Positive Psychology

Positive psychology is one of the newest branches of psychology to emerge. This particular area of psychology focuses on how to help human beings prosper and lead healthy, happy lives.

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While many other branches of psychology tend to focus on dysfunction and abnormal behavior, positive psychology is centered on helping people become happier.

Martin Seligman and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describe positive psychology in the following way:

We believe that a psychology of positive human functioning will arise that achieves a scientific understanding and effective interventions to build thriving in individuals, families, and communities.

Some of the major findings of positive psychology include:

People are generally happy.

Money doesn’t necessarily buy well-being; but spending money on other people can make individuals happier.

Some of the best ways to combat disappointments and setbacks include strong social relationships and character strengths.

Work can be important to well-being, especially when people are able to engage in work that is purposeful and meaningful.

While happiness is influenced by genetics, people can learn to be happier by developing optimism, gratitude, and altruism.