Until very recently, being overheard repeatedly using the terms I, ME and MYSELF were an anathema and a great indicator of selfishness. Anyone deemed to be seeking good for the self, was seen as a waste of energy as the only positive pursuit was good for the collective. This collective includes the family, the community, a society and even the nation. To be good, therefore, meant to deny the self and seek the good of others through personal efforts. Even in education, children would be exhorted to study hard so that they can build the nation, help their parents as well as their siblings. It was always about others (Hanley et al, 2014). This was the foundation of positive psychology at its advent almost three decades ago. Goal setting skills were based on the assisting others, character strength was based on selflessness and gratitude was based on the collective even at the expense of the self. With time, however, a realization that life cannot be considered as fulfilled without factoring the self has come to the fore, leading to a change of focus in positive psychology in general, particularly the aforementioned issues.
Goal Setting Skills: Then and Now
A child who wanted to be a doctor because of a personal interest in medicine would traditionally be considered as having the wrong goals in life. Wanting to be a doctor was acceptable, perhaps even commendable. However, the auditor would have been pleased had the child said that the intention of being a doctor is to help sick children get better. Or perhaps the reason would be because of a sick relative who has suffered so the child would want to alleviate that in other children. Goal setting skills may have been right when positive psychology began, but they were set on the wrong philosophy (Hanley et al, 2014). This is the philosophy that everyone else matters but the self. The end result would be goals that please everyone else but not the self. The individual would lead a very productive but empty life due to badly set goals. Modern goal setting is premised on taking a great evaluation of the self as to establish what life would be considered a success. Having a great education, a lot of money, a wonderful family and a great career are all means to an end. Goal setting is then based on the higher question, what this end really is. In the traditional concept, the answer to this question lies in the larger community and what the community needs from the individual. In the modern concept, however, the question lies within the individual and the ability to understand what this perfect life should be (Hanley et al, 2014). It is only with this understanding that the goals about what the individual wants in life can be arrived at.
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Character Strengths: Then and Now
Character strengths are unique from the perspective of the instant essay topic since they were a creation of positive psychology. Traditional psychology only focused on what was wrong with the human mind and how to rectify it. Positive psychology researchers Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman developed the Character Strengths and Virtues Handbook (CSV) as an alternate for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). DSM is a diagnostic tool used to test for psychological problems while CSV is also a testing tool that assesses positive aspects of people to enable them to exploit the same and better their lives. This poses a significant departure from the traditional concept where the focus was on correcting people and not helping them to be better (Peterson & Park, 2005). Indeed, under DSM, some results would even involve removing an individual from the general society if considered to pose any danger. This is in line with the aforementioned philosophy of always considering others at the expense of the self. CSV, on the other hand, enhances an understanding of the self. Indeed, CSV is based on 24 character strengths set in six clusters. Further, under CSV, there are no weaknesses. Instead, everyone has a different combination of the 24 strengths that inform their character (Harzer & Ruch, 2013). This creates a foundational understanding that there is good in everyone waiting to be found and exploited. It differs exponentially from the traditional DSM based concept that assumes the existence of bad then goes ahead to test for it so as to determine how to deal with it. Further, the focus of the CSV and the character traits moves away from the traditional focus on the larger community into a focus on the individual and the pursuit of a fulfilling life. This focus on the individual and personal interest is also evidence of the transition from a traditional approach to a modern one (Harzer & Ruch, 2013).
Gratitude: Then and Now
According to Wood, Joseph, and Linley (2007), gratitude is not in any way a new concept only that it had not been included in psychology before the advent of positive psychology. Indeed, the great philosopher Cicero is quoted in the article as showing gratitude as not only the first among virtues but also the source of all the others. Before the study of positive psychology began, gratitude was overly ignored. As indicated above, traditional psychology mainly focused on what was wrong and with gratitude being essentially right did not warrant a focus. With the advent of positive psychology, gratitude came to be factored as a virtue. However, its initial study was mainly based on the impact of gratitude in enhancing the happiness of an individual. This was, therefore, limited to feeling thankful and its impact on an individual. Currently, gratitude is still considered as a virtue and has been expanded into gratitude exercise skills (Davis et al, 2016). This exponential expansion of the scope of gratitude has been shown to have a profound effect on many aspects of life. Concepts such as the 31 Gratitude Exercises That Will Boost Your Happiness, inform the modern concept of gratitude. It rises above just having a feeling of gratitude and expressing the gratitude to different people. Gratitude is among others shown to enable the advent of relationships and also create opportunities (Davis et al, 2016). The transition on gratitude, therefore, involves both its inclusion into the field of psychology as well as its expansion.
Criticism against the Instant Topic
According to Csikszentmihalyi (2014), positive psychology generally include the goal setting skills, character strengths, and gratitude exercise skills. Critics have equated positive psychology to modern self-help groups and manuals that are used by the desperate to assuage grief. Positive psychology has been accused of being too new, having only begun in the 1990s (Csikszentmihalyi, 2014). It has also been indicated as not being based on an actual scientific background but rather wishful thinking. The concept of being happy has also been attacked as not being ideal, even as the path of goal setting skills, character strengths, and gratitude exercise skills being considered as amorphous.
Conclusion
Positive psychology is a relatively novel field of psychology that is focused on creating happiness and fulfillment for people in life. As with all new concepts, philosophies, and fields, positive psychology has introduced many new ideas and ideals. Further, its focus has continually changed based on advancing research and the development of a better understanding on the subject. From the perspective of education, a lot of changes have taken place within the concepts of goal setting skills, character strengths, and gratitude exercise skills. These changes have been towards the focus on the individual as opposed to the society and seeking for the betterment of the individual’s life. With increased research, positive psychology in general as well as its concepts, are getting more elaborate, improved, and better.
References
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2014). Flow and the foundations of positive psychology (pp. 209-226). Dordrecht: Springer
Davis, D. E., Choe, E., Meyers, J., Wade, N., Varjas, K., Gifford, A., . . . Worthington, E. L. (2016). Thankful for the little things: A meta-analysis of gratitude interventions. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 63 (1), 20-31. doi:10.1037/cou0000107
Hanley, K., Zabar, S., Charap, J., Nicholson, J., Disney, L., Kalet, A., & Gillespie, C. (2014). Self-assessment and goal-setting is associated with an improvement in interviewing skills. Medical Education Online , 19 , 24407-24407
Harzer, C., & Ruch, W. (2013). The application of signature character strengths and positive experiences at work. Journal of Happiness Studies , 14 (3), 965-983
Peterson, C., & Park, N. (2005). Positive psychology progress. American Psychologist , 60 (5), 410-421
Wood, A., Joseph, S., & Linley, A. (2007). Gratitude – Parent of all virtues . Retrieved October 06, 2017, from https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-20/edition-1/gratitude-parent-all-virtues
