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50 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
positive psychology
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a social and intellectual movement within the discipline of psychology that focuses on human strengths and how people can flourish and be successful
- developed in reaction to negative focus of psychology |
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positive psychology's aim
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to create tools and techniques for promoting well-being and psychological health, which have an impact on individuals, their connections with others, and physical health
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zeitgeist
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a timely intellectual state of mind many people contribute to and share
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3 lines of inquiry of positive psychology
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1) interested in positive subjective experiences people have
2) concerned in positive individual traits enabling people to thrive 3) positive institutions |
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positive subjective experiences
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positive but private feelings and thoughts people have about themselves and events in their lives
- present focused - linked to successful marriage, friendship, health |
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sensual pleasures
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pleasant tastes, smells, touches
- can trigger positive subjective states |
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5 positive subjective experiences
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1) positive moods
2) positive emotions 3) flow 4) mindfulness 5) savouring |
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positive moods
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global responses to experiences, more pervasive and longer lasting than emotions
good mood= anticipation that a good thing will happen to you, thus often make good things happen |
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3 effects of positive moods
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1) enhance creativity
2) can speed thinking 3) increases thought variability |
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mental motion
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speed of thought and thought variability
- slower thoughts linked to negative moods, sluggish thoughts= depressive feelings - mood usually positive when thinking of varied things (2 vs. 1) - slow thoughts NOT necessarily negative |
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rumination
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repetitive thoughts on the same topic, associated with negative affect
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emotions
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powerful, largely uncontrollable feelings, accompanied by physiological changes
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positive emotions
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pleasant responses to events that promote connections with others, including subjective states
- happiness, joy, euphoria, gratitude |
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negative emotions
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unpleasant responses to potential threats or dangers, including subjective states
- sadness, disgust, anger, guilt, fear - draw more attention than positive emotions |
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Why are negative emotions studied more than positive? (3)
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1) have evolutionary significance
2) implicated in the fight or flight response occurring when an organism is threatened 3) negative emotions outnumber positive ones 3:1 |
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specific action tendencies
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behavioural reactions with survival value
- automatic response (tendency to act) is to flee from a perceived threat or fight an attacker |
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What value do positive emotions have? (3)
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1) broaden-and-build model
2) open people up to new behavioural options 3) broaden people's cognitive representations by promoting new thought-action tendencies |
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thought-action tendencies
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ways of thinking are associated with particular behaviours and acts
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broaden-and-build model of positive emotions
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positive emotions spawn non-specific action tendencies that nonetheless lead to adaptive responses
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undoing hypothesis
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positive emotions aid the mind and body by recovering a sense of balance and flexibility following a period of experiencing negative emotion
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flow
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the state of being where you become fully involved and engaged in the present time by some interesting, challenging, and intrinsically rewarding activity
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Mihalyu Csikszentihalyi
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"flow is an optimal state, people become less self-aware, lose track of time, and focus energy on doing something engaging"
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finding flow
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find a balanced meaningful place between current SKILL level and CHALLENGES of the situation
- pursue creative and stimulating work - 20% experience it frequently - 15% never have experienced it |
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apathy
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when challenges and skills are too low
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mindfulness
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cultivated perspective in which people are sensitive to context and focused on the present
- a simpler way to promote well-being than flow: actively and mindfully noticing new things |
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3 needs to attain mindfulness
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1) need to resist impulse to reduce or control uncertainty in daily life
2) need to become less prone to evaluate yourself, others, and situations 3) need to try to overcome propensity to perform automatic (scripted) behaviour |
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mindlessness
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engaging in rote behaviour, performing familiar, scripted actions without cognition
- on autopilot, not thinking much, miss a great deal of information |
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how to become more mindful
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treat the facts you learn as conditional (linked to one, not many situations)
- becomes aware of novelty, create distinctions - use meditation (disciplined, continuous, focused contemplation of some subject/object) |
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savouring
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the power to focus on, value, and boost the enjoyment of any experience
- to enjoy subjective states related to current experiences - the JOURNEY is more important than the DESTINATION |
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5 factors affecting the intensity of savouring
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1) duration (more time available, more chance of savouring)
2) stress reduction (distracting stress leaves, savouring becomes available) 3) complexity (more complex= better savouring) 4) balanced self-monitoring (don't think about yourself) 5) social connection (share experience) |
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positive individual traits
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dispositional qualities that account for why some people are happier and psychologically healthier than other people
- can be learned, emerge as a response to life situations |
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hope
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people's expectations that their goals can be achieved in the future
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2 components of hope
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1) agency- judgment that goals can be achieved
2) pathways- belief that successful plans will reach that goal |
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4 positive individual traits
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1) hope
2) resiliency 3) gratitude 4) spirituality |
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resilience
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person's ability to recover and often prosper following a consequential life event
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posttraumatic growth
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enhanced personal strengths, realization of what is truly important in life
- having increased appreciation for life, friends, family - people can exceed original levels of functioning |
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gratitude
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recognizing and concentrating on the good things in one's life, being thankful for them
- enhances social connection - benefits the self - makes one feel happy - motivates people - triggers coping behaviours |
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spirituality
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a belief that life has transcendent over non-physical qualities worth seeking and exploring
- strong desire to search for the sacred - human need for a deeper meaning that motivates and guides religious behaviour - associated with social support, optimism |
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religion
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what people do in a religious community (church, temple, mosque)
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buddhism
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life is ever changing, no matter what you do the world around you will change
- DONT respond to life with control, manage worry, find things that are permanent - accept life's changes as routine and absolute |
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positive institutions
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organizations that cultivate civic virtues, encouraging people to behave like good citizens while promoting good
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3 positive institutions
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1) positive workplaces
2) positive schools 3) positive families |
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positive organizational behaviour
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the study of beneficial human strengths and competencies and how they can be advanced evaluated and managed to improve work performance
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workers view their job in 1/3 ways:
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1- just a job
2- a career 3- a "calling" for personal fulfillment and social purpose |
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positive workplaces
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emphasis on supporting accomplishments and development of individuals by importing the quality of the relationships formed between co-workers
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positive schools
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school satisfaction= cognition (what student's believe about education) and affect (frequency of students positive or negative emotions)
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school satisfaction predicts (4)
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1) high GPA
2) less adolescent problems 3) academic engagement 4) academic progress |
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family-centered positive psychology (FCPP)
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the family is the constant of a child's life
- helps families: 1) identify needs and muster the available resources 2) learn new skills and competencies 3) build on strengths 4) strengthen social support |
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boosting your own happiness
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1. Count your blessing (3/day at the end of the day)
2. Writing and Delivering a gratitude letter 3. Sharing a story that illustrates the best in you 4. Sharing good news and capitalizing with others |
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capitalization
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telling other people about whatever good things are happening in our lives
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