion made people behave more altruistically.

Fredrickson’s (1998, 2001) Broaden-and-Build Model provides some explanations for the social and cognitive effects of positive emotional experiences. She found that responses to positive emotions have not been extensively studied, and, when researched, they were examined in a vague and underspecified manner. Furthermore, action tendencies generally have been associated with physical reactions to negative emotions (again, imagine “fight or flight”), whereas human reactions to positive emotions often are more cognitive than physical. For these reasons, she proposed discarding the specific action tendency concept (which suggests a restricted range of possible behavioral options) in favor of a newer and more inclusive term that she called momentary thought-action repertoires (which suggests a broad range of behavioral options; imagine “taking off blinders” and seeing available opportunities).

In testing her model of positive emotions, Fredrickson (Fredrickson & Branigan, 2005) demonstrated that the experience of joy expands the realm of what a person feels like doing at the time—referred to as the broadening of an individual’s momentary thought-action repertoire. Following an emotion-eliciting film clip (the clips induced one of five emotions: joy, contentment, anger, fear, or a neutral condition), the experimenter asked research participants to list everything they would like to do at that moment. Those participants who experienced joy or contentment listed significantly more desired possibilities than did the people in the neutral or negative conditions. In turn, those expanded possibilities for future activities should lead the joyful individuals to initiate subsequent actions. Those participants who expressed more negative emotions, on the other hand, tended to shut down their thinking about subsequent possible activities. Simply put, joy appears to open us up to many new thoughts and behaviors, whereas negative emotions dampen our ideas and actions.

Joy also increases our likelihood of behaving positively toward other people, along with developing more positive relationships. Joy also induces playfulness (Frijda, 1994), which is important because such behaviors are evolutionary adaptive, a means of acquiring necessary resources. Likewise, juvenile play builds (a) enduring social and intellectual resources by encouraging attachment, (b) higher levels of creativity, and (c) brain development (Fredrickson, 2001).

It appears that through the effects of broadening processes, positive emotions also can help to build resources. In 2002, Fredrickson and her colleague, Thomas Joiner, demonstrated this building phenomenon by assessing people’s positive and negative emotions and broad-minded coping (solving problems with creative means) on two occasions, five weeks apart. The researchers found that initial levels of positive emotions predicted overall increases in creative problem solving. These changes in coping also predicted further increases in positive emotions. Similarly, controlling for initial levels of positive emotion, initial levels of coping predicted increases in positive emotions, which, in turn, predicted increases in coping. These results held true for positive emotions, but not for negative emotions. Thus, positive emotions such as joy may help generate resources, maintain a sense of vital energy (i.e., more positive emotions), and create even more resources. Fredrickson and Joiner (2002) referred to this positive sequence as the “upward spiral” of positive emotions.

Extending her model of positive emotions, Fredrickson and colleagues examined the “undoing” potential of positive emotions (Fredrickson, Mancuso, Branigan, & Tugade, 2000) and the ratio of positive to negative emotional experiences that is associated with human flourishing (Fredrickson & Losada, 2005). Fredrickson et al. hypothesized that, given the broadening and building effects of positive emotions, joy and contentment might function as antidotes to negative emotions. To test this hypothesis, they exposed all participants in their study to a situation that aroused negative emotion and immediately randomly assigned people to emotion conditions (sparked by evocative video clips) ranging from mild joy to sadness. Cardiovascular recovery represented the undoing process and was operationalized as the time that elapsed from the start of the randomly assigned video until the physiological reactions induced by the initial negative emotion returned to baseline. The undoing hypothesis was supported as participants in the joy and contentment conditions were able to undo the effects of the negative emotions more quickly than were the people in the other conditions. These findings suggest that there is an incompatibility between positive and negative emotions and that the potential effects of negative experiences can be offset by positive emotions such as joy and contentment.

Given that positive emotions help people build enduring resources and recover from negative experiences, Fredrickson and Losada (2005) hypothesized that positive emotions might be associated with optimal mental health or flourishing (i.e., positive psychological and social well-being). By subjecting data on undergraduate participants’ mental health (from a flourishing measure) and their emotional experience (students rated the extent to which they experienced 20 emotions each day for 28 days) to mathematical analysis, the researchers found that a mean ratio of 2.9 positive to negative emotions predicts human flourishing. This finding provides diagnostic insight into the effects of daily emotional experiences on our mental health.

Character Strengths

Positive psychology has made great strides in the identification, classification, and measurement of character strengths (Peterson & Seligman, 2004). Although much of this research has been conducted by researchers examining the nature and effects of a particular strength (e.g., Snyder’s work on hope), there has also been great progress in developing a meaningful classification and omnibus measure of strengths. This work has been spearheaded by the Values In Action Institute and has culminated in the publication of Character Strengths and Virtues (Peterson & Seligman, 2004), a comprehensive classification system of character strengths that integrates the knowledge of classical traditions and modern psychological science. This system was modeled after the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2000) and is intended to complement the DSM as a “manual of the sanities” (Easterbrook, 2001, p. 23). As such, the current Values in Action (VIA) classification system is considered the first iteration of a developing understanding of character strengths, similar to how the DSM gradually has evolved and improved clinicians’ understanding of the various forms of mental illness.

The VIA classification system is a hierarchical system. At the highest level are the six virtues that Peterson and Seligman (2004) identified from a broad survey of the major philosophical traditions across history and cultures (Confucian, Taoist, Buddhist, Hindu, Athenian, Judeo-Christian, and Muslim) and the characteristics valued by each tradition as strengths. The six virtues identified from this survey include Wisdom, Courage, Humanity, Justice, Temperance, and Transcendence. Wisdom refers to cognitive strengths related to the pursuit and application of knowledge. Courage entails emotional strengths that facilitate the pursuit of goals in the face of obstacles or challenges. Humanity reflects interpersonal strengths associated with the development and maintenance of social bonds. Justice refers to civic strengths that promote the well-being of communities. Temperance entails strengths that promote moderation and balance. Finally, Transcendence refers to strengths that provide meaning and connect individuals with the world around them.

The six virtues are characterized by 24 strengths that the researchers identified as the psychological traits and processes by which these virtues could be achieved. Three to five character strengths were identified for each of the six core virtues. Potential strengths were examined according to 10 criteria identified as representative of character strengths. The 10 criteria were that the positive characteristic must be fulfilling, be morally valued, not diminish others, have a nonfelicitous opposite, be traitlike, be distinctive, have paragons, have prodigies, potentially be absent and have associated institutions and rituals (Peterson & Seligman, 2004). Although not all of the 24 strengths fulfilled all 10 criteria (about half met all 10), all of the strengths met at least 8 of these criteria. The 24 strengths identified by these criteria and included in the VIA classification system are creativity, curiosity, open-mindedness, love of learning, perspective, bravery, persistence, integrity, vitality, love, kindness, social intelligence, citizenship, fairness, leadership, forgiveness and mercy, humility/modesty, prudence, self-regulation, appreciation of beauty and excellence, gratitude, hope, humor, and spirituality. The VIA system conceptualizes these strengths as natural categories that encompass related traits. For example, the character strength of hope also entails concepts such as optimism and future-mindedness, and integrity also entails authenticity and honesty.

Multiple measurement tools have been developed to assess strengths as defined by the VIA classification system. The most extensively studied and widely used measure is the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS), a 240-item (10 items per strength) self-report scale that is available online (www.viasurvey.org). This measure demonstrates sound psychometric properties to date (Park, 2004), and only two of the scales (prudence and spirituality) correlate with measures of social desirability. Short, youth, and structured interview forms of the VIA-IS are all currently being developed and refined.

Much of the research using the VIA-IS has examined demographic associations and profiles of the character strengths. In an Internet survey of over 80,000 Americans, the most commonly endorsed strengths were kindness, fairness, and honesty (Park, Peterson, & Seligman, 2006). Profiles of strengths across the 50 states indicated remarkable similarity, suggesting that Americans have more in common than is often suggested. The most significant difference found when examining strengths by geographic location was modest differences in religiousness, with individuals in the South scoring slightly higher on this scale than did individuals from other parts of the country.

Character strengths also have been examined in relation to life satisfaction (Park, Peterson, & Seligman, 2004). In a sample of over 5,000 adults, participants completed the VIA-IS (Peterson & Seligman, 2004) and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985), a common indicator of subjective well-being. Park and colleagues sought to determine which strengths were most strongly associated with life satisfaction and whether there were costs associated with having too much of a particular strength. Hope and zest were the strengths most associated with life satisfaction. Strengths of modesty, creativity, and appreciation of beauty exhibited the weakest associations with life satisfaction. There were no indications that too much of a strength was associated with lessened life satisfaction. The results indicated quadratic relationships, such that those individuals with the lowest levels of hope and zest exhibited particularly low levels of life satisfaction. Thus, hope may be one of the most important, if not the most important, factors in determining well-being.

Hope

One model of positive expectancies has been developed by C. R. Snyder and colleagues at the University of Kansas. Snyder (2002) conceptualized human behavior in terms of the pursuit of goals and defined hope as the perceived ability to identify meaningful goals, to identify pathways or routes to achieve them, and to have a sense of agency or motivation that one will be able to use the identified pathways to achieve the desired goals. Although conceptually similar to Scheier and Carver’s theory of optimism (discussed subsequently), hope theory differs in that it places the individual as the central agentic figure in the pursuit and attainment of the desired goals. High levels of hope are associated with improved functioning in a variety of domains (Snyder, 2002), and hope and optimism are related but distinct constructs that each contribute to flourishing mental health (Gallagher & Lopez, 2007).

Optimism

The most widely studied model of positive expectancies is the model of optimism developed by Michael Scheier and Charles Carver (1992). They defined optimism as the individual difference to which individuals report general expectations of achieving future positive outcomes as well as expectations of avoiding future negative outcomes. Optimism is believed to produce positive outcomes by affecting how individuals pursue goals and cope with challenges. Optimistic individuals, as compared to pessimistic individuals, exhibit higher levels of subjective well-being and more adaptive forms of coping, as well as recover faster physically following surgery (Scheier & Carver, 1992).

Positive Mental Health

A third area in which positive psychology has made great strides is in the identification and explanation of the nature of positive mental health. Although as early as 1948 the World Health Organization proclaimed that mental health was more than merely the absence of mental illness, psychology in the 20th century was dominated by the medical model, which identified health as the absence of disease. The dominance of this medical model has changed in recent years, as it has become increasingly apparent that mental health and mental illness are distinct and that an understanding of the nature and causes of mental health might facilitate both the treatment and prevention of mental illness (Ryff & Singer, 1998). Three different models of positive mental health have been examined in recent years. Although the early debates focused on which of these models was the “best” model (Diener, Saptya, & Suh, 1998; Ryff & Singer, 1998), more recent discussions have focused on how these three models are complementary and serve as distinct but related indicators of positive mental health (Keyes, 2005; Keyes, Shmotkin, & Ryff, 2002).

Subjective Well-Being

The first and most well studied of these models is known as subjective well-being (SWB; Diener, Suh, Lucas, & Smith, 1999), although it also has been referred to as hedonic (Kahneman, Diener, & Schwartz, 1999) or emotional well-being (Keyes, 2005). SWB is defined in terms of three related components of well-being: (a) the presence of positive affect, (b) the absence of negative affect, and (c) avowed life satisfaction. This perspective on well-being is an extension of the philosophy of hedonism that identified the pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain as the ultimate goals of life (Ryan & Deci, 2001). This model is also based on the assumption that individuals are the ideal judges of whether they are happy (Diener et al., 1998).

SWB is most commonly measured using self-report instruments of emotional experience and life satisfaction. Numerous measures of positive and negative affect have been developed (see Watson, 2002, for a review), but the most commonly used measure is the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS; Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988), which taps the frequency with which individuals experience 10 positive and 10 negative activated emotions. The most common measure of life satisfaction is the

Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS; Diener et al., 1985), a five-item self-report measure designed to assess cognitive evaluations of the quality of one’s life.

Twin studies have demonstrated that roughly half of the variance in current SWB can be explained by genetics (Lykken & Tellegen, 1996), and researchers have suggested that individuals have a biologically determined “set-point” for happiness that accounts for about 50 percent of levels of happiness (Lyubomirsky, Sheldon, & Schkade, 2005). Personality research has demonstrated that SWB is relatively stable across the lifespan (Diener & Suh, 1998) and has identified physical, psychological, and demographic factors associated with SWB (see Diener et al., 1999, for a review).

Psychological Well-Being

Psychological well-being (PWB; Ryff, 1989) is an alternative model intended to provide a more holistic and theoretically grounded theory of well-being. An extension of the Aristotelian philosophical tradition that identified the ultimate goal in life as the pursuit of one’s “daemon,” or true self, this theory is also known as eudaimonic well-being (Ryan & Deci, 2001). Carol Ryff and her colleagues have identified six related but distinct factors that they believe encompass the eudaimonic ideal of well-being: autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations with others, purpose in life, and self-acceptance. Individuals who are high in these factors are believed to be independent and driven by their own standards (autonomy); to manage and interact effectively with external opportunities (environmental mastery); to continually seek opportunities to grow and develop (personal growth); to engage in mutually satisfying, trusting, and meaningful relationships (positive relations with others); to identify and pursue meaningful goals (purpose in life); and to have a positive attitude about one’s past and present (self-acceptance). These domains of PWB are measured with self-report scales (Ryff & Keyes, 1995). Research has supported the contention that psychological well-being represents a different facet of positive mental health not captured by the emotion-oriented subjective well-being model (Keyes et al., 2002; Ryff, 1989; Ryff & Keyes, 1995).

Social Well-Being

Although psychological and subjective well-being provide two compelling and empirically supported models of individual well-being, they provide a limited account of how interpersonal and social forces can promote and reflect well-being. Sociologist Corey Keyes of Emory University (1998) argued that this intrapersonal focus reflects a bias in psychological research such that psychologists focus on individual differences without properly considering that an individual’s social condition and social experiences might impact his or her personal well-being. Keyes has therefore proposed that social well-being is an additional important facet of positive mental health that should be studied in conjunction with subjective and psychological well-being in order to provide a more holistic description of positive mental health.

Social well-being consists of five factors that represent the “appraisal of one’s circumstance and functioning in society” (Keyes, 1998, p. 122): social acceptance, social actualization, social coherence, social contribution, and social integration. Individuals high in these factors have favorable views of and feel comfortable with others (social acceptance), believe that the institutions and individuals of a society are helping it to reach its potential (social actualization), perceive order and quality in and express concern about their social world (social coherence), believe themselves to be an important and efficacious member of society (social contribution), and feel as if they are a part of their society and are similar to other members of their community (social integration).

As with the PWB scales, brief scales have been developed to assess each of the five factors of social well-being.

Social well-being has therefore been proposed to complement the models of subjective and psychological well-being and to serve as a third indicator of the higher-order construct of positive mental health (Keyes, 2005)

Complete Mental Health

The models of subjective, psychological, and social well-being have recently been unified into a complete state model of health that identifies the three theories of well-being as related but distinct indicators of flourishing mental health (Keyes, 2005). This model considers mental health and mental illness to be distinct dimensions of functioning rather than ends of a single spectrum. Confirmatory factor analyses of a nationally representative sample of American adults have supported this model (Keyes, 2005). Keyes has also proposed a categorical diagnosis system based on this model. Individuals who exhibit high levels of one of two measures of hedonia (the SWB measures of positive affect and life satisfaction) and high levels of at least six of eleven measures of positive functioning (six measures of PWB and five measures of social well-being) are considered to meet the criteria for “flourishing” mental health. Thus, psychologists now have both continuous and categorical measures and models of well-being that have been empirically tested and supported in a broad variety of samples.

Additional Fascinating Findings

Two additional areas of positive psychology have recently produced fascinating findings relative to positive psychology. The first of these findings provides evidence that early experiences and a nurturing environment can overcome genetic predispositions to depression. Shelley Taylor and colleagues at UCLA (in press) found that although the short form of the 5-HTTLPR serotonin transporter gene was a risk factor for depression, individuals from nurturing and supportive families were significantly less at risk for depression. These findings provide the clearest evidence that “genes are not destiny” and that the environment plays a critical role in protecting and promoting positive mental health.

A second fascinating area of positive psychology has been the collaborations between neuroscientists at the University of Wisconsin, led by Richard Davidson, and the Dalai Lama and other Buddhist monks. Davidson and colleagues (2003) have used fMRI and other neuroimaging tools to analyze monks’ neural processes and brain activity while meditating and have discovered particular areas of the brain, such as the left prefrontal cortex, that appear to be associated with positive emotions such as contentment. They have demonstrated that novice and experienced meditators can experience short- and long-term neural changes as a result of meditation (Lutz, Greischar, Rawlings, Ricard, & Davidson, 2004). Finally, they have begun to explore how individual differences in brain activity in particular regions such as the amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex may be associated with self-report measures of well-being (Davidson, 2004). Together, these findings demonstrate the human capacity for neuroplasticity and that intentional activity such as meditation can lead to measurable changes in brain structure and functioning that are associated with well-being.

Giving Positive Psychology Away

“Giving psychology away” has been a stated mission of noted psychologists such as George Miller, Robert Sternberg, Phillip Zimbardo, Raymond Fowler, and Henry Tomes. When describing changes to psychology as a profession, Leona Tyler (1973), stated that we

are expected to work with nonpsychologists toward common objectives….Researchers should devote more thought and attention to the initial choice of research problems and to plans for communication of findings to nonpsychologists. A similarly increased emphasis on choosing and planning is called for in professional service and teaching. (p. 1021)

Giving positive psychology away seems to sum up Tyler’s views on a hopeful psychology. It will be important to share positive psychology through writing to various target audiences and teaching psychology courses at undergraduate and graduate levels.

Sharing Positive Scholarship via a Dual Dissemination Method

As Lopez (2006) noted, we have an opportunity to give positive psychology away. We turn to Sommer’s (2006) thoughts about dual dissemination for guidance: “Although journals remain the major means of disseminating research knowledge within psychology, other types of outlets are needed to reach policymakers and the public” (p. 955). Imagine reaching both the academic community through published, peer-reviewed articles and a desired audience through complementary journalistic pieces strategically placed to reach it; this balance is the heart of the dual dissemination model.

To be effective at dual dissemination, psychologists need training and practice in writing for the general public as well as a good story to tell about human agency and the effects of strengths-based practice. Then, with strong writing skills and a good story, psychologists can work toward an ambitious goal: matching each word published in a peer-reviewed journal or scholarly book with a word published in a newspaper, popular magazine, or trade book. This one to one dissemination plan will help create a productive dialogue between psychologists and those we serve; this dialogue will help us realize our professional mission.

Teaching Positive Psychology

Psychologists’ educational mission has been largely defined by our contributions to the understanding of the many psychological challenges individuals may encounter over a lifetime. As positive psychological research expands, it will be vital for the teaching of psychology to become a more balanced endeavor. Courses examining the psychology of well-being could complement abnormal psychology courses currently found in psychology departments across the nation. In addition to the inherent value of teaching individuals the causes and characteristics of flourishing mental health, it is possible that the lessons of positive psychology may facilitate communication and education in other areas of psychology and education more broadly. Fredrickson’s (1998, 2001) research on the cognitive effects of positive emotions suggests that individuals experiencing positive emotions have a broadened cognitive capacity and may therefore be more effective at learning new information. Although this research does not mean that we should strive for manic classrooms, it clearly suggests that the experience of positive emotions in academic environments could facilitate communication and improve learning as well as make the process of learning more enjoyable.

Summary

Positive psychology research currently is plagued by the same issues that affect much of psychological research: the overuse of cross-sectional convenience samples of primarily middle-class, White college students. Although not unique to positive psychology, these issues limit the potential significance and interpretation of findings. Another primary limitation of positive psychology is that it appears at times as if the cart is being put before the horse—the state of the research is not sufficiently developed to justify some of the claims being made. Part of this problem stems from the attractive nature of the subject matter. Topics such as hope and happiness have long been the domain of pop psychology, and it will be important for researchers in positive psychology to avoid these temptations and ensure that the conclusions being articulated are based on scientific findings.

Regarding future directions of positive psychology, the first step will be the continued evaluation and validation of the current models and measures of positive mental health, character strengths, and positive emotions. It will be critical for the development of the field of positive psychology that these basic building blocks are developed using the most sophisticated and rigorous psychometric and experimental techniques. It will also be important for positive psychology in the 21st century to examine more diverse populations. Interesting work has been done to date examining character strengths in such diverse populations as the Maasai of Kenya and the Inughuit of Northern Greenland (Biswas-Diener, 2006) but additional work is needed to provide a more complete picture of global well-being and the factors that promote it. Longitudinal work is needed to examine how well-being develops and can be promoted over time so that researchers can begin to draw causal conclusions about potential pathways to well-being. Finally, further research is needed to examine the biological markers and neural processes associated with flourishing mental health and the psychological factors such as hope and optimism that have been found to contribute to flourishing mental health.

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