Positive Psychology

Positive Psychology

An Instrument to Measure Happiness!

A fairly recent field, positive psychology is believed to have originated in 1998, although the term was used by Maslow in the 1950s. The scientific study of positive aspects of human life is promoted by the IPPA (International Positive Psychology Association). One theory of positive psychology, pioneered by Seligman, is that there are five pathways to well-being. The pathways are positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning and achievement. According to this theory, individuals pursue these elements, which are all equally important to life satisfaction, happiness and well-being.

Positive psychology focuses on the pursuit of happiness and the ability to change one’s existence through positive thinking. Positive psychology is mainly concerned with positive emotions, positive individual traits and positive institutions. While, as mentioned above, the field is relatively new, many philosophers have concentrated on what constitutes happiness and fulfillment. Different religions have their own set of beliefs about happiness and pleasant experiences.

One instrument used to measure happiness is Ed Diener’s five-question survey Satisfaction with Life Scale. Another instrument used to operationalize happiness and well-being is the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire developed by Peter Hills and Michael Argyle.

Positive Psychology. Photo by Elena

From a different viewpoint, neuroscience also sheds light on the experience of happiness. Neuroscience deals, among other things, with neural correlates of behaviour, thought and emotion. Thus, the left prefrontal cortex has been associated with the experience of happy emotions. Neuroscience uses brain imaging to determine such findings. Genetically, feeling positive emotions and satisfaction with one’s life is largely inherited (about 80%) while the remaining 20% leave room for neuroplasticity and the influence of environmental factors. By the same token, the 5-HTT gene has been linked to happiness.

Positive psychology should not be confused with Positive Psychotherapy. Positive Psychotherapy is a psychodynamic therapy developed decades earlier than the positive psychology branch of psychology. The therapy, developed by Nossrat Peseschkian in Germany, rests on three pillars: the principle of hope, the principle of balance and the principle of consultation. The five stages of the consultation are: observation, distancing, taking inventory, situational encouragement, verbalization and expansion of goals.