Introduction to Positive Psychology

1. Positive Psychology
Dr.Suresh Kumar Murugesan PhD
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2. About the Presenter
● Dr.Suresh Kumar Murugesan is a passionate Professor, researcher and Positive
Mental Health Practitioner from Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India
● At present he is heading the PG Department of Psychology, The American College,
Madurai
● He is very keen in research studies and open to learn.
● His ultimate aim is to make impression in the field of Knowledge
● His area of specializations are Psychomentry, Psychotherapy, etc
● He has published 30 journal articles, 50 Conference and seminar proceedings
● Organised more than 500 webinars and acted as a resource person for 250 +
webinar session
● Received 4 Awards and delivered 25+ Radio Talks
● Qualified UGC NET in Psychology and Education, Central Teacher Eligibility Test
● Published three books
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3. Disclaimer
● This presentation is prepared
for learning purpose only and
all the images and pictures
used in this presentation are
taken from google image
search.
● Due recognition was given to
all the material collected from
the various sources.
● Any name or reference is
missed kindly bring it to the
notice of the presenter for
inclusion.
● Email -
sureshkumar800@yahoo.com
Thank you
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4. Key Terms
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5. Positive Psychology
“Positive psychology is the scientific study of positive side of one’s behaviour
mental process and experiences”
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6. Positive Psychology
“Positive psychology is the scientific study of what makes life most worth
living” (Peterson, 2008).

7. Aim of Positive
Psychology
Positive psychology focuses on the positive events and
influences in life, including:
1. Positive experiences (like happiness, joy,
inspiration, and love).
2. Positive states and traits (like gratitude, resilience,
and compassion).
3. Positive institutions (applying positive principles
within entire organizations and institutions).
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8. Martin Seligman
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9. Martin
Seligman
Seligman’s research in the
1960s and 70s laid the
foundation for the well-known
psychological theory of
“learned helplessness.”
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10. Martin Seligman
Seligman grew frustrated with
psychology’s overly narrow
focus on the negative; so
much attention was paid to
mental illness, abnormal
psychology, trauma,
suffering, and pain, and
relatively little attention was
dedicated to happiness,
wellbeing, exceptionalism,
strengths, and flourishing.
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11. Martin
Seligman
● When he was elected president of the
American Psychological Association in
1998, he jumped at the opportunity to
alter the direction of the field from such
an influential position.
● He proposed a new subfield of
psychology with a focus on what is life-
giving rather than life-depleting.
● The foundational paper of this new field,
positive psychology, was published in
2000 by Seligman and the “founding
father” of flow, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.

12. Martin Seligman
Since 2000, Seligman’s call for a greater focus on the
positive in life has been answered by thousands of
researchers around the world, provoking tens of thousands
of studies on positive phenomena and establishing a base
for the application of positive principles to
● coaching,
● teaching,
● relationships,
● the workplace, and
● every other life domain.
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13. PP and the PERMA Model
In order to better explain and define well-being, which is a
primary focus in positive psychology, Seligman created
the PERMA model. PERMA is an acronym for the
following five elements of well-being:
1. Positive emotions, or experiencing optimism as well
as gratitude about your past, contentment in the
present, and hope for the future
2. Engagement, or achieving "flow" with enjoyable
activities and hobbies
3. Relationship, or forming social connections with
family and friends
4. Meaning, or finding a purpose in life larger than you
5. Accomplishments, or goals and successes
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14. Common Topic in Positive
Psychology
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15. Common Topic in Positive
Psychology
1. Character strengths
and virtues
2. Flow
3. Gratifications
4. Gratitude
5. Happiness/pleasures
6. Helplessness
7. Hope
1. Mindfulness
2. Optimism
3. Positive thinking
4. Resilience
5. Emotional
intelligence
6. Forgiveness
7. Accomplishment
8. Motivation
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16. Important
figures in PP
1. Martin Seligman
2. Mihaly
Csikszentmihalyi
3. Albert Bandura
4. C.R. Snyder
5. Carol Dweck
6. Christopher Peterson
7. Daniel Gilbert
8. Kennon Sheldon
1. Carl Rogers
2. Erich Fromm
3. Daniel Goleman
4. Don Clifton
5. Ed Diener
6. Shelley Taylor
7. Barbara Fredrickson
8. Michael Argyle
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17. Positive Psychology Vs
Clinical Psychology

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21. Levels of Positive
Psychology

22. Levels Positive psychology is often referred to as having three different
levels:
1. Subjective level
2. Individual level
3. Group level
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23. Subjective level ● It focuses on feelings of
○ happiness,
○ well-being, and
○ optimism,
● It also focuses on how these feelings transform in our daily
experience
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24. Individual level ● It is a combination of the feelings in the subjective level
and virtues such as
○ forgiveness,
○ love, and
○ courage
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25. Group level ● It is a positive interaction with community,
including virtues like
○ altruism and
○ social responsibility that strengthen social bonds
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26. Goals of Positive
Psychology
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27. Aims of PP
Four of the major aims of Positive Psychology:
1. Rise to life’s challenges, make most of setbacks and
adversity
2. Engage and relate to other people
3. Find fulfillment in creativity and productivity
4. Look beyond oneself and help others to find lasting
meaning, satisfaction, and wisdom (Keyes & Haidt,
2004)
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28. Goals of PP
● To positively impact the client’s life.
● 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).
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29. History of Positive
Psychology
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30. History of PP
● "Before World War II, psychology had
three distinct missions:
○ curing mental illness,
○ making the lives of all people more
productive and fulfilling, and
○ identifying and nurturing high talent,"
- Seligman and Mihaly Csikszenmihalyi
in 2000
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31. History of PP - After WWII, the primary focus of psychology shifted to the
first priority: treating abnormal behavior and mental
illness.
- In the 1950s, humanist thinkers like Carl Rogers, Erich
Fromm, and Abraham Maslow helped renew interest in
the other two areas by developing theories that focused on
happiness and the positive aspects of human nature.
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32. History of PP ● 1998: Seligman was elected President of the American Psychological
Association and positive psychology became the theme of his term.
Today, Seligman is widely viewed as the father of contemporary positive
psychology.
● 2002: The first International Conference on Positive Psychology was
held.
● 2006: Harvard's course on positive psychology became the university's
most popular class
● 2009: The first World Congress on Positive Psychology took place in
Philadelphia and featured talks by Seligman and Philip Zimbardo.
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33. Studies on Positive
Psychology
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34. Study - 1
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
us happier (Aknin, Norton, & Dunn, 2009)
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35. Study - 2 Spending money on experiences provides a bigger
boost to happiness than spending money on material
possessions (Howell & Hill, 2009)
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36. Study -3 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)
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37. Study - 4 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 our overall wellbeing (and the wellbeing of
others; Barraza & Zak, 2009);
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38. Study - 5 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 us feel happier, but putting
in a little bit of effort likely will (Scott & Barnes, 2011);
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39. Study - 6 Happiness is contagious; those with happy friends
and significant others are more likely to be happy in
the future (Fowler & Christakis, 2008)
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40. Study - 7 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);
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41. Study - 8 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);
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42. Study - 9 Spending money on other people results in greater happiness for
the giver (Dunn, Aknin, & Norton, 2008).
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43. Study - 10
Positive emotions boost our job performance;
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44. Study - 11 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;
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45. Study - 12 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).
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47. Criticism of Positive
Psychology
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48. Criticism and Pitfalls in
PP
1. Research findings are often invalid, overstated, and
misleading
2. There is too much emphasis on self-report and
cross-sectional survey data
3. Positive psychology has a cultural and ethnocentric
bias
4. The field is too individualistic
5. Positive psychology is just a promotion of a
“Pollyanna” personality type, not an authentic
exploration of the good life
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49. References
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50. References
1. Emmons, R. A. (2021). Positive psychology. In R. Biswas-Diener & E. Diener (Eds), Noba textbook
series: Psychology. Champaign, IL: DEF publishers. Retrieved from http://noba.to/9z4jf5xe
2. E. Ackerman (06-12-2020). What is Positive Psychology & Why is It Important?
https://positivepsychology.com/what-is-positive-psychology-definition/
3. https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/positive-psychology
4. Kendra Cherry (March 05, 2021). What Is Positive Psychology?
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-positive-psychology-2794902
5. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/positive-psychology
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