Lesson 19

HOPE
Hope Scales:

• Trait Hope Scale (Snyder, Harris, et al., 1991):

o 12-item measure for adults (16 and older).
o 4 items reflect pathways, 4 reflect agency, and 4 are distracters.
o Respondents rate items on an 8-point Likert scale.
o High internal consistency (alpha level ~ .80), and test-retest reliability above .80 over 8-10
weeks.
o Concurrent validity established with optimism, goal expectancy, control, self-esteem.
o Factor-analytic studies support pathways and agency components.
• Children’s Hope Scale (Snyder, Hoza, et al., 1997):
o 6-item measure for children (8 to 15 years).
o 3 items reflect agency, 3 reflect pathways.
o Responses on a 6-point Likert scale.
o Good internal consistency (~ .80), test-retest reliabilities (.70 to .80), and convergent
validity.
• State Hope Scale (Snyder et al., 1996):
o 6-item scale for here-and-now goal-directed thinking.
o 3 items for pathways, 3 for agency.
o Responses on a 1 to 8 Likert scale.
o High internal reliability (alphas often ~ .90), concurrent validity with self-esteem,
positive/negative affect.
o Responsive to situational successes or failures.

Hope Predictions:

• Hope and Health:

o Correlates positively with coping in severe conditions (burns, arthritis, spinal cord injury,
blindness).
o High correlations with happiness, satisfaction, positive emotions, and social harmony.
o High hope linked to better pain tolerance and less pain during recovery.
• Hope and Academic Success:
o Correlates with better cumulative GPA and higher likelihood of staying in school.
o High hopers make adaptive attributions, more likely to graduate.
o Longitudinal evidence supports predictive power over six years.
• Hope and Sports Success:
o High Hope Scale scores predict superior athletic performance.
o Predictive beyond coach's ratings of natural athletic abilities.
• Hope and Psychotherapy:
o Proposed as a common factor underlying positive changes in psychological treatments.

Temporal Orientations:
 • Past Orientation:
o Emphasis on pleasurable views of past relationships.
o Can lead to conservatism and resistance to change.
o Negative past views associated with rumination, anxiety, and depression.
• Present Orientation:
o Hedonistic focus on intense, thrilling activities in the here and now.
o Risk of negative consequences like addiction, accidents, and temptations.
o Moderation emphasized in Islam.
• Future Orientation:
o Thinking ahead to consequences of actions.
o Clear goals and paths to reach them.
o Engage in preventive behaviors.
o Associated with success in academics, jobs, sports, and health.

Lesson 20

POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT ACROSS THE LIFE SPAN: RESILIENCE

Life Enhancement Strategies:

• Relationships:
o Identify explanatory style in family success/failure.
o Set goals for enhancing relationships, identify pathways, and sources of agency.
• Work:
o Nurture optimistic thoughts, expect the best.
o Direct energy toward small goals, one after another.
• Play:
o Note down messages on TV designed to enhance self-efficacy.

Resilience and Healthy Adjustment:

• Psychological Resilience:
o Capacity to withstand stressors without manifesting psychological dysfunction.
o Ability to avoid psychopathology despite difficult circumstances.
• Good Adaptation:
o Resilience involves positive adaptation in the context of significant adversity.
o External adaptation (meeting societal expectations) is crucial, internal adaptation (positive
well-being) debated.
• Werner's Studies (1995):
o Cohort study on 700 children in Hawaii.
o Resilient children characteristics:
▪ Nurturing surrogate parent.
▪ Good social and communication skills with close friends.
▪ Creative outlets for difficult times.
▪ Optimism, internal locus of control, positive self-concept.
▪ Families with religious beliefs for meaning in tough times.
• Promoting Resilience across Gender (Werner, 1995):
 o Resilient boys: Household structure, male role model, emotional expressiveness.
o Resilient girls: Emphasis on risk-taking, independence, reliable support from an older
female.
• E.J. Anthony's Study (1987):
o Followed children of schizophrenic parents.
o About 10% well-adjusted despite challenging home environments.
o Thrived by emotionally detaching from schizophrenic parents.
• Sybil & Wolin's Characteristics of Resilient Adults:
o Insight
o Independence
o Good relationships
o Initiative
o Creativity
o Humor
o Good moral standards

Lesson 21

RESILIENCE IN LATER YEARS

Positive Youth Development Programs (PYDP):

• Ongoing process engaging all youth, involving positive agents and institutions.
• Various forms, including structured activities, organizations, socializing systems, and
communities.
• Soundness determined by promoting "good" and preventing "bad" in youth.

Developmental Programs:

• Big Brothers and Big Sisters (mentoring program).

• Penn Resiliency Program (life-skills development).
• Beneficial factors: More time commitment, earlier participation, structured programs.

Studies of Adult Development:

• Terman's study of intellectually gifted children (Termites).

• Peterson's findings on explanatory style predicting mortality risks in healthy children.

Primary Tasks of Adulthood (George Valliant, 2002):

• Identity: Development during adolescence or early adulthood.

• Intimacy: Seeking committed relationships with the development of identity.
• Career Consolidation: Engagement characterized by contentment, compensation, competence,
commitment.
• Generativity: Building a broader social circle through giving.
• Keeper of Meaning: Sharing wisdom and perspective with others.
 • Integrity: Achieving peace in life, often accompanied by increased spirituality.

Lesson 22

WISDOM
Successful Aging:

Definition: The term "successful aging" was popularized by Robert Havighurst in 1961, emphasizing
"adding life to years."

MACArthur Foundation Study: Conducted by John Rowe and colleagues from 1988 to 1996.
Components of successful aging: Avoiding disease, engaging with life, maintaining physical and cognitive
functioning. Sample: 1189 healthy adults aged 70-79. Three components: Avoiding disease, engaging with
life, maintaining physical and cognitive functioning.

Support for Successful Aging: Social support is crucial, especially mutual support (balanced giving and
receiving). Two important types: Socioemotional support (liking, loving) and instrumental support
(assistance). More social ties linked to fewer declines in functioning over time. Effects of social ties vary
by gender and baseline physical capabilities.

Lifestyle Predictors (Vaillant, 2002): Predictors identified in the Study of Adult Development:

• Not smoking or stopping while young.

• Adaptive coping with mature defenses.
• Not abusing alcohol.
• Maintaining a healthy weight.
• A stable marriage.
• Some exercise.
• Being educated.

Predictors of Health: Differentiated happy-well (good health) and sad-sick (unhappy in mental health,
social support, or life satisfaction) groups. Mature psychological coping styles (altruism, humor)
predicted membership in the happy-well group.

Studies on Aging: Danner et al. (2001): Positive emotional content in autobiographies inversely
correlated with mortality risk. Positive emotional content in early 20th-century autobiographies linked to
longer life.

Personal Mini-Experiments:

• Test the effectiveness of your mentorship.

• Build a stronger social circle: Evaluate and enhance your social network.
• Collect stories of successful aging: Interview five people aged 60 and older about their
experiences.
Wisdom and Courage: Philosophers and theologians consider wisdom and courage as cardinal virtues.
Primary virtues: Prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. Wisdom and courage contribute to
personal development and communal good. Courage helps overcome obstacles hindering the practice of
other virtues.

What is Wisdom?

• Expert knowledge and judgment about important life questions.

• A constellation of attributes reflecting cognitive, affective, and behavioral maturity.
• Knowing what you know and don't know; understanding limitations.

Wisdom in Islam:

• Al Quran and Sayings of Prophet Muhammad as sources of wisdom.

• Allah's attributes include wisdom (hikmah).
• Stress on exercising wisdom for justice, benevolence, and compassion.
• Intellect's power used to minimize human suffering, not intensify it.

Hazrat Ali as the Most Wise:

• Hazrat Ali described wisdom as the noblest heritage.

• Theoretical and practical knowledge are signs of distinction.
• Deep thinking provides a clear picture of every problem.
• Wisdom, the greatest wealth; stupidity, the greatest poverty; moderation, the best status.

LESSON 23
Implicit Theories of Wisdom:

Clayton's Study (1975):

• One of the first systematic examinations of wisdom.

• Participants rated similarities between word pairs associated with wisdom.
• Identified three dimensions through multidimensional scaling:
o Affective (empathy & compassion)
o Reflective (intuition & introspection)
o Cognitive (experience & intelligence)

Wisdom in Cultural & Historical Writings (Baltes, 1993):

• Analyzed cultural-historical and philosophical writings.

• Wisdom is described as:
o Addressing important/difficult life matters.
o Involving special or superior knowledge, judgment, and advice.
o Reflecting knowledge with extraordinary scope, depth, and balanced application.
o Combining mind and virtue.
o Being challenging to achieve but easily recognized.
Explicit Theories of Wisdom:

Stage Theories (Piaget, 1932):

• Jean Piaget's stage theory of cognitive development.

• Dialectical operations stage associated with wisdom:
o Involves reflective thinking balancing information and truth.
o Facilitates integration of opposing views and dual use of logical and subjective processing.

Life Span Theories (Erikson, 1959):

• Erikson views wisdom as part of optimal development.

• Wisdom reflects maturity with concerns for the collective good transcending personal interests.

Balance & Berlin Theories:

• Sternberg's balance theory and Baltes's Berlin wisdom paradigm.

• Emphasize organization and application of pragmatic knowledge.
• Wise people can discern views, understand the world, craft solutions, and direct actions for the
common good.

Robert Sternberg's Theory:

• Sternberg's balance theory of wisdom emphasizes the balancing of interests and responses in
achieving a common good.
• Wisdom involves using practical intelligence and tacit knowledge to balance self-and-other
interests.
• Defined wisdom as the willingness to use skills and knowledge in the most valid and accurate
manner for the common good.
LESSON 24

WISDOM
Wisdom & Intelligence:

Intelligence vs. Wisdom:

• Intelligence provides basic knowledge for daily tasks.

• Wisdom includes know-how, judgment, and flexibility for solving major life problems.
• Crystallized intelligence is time-bound, while wisdom is timeless and endures across decades.

Developing Wisdom:

• Influential developmental theorists (Piaget, Jung, Erikson) provided building blocks for wisdom
theories.
• Wisdom builds on knowledge, cognitive skills, personality traits, and cultural understanding.
 • Sternberg proposed that knowledge, thinking style, personality, motivation, and environment
precede wisdom.
• Exposure to wise role models and mentoring contribute to wisdom development.

Predictors of Wisdom:

Gender & Wisdom (Orwoll & Achenbaum, 1993):

• Wisdom combines traditional masculine and feminine sensibilities.

• Men's wise acts often in public, women's in private.
• Different experiences and social roles affect expressions of wisdom.

Wisdom & Profession:

• Clinical psychologists showed higher wisdom-related performance than others matched on

education and age.
• Suggests professional specialization plays a role in wisdom manifestation.

Age & Wisdom:

• Baltes and Staudinger (2000) found no age differences in wisdom levels from 25 to 75.
• Wisdom may decline in late seventies and beyond.
• Adolescence to young adulthood is a major time for wisdom acquisition.

What Does Wisdom Predict? (Ardelt, 1997):

• Childhood experiences don't impact wisdom, but the quality of the social environment in early
adulthood does.
• Wise people achieve greater life satisfaction than unwise people.

Measurement of Wisdom:

• Self-report questions, sentence completion tasks, problem-solving tasks used to measure wisdom.
• Sternberg is working on a standardized test of wisdom emphasizing conflict resolution.
• Baltes has constructed a series of difficult life problems for wisdom assessment.
• Peterson and Seligman (2004) included a brief self-report measure in the Values in Action
Classification of Strengths.
• Webster (2003) developed the Self-Assessed Wisdom Scale (SAWS) with items on moral
dilemmas, emotional insight, reminiscence, openness, and humor.
Lesson 25

COURAGE

Definition of Courage:
 • Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle emphasized the importance of courage in rational debate and facing
unjust views.
• Plato defines courage as the ability to remember what is worth prizing and fearing.
• Seligman defines courage as the capacity to rise to the occasion.
• Woodard defines courage as the ability to act for a meaningful cause despite experiencing fear.

Implicit Theories of Courage:

• Laypeople's views vary; some see courage as an attitude, others as a behavior.

• Variation in perceptions includes mental vs. physical strength, risk, and fear components.
• Across history and cultures, courage is regarded as a great virtue.

Implicit Theories by Peterson & Seligman (2004):

• Peterson and Seligman conceptualize courage as a core human virtue.

• Courage includes strengths like Valor (facing danger), Authenticity (sincere representation),
Enthusiasm/Zest (thriving in challenges), and Industry/Perseverance (undertaking and finishing
tasks).

Implicit Theories by O'Byrne et al. (2000):

• O'Byrne et al. identify three types of courage: Physical Courage, Moral Courage, and Vital Courage.

Types of Courage:

1. Physical Courage:

• Involves maintaining societal good by expressing physical behavior for socially valued goals.
• Evolved from Greek andreia, the military courage of brave soldiers.
• Jack Rachman's research reveals courageous people preserve when facing fear and make quick
recoveries.

2. Moral Courage:

• Behavioral expression of authenticity in the face of discomfort, dissension, or rejection.

• Involves taking a stand for justice and the common good.
• Examples include politicians making unpopular votes and individuals expressing personal values
despite opposition.
• Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, and healthcare professionals exhibit moral courage in their
actions.

Examples of Moral Courage:

• Mother Teresa's dedication to rescuing the world's poor and opposing abortion.
• Nelson Mandela's 27-year imprisonment for the rights of South African colored people.
 • Doctors and nurses delivering truthful and straightforward information to patients despite
emotional challenges.

Moral Courage in Everyday Life:

• Equal opportunity form of courage, requiring no special training.

• Opportunities for moral courage arise in situations where authenticity and integrity must be
maintained despite discomfort or dissension.
• Addressing injustice related to ageism, racism, or sexism requires moral courage.

Examples of Moral Courage in Rescuers:

• Gay Block and Malka Drucker's interviews with 105 rescuers who hid Jews during the war.
• Rescuers engaged in various acts of humanity, such as hiding Jews, sharing food, and bringing up
Jewish children as their own.

Lesson 26

COURAGE

Psychological Courage:

• Described by Putman (1997) as strength in facing destructive habits.

• Common in facing psychological challenges like stress, sadness, and unhealthy relationships.
• Involves standing up to dysfunctions by restructuring beliefs or desensitizing to fears.
• Pop culture often lacks portrayals of psychological courage due to stigma around mental health.

Vital Courage:

• Perseverance through disease or disability even with an ambiguous outcome.

• Examples include battling illness through surgery and treatment regimens.
• Researchers like Haase (1987) and Finfgeld (1998) explore the lived experience of courage in
facing chronic illness.
• Vital courage also observed in caregivers and support persons.

Examples of Vital Courage:

• Caregivers in Jerome Groopman's "The Anatomy of Hope" facing the suffering of their loved ones.
• Christopher Reeve's courage in advocating for spinal cord and stem cell research despite his own
paralysis.
• Stephen Hawking's courage in contributing to theoretical physics despite his diagnosis of motor
neuron disease.

Measurement of Courage:
 • Larsen and Giles (1976) developed a scale measuring existential (moral) and social (physical)
courage.
• Schmidt and Koselka (2000) constructed a seven-item measure of courage, including panic-
specific courage.
• Woodard (2004) developed a 31-item scale based on the definition of courage as the ability to act
for a meaningful cause despite experiencing fear.
• Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (Peterson & Seligman, 2004) includes courage in its
measurement.

Fear & Courage:

• Rachman (1984) observed that frightened people can perform courageous acts.
• True courage involves approaching a fearful situation despite subjective fear.
• Physiological responses can be measured to assess the presence of fear and how courageous
people respond.

Can Courage be Learned?

• Courage is a personal strength, equating to the ability to act in the face of fear and opposition.
• Examples like Winston Churchill's persistence and Stephen Hawking's contributions show that
courage is often inspired by faith, commitment, or hardship.
• Mansfield (Never Give In) suggests that courage cannot be taught but can be inspired and often
arises in response to pressing challenges.
• True leadership is seldom without courage.
Lesson 27

COURAGE & MINDFULNESS

Importance of Courage:

• Quaid-e-Azam emphasized hope, courage, and confidence as essential for tackling grave issues
with determination and discipline.
• Sir Winston Churchill regarded courage as the first of human qualities, guaranteeing all other
qualities.

Value of Wisdom & Courage:

• Wisdom and courage have evolutionary value.

• Wisdom guides actions, promoting survival and benefiting the common good.
• Both wisdom and courage are intrinsically rewarding and contribute to the preservation of ideals.

Personal Mini-Experiments:

• Wisdom Challenge: Consider views on a life event and evaluate how well questions address
criteria of wisdom.
 • Controversial Courage Debate: Discuss both sides of an emotionally provocative issue, focusing on
personal definitions of courage.

Life Enhancement Strategies:

• Relationships: Identify a role model balancing relationships with work, interview them, and
determine the wise acts they engage in.
• Work: Stand up for justice when rights are violated, displaying moral courage when warranted.
• Mindfulness: Actively pursue richer life experiences with more novelty, absorption, and attention
to the sacred.

What is Mindfulness?

• Comparable to cultivating awareness in Buddhist traditions and increasing attention in modern

therapeutic techniques.
• Langer's definition: A flexible state of mind, openness to novelty, actively drawing novel
distinctions, sensitivity to context and perspective, situated in the present.

Mindfulness & Attention:

• Mindfulness is not vigilance or attention in the traditional sense.

• It involves actively varying the stimulus field, generating novelty.

Mindfulness: In Search of Novelty:

• Mindfulness is an openness to novelty, actively drawing novel distinctions.

• Examples include hospital cleaners considering their work a calling, making moment-to-moment
choices to improve the environment.
• Ellen Langer's study with older adults in a residential care facility showed that those encouraged
to make choices and care for plants were more alert and happier.

Conclusion:

• Wisdom and courage are essential qualities with evolutionary value and intrinsic rewards.
• Mindfulness involves actively seeking novelty, being open to new distinctions, and situating
oneself in the present. Examples demonstrate its positive impact on well-being.
Lesson 28

MINDFULNESS
Characteristics of Mindfulness:

• Overcoming the Desire to Reduce Uncertainty:

o Langer argues that aspects of culture lead us to try to reduce uncertainty.
o Mindfulness encourages exploiting uncertainty, understanding that things change, and
loosening evaluative mindsets.
• Override Automatic Behavior:
 o Automatic behavior provides quick responses to familiar situations.
o Questioning the automatic response, such as answering a ringing phone, can lead to more
intentional and efficient behavior.
• Engage Less in Evaluation:
o Making fewer unnecessary judgments about oneself, others, and situations.
o Mindfulness discourages constant evaluation, allowing for a clearer understanding of the
present.

Mindfulness Qualities (Shapiro et al., 2002):

• Nonjudging: Observing the present moment without evaluation or categorization.

• Nonstriving: Remaining non-goal-oriented, unattached to outcomes.
• Acceptance: Open to acknowledging things as they are in the present moment.
• Patience: Allowing things to unfold in their time.
• Trust: Trusting oneself, intuition, emotions, and trusting that life unfolds as it should.
• Openness: Seeing things as if for the first time, paying attention to feedback in the present
moment.
• Letting Go: Nonattachment, not holding onto thoughts, feelings, or experiences.
• Gentleness: Soft, considerate, and tender quality without being passive or undisciplined.
• Generosity: Giving in the present moment within a context of love and compassion.
• Empathy: Feeling and understanding another person's situation in the present moment.
• Gratitude: Appreciating and being thankful for the present moment.
• Loving-kindness: Embodies benevolence, compassion, and cherishing, filled with forgiveness and
unconditional love.

How Does Meditation Relate to Mindfulness?

• Deliberative practice of mindfulness often takes the form of mindfulness meditation.

• Aims to develop deep insight into mental processes, consciousness, and reality.
• Promotes optimal states of psychological well-being and consciousness through intentional
"opening up."

Mindfulness Meditation: Benefits (Shapiro et al., 1998; Astin, 1997):

• Increased levels of empathy and decreased anxiety and depression.

• Significant increases in spiritual experience and higher scores on a measure of spiritual
experience.

Cultivating Mindfulness:

• Attention Training (Wells & Matthews, 1994):

o Aims to reduce self-focused attention, directing attention in a particular way, modifying
thinking by changing processing routines.
o Involves selective, rapid switching, and open attentional tasks.
• Mindfulness Meditation (Kabat-Zinn, 1990):
o Involves paying wholehearted attention to the present moment from a detached position.
 o Includes strategies like sitting quietly and observing experiences.
• Mindfulness Training (Langer, 1989):
o Aims to break down habitual and automatic forms of behavior.
o Involves reconfiguring schematic information, paying attention to differences and
novelties.

A Study by Gordon Spence (2005):

• Randomized controlled trial with three experimental groups and a wait-list control condition.
• Programs included attention training, mindfulness meditation, and mindfulness training.
• Measures included the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (15-items) to gauge mindful awareness
attention.

Conclusion:

• Mindfulness involves qualities like nonjudging, acceptance, patience, trust, openness, and
empathy.
• Meditation, particularly mindfulness meditation, contributes to increased empathy, reduced
anxiety and depression.
• Different mindfulness training approaches aim to enhance attention, break habitual behaviors,
and promote mindful creativity.
Lesson 29

MINDFULNESS & FLOW

Flow:

Flow is a psychological state characterized by complete absorption in an activity, a feeling of energized

focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. The concept was extensively studied
and popularized by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Flow experiences are often associated with
heightened creativity, optimal performance, and a sense of timelessness.

Key Points:

• Historical Examples:
o Flow experiences have been observed in various historical accounts, especially in the lives
of great artists, scientists, and religious figures.
o For instance, Michelangelo's intense focus on painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel,
working for days without food or sleep, exemplifies a flow state.
• Csikszentmihalyi's Research:
o Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, while studying the creative process in the 1960s, noticed that
individuals immersed in creative tasks persisted single-mindedly, disregarding basic needs.
o Forms of play and work could produce similar states of engagement, leading to the concept
of flow.
• Flow Characteristics:
o Csikszentmihalyi interviewed and observed thousands of people over 30 years to identify
conditions of flow.
 o Conditions include perceived challenges that match personal skills, clear proximal goals,
and immediate feedback on progress.
• Presence and Flow:
o Both presence and flow contribute to feelings of "transportation," where awareness is so
concentrated that individuals feel transported into a new reality.
o Interactivity with the environment is a crucial determinant of both presence and flow.
• Interaction with the Environment:
o Interactivity in mediated environments promotes responsiveness and control over one's
environment.
o Both presence and flow are influenced by the quality of interaction.
• Attention and Flow:
o Flow-producing activities require an initial investment of attention, leading to an enjoyable
state of "flow."
o Effortless concentration and enjoyment in the activity result in increasing complexity and
growth in consciousness.
• Flow Theory:
o Csikszentmihalyi's flow theory explores the underpinnings of intrinsic motivation,
understanding the dynamics of momentary experience and optimal conditions.
o Flow is characterized by perceived challenges matching personal skills, clear goals, and
immediate feedback.
• Dynamics of Momentary Experiences:
o Csikszentmihalyi used the experience sampling method to study flow conditions across
work settings, play settings, and cultures.
o Conditions include challenges that stretch personal skills, clear goals, and immediate
feedback.

Flow is seen as a state where individuals are fully engaged, challenged, and focused on an activity, leading
to a heightened sense of fulfillment and optimal performance.

Lesson 30

FLOW
Quality of Flow State:

The quality of the flow state is a crucial aspect of understanding how individuals experience and benefit
from flow. Here are key points related to the quality of the flow state:

• Intentional Attentional Process:

o Seeking absorption in momentary experiences is an intentional attentional process.
o Intense concentration on the present activity leads to the merging of action and awareness.
o Flow emerges when there is a loss of self-consciousness.
• Challenges in Maintaining Flow:
o Maintaining the flow state is challenging due to distractions from the external world and
self-critical self-talk.
o A mindful and nonjudgmental approach to personal performance is suggested for achieving
deep flow.
• Time Spent Absorbed:
o The variable of interest in assessing the quality of the flow state is the time spent absorbed.
o More engagement in flow is considered better for the individual.
• Statements Representing Flow Experience:
o Statements that represent the flow experience include a focused mind, total involvement in
the activity, and a seamless concentration.
o Examples include, "My mind isn't wandering," and "I am so involved in what I am doing. I
don't see myself as separate from what I am doing."
• Autotelic Personality & Flow:
o Csikszentmihalyi proposed the concept of an autotelic personality, characterized by
intrinsic motivation and doing things for one's own sake.
o Individuals with an autotelic personality enjoy life and engage in activities for the
experience rather than external goals.
o Autotelic individuals prefer high-challenge, high-skill situations and experience little stress
in the flow quadrant.
• Longitudinal Flow Research:
o Longitudinal research shows the association between flow experiences and achievement
over time.
o Commitment to a talent area in teenagers is predicted by their identification of that talent
area as a source of flow.
o Persistence and achievement in teenagers are associated with previous experiences of flow.
• Paths to Flow:
o Two paths to becoming more engaged with daily life and fostering flow:
▪ Finding and shaping activities and environments conducive to flow.
▪ Identifying personal characteristics and attentional skills that enhance the
likelihood of experiencing flow.
• Fostering Flow:
o Flow principles have been applied to modify work environments, encouraging absorption.
o Clinical researchers use flow principles and the experience sampling method to help
individuals discover and sustain flow.
o Schools, like the Key School in Indianapolis, foster flow by influencing both the
environment and the individual.
• Benefits of Flow:
o Flow encourages persistence and skill development.
o Optimal experience shapes the development of a life theme, influencing goals and interests
pursued in life.
• Life Enhancement Strategies:
o Strategies include identifying activities that induce flow, seeking challenges in work, and
pursuing recreational activities known to induce flow.
• Personal Mini-Experiments:
o Suggestions for personal experiments, such as exploring the impact of screen time on
concentration and seeking absorption in activities.
• Life Enhancement Strategies (Love, Work, Play):
o Recommendations for enhancing flow in different aspects of life, including relationships,
work, and recreational activities.
LESSON 31

SPIRITUALITY/ RELIGIOSITY
• Understanding Spirituality/Religiosity: Spirituality is often described as the search for the
sacred, encompassing the quest for meaning and purpose in life. Religiosity, on the other hand,
represents organized and sanctioned ways in which individuals pursue the sacred, such as
through religious services and prayer. Pathways to spirituality include traditional organized
religions, newer spiritual movements, and individualized worldviews. The search for the sacred
involves personal goals related to ultimate concerns of purpose, ethics, and recognition of the
transcendent.
• Religiosity and Spirituality in Society: Many individuals (75%) consider themselves both
spiritual and religious. Religiosity is associated with concrete beliefs and active participation in
religious institutions, while spirituality involves living one's faith and embracing thoughts and
feelings as an example of that faith. Research indicates a positive relationship between
religiosity/spirituality and life satisfaction.
• Gallup Polls in the USA: Gallup polls conducted in the USA suggest that a significant majority of
Americans believe in God, and there is a notable difference in religious beliefs between the general
population and mental health professionals. The study also highlights the impact of religiosity on
individuals' approaches to life.
• Research on Religiosity & Health: Various studies explore the relationship between
religiosity/spirituality and health outcomes. For instance, religious coping has been linked to
lower distress in earthquake survivors. Positive correlations exist between religious commitment
and subjective well-being. Spirituality is increasingly recognized in mental health assessment and
treatment plans, with a perceived influence on recovery from chronic illnesses.
• Extrinsic & Intrinsic Faith Study by Vicky Genia: Vicky Genia's study examined the impact of
extrinsic and intrinsic orientations on spiritual well-being. Extrinsic behaviors involve using
religion for personal benefit and social reward, while intrinsic orientation focuses on the
psychological side of faith. Results showed that intrinsic faith is related to a positive psycho-
spiritual view on life, leading to less life distress and greater satisfaction.
• Religiosity & Life Satisfaction Over Time: Studies suggest that faith tends to deepen with age,
contributing to increased life satisfaction. The impact of religion on life satisfaction is noted among
physicians and psychiatrists, who incorporate their beliefs into their work to promote positive
morale and boost patients' confidence.
• Association between Religiosity & Satisfaction: The association between religiosity and
satisfaction is attributed to the sense of meaning and purpose provided by religious support and
affiliation. In the context of trauma victims, religious convictions are seen as inner resources that
counselors and therapists can leverage.
• Beliefs of Inpatients about Spirituality: Studies conducted with inpatients reveal a high
percentage (94%) considering spiritual health as important as physical well-being. Patients
express a desire for spiritual issues to be considered in their care, even though discussions about
religious beliefs with physicians are reported to be infrequent.
• Spiritual Needs in Hospitals: A survey comparing spiritual needs of psychiatric and medical
inpatients indicates a substantial number expressing the need for prayer and a visit from a holy
person. This emphasizes the significance of addressing spiritual needs in healthcare settings.
Lesson 32

RELIGIOSITY & ALTRUISM

Measurement of Religiosity: Various tools are employed to measure religiosity. The Revised
Intrinsic/Extrinsic Religious Scale by Gorsuch & McPherson (1989), Religious Beliefs Inventory by Ring
(1986) for measuring universalistic and spiritual orientation, Spiritual Transcendence Scale by Piedmont
(1999) consisting of three subscales (Universality, Prayer Fulfillment, Connectedness), and Rehman's
Religiosity Scale designed for Muslims are some of these instruments.

Altruism: Objectives: Altruism, a behavior aimed at benefiting others, can be motivated by personal
egotism or pure empathic desire. Personal egotism involves pursuing personal gain through behavior.
Notable Western thinkers have debated whether egotism, empathy, or both drive altruistic actions.
Egotism-motivated altruism can take forms like public praise, material rewards, or personal relief from
distress. The empathy-altruism hypothesis suggests that empathy triggers altruistic behaviors aimed at
promoting another's well-being.

Forms of Egotism-Motivated Altruism: Egotism-motivated altruism can take different forms. Helpers
may receive external rewards, avoid social or personal punishments, or alleviate personal distress.
Examples include public praise, monetary rewards, and self-praise for helping, avoiding social or
personal penalties for not helping, and lessening personal distress when witnessing another's trauma.

The Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis: Empathy, an emotional response to another's plight, involves

matching emotions or a sense of tenderheartedness. Daniel Batson's empathy-altruism hypothesis posits
that altruism aims at promoting another's well-being. Genetic heritability studies on empathy, comparing
identical and fraternal twins, indicate a genetic basis. Mirror neurons, identified by Rizzolati (1996), play
a role in empathy, with primary motor and premotor neurons being crucial.

Cultivating Altruism: Egotism Approaches: Egotism approaches aim to cultivate altruism by making
individuals feel good about themselves. Volunteer work in community organizations dealing with
children, people with disabilities, or the elderly provides opportunities for individuals to engage in
altruistic actions, boosting their self-esteem. Positive feelings arising from helping others contribute to a
sense of purpose and higher self-esteem.

Empathy-Based Approaches: Empathy-based approaches involve increasing interactions with people in

need, highlighting similarities with others, and working with those who perceive themselves as different.
Interacting more frequently with those in need fosters empathy, while recognizing shared characteristics
enhances empathic connections. Working with individuals who want to differentiate themselves from
others can also promote empathy and understanding.
Lesson 33

ALTRUISM & GRATITUDE

Measuring Altruism: Several self-report instruments assess altruism from childhood to adulthood. The
Self-Report Altruism Scale, a 20-item index for adults, is well-known and validated. Observational indices
like the Prosocial Behavior Questionnaire (Weir & Duveen, 1981) and the Ethical Behavior Rating Scale
(Hill and Swanson, 1985) provide teacher-reported prosocial behaviors. The Helping Attitude Scale, a 20-
item self-report instrument, taps beliefs, feelings, and behaviors related to helping and has shown
reliability and validity.

Gratitude: Objectives: Gratitude, derived from the Latin concept "gratia," involves being appreciative of
received blessings. It arises when positive outcomes result from another's costly, valuable, and
intentional behavior. Gratitude is considered a prized human propensity in various religious traditions. In
Islam, Prophet Muhammad emphasized gratitude as the best insurance for abundance.

Gratitude Explained: Gratitude is viewed as beneficial to individuals and a motivational force for human
altruism. In Christian traditions, God is considered the giver of all gifts, and gratitude is central among
virtues. In Islam, the phrase "Alhamdulillah" reflects the acceptance that God cares for all creatures.
Cultivating gratitude has been explored by psychologists like Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough,
resulting in benefits such as greater life satisfaction, optimism, enthusiasm, and improved interpersonal
relationships.

Cultivating Gratitude: Psychologists Emmons and McCullough have studied interventions to enhance
gratitude, including keeping gratitude journals. Individuals who wrote in gratitude journals reported
greater life satisfaction and benefits such as increased exercise, optimism, and better feelings about their
lives. Gratitude journaling was associated with greater enthusiasm, alertness, determination, progress
toward health goals, improved interpersonal relationships, and greater academic performance. Naikan, a
Japanese meditation, enhances gratitude by daily reflecting on received gifts, given gifts, and troubles
caused to others.

Lesson 34

MEASURING GRATITUDE
Measuring Gratitude: Various approaches are employed to measure gratitude, ranging from asking
individuals to list things they feel grateful for to coding narratives for gratitude themes. Specific scales
and trait-like self-report measures have been developed:

• Multidimensional Prayer Inventory (Thanksgiving Subscale): Laird and colleagues (2004)

developed a Thanksgiving subscale within the Multidimensional Prayer Inventory, consisting of
three self-report items related to offering thanks and expressing appreciation for specific things in
religious prayer contexts.
• Trait-like Self-Report Measures:
o Gratitude, Resentment, and Appreciation Test (GRAT): Developed by Watkins et al.
(1998), GRAT is a 44-item index measuring resentment, simple appreciation, and social
appreciation.
o Gratitude Questionnaire (GQ-6): Developed by McCullough et al. (2003), GQ-6 is a 6-item
questionnaire measuring gratitude on a Likert scale. Higher scores on GQ-6 are positively
correlated with positive emotions, vitality, optimism, satisfaction with life, empathy,
sharing, forgiveness, and less concern with material goods.

Psycho-physiological Underpinnings of Gratitude: Research by McCraty and colleagues (2002)

indicates that appreciation, a component of gratitude, is associated with physiological coherence, as seen
in the synchrony between alpha brain wave activity and heartbeats. Appreciation produces a more
coherent pattern of heart rhythms compared to frustration. The illustration in Figure 1 depicts the
conditions of a grateful and ungrateful heart.

Practicing Gratitude: Practicing gratitude involves keeping a gratitude journal, maintaining an

encouragement box, and finding a gratitude mentor. The personal mini-experiments include "Count Your
Blessings," where individuals list five things they are grateful for at the beginning and end of each day,
and "Thanking Your Heroes," expressing gratitude to those considered heroes in one's life.

Lesson 35

FORGIVENESS
Defining Forgiveness: Scholars have provided varied definitions of forgiveness. Thompson et al. (2005)
describe it as "freeing from a negative attachment to the source that has transgressed against a person."
McCullough (2000) sees forgiveness as an increase in prosocial motivation toward the transgressor,
involving less desire for revenge and harm and an increased positive inclination toward the transgressor.
Enright and colleagues (1998) define forgiveness as a "willingness to abandon one’s right to resentment,
negative judgment, and indifferent behavior toward one who unjustly hurt us."

Forgiveness in Islam: In Islam, forgiveness is discussed in two aspects - Allah's forgiveness and human
forgiveness. Believers are encouraged to forgive others, even enemies, as described in the Quran (Al-
Shura 42:37). The Prophet Muhammad is cited as a forgiving figure, demonstrating mercy and
forgiveness even towards those who mistreated him.

Evolutionary Basis of Forgiveness: Forgiveness is seen as having an evolutionary advantage in

breaking the cycle of violence among humans. By reducing overall hostility, forgiveness enhances the
survival chances of the larger group. It stabilizes the social order by producing positive feelings in
individuals not involved in the confrontation.

Neurobiological Basis of Forgiveness: The sense of self, critical for forgiveness, is located in the frontal,
parietal, and temporal lobes, receiving input from the sensory system and hippocampus. The limbic
system, sympathetic nervous system, and hypothalamus mediate injury to the self. Forgiveness,
associated with positive emotions, occurs through the limbic system.

Measuring Forgiveness: Several scales and inventories have been developed to measure forgiveness:

• Heartland Forgiveness Scale (HFS): Developed by Thompson et al. (2005), an 18-item trait
measure of forgiveness.
• Transgression-Related Interpersonal Motivations Inventory (TRIM): Developed by
McCullough et al. (1998), a 12-item self-report measure of motives related to avoiding contact or
seeking revenge.
• Enright Forgiveness Inventory (EVI): A 60-item measure assessing thoughts about a recent
interpersonal transgression.
• Willingness to Forgive Scale (WTF): A 16-item measure estimating the degree to which a person
is willing to use forgiveness as a problem-solving coping strategy.

Cultivating Forgiveness: Forgiveness can be cultivated through various approaches, such as:
 • Recalling the hurt and nature of the injury
• Promoting empathy in both partners
• Altruistically giving the gift of forgiveness
• Verbally committing to forgive the partner
• Holding onto forgiveness

Forgiving oneself involves taking responsibility for actions and letting go of guilt or shame. In situations
where individuals blame life circumstances, interventions may focus on stopping negative thoughts about
past events and looking ahead to the future.

Lesson 36

ATTACHMENT
Mini Experiments: Forgiveness (Connection to Previous Lecture):

• Gone but not Forgiven: If you are contemplating forgiving a person who is no longer alive or
cannot be located, use a technique from Gestalt therapy like the empty chair method.
• Spread Forgiveness: Spread forgiveness in the workplace or classroom.

Attachment: Attachment refers to the emotional connection and bond formed between individuals, often
observed in parent-child relationships. It is considered an adaptive response with biological
underpinnings, as evidenced by infant attachment responses observable from birth, such as the rooting
instinct and the Moro reflex.

Attachment Styles & Later Adult Relationships: Bowlby:

• Secure Attachment: Develops when there is consistency in caregivers' responses to children's

cues, leading to feelings of worthiness of others' love and a belief that people can be trusted.
• Insecure Attachment: Develops when caregivers' responses are inconsistent, leading to feelings
of unworthiness of love and distrust of others.

Attachment Styles & Later Adult Relationships: Mary Ainsworth:

• Secure Attachment Pattern: Characterized by a balance between exploration and contact with
the caregiver.
• Insecure-Avoidant Pattern: Children avoid the caregiver when reintroduced into the situation.
• Insecure-Resistant/Ambivalent Pattern: Children demonstrate hostility toward the caregiver
while wanting to be held and comforted.

Additional Work on Attachment:

• Attachment styles are determined by two basic attitudes: one's self-esteem and the perception of
others' trustworthiness.
• There is evidence for continuity, but attachment styles may change due to significant attachment-
related events (e.g., divorce, abuse).
Attachment Styles Refined over the Years (Mary Main and Colleagues): Adult attachment is
described by a four-category system:

• Secure: Characterized by trust, lack of concern about abandonment, and feeling valued and well-
liked.
• Preoccupied: Characterized by trust but combined with a feeling of unworthiness of others' love
and fear of abandonment.
• Dismissing-Avoidant: Characterized by low trust, avoidance of intimacy, high self-esteem, and
compulsive self-reliance.
• Fearful-Avoidant: Characterized by low trust, avoidance of intimacy, feeling unworthy of others'
love, and fear of rejection.

Lesson 37

ATTACHMENT & FLOURISHING RELATIONSHIPS

Research on Attachment Styles (Link to Previous Lecture):

Insecurely attached children exhibit various consequences through childhood:

• Less Social Competence and Lower Self-Esteem: Insecurely attached children may show lower
levels of social competence and self-esteem.
• Vacillating Pattern of Approach-Avoidance: These children may display a pattern of approach-
avoidance, leading to social rejection, which confirms their feelings of insecurity and distrust.

These differences are attributed to cultural influences on parenting practices, with individualistic
cultures promoting independence and potentially contributing to insecure attachment. For instance,
German and American children are more likely to develop an insecure attachment style compared to
Japanese children.

Securely attached individuals report positive family relationships in childhood, while insecurely attached
individuals perceive their childhood family environment as emotionally cold and openly conflicted.

In relationships involving both secure and insecure individuals, a prototype mismatch may occur.
However, a secure partner can buffer negative effects and potentially influence the insecure partner,
fostering changes in feelings of intimacy and self-worth.

Flourishing Relationships:

Positive psychologists, such as Harvey et al. (2001), explore the factors contributing to flourishing
relationships and identify skills that can be taught to enhance interpersonal connections.

Building a Mindful Relationship Connection:

The University of Iowa social psychologist John Harvey and colleagues developed a five-component
model of minding relationships:
 • Minding: Involves a reciprocal knowing process with continuous, interrelated thoughts, feelings,
and behaviors.
• Making Relationship: Partners make relationship-enhancing attributions for behaviors.
• Accepting and Respecting: Requires empathic connection and refined social skills.
• Maintaining Reciprocity: Involves active participation and involvement in relationship-
enhancing thoughts and behaviors by each partner.
• Continuity in Minding: Requires planning and strategizing to become closer as the relationship
matures.

Creating a Culture of Appreciation:

John Gottman, known for his extensive research on married couples, emphasizes the importance of
positive interactions in relationships. Gottman uses the metaphor of a "love lab" where couples are
observed, and physiological signs are monitored to predict relationship outcomes with over 90%
accuracy. Behaviors such as criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling can foretell divorce.

Behaviors that Foretell Divorce:

• Criticism
• Contempt
• Defensiveness
• Stonewalling

Gottman's multidimensional therapeutic approach aims to replace these negative behaviors with positive
alternatives like complaint, a culture of appreciation, acceptance of responsibility, and self-soothing.

Capitalizing on Positive Events:

Shelly Gable and colleagues (2003) explore aversive and appetitive processes in relationships,
emphasizing the importance of capitalizing on positive events. The process of capitalizing involves
sharing positive events, leading to personal and interpersonal benefits. Gable identifies four response
patterns:

• Active/Constructive
• Passive/Constructive
• Active/Destructive
• Passive/Destructive

Neurobiology of Interpersonal Connection:

Schore's proposal suggests that the maturation of the orbitofrontal cortex, influenced by interactions
between a child and caregiver, plays a role in emotional regulation. Secure attachment may contribute to
emotionally healthy adults through the stimulation of brain regions related to emotion and behavior
regulation.
Lesson 38

MOVING TOWARD BALANCED CONCEPTUALIZATIONS

Moving toward Balanced Conceptualizations:

Clinicians can improve their conceptualizations of human behavior by addressing several key challenges
and biases in their approaches. Here are the steps involved:

• Fascination with abnormal behavior:

o Defining Abnormality: Criteria for abnormal behavior include atypicality,
maladaptiveness, and the presence of psychological distress.
o Frequency, Duration, and Effect: Consideration of the frequency, duration, and effect of
the behavior is crucial, along with examining the context and the influence of powerful
individuals in the social context.
• Neglect of the environment and of the Positive:
o Fundamental Negative Bias: Recognition of biases associated with the fundamental
attribution error and fundamental negative bias.
o Four-Front Approach (Wright, 1991): A comprehensive conceptualization involving
deficiencies, strengths, destructive factors, and resources in both the person and the
environment.
• Lack of a Developmental Emphasis:
o Developmental Psychology: Acknowledging the importance of understanding the origins
and functions of behavior, focusing on normal developmental processes.
o Iveys' Developmental Counseling and Therapy: A contextual approach that views
pathological behaviors as logical responses to life events, considering relational dimensions
and developmental history.
• Difficulties Understanding Behavior in a Cultural Context:
o Surgeon General's Report: Emphasizes acknowledging culture-bound syndromes, the
influence of culture on coping strategies and social support, and individuals having
multiple cultural identities.
• Limits of the Categorical Diagnostic System:
o Diagnostic Challenges: Evidence of inconsistency and inaccuracy in diagnostic
categorization among practicing psychologists.
o Problems of Diagnostic Labels: Negative labeling can lead to stereotypical expectations,
influencing how professionals interact with individuals and how labeled individuals
perceive themselves. Diagnostic labels may lead to overlooking positive characteristics and
diminishing recognition of within-group differences.

Addressing these challenges can contribute to more balanced conceptualizations of human behavior,
taking into account individual strengths, environmental factors, cultural contexts, and developmental
considerations.

Lesson 39

MOVING TOWARD BALANCED CONCEPTUALIZATIONS & ENHANCING THE GOOD

Considering New Personality Dimensions:
The traditional view that mental illness and mental health are opposites is challenged by a dimensional
approach to conceptualizing personality disorders. Oldham and Morris (1995) proposed a new
perspective where each personality disorder listed in the DSM-IV can be viewed as residing on its own
continuum of adaptation.

Dimensional Approach: Oldham and Morris's 1995 Dimensional Conceptualization of Personality

Disorder:

Going Beyond the DSM-IV Framework: The focus on negative aspects and the limited view of psychology
undermine the ultimate goal of psychodiagnostic systems. A more balanced approach involves identifying
strengths and weaknesses and facilitating therapeutic interventions.

Preventing the Bad & Enhancing the Good: Two broad categories of interventions:

• Prevention:
o Primary Prevention: Involves efforts to prevent negative outcomes before they occur. It
includes universal prevention (e.g., childhood immunizations) and selective prevention (e.g.,
home visitations for low-birth-weight children).
o Effectiveness: Meta-analyses show effective outcomes similar in magnitude to medical
procedures.
o Implementation Challenges: Difficulties include the illusion of uniqueness, convincing people of
program effectiveness, and a lag time until findings become widely known.
• Enhancement:
o Primary Enhancement: Involves efforts to establish optimal functioning and satisfaction.
o Psychological Health: Activities like shared enjoyable experiences, involvement in religion and
spirituality, gainful employment, leisure activities, and contemplation contribute to
psychological well-being.

Common Components of Secondary Prevention: Secondary prevention addresses problems as they begin to
unfold, synonymous with psychotherapy intervention. Numerous forms of psychotherapy, over 400 types of
interventions, have consistent evidence of improving the lives of adults and children.

Primary Enhancement: Primary enhancement involves efforts to establish optimal functioning and
satisfaction. Activities that maximize pleasurable experiences or involve setting and achieving goals contribute
to hedonic and eudaemonic well-being.

This approach goes beyond the traditional binary classification and encourages a more nuanced understanding
of personality and mental health. It emphasizes prevention, enhancement, and a focus on positive aspects
alongside addressing challenges and disorders.

Lesson 40

ENHANCING THE GOOD & POSITIVE SCHOOLING

Primary Enhancement: Physical Health
Exercise is a common route for achieving physical conditioning, fitness, and stamina. Physical exercise
not only results in physiological improvements but also enhances confidence in one's abilities,
contributing to happiness and well-being. However, a caveat is highlighted, warning against losing a
sense of balance when pursuing the pleasures derived from building strengths.

Secondary Enhancement: Psychological Health

In secondary enhancement, the goal is to augment already positive levels to reach the ultimate in
performance and satisfaction. This involves various psychological group experiences, existentialist
contemplation of life's meaning, engaging in competitions, collaborative achievements, helping others,
witnessing awe-inspiring actions, and enjoying the arts. The emphasis is on transcendent and gratifying
experiences.

Personal Mini-Experiments:

• Finding pleasure in helping another:

o Volunteering at a local hospital, assisting an older person, tutoring a student, running
errands for a disabled person, reading to a blind person, or taking a child to a sporting
event.
• Renewing the "wonder years":
o Learning a new skill that has always been desired after the teenage years.

Positive Schooling:

Positive schooling focuses on the assets of students rather than remediating weaknesses. Poor teachers
are shown to have adverse effects on students. Positive schooling, as presented by Snyder & Lopez,
includes elements such as care, trust, and respect for diversity, plans and motivation, goals, hope, and
special contributions.

Elements of Positive Schooling:

• Care, Trust & Respect for Diversity:

o Care involves teachers being responsive and available, providing a secure base for students
to explore and achieve goals.
o Trust yields psychological and performance benefits, fostering trusting relationships in the
classroom.
o Respect for diversity emphasizes the importance of students' varied backgrounds and
opinions, fostering a "WE/ME" viewpoint.
• Plans and Motivation:
o Positive teachers find ways to make students look good, instilling respect and encouraging
students to take risks for learning.
• Goals (Contents):
o Setting meaningful goals for students, both academically and in life, contributes to positive
schooling.
• Hope:
o Instilling hope in students contributes to their overall well-being and positive learning
experiences.
 • Special Contributions:
o Acknowledging and appreciating the unique contributions of each student enhances the
positive atmosphere in the school.

Positive schooling, rooted in positive psychology principles, aims to create an environment where
students can thrive, learn, and grow positively.

Lesson 41

POSITIVE SCHOOLING
Goals: Research by Professor Carol Dweck suggests that goals provide a means of targeting students'
learning efforts. Successful class goals involve making materials relevant to students' real-life
experiences, increasing the likelihood of engagement and learning. However, overemphasizing grades
can turn students into grade predators, more concerned with performance than actual learning.

Plans: Teaching requires careful planning. Robert Cialdini's planning approach involves developing
classroom demonstrations and at-home explorations relevant to students' real-life situations. This
enhances the material's relevance and engages students in active learning.

Motivation: Instructors serve as models of enthusiasm for students. Making lesson goals and plans
interesting for instructors helps transmit this energy to students. Taking students' questions seriously,
taking risks, trying new approaches, and learning and planning group goals contribute to motivating
students. Praise, delivered privately, is motivating, but public praise may lead to unhealthy competition.

Hope: A hopeful student believes in continuous learning beyond the classroom. Teaching is seen as an
influential process where caring deeply about ideas, subject matter, and students inspires learning and
passion.

Societal Contributions: Educated individuals contribute lasting benefits to society by teaching positive
thinking to children, sharing insights, and positively impacting the lives of others.

StrengthsQuest Program: Developed by Donald Clifton, the StrengthsQuest Program engages high
school and college students to succeed academically and in life. The program begins with the Clifton
StrengthsFinder assessment, identifying students' natural talents. Students then complete a workbook to
understand and build their signature strengths. Studies show that participants report significant
increases in altruism, confidence, efficacy, and hope.

Teaching as a Calling: In positive schooling, teachers view their efforts as a calling rather than work. A
calling involves strong motivation, where individuals find intrinsic satisfaction. Teachers with a calling
demonstrate a deep love for teaching, aiming to help students understand principles, become
independent thinkers, and question why as often as what. Examples like Dr. Charles Brewer illustrate the
noble calling of teaching.
Lesson 42

GOOD WORK
Personal Mini-Experiments:

Power of Positive & Negative Teachers:

• Letting Go of a Bad Teacher:

o Recall a teacher from your school days whom you considered a bad teacher.
o Reflect on your feelings towards that teacher without condemning them.
o Consider the impact that teacher had on your attitude towards school.
• Saying Thank You to a Good Teacher:
o Recall teachers from your school days who were superb and made you look forward to
their classes.
o Acknowledge the positive influence they had on your learning experience.
o Consider expressing gratitude or saying thank you to a teacher who made a significant
impact on your education.

Gainful Employment:

Importance of Certain Aspects:

• Reflect on Factors:
o Consider the importance of various factors in gainful employment, such as health
insurance, interesting work, job security, adequate vacation time, freedom, and recognition
from coworkers.
o Reflect on your own priorities regarding these factors in your current or past employment.

Characteristics of Gainful Employment:

• Identify Benefits:
o Evaluate the eight benefits derived from gainful employment listed, including varieties in
duties performed, a safe working environment, income for the family and self, deriving
purpose, happiness and job satisfaction, engagement and involvement, a sense of
performing well, and companionship.
o Reflect on how these benefits contribute to your overall well-being and job satisfaction.

Happiness & Job Satisfaction:

• Reflect on Job Satisfaction:

o Reflect on your own job satisfaction and happiness in your current or past employment.
o Consider the correlation between job satisfaction and overall happiness in your personal
experience.

Work & Well-being (Pakistani Survey):

 • Apply Survey Findings:
o Consider the survey conducted in Pakistan regarding happiness and job satisfaction.
o Reflect on the correlation between job satisfaction and happiness in the Pakistani context
and how it aligns with your own experiences.

Performing Well & Meeting Goals:

• Reflect on Performance:
o Reflect on the relationship between job performance and general satisfaction in your
personal experience.
o Consider how having clear goals and a high-hope approach can contribute to your job
satisfaction.

Driving Purpose:

• Sense of Contribution:
o Reflect on the sense of purpose derived from providing a product or service to customers
in your current or past job.
o Consider how this sense of contribution impacts your job satisfaction and overall well-
being.

Engagement:

• Evaluate Engagement:
o Reflect on your level of engagement with your work.
o Consider whether your needs are being met in your current job and how it contributes to
your overall satisfaction and well-being.

Variety in Job Duties:

• Assess Work Variety:

o Reflect on the variety in tasks performed in your current or past jobs.
o Consider the impact of variety on your job satisfaction and whether lack of variability has
led to any challenges.

Income:

• Evaluate the Role of Income:

o Reflect on the role of income in providing for your family and yourself.
o Consider whether money has been overrated as a source of happiness in your personal
experience.

Companionship:

• Reflect on Workplace Companionship:

o Reflect on the role of companionship and socialization among coworkers in your
workplace.
 o Consider the impact of friendships and a sense of community on your happiness,
satisfaction, and productivity at work.

Lesson 44

A POSITIVE LOOK AT THE FUTURE OF PSYCHOLOGY

The Dark Side: Losing Job (linked to previous lecture):

• Reflect on Job Loss:

o Consider the psychological and physical impacts of losing a job, as discussed in the lecture.
o Reflect on any personal experiences or experiences of people you know who have faced
unemployment.
• Explore Negative Events Carousel:
o Examine the negative events carousel mentioned in the lecture, starting from the
deterioration of economic circumstances to severe physical illness.
o Reflect on the interconnectedness of these negative events and their potential impact on an
individual's well-being.

Making the Job Better:

• Morning Thoughts Exercise:

o Reflect on the first thoughts you have early in the morning about going to work.
o Consider whether these thoughts are positive, negative, or neutral.
o Explore ways to change your job or make desirable changes to improve your attitude
towards work.
• Improving Work Conditions:
o Consider ways in which employers can enhance employee satisfaction and comfort at work.
o Reflect on the role of flexible working schedules, as highlighted by IBM researchers, in
contributing to improved worker satisfaction.

A Positive Look at the Future of Psychology:

• Reflect on Positive Psychology Impact:

o Consider the impact of positive psychology on both psychology and society.
o Reflect on the shift towards discussing positive aspects and strengths, contrary to the focus
on bad news.
• Global Reach of Positive Psychology:
o Explore the global reach of positive psychology and the efforts made by leaders like
Seligman to include scholars from around the world.
o Reflect on the importance of diverse voices in shaping the field of positive psychology.
• Incorporation in Education:
o Reflect on the inclusion of positive psychology in introductory psychology textbooks and
courses.
o Consider the significance of positive psychology courses at undergraduate and
postgraduate levels.
Women in Positive Psychology:

• Promising Involvement:
o Reflect on the promising involvement of women in positive psychology.
o Consider the potential contributions of women in promoting a more WE-oriented
approach, especially in areas related to family, children, and physical health.
• Encouraging Prosocial Actions:
o Reflect on the role of future female leaders in encouraging parents to model prosocial
actions to their offspring.
o Consider the impact of promoting public service announcements about prosocial actions.

Viewpoints of Major Positive Psychologists about the Future:

• Consider Future Questions:

o Reflect on the five major questions posed by Ed Diener regarding cross-cultural universal
virtues, tradeoffs between virtues, determinants of subjective well-being, effective
interventions, and the potential impact of positive psychology on the world.
• Spirituality and Positive Psychology:
o Reflect on Kenneth Pargament's perspective on spirituality and its unique role in making
humans human.
o Consider the expected growth in positive psychological understanding of spirituality in the
21st century.
• Positive Communities:
o Reflect on David Myers' emphasis on building positive communities as the third pillar of
positive psychology.
o Consider the role of social ecology in fostering thriving families, neighborhoods, schools,
media, and civil dialogue.
• Learning from Hurricanes:
o Reflect on Nancy Westburg's suggestion to learn from those rebuilding their lives after
disasters.
o Consider the positive factors that help individuals endure and recover from challenging
situations.
• Acknowledging Good with Bad:
o Reflect on Jamie Pennebaker's concern about the potential oversight of the darker side in
positive psychology.
o Consider the importance of embracing the entire human experience, including both
positive and negative aspects.
• Role in Urban Migration & Increased Life Spans:
o Reflect on Everett Worthington, Jr.'s perspective on the challenges of urban migration.
o Consider the role of positive coping, forgiveness, and reconciliation in enriching lives in
stressful urban environments.
• Health and Care for All:
o Reflect on Corey Keyes' emphasis on promoting health and well-being for all citizens.
o Consider the goals of positive psychology in not only adding years to life spans but also
adding healthy and meaningful quality years.
• Building a Universal Positive Psychology:
 o Reflect on Samuel Ho's vision of a universal positive psychology that involves the mutual
exchange of knowledge between scholars worldwide.
o Consider the importance of global collaboration in the development of positive psychology.

Lesson 45

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY: FINAL REVIEW MODULES TAUGHT DURING THIS COURSE

Module 1: An Overview - Reflection Questions:

• Historical Context:
o Reflect on the three missions of psychology before World War II: curing mental illness,
making lives more fulfilling, and identifying nurturing high talent.
o Consider how these missions evolved over time and the impact of wars on mental health.
• Positive Psychology Perspectives:
o Explore the different cultural perspectives on happiness, such as the Islamic, Greek, Jewish,
and Christian perspectives.
o Reflect on the influence of cultural beliefs on the definition and pursuit of happiness.

Module 2: Positive Emotional States and Processes - Reflection Questions:

• Positive Emotions:
o Reflect on the role of positive emotions in various aspects of life, such as helping others,
flexibility in thinking, and problem-solving.
o Consider personal experiences where positive emotions influenced your actions.
• Emotion-Focused Coping:
o Reflect on the concept of emotion-focused coping and its adaptive potential.
o Consider situations where understanding feelings and habituation to negative experiences
have been helpful.
• Emotional Intelligence:
o Explore the components of emotional intelligence, including perceiving, using,
understanding, and managing emotions.
o Reflect on your own emotional intelligence and its impact on your interactions.
• Emotional Selectivity and Storytelling:
o Reflect on the socioemotional selectivity theory and its implications for focusing on
positive emotions.
o Consider the practical implications of emotional storytelling in various life situations.

Module 3: Cognitive States & Processes - Reflection Questions:

• Self-Efficacy, Hope, and Optimism:

o Reflect on the concept of self-efficacy and its impact on behavior.
o Consider how hope and optimism contribute to a positive outlook on the future.
• Resilience:
o Explore the core characteristics of resilient children and the resources that contribute to
resilience.
o Reflect on how resilience can be fostered in individuals and communities.
 • Wisdom and Courage:
o Reflect on the definitions and cultural perspectives of wisdom and courage.
o Consider examples of wisdom and courage in your own life or in others.
• Mindfulness and Flow:
o Reflect on the characteristics of mindfulness and its benefits.
o Consider personal experiences of flow and its association with achievements.
• Spirituality:
o Explore different pathways to spirituality and the role of spirituality in the search for
meaning and purpose.
o Reflect on your own spiritual beliefs and their impact on your well-being.

Module 4: Prosocial Behavior - Reflection Questions:

• Altruism and Gratitude:

o Reflect on the concept of altruism and the motivations behind helping others.
o Consider the measurement and cultivation of gratitude in daily life.
• Forgiveness:
o Reflect on the evolutionary and neurobiological basis of forgiveness.
o Consider forgiveness as a freeing process and the measurement of forgiveness.
• Attachment and Flourishing Relationships:
o Reflect on the importance of parent-child attachment for later affiliations and well-being.
o Consider the characteristics of flourishing relationships and their impact on overall
happiness.

Module 5: Understanding & Changing Human Behavior - Reflection Questions:

• Balanced Conceptualization:
o Reflect on the limitations of a fascination with abnormal behavior and the neglect of
positive aspects.
o Consider the importance of a developmental and cultural perspective in understanding
human behavior.
• Enhancing the Good & Preventing the Bad:
o Reflect on the concepts of primary and secondary prevention in enhancing the good and
preventing the bad.
o Consider the challenges and benefits of primary prevention.

Module 6: Positive Environments - Reflection Questions:

• Positive Schooling and Good Work:

o Reflect on the assets-focused approach to education and work.
o Consider elements of job satisfaction and characteristics of gainful employment.
• Dark Side of Work and Stress Reduction:
o Reflect on the dark side of work, such as workaholism and burnout.
o Consider techniques to lower work stress and promote well-being in the workplace.

These reflection questions aim to help you connect the content of each module to your own experiences
and perspectives, fostering a deeper understanding of positive psychology concepts.