Positive Psychology & Positive Interventions

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Positive Psychology Positive Interventions

• Martin E.P. Seligman
• NASP
• April 1, 2005

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Outline

• The Educative Model
• Theory The Pleasant Life, Engaged Life,
  Meaningful Life
• Interventions Positive Emotion
• Interventions Engagement
• Interventions Meaning and Purpose
• Empirically Validated Positive Interventions
• Three School Children Examples
• Prevention of Depression in School
  Children
• School Children Plus Parents
• Teaching Positive Psychology In 9th Grade
  Language Arts

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What is Positive Psychology?

• psychology should be
• as concerned with strength as with weakness
• as interested in building the best things in life
  as in repairing the worst
• as concerned with making the lives of normal
  people fulfilling as with healing pathology

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Science of Positive Psychology

• Measurement
• Classification VIA-1
• Causation Discoverable
• Left Frontal Activity
• Optimism Success
• What is a Good Day?
• Interventions (Tx Rx)
• Efficacy and Effectiveness
• Can Psychology Make People Happier?
• Educative/Coaching vs Therapy Model
• Schools as the Forefront

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Three Happy Lives

• Not Cheery, Smiley Face (Hollywood)
• The Pleasant Life (Positive Emotion)
• The Engaged Life (Eudaimonia)
• The Meaningful Life

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The Pleasant Life

• Having as many pleasures as possible
• Learning the skills to amplify them

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The Good Life

• Len
• Pleasure vs Flow (Gratification)
• Identify Signature Strengths www.authentichappines
  s.org
• Recraft Work, Love, Play
• Derive Thereby Gratification

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VIA Strengths the Really Big 24Peterson
Seligman (2004)

• 1. Wisdom and Knowledge
• curiosity/interest
• love of learning
• judgment/critical thinking
• originality/ingenuity/creativity
• perspective
• 2. Courage
• valor
• industry/perseverance
• integrity/honesty
• zest/enthusiasm
• 3. Love
• intimacy
• kindness/generosity/nurturance
• social intelligence

• 4. Justice
• citizenship/duty/loyalty/ teamwork
• equity/fairness
• leadership
• 5. Temperance
• forgiveness/mercy
• modesty/humility
• self-control/self-regulation
• prudence/caution
• 6. Transcendence
• appreciation of beauty/awe
• gratitude
• hope/optimism
• humor/playfulness
• religiousness/sense of purpose

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The Meaningful Life

• Knowing your signature strengths
• Use in the service of something larger than you

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Positive Emotion About the PastThe Pleasant
Lifewww.reflectivehappiness.com

• Contentment, Satisfaction, Serenity, Pride
• Interventions
• Gratitude Visit
• 3 Blessings

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Positive Emotion About the FutureThe Pleasant
Life

• Hope, Optimism, Faith, Trust
• Interventions
• ABCDE Learned Optimism
• One Door Closes

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Positive Emotion About the PresentThe Pleasant
Life

• Pleasures Bodily Complex
• Interventions
• Savoring A Beautiful Day

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Engagement at WorkThe Good Life

• Take VIA www.authentichappiness.org
• Recraft Work Using Signature Strength
• Use Signature Strength in a New Way

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Engagement with PeopleThe Good Life

• Perfect Surprise
• Strengths Date
• Gift of Time

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The Meaningful Life

• Strengths Family Tree
• Fun vs. Philanthropy
• Your Legacy to Positive Human Future (Grandchild
  Writes Obituary)
• Use Signature Strength to Serve an Institution

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Validation of Positive Interventions

• Placebo Controlled
• Random Assignment
• Long Follow up
• Web Based

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Positive Interventions Empirically
Validated(Seligman, Peterson, Steen)

• 320,000 Registrees www.authentichappiness.org
• Exercise Link
• Baseline Battery (SHI CESD)
• Intervention Fidelity Check
• Placebo Controlled
• Six Month Follow Up

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Happiness Index

• Pre Post 1
  Week 1 Month 6 Months
  
• Memory (79) 58.5 61.6 58.3 57.6
  58.7
• Blessings(80) 57.1 58.8 59.9 62.2
  62.4
• Story (78) 57.3 61.6 58.7 56.9
  56.2
• Gratitude(82) 58.5 64.7 61.8 60.9 59.0
  
• VIA (75) 58.6 60.2 58.4 58.3
  58.8
• UseVIA(77) 57.2 58.6 59.4 62.1
  61.2

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CES Depression

• Pre Post 1
  Week 1 Month 6 Months
  
• Memory (79) 13.5 12.1 12.9 12.5
  13.6
• Blessings(80) 14.2 10.2 9.9 9.4
  10.8
• Story (78) 13.7 10.3 13.6 14.2
  12.8
• Gratitude(82) 13.8 9.5 11.0 11.1
  13.6
• VIA (75) 13.7 11.7 12.8 12.9
  13.7
• UseVIA(77) 14.1 10.8 10.4 9.8
  11.3

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Disseminating Positive Interventions

• Masters of Applied Positive Psychology
• Positive Psychology Center (PPC)
• University of Pennsylvania
• First Class September 2005
• Specialty Tracks
• Coaching
• Clinical Psychology
• Health
• Organizational Leadership
• Education
• www.reflectivehappiness.com

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Penn Resilience Program

• Jane Gillham
• Karen Reivich
• Martin Seligman
• Derek Freres
• Andrew Shatte

• Maria La Russo
• Tara Chaplin
• Steven Brunwasser
• Conflict of Interest Warning Dr. Seligman Dr.
  Reivich own stock in ADAPTIV, and PRP technology
  has been licensed to ADAPTIV

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Penn Resilience Program (PRP)

• School-based intervention
• For middle school students (5th-8th grade)
• Based on CBT and social problem-solving
  techniques
• Manualized curriculum
• Group format
• Twelve 90 minute sessions
• Teacher Training

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PRP Cognitive Component

• Link between thoughts and feelings/actions (ABC
  model)
• Identifying explanatory style
• Examining alternatives evidence for
  interpretations

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PRP Problem-solving Component

• Assertiveness
• Negotiation
• Relaxation
• Creative problem solving
• Decision making

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PRP Results

• Targeted intervention, conducted at school
• 118 5th 6th graders at risk for depression
• School Personnel vs Clinically Trained
• Prevention (PRP) vs. Matched control
• 3 Year follow-up
• Explanatory style (CASQ) depressive symptoms
  (CDI)

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Explanatory Style (mean CN score)
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Moderate to Severe Depressive Symptoms ( with
CDI gt14)
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Clinical Depression CDI gt 19. PRPParent
ChildGillham et al 2005
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Clinical Anxiety RCMAS gt 20Gillham et 2005
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Teaching Positive Psychologyto 9th Graders

• University of Pennsylvania,
• Swarthmore College,
• Wallingford-Swarthmore School District, and
• The Department of Education

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Teaching Positive Psychologyto 9th Graders

• Investigators
• Martin Seligman
• Sharon Parker
• Jane Gillham
• Karen Reivich
• Chris Peterson

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Three Routes to Happiness

• The Pleasant LifePositive Emotion
• The Engaged Life--Positive Character
• The Meaningful Life--Positive Institutions
• The Negative Questions Does building these
  Three Lives in Adolescents Prevent Symptoms of
  Disorder
• The Positive Questions Increase Positive
  Emotion, Engagement, Meaning? Grades? Health?
  Civic Engagement?

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The Positive Psychology Curriculum

• 22 stand-alone lessons that are delivered in
  80-minute blocks across the course of the
  academic year
• Teachers also integrate the Positive Psychology
  concepts into their regular curriculum (teaching
  of The Odyssey, Lord of the Flies, Romeo and
  Juliet, etc.)
• Each of the stand-alone lessons have brief
  didactic portion, in-class experiential portion,
  and homework and maintenance activities

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Unit 1 The Pleasant Life

• Lesson 1 Blessings (countering the negativity
  bias)
• Lesson 2 Savoring (increasing mindfulness and
  appreciation)
• Lesson 3-6 Promoting Optimism (increasing hope
  and resilience)
• Lesson 7 Gratitude (appreciation of others and
  giving thanks)
• Lesson 8 Letting Go of Grudges (promoting
  forgiveness and perspective)

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Unit 2 The Engaged Life

• Lesson 1 Identifying Strengths (who am I at my
  best?)
• Lesson 2 Who Are Our Friends and Why? (applying
  strengths to friendships)
• Lesson 3 Strengths Narratives (building comfort
  sharing strengths)
• Lesson 4 Using and Developing Strengths
  (building non-signature strengths as well)
• Lesson 5 Family Tree of Strengths (applying
  strengths to build stronger families)
• Lesson 6 Giving the Gift of Time (making
  kindness a priority)
• Lesson 7 Panel of Paragons Preparation
• Lesson 8 Panel of Paragons (learning from
  community members)

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Unit 3 The Meaningful Life

• Lesson 1 What is Meaning? (becoming part of a
  We)
• Lesson 2 Being a Good Teammate (valuing
  loyalty, dependability, going over and above)
• Lesson 3 Fun vs. Philanthropy (the lessons of
  altruism)
• Lesson 4 Passing the Torch (learning from our
  elders)
• Lesson 5 Mentoring an 8th Grader (guiding those
  who come after)

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The Full Life vs The Empty Life

• LSPleasure Engagement Meaning
• Predicting Life Satisfaction
• 15 Replications. Multi method
• Pleasure marginal
• Good Life lt.0001
• Meaningful Life lt.0001
• The School as the Fulcrum