The new era of positive psychology | Martin Seligman

The State of Psychology Today

In this section, Professor Seligman discusses the state of psychology today and introduces the concept of positive psychology.

The Need for Sound Bites

• CNN approached Professor Seligman to discuss the state of psychology today.

• However, due to time constraints, he was only given a limited number of words for his response.

• First sound bite: "Good."

• Second sound bite: "Not good."

• Third sound bite: "Not good enough."

The Good in Psychology

• Psychology has made significant progress in the past 60 years.

• Previously, psychology focused on finding what's wrong with individuals.

• Now, many mental disorders are treatable and even curable.

• A science of mental illness has developed, allowing for measurement and understanding of various disorders.

• Drug treatments and psychological interventions have been invented and tested rigorously.

The Consequences

• Psychologists and psychiatrists became focused on victimology and pathologizing individuals.

• The emphasis shifted away from improving normal lives and enhancing well-being.

• Positive interventions to make people happier were neglected.

Introduction to Positive Psychology

• Nancy Etcoff, Dan Gilbert, Mike Csikszentmihalyi, and Professor Seligman started working in positive psychology as a response to these issues.

• Positive psychology aims to focus on improving well-being, happiness, fulfillment, and productivity in both troubled individuals and relatively untroubled people.

The Role of Technology

In this section, Professor Seligman discusses the role of technology in relation to psychology.

Similarities with Psychology

• Professor Seligman believes that technology faces similar challenges as psychology did in the past.

• He suggests that technology can learn from the advancements made in positive psychology.

Why Was Psychology Good?

Professor Seligman explains why psychology was considered good in the past.

Disease Model and Treatments

• Psychology worked within the disease model, focusing on diagnosing and treating mental disorders.

• Over time, many disorders became treatable, with some even being curable.

• A science of mental illness developed, allowing for measurement, classification, and understanding of various disorders.

• Drug treatments and psychological interventions were invented and tested rigorously.

The Consequences of Psychology

Professor Seligman discusses the negative consequences that arose from the disease model in psychology.

Moral Cost

• Psychologists and psychiatrists focused on victimology and pathologizing individuals.

• The concept of personal responsibility was forgotten.

Neglecting Normal Lives

• The emphasis shifted away from improving the lives of relatively untroubled individuals.

• The pursuit of happiness and fulfillment took a backseat.

Lack of Positive Interventions

• In the rush to address problems, positive interventions to enhance well-being were overlooked.

Introduction to Positive Psychology

Professor Seligman introduces positive psychology as a response to the shortcomings of traditional psychology.

Focus on Well-being

• Positive psychology aims to improve well-being, happiness, fulfillment, and productivity in both troubled individuals and relatively untroubled people.

Building Strength

This section discusses the importance of building strength and introduces a diagnostic manual for identifying strengths and virtues.

Manual for Diagnosing Strengths and Virtues

• A diagnostic manual has been created to classify strengths and virtues in men and women.

• The manual measures how these strengths manifest, how they are defined, diagnosed, constructed, and what obstructs their development.

Causality of Positive States

• The relationship between the activity of the left hemisphere and the right hemisphere is one of the causes of happiness.

Differences Between Extremely Unhappy and Extremely Happy People

• Extremely happy people differ from others in terms of their social nature rather than religiousness, physical state, wealth, appearance, or life events.

• They are extremely social individuals who engage in romantic relationships and have a large repertoire of friends.

Interventions for Happiness

• Around 120 interventions have been proposed to make people happy.

• These interventions can be observed throughout history from Buddha to Tony Robbins.

• Many of these interventions can be standardized and studied for effectiveness through randomized assignments.

Psychology's Mission: Making People Happier

• In addition to its mission to cure mental illnesses and alleviate unhappiness, psychology should aim to make people happier.

• Three different types of happy lives exist: pleasurable life, engaged life, and meaningful life.

Pleasurable Life

• The pleasurable life focuses on experiencing positive emotions to the fullest extent possible.

• It involves learning skills such as awareness and visualization to amplify positive emotions.

• However, it has limitations as it is hereditary (50%) and positive emotions habituate quickly.

Engaged Life

• The engaged life revolves around finding fulfillment in work, parenting, love, and leisure.

• It requires time to stand still and be fully present in these activities.

Meaningful Life

• The meaningful life is about finding purpose and significance.

• It goes beyond pleasure and engagement.

• Examples of interventions for a meaningful life are not provided.

La relación entre la afectividad positiva y la vida plena

En esta sección, se explora la relación entre la afectividad positiva y una vida plena.

Relación entre afectividad positiva y vida plena

• La suma de tres componentes (afectividad positiva, compromiso y significación) es mayor que sus partes individuales para una vida plena.

• Si no se tienen ninguno de estos tres componentes, la vida puede sentirse vacía.

• Se cuestiona si esta misma relación se aplica a la salud física y productividad en el trabajo.

La influencia de emociones positivas, compromiso y significado en la salud física

En esta sección, se examina cómo las emociones positivas, el compromiso y el significado pueden influir en la salud física.

Influencia en la salud física

• Existe evidencia que sugiere que las emociones positivas, el compromiso y el significado pueden estar relacionados con una mejor salud física.

• Se plantea si tener una disposición positiva, comprometerse con actividades significativas y encontrar sentido en la vida puede contribuir a una buena salud.

Paralelos entre psicología, tecnología, entretenimiento y diseño

En esta sección, se exploran los paralelos entre los problemas de psicología y los problemas de tecnología, entretenimiento y diseño.

Paralelos entre diferentes campos

• Los problemas en psicología parecen ser similares a los problemas en tecnología, entretenimiento y diseño.

• Al igual que estos campos pueden ser utilizados tanto para fines destructivos como para disminuir la infelicidad, también pueden ser utilizados para aumentar la felicidad y el bienestar.

• Se destaca la importancia de distinguir entre disminuir la infelicidad y construir la felicidad.

Uso de tecnología, entretenimiento y diseño para aumentar la felicidad humana

En esta sección, se plantea cómo la tecnología, el entretenimiento y el diseño pueden contribuir a aumentar la felicidad humana.

Aumento de la felicidad humana

• La tecnología, el entretenimiento y el diseño tienen el potencial de aumentar tanto las emociones positivas como el compromiso y significado en la vida.

• Si estos campos se enfocan en mejorar aspectos como el flujo, la eudemonía y la significación, podrían efectivamente incrementar el bienestar humano en el planeta.

El impacto futuro de tecnología, entretenimiento y diseño en una vida placentera

En esta sección, se reflexiona sobre cómo los avances en tecnología, entretenimiento y diseño pueden influir en una vida placentera.

Impacto futuro

• Si los avances en tecnología pueden aumentar tanto una vida placentera como una vida buena y significativa, entonces serán beneficiosos.

• Del mismo modo, si el entretenimiento puede dirigirse hacia incrementar las emociones positivas, significado y flujo en lugar de solo disminuir la infelicidad será un avance positivo.

• Se sugiere que el diseño también puede contribuir al aumento del bienestar al enfocarse en aspectos como emociones positivas, eudemonía, flujo y significado.

The provided transcript is in Spanish.