Positive psychology assumes the importance of positive experiences, positive qualities and positive institutions. On this basis, several strengths were developed, namely characteristics of a person that are considered important within positive psychology. Some of the most commonly used forces are discussed here. These forces are often used in group sessions developed based on positive psychology. We discuss successively: gratitude, pride, flow, joy and humor, optimism and hope.
Gratitude
What is gratitude?
According to Frederickson (2009), gratitude has many facets. It is amazement, appreciation, seeing the bright side of life, feeling rich, being happy because you know someone, and so on. According to Frederickson, gratitude is also an antidote to negative emotions, neutralizing greed, hostility and irritation.
Gratitude is difficult to define, Emmons describes gratitude as a feeling of amazement, recognition and appreciation for life (Emmons & Shelton, 2002).
Gratitude has until recently received little attention in the psychological literature, although it is highly valued in many religions. More and more recent research points to the many beneficial effects of gratitude . People who are consistently grateful have been found to be relatively happier, more energetic and more optimistic in research. Furthermore, research shows that the more someone is inclined to gratitude, the less likely he or she is to become depressed, anxious, lonely, envious or neurotic (Lyubomirsky, 2008).
A study by Lyubomirsky (2008) on gratitude focused on the real-time influence of gratitude on emotions and health, that is, whether you feel happier on a day when you try to show more gratitude. In this study, subjects were asked to count their blessings. They had to write down five things that made them grateful, once a week, ten weeks apart. Compared to a control group, participants who expressed gratitude were more optimistic and satisfied with their lives. This research also showed that experiencing gratitude has a positive influence on health, which was already mentioned by Seligman. This study was also conducted in chronic patients, with similar results. (Lyubomirsky, 2008)
The connection between happiness and gratitude
The connection between gratitude and happiness was already demonstrated by the research described earlier. Various authors once again describe the connection between happiness and gratitude.
Bannink (2009) describes the consequences of gratitude on social functioning and well-being based on the three functions of gratitude:
- Gratitude acts as a barometer because it monitors changes in social relationships and increases well-being when someone else does something good for you.
- Gratitude works as a motivator.
- Gratitude works as a reinforcer.
Seligman (2002) described gratitude as one of the competencies that can be trained to promote happiness. Finally, Lyubomirsky (2008) describes eight reasons why gratitude makes you happy:
- Gratitude ensures that people enjoy the positive events in their lives more.
- Showing gratitude is good for self-esteem and self-confidence.
- Gratitude helps people cope with stress and trauma.
- Showing gratitude stimulates moral behavior, because grateful people are more likely to help other people and are less materialistic.
- Gratitude makes it easier for people to make contact and strengthens existing bonds.
- Expressing gratitude prevents envious comparisons with others. By being grateful one feels less envy.
- Gratitude does not go hand in hand with negative emotions.
- Gratitude acts as a barrier against hedonic adaptation, which is the ability with which we quickly adapt to new circumstances or developments.
Pride
What is pride?
Pride can be defined as the feeling that makes you want to show that you have done something good or have something beautiful (Webcommerce, 2012). According to Frederickson (2009), pride is one of the so-called uncomfortable emotions. Pride has a mixed reputation as one of the so-called seven deadly sins. Any emotion can go too far, and this includes pride, but when it is focused and tempered with appropriate humility, pride is clearly a positive emotion.
The connection between happiness and pride
Not much research has been done into the connection between pride and happiness. The literature reports that people who feel proud will continue with a difficult task longer than people who do not feel proud. This shows that pride has a motivating role when it comes to persevering with a difficult task. However, despite the lack of research, many positive psychology exercises focus on the subject of pride and these exercises appear to have a beneficial effect on the subjectively experienced feeling of happiness.
Flow
What is flow?
Flow is an indispensable concept in positive psychology, which is why it appears in most literature. The concept of flow was introduced by Mike Csikszentmihalyi. However, Csiksentmihalyi (1991) originally described the concept of flow as enjoyment. According to him, this enjoyment was opposed to pleasures that arise from a biological need. For example, he described the following:
“A game of tennis where you have to push yourself to the limit leads to enjoyment, just like reading a book that sheds a new light on things or a conversation that leads us to express ideas that we didn’t know we had them. None of these experiences have to be enjoyable at the time, but afterwards we think back and say ‘that was fun’.” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1991)
Flow can therefore occur in many different activities. Csiks entmihalyi mentions that some components keep coming back when describing a flow experience, namely:
- The task is challenging and requires skill
- We concentrate
- There are clear goals
- We receive immediate feedback
- We feel a close involvement
- There is a feeling of control
- The sense of self disappears
- Time stops in the person’s experience
An important condition for experiencing flow is that there is a balance between the available skills and the challenge of the activity.
Figure: Graphical representation of flow according to Wesley Fryer (Fryer, 2006).
This figure graphically shows when a flow experience is possible and when it is not. With the designations A1 and A2 we see a balance between the skills of the person and the challenge of the task, which puts the person in the flow channel and there is a good chance of a flow experience while performing the task.
However, at A3 and A1 we see an imbalance between the skills available and the challenge of the task. At A3, the skills are subordinate to the challenge, which creates fear and uncertainty. A solution here could be to adapt the task to the person’s capabilities, or teach the person skills. At A1 we see that the person in question does have the necessary skills, but the task is not sufficiently challenging. This creates boredom. A solution here could be to make the task more challenging.
The connection between happiness and flow
According to Lyubomirsky (2008), flow is intrinsic and satisfying, it provides pleasure that has a long-term reinforcing effect. Flow makes someone feel good, which creates the urge to seek out a flow experience again afterwards. This pursuit and search for flow experiences creates a form of growth, learning, competence and versatility.
Flow ensures that we are busy with life, enjoy activities, feel competent and have a strong sense of self-esteem. All these factors help give meaning to life, and make it rich, intense, and happy.
Joy and humor
What are joy and humor?
As early as the 13th century, humor was described as an aid to recovery after surgery. Humor is described as a means of reducing aggression between people and strengthening social bonds. Frederickson (2005) sees humor as one of the ten most common positive emotions. Research shows that people who smile are considered more attractive and approachable by others around them.
Joy is a positive emotion of people, a satisfaction with circumstances or the environment. Joy is a very important aspect of happiness and is closely related to it. Joy has many degrees, from a pleasant evening with friends to the blissful feeling of being in love. What makes someone joyful varies from person to person.
The connection between happiness and joy and humor
Joy is very closely related to happiness, so closely that it is difficult to distinguish. We see that everyone has joyful experiences, research shows that someone who is joyful and has had many joyful experiences in the past indicates a higher level of happiness. Because joy is so closely linked to happiness, it is difficult to act on it directly. That is why humor is also discussed here. Humor is an important step towards joy. By using/learning to use humor, someone learns to enjoy the here and now more, which brings one step closer to joy.
Optimism
What is optimism?
Optimism can be described in different ways. Optimism is a person’s positive attitude, viewing life through rose-colored glasses, believing in a good outcome, and so on.
According to Lyubomirsky (2008), there are three different forms of optimism.
The ‘very small optimism’
A first form is the very small optimism. One has the feeling that one will get through the day, the month, the year, that there will be ups and downs, but that everything will be fine in the end.
The ‘little optimism’
A second form described by Lyubomirsky is the small optimism. An example of this is: My train will arrive on time tomorrow morning. This form of optimism causes people to behave in a constructive, healthy way in certain situations.
The ‘great optimism’
A final form of optimism is great optimism. An example of this is: We are at the basis of a great change. This form of optimism is not focused on a specific situation and gives a feeling of power, strength and energy.
Just like with gratitude, optimism is slightly different for everyone and everyone has to decide for themselves what optimism means personally.
The link between happiness and optimism
According to Bannink (2009), there is a clear connection between happiness and optimism. Optimism and pessimism are seen as relatively stable personality traits, but can be influenced by the way a person behaves and where they focus their attention. For example, research showed that pessimistic people felt happier if they had done one of the following tasks:
- During a week, write down as much as possible about times when they were happy in the past
- Write down something about your own strengths every day for a week
- Showing gratitude to someone they haven’t thanked yet
- Write down three positive events from their lives for a week
In addition to this research, Lyubomirsky links optimism to the concept of self-fulfilling prophecy. If something is deemed feasible, everything is done to achieve it, even after inevitable setbacks or if progress is slow . Research has shown that optimists are generally more go-getters and are fully committed to something, even in the face of setbacks.
Heap
What is hope?
Hope is a concept that has a somewhat different meaning than the other concepts in positive psychology. While positivity usually occurs when someone feels safe and satisfied, hope is an exception. Hope comes into play when circumstances are dire or when there is uncertainty about the future. At the heart of hope is the belief that things can change. (Frederickson, 2009)
Views of hope have changed significantly over time. The ancient Greeks still saw hope as a curse. Sophocles himself spoke of the worst of all evils, because hope prolongs suffering . Throughout history, hope took on a more positive connotation. Even today, people look positively at the concept of hope and recognize its importance. Snyder and Taylor (2000) conducted research into hope in the 1990s. A cognitive model of hope emerged, in which purpose, motivation and planning were important aspects of the concept of hope. The following definition emerged from the model:
Hope is a positive emotional state that is based on an interactively derived sense of successful agency and pathways (planning to meet goals). (Snyder, 1994)
This definition reveals three important components of the cognitive model:
Formulating a goal
The first component is formulating a goal. Setting a goal of moderate difficulty generates the most hope. When the goal is too difficult or too easy, people do not do their best to achieve the goal (Bannink, 2009).
Pathway thinking
A second important component of hope is pathway thinking. This is about coming up with ways to achieve the goal: creating a mental roadmap of solutions. Hopeful people appear to be more skilled at creating a detailed roadmap and are better able to come up with alternative solutions.
Agency thinking
A third and final important component according to Snyder (1994) is agency thinking. Namely: who is going to do something to achieve the goal? If someone is not sufficiently motivated to take action, they will not achieve the desired result with good goals and routes.
The connection between happiness and hope
Lionel Tiger (1979) sees hope as the antidote to our large front brain. Tiger says that the forebrain allows a person to look ahead to inevitable death, without hope a person would plunge into despair. With hope, people get the energy to do as much as possible to give themselves and others a good life. So hope makes one strive to get one step closer to happiness.