POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY & COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Clinical Psychologist, Specialist Simge Bulunmaz

■ Psychology;
■ Psyche (soul) & logos (science)
– Study of mind and behaviour

– Deals with;
■ behaviors that can be observed (walking, running etc.)
■ mental processes that cannot be observed (thoughts, fears vb.)
Psychology;

– study mental processes and behavior by observing, interpreting, and recording

how people and other animals relate to one another and the environment.
– look for patterns that will help them understand and predict behavior using
scientific methods, principles, or procedures to test their ideas.
– Through such research studies, psychologists have learned much that can help
increase understanding between individuals, groups, organizations,
institutions, nations, and cultures
Why positive psychology?

Disease model vs health model

Questions of positive psychology?

■ What is happiness and why does it matter?

■ What is a good life?
■ How can a person make his/her life more fulfilling?
■ What makes some more resilient and better able to deal with repeated set-backs?
Positive psychology;

■ Positive psychology is the scientific study of what makes life most

worth living” (Peterson, 2008).
■ PP, is a scientific approach to studying human thoughts, feelings, and
behavior, with a focus on strengths instead of weaknesses, building
the good in life instead of repairing the bad, and taking the lives of
average people up to “great” instead of focusing solely on moving
those who are struggling up to “normal” (Peterson, 2008).
 Positive psychology-
topics
■ character strengths,
■ optimism,
■ life satisfaction,
■ happiness,
■ well-being
■ gratitude,
■ compassion (as well as self-compassion),
■ self-esteem and self-confidence, hope, and elevation.
■ These topics are studied in order to learn how to help people flourish and live their best
lives.
 POSITIVE
PSYCHOLOGY
LECTURE-2
Learned helplessness vs learned optimism
What is Pessimism?

■ Although many people have a different definition of what pessimism

is, pessimism shall be defined as the perceived meaning of events as
inherently negative and discouraging.
■ This includes persistent blaming of oneself, viewing failure as
unrealistically long lasting, and a low sense of confidence.
■ These types of perception are usually brought about, or worsened, by
negative self-talk
What is Optimism?
■ Optimists , approach problems from a position of empowerment.
Some see overcoming adversity as a challenge, and one that
they will gladly attempt to conquer.
■ Unfortunately, the will is not always enough to solve problems.
When optimistic people are confronted by failure, they view it as
temporary and often attribute the failure to the situation or
circumstance.
Learned helplessness

■ Learned helplessness is a phenomenon observed in both humans and other

animals when they have been conditioned to expect pain, suffering, or discomfort
without a way to escape it (Cherry, 2017)
■ When humans or other animals start to understand (or believe) that they have no
control over what happens to them, they begin to think, feel, and act as if they are
helpless.
■ It is a learned behavior, conditioned through experiences in which the subject either
truly has no control over his circumstances or simply perceives that he has no
control.
 Learned helplessness

■ ***Uncontrollable bad events ->

perceived lack of control -> generalised
helpless behavior ***
 Learned helplessness

■ Seligman and colleagues proposed that subjecting participants to situations in

which they have no control results in three deficits: motivational, cognitive, and
emotional (Abramson, Seligman, & Teasdale, 1978).
■ The cognitive deficit refers to the subject’s idea that his circumstances are
uncontrollable.
■ The motivational deficit refers to the subject’s lack of response to potential methods
of escaping a negative situation.
■ Finally, the emotional deficit refers to the depressed state arises when the subject
is in a negative situation that he feels is not under his control.
 OPTIMIST VS PESSIMIST
EXPLANATORY STYLES
■ 1- Permanent (is about time) : Temporary vs permanent
■ 2- Pervasive (is about space): specific vs universal
■ 3- Personal : internal vs external
OPTIMISTIC VS PESSIMISST
examp. Getting a flat tire on your way to ….
OPTIMISTIC VS PESSIMIST
OPTIMISTIC VS PESSIMIST
EXPLANATORY STYLES
 social learning

■ people learn via social learning. That is, people emulate and duplicate behaviors
that they observe in their environment. While this might not seem important to
people with developed identities, people who do not have a strong character, like
children, are highly impressionable to social learning.

■ If such habits persist in the long term, people are at an increased risk for learning
the opposite of learned optimism: learned helplessness. Learned helplessness is
detrimental to optimistic thought patterns, as it perpetuates an attitude of apathy
■ Albert Bandura- social learning theory- bobo doll experiment
 Learned optimism

■ is about learning positive cognitions and positive emotions.

■ When you perform it right, start executing on your plans, start to seeing results
■ You then enter a state called flow.
 Martin seligman’s abc***

■ Adversity – This is the event that causes stress.

■ Belief – This is how a person interprets the event.
■ Consequence – The resulting action from the belief caused by the
adversity.
■ Disputation – The search for evidence to challenge negative thoughts from
A-C.
■ Energizing – The result when a person conditions themselves into positive
thoughts and behaviors. In response to A (adversity), B-D can eventually
lead to a person to feeling energized.
Martin seligman’s abc

■ A= Someone cuts you in line

■ B= This is really unfair that this person cut me in line
■ C= Shout hurtful mean things at the person (you feel angry
and take action!)
■ D= May be, this person didn’t skip me. Maybe someone
was holding his space?
■ E= nothing about injustice, no need to feel angry for no
reason. Feel better at the end.
HAPPINESS &
WELL BEING
Types of Happiness

■ Hedonism
– it holds that happiness is a matter of raw subjective feeling.
– A happy life maximizes feelings of pleasure and minimizes pain.
– A happy person smiles a lot, is , her pleasures are intense and
many, her pains are few and far between.
– hedonic motives (i.e., pursuing pleasure, enjoyment, and comfort
Hedonic Adaptation
■ hedonic adaptation is a theory positing that people repeatedly return to their baseline
level of happiness, regardless of what happens to them.
■ Brickman and Campbell proposed that people immediately react to good and bad events
but in a short time return to neutrality (1971)
Eudaimonia
■ Eudaimonic happiness/well-being conceptualizes happiness as the result of the
pursuit and attainment of life:
purpose, meaning, challenge, and personal growth; happiness is based on reaching
one’s full potential and operating at full functioning (AIPC, 2011).
■ "pleasures" of contemplation--which do not reside in orgasmic thrills or sensations of
warmth, but in deep absorption and immersion, a state.
■ eudaimonic motives (i.e., pursuing personal growth, development of their potential,
achieving personal excellence, and contributing to the lives of others)
■ Talents, passions, skills and time are applied to a meaningful purpose that brings us
a feeling of fulfilment .
HAPPINESS & PLEASURE

■ Happiness is a state characterized by feelings of contentment and satisfaction with

one’s life or current situation.
■ On the other hand, pleasure is a more visceral, in-the-moment experience. It often refers
to the sensory-based feelings we get from experiences like eating good food, getting a
massage, receiving a compliment.
■ Happiness, while not a permanent state, is a more stable state than pleasure. Happiness
generally sticks around for longer than a few moments at a time, whereas pleasure can
come and go in seconds (Paul, 2015).
■ At least some portion of our happiness is set by our genetics, but the amount up to 50%;
■ Happy people have an easier time navigating through life since optimism eases pain,
sadness, and grief.
Well being theory- perma
 Well being theory- perma

■ ‘’ Well- being theory denies that the topic of positive psychology is a real thing: rather
the topic is a construct- well-being - which is in turn has several measurable
elements, each a real thing, each contributing to well being, but not defining well
being.
■ As opposed to the goal of achieving happiness, this theory emphasizes the goal of
reaching well-being.***
 Well being theory
■ well-being is a construct; and well-being, not happiness, is the topic of
positive psychology.*** Well-being has five measurable elements
(PERMA) that count toward it:
■ Positive emotion (Of which happiness and life satisfaction are all aspects)
■ Engagement
■ Relationships
■ Meaning and purpose
■ Accomplishment
 Well being theory- perma

■ Some aspects of these five elements are measured subjectively by self-report, but
other aspects are measured objectively.

■ Does not mean or equal to a smiling face

P – POSITIVE
EMOTION
P – Positive Emotıon

■ Focusing on positive emotions is more than smiling: it is the ability to

remain optimistic and view one’s past, present, and future from a
constructive perspective.
■ Positive Emotion: This route to well-being is hedonic – increasing
positive emotion. Within limits, we can increase our positive emotion
about the past (e.g., by cultivating gratitude and forgiveness), our
positive emotion about the present (e.g., by savoring physical
pleasures and mindfulness) and our positive emotion about the future
(e.g., by building hope and optimism).***
impact of Negative emotions vs positive
emotions
■ your brain closes off from the outside world and focuses on the negative emotions of
fear, anger, and stress -- just like it did with the tiger. Negative emotions prevent your
brain from seeing the other options and choices that surround you. It's your survival
instinct.

■ when you are experiencing positive emotions like joy, contentment, and love, you will
see more possibilities in your life.
"broaden and build" theory

■ positive emotions broaden your sense of possibilities and open your mind, which in
turn allows you to build new skills and resources that can provide value in other
areas of your life.
■ A child who runs around outside, swinging on branches and playing with friends,
develops the ability to move athletically (physical skills), the ability to play with others
and communicate with a team (social skills), and the ability to explore and examine
the world around them (creative skills).
■ In this way, the positive emotions of play and joy prompt the child to build skills that
are useful and valuable in everyday life.
 Positive emotions
■ 1) Joy;
2) Gratitude;
3) Serenity;
4) Interest;
5) Hope;
6) Pride;
7) Amusement;
8) Inspiration;
9) Awe;
10) Love
E – ENGAGEMENT
E – Engagement

■ Engagement means “being one with the music, time stopping, and the loss of self-
consciousness during an absorbing activity” (Seligman, 2012).
▪ When we are engaged in things that we love doing, we lose track of time.
▪ We are living in the present moment and entirely focused on the task at hand. In
positive psychology, this is referred to as ‘flow’. **
▪ During flow experiences, we are so intensely focused on what we are doing that
time seems to stop.
 E – Engagement
▪The leading researcher in this field
is Professor Mihaly
Csikszentmihalyi, says that we
experience flow when our greatest
strengths correspond to the
challenges that we face.

▪Flow is achieved when you have the

combination of a challenging task
and the opportunity to use your
skills/strengths (Csikszentmihalyi,
1997).
■ Professor Chris Peterson and Professor Martin Seligman believe that there are 24
universal human strengths (Peterson, Seligman, 2004).
■ Seligman and his colleagues studied all major religions and philosophical traditions
and found that the same six virtues were shared in virtually all cultures across three
millennia.
■ There are 6 classes of virtues that are made up of 24 character strengths:

■ Wisdom and Knowledge

■ Courage

■ Humanity

■ Justice

■ Temperance

■ Transcendence
R- RELATIONSHIPS
■ Relationships refer to the many different interactions you have with others: your
partner, friends, family, boss, colleagues, children and/or your community.
■ Relationships refer to feeling loved, supported, and valued by others. We are
inherently social creatures and positive relationships have a significant impact on
our wellbeing.” (Seligman, 2012).
■ From an evolutionary perspective, we are social beings because the drive to connect
with and serve others promotes our survival. Developing strong relationships is
central to adaptation and is enabled by our capacity for love, compassion, kindness,
empathy, teamwork, cooperation, self-sacrifice, etc.
 positivity resonance

■ Love is a momentary upwelling of three tightly interwoven events:

■ first, a sharing of one or more positive emotions between you and another;
■ second, a synchrony between your and the other person’s biochemistry and
behaviors
■ third, a reflected motive to invest in each other’s well-being that brings mutual care.
■ Building better relationships with colleagues, friends and family is something that
most of us aspire to. One of the leading researchers in this field, Shelly Gable, says
that sharing good news or celebrating success with other people has been found to
foster positive social interactions, thus enhancing relationships.
respond to good news

Active
Passive
Destructive
Destructive:

Active
Passive Constructive
Constructive
 R- Relationships

■ People most commonly respond to good news in one of four ways:

■ Passive Destructive:
Characteristics: disinterest, does not pay much attention, changes the topic
of conversation
Body Language: looks at watch, sighs, or turns away from the conversation
Example: “what’s for dinner?” - “guess what happened to me today?”
 R- Relationships

■ Passive Constructive:
Characteristics: passively engaged with little
enthusiasm and doesn’t make a big deal of the
situation
Body Language: a head nod and a gentle smile
Example: “that’s nice Dad.
 R- Relationships

■ Active Destructive:
Characteristics: actively points out the problems associated with
the ‘good’ news, creates doubt and concern about the scenario,
completely kills any excitement
Body language: reactive or aggressive, authoritative movements
Example: “wow, are you sure you want to go there, it’s so
dangerous – have you considered the risks?”
 R- Relationships

■ Active Constructive:
Characteristics: actively responds to the good news with interest and enthusiasm, asks
questions that help to almost re-experience the moment, the conversation is a pleasant and
joyful one for both participants.
■
Body language: leaning into the conversation, an increase in movement/hand gestures, people
might try to show something on their phone to help communicate the experience
Example: “that’s amazing, I’m so happy for you – tell me how you felt when you found out!”
M – MEANING
M – Meaning

■ To have a sense of meaning, we need to feel that what we do is valuable and

worthwhile.
■ This involves belonging to and/or serving something that we believe is greater than
ourselves (Seligman, 2012).
■ The search for meaning is an intrinsic human quality
■ Having a broader purpose in life helps us to focus on what is really important when
we are faced with a significant challenge or adversity in our life.
■ Having meaning in your life, or working towards a greater purpose, is different for
everybody.
■ Meaning;
■ Helps us for Resilience, Contributite our wellbeing

■ Finding a reason to move on, coping with stress, with advertsity

 M – Meaning
■ Roy Baumeister and Kathleen Vohs (2005, p. 610) associate the quest for meaning in life
with four main needs:

– Purpose: Present events draw meaning from their connection to future

outcomes — objective goals and subjective fulfillment. ( 2 purpose)
– Values, which can justify certain courses of action
– Efficacy, the belief that one can make a difference
– Self-worth, reasons for believing that one is a good and worthy person
M – Meaning

■ A sense of meaning and purpose can be derived from belonging to and serving
something bigger than the self. There are various societal institutions that enable a
sense of meaning, such as religion, family, science, politics, work organizations,
justice, the community, social causes (e.g., being green), among others.
■ People who are more optimistic are more likely to experience personal growth
following adversity (Joseph & Linley, 2005) and a strong sense of meaning can also
help to facilitate post-traumatic growth’ (Boniwell, 2008).
■ • People who can identify a positive ending and a sense of closure from a difficult
event have better subjective wellbeing outcomes (Pals, 2006) and those who find
meaning after a negative life event are better able to return to positive levels of
functioning (King, Hicks, Krull & Del Gaiso, 2006).
 A–
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Self discipline & Grit vs IQ
Twice as important as IQ
A – Accomplishments

■ Having a sense of accomplishment means that we have worked towards and

reached our goals, achieved mastery over an endeavour, and had the self-motivation
to complete what we set out to do.
■ Accomplishment contributes to our wellbeing when we are able to look back on our
lives with a sense of achievement and say ‘I did it, and I did it well’ (Seligman,
2012).
■ The researcher Angela Duckworth introduced the concept of ‘grit’. Grit is defined as
‘perseverance and passion for long-term goals’ (Duckworth, et al.,2007).
■ People who exhibit ‘grit’ don’t just finish what they started, they persevere at their
goals over time.
■ • People who have a more pessimistic explanatory style (“It’s my fault I failed”,
“Nothing I do goes right”) are more likely to give up (Seligman & Schulman, 1986).
■ Having accomplishments in life is important to push ourselves to thrive and flourish.
■
Goal setting

■ How to build accomplishment ?

■ • Set yourself achievable goals –
■ SMART goals (Systematic, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic and Timebound)
➢ Specific – Setting “exact” goals
➢ Measurable – Using goals that can be measured
➢ Attainable – Can you actually get there?
➢ Realistic – Are you being honest with yourself?
➢ Timely – Seeking to set time frames for the various stages of your goal
■ Winning only for winning's sake can also be seen in the pursuit of wealth.

■ So well-being theory ; "achieving life," dedicated to accomplishment for the sake of

accomplishment.
Flourish*

■ “Flourishing is the product of the pursuit and engagement of an authentic life that
brings inner joy and happiness through meeting goals, being connected with life
passions, and relishing in accomplishments through the peaks and valleys of life
 After neg. Life events;

■ PTSD post- traumatic

Depression growth
■ Panic disorder
resilience
■ Drug abuse
■ Divorce
■ Etc.

3 months later 1 year later, stronger

psychologically & physically
Back where they were than they were
psychologically &
physically
RESILIENCE

■ What is Resilience? Resilience is, simply put, a person’s ability to effectively cope
with, adjust, or recover from stress or adversity (Burton, Pakenham, Brown, 2010).
 RESILIENCE
■ Individuals who use a broader range of coping strategies experience less distress from
stressful life events. While genetics do have some influence in the development of
wellbeing and psychological resilience (Huppert, 2009) the good news is that resilience
can be built. Resilience is not one specific skill, but a set of resources and skills that
promote:
■ • effective problem-solving;
■ • adaptability; • positive coping;
■ • self-regulation; and • social support.
■ Research has shown that learning new skills—and practicing those skills—can increase
resilience. In particular, focusing on positive coping skills, self-regulation, and social
connections can build our resilience.