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Homework answers / question archive / The extent to which focusing on human strengths and virtues can lead to improvement in well being and psychological functioning
The extent to which focusing on human strengths and virtues can lead to improvement in well being and psychological functioning. Discuss and critically analyze.
Positive psychology is the scientific study of positive experiences and positive individual traits, and the institutions that facilitate their development (Duckwood, Steen and Seligman, 2004).
Human strengths and virtues have been the focus of psychological studies ever since Positive Psychology has emerged with the research sub-field. Primarily, the research in this area has been done by university professor, Seligman, Diener and Csikszentmihalyi.
Resilience and hopefulness are noted as the most important strengths and in virtues, gratitude and a sense of contentment with life. The direct effect of these constructs in studies done on human feelings, indicate the value of social support system as well as a personal sense of meaning-fullness and presence of unwavering faith, in the face of adverse events in life. Thus, positive human emotions and traits are called for so that people can realize their control over their lives and how they can improve the human condition by utilizing all the positive energy received from these traits. Naturally, being social in nature, a whole community of people can later on, act as a resource for positive
A lot of the research done in this area is based on the theory of personal happiness and how humans go about in achieving and maintaining it. Another line of research proposes the issue of subject well-being (SWB). Even in the research done on the topic of human Motivations, there are correlates to the factors of cherished fulfillment in life, a sense of achievement and consequent happiness and the personal strengths and virtues that sustain the effort towards these goals, due to which people are motivated in achieving them, in the first place. All of these research topics and studies done on these topics have led to a novel way of thinking about human survival. Humility and a sense of regard for the bounties in life, are also highlighted as factors which enable individuals in obtaining their life aspirations. Optimism has the most importance in the theory of positive psychology.
Anything that is depressing, negative, morbid, dismal or down, is attributable to unhappiness and lack of resilience.
In the face of adversity and traumatic events or even normal everyday hardships in life, if people are not strong in their resolve and are not realistically optimistic, then, according to the research on positive psychology, they, first need the mental configuration of feeling optimistic and resilient. That is the first step towards reaching out and seeking help, where it is needed. Secondly, people begin to work for their goals, since their positive experiences encourage them to be content and have a consistent pattern of balance in their lives.
Now a days, the concept of the quality of life, from a medical perspective is also being influenced by the theory of positive psychology. Cancer, HIV, Heart, and Diabetic patients as well as mental health patients have briefs therapy sessions in which trained counselors and psychotherapists encourage the recovering patients to think positively and with faith and hope, while they are fighting with their respective illnesses and their negative effects on their health.
There are specific scales that have been developed to measure humility, gratitude subjective well being and similar concepts so that more supportive data is gathered and analyzed for contribution towards the field of positive psychology.
Clearly, the gains from positive psychology field are multiple. At an individual level, human-beings are able to see the strengths and virtues which otherwise are either ignored or become prey to the external factors of environmental limitations. However, what the researchers of positive psychology propose, is that the same negative energy can inspire to be strong and make use of inherent virtues of optimism and resilience, humility, gratitude and the rest, in order to fight back and gain satisfactory well being. On a societal level, this field of research is making the social fabric able to take the strains of its members' setbacks. If everybody in the society could see and work towards the benefits of positive thinking and living, so many social and psychological problems will be minimized or even eliminated. Until, that happens, researchers will continue to study the exciting subject of positive psychology so that one day, the maximum benefit is obtained from positive mindsets and interventions.
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