Positive Psychology
Introduced| English | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Positive psychology/ˈpɒzɪtɪv saɪˈkɒlədʒi/ | The study of strengths, positive experiences and conditions that support human flourishing. |
| well-being/wel ˈbiːɪŋ/ | A person's overall state of functioning and quality of life, including how they feel about their life. |
| resilience/rɪˈsɪlɪəns/ | The capacity to adapt and recover when facing adversity or significant stress. |
| gratitude/ˈɡrætɪtjuːd/ | Recognition and appreciation of benefits received or positive aspects of one's life. |
| subjective well-being/sʌbˈdʒektɪv wel ˈbiːɪŋ/ | A person's own evaluation of life satisfaction and positive and negative emotional experience. |
| Posttraumatic growth/ˌpəʊstrəˈmætɪk ɡrəʊθ/ | Positive psychological change reported following efforts to cope with highly challenging events; it is not an inevitable outcome. |
| signature strengths/ˈsɪɡnɪtʃə streŋθs/ | Character strengths that a person experiences as especially central to their identity and ways of acting. |
| virtues/ˈvɜːtʃuːz/ | virtues |
A field defined by the question it asks
- Most of psychology asks what goes wrong and how to fix it.
- Positive psychology 积极心理学 asks what makes things go well.
- It is not optimism as an attitude — it is a research programme with measurable outcomes.
What it studies
- It seeks factors that lead to well-being 幸福感, resilience 心理韧性, positive emotions and psychological health.
- Each of those is treated as an outcome to be explained, not assumed.
- The field's claim is that flourishing has causes, and causes can be found.
The PERMA elements of wellbeing
Select all the outcomes positive psychology seeks to explain.
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Reuptake is a biological mechanism, not an outcome positive psychology studies.
Gratitude
- Expressing gratitude 感恩 increases subjective well-being 主观幸福感.
- The CED names it as a positive subjective experience with a measured effect.
- The finding is about expressing it, not merely feeling it.
Which positive psychology finding?
Sort each action or outcome by the finding it belongs to.
The CED's finding about gratitude is that...
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The finding is about expressing gratitude, and the outcome is measurable.
Posttraumatic growth does not mean trauma is beneficial. It means growth is one possible outcome among several. Writing that trauma "makes people stronger" states something the research does not support and the CED does not say.
Something you are both good at and find energising is a signature ____.
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The CED's claim is about exercising signature strengths, not merely possessing them.
Match each positive subjective experience to its effect.
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The first two are actions with measured effects; the third is a possible outcome.
Signature strengths
- People who exercise their signature strengths 标志性优势 or virtues 美德 report higher levels of positive experience.
- A strength is something you are good at and find energising.
- The claim is about using them, not about having them.
Posttraumatic growth means that trauma is beneficial.
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It means growth is one possible outcome among several — not that trauma is good.
Posttraumatic growth
- Posttraumatic growth 创伤后成长 may follow the experience of trauma or severe stress.
- It does not mean the trauma was good, or that growth always follows.
- It means that growth is one possible outcome among several, and the CED lists it as a positive subjective experience.
Participants asked to write down three things they were grateful for each week reported higher subjective well-being than a control group weeks later. A small, specific, repeated action produced a measurable change — which is what makes it a finding rather than advice.
Positive psychology studies the causes of well-being and resilience. Expressing gratitude raises subjective well-being, exercising signature strengths raises positive experience, and posttraumatic growth is one possible outcome after trauma — not a guaranteed or desirable one.
Write from 4 tasks that use curiosity
- After an injury a person still feels distress and also reports closer relationships. She uses curiosity on 4 new tasks.
- Name a possible growth outcome without calling the injury good.
Distress remains after an injury, closer relationships are reported, and curiosity is used on 4 new tasks. What can be claimed?
Growth is one possible outcome. It does not erase distress or justify the injury.
What can the closer relationships illustrate?
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A reported gain after trauma can be growth. Distress can still be present.