P1: Positive Approach Flashcards
(3 cards)
Describe the Positive Assumption of the ‘Acknowledgment of free will’
While many psychological approaches take a more deterministic view of our behaviour, Seligman believes that humans have the power to chose how they interpret a situation and therefore can control their reactions in the future. It suggests that humans have the free will to develop their own ‘signature strengths’ and therefore have full control over their own psychological wellbeing. This means that happiness is accessible to all as we are in control of our lives and have the ability to make choices that will positively benefit us.
Describe the Positive Assumption of the ‘authenticity of goodness and excellence.’
The positive approach suggests that rather than focusing on negative and deterministic factors impacting our psychological wellbeing (such as anxiety and depression), we should focus an equal amount of attention onto more positive aspects of our personality. This assumption states that feelings of goodness and excellence come just as naturally to us and therefore are equally as deserving of our attention. Seligman (2002) theorised that every individual possesses 24 ‘signature strengths’ to their character (such as curiosity, humanity, fairness, etc.) and that everyone should be encouraged to nurture these qualities to the best of their abilities, therefore presenting a much more positive outlook on our psychological wellbeing.
