Positive Psychology and PERMA Model

Positive Psychology is the scientific study of the strengths that enable individuals and communities to thrive. The field is founded on the belief that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within them, and to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play.

PERMA is an acronym for a model of well-being put forth by a pioneer in the field of positive psychology, Martin Seligman. According to Seligman, PERMA makes up five important building blocks of well-being and happiness:

Positive emotions – feeling good

Engagement – being completely absorbed in activities

Relationships – being authentically connected to others

Meaning – purposeful existence

Achievement – a sense of accomplishment and success

Mental Health and Quality of Life

Mental health refers to our cognitive, behavioral, and emotional wellbeing - it is all about how we think, feel, and behave. The term 'mental health' is sometimes used to mean an absence of a mental disorder. The term quality of life (Qol) has become a rallying cry for all those who strive to integrate patients' subjective experience of their life during illness into clinical care. With its intuitive appeal, Qol seems to be understood by everyone involved in managing health and disease. However, when examining the ever increasing research literature, it becomes clear that many methodological questions still beset this field, since neither a commonly accepted definition nor a gold standard for measuring Qol exist.

Positive Psychology Interventions and Initiatives

Positive psychology theory and research has been applied across many domains, from education to health to neuroscience. This includes Positive Neuroscience, Prospective Psychology, Grit and Self-Control, Growth through Adversity, Creativity and Imagination, Positive Education: Resilience Training for Educators and Positive Health.

Positive Education, Learning and Coaching

Whilst the attainment of good grades is a key objective for schools, colleges and universities, ensuring the wellbeing and happiness of learners is also a high priority. The field of positive psychology continues to research how to increase people’s happiness and wellbeing, play to their strengths, be more resilient and to cultivate a growth mindset, all of which are beneficial in creating a positive environment to learn in. Schools, colleges and universities who have implemented and Positive Education approach have seen the following positive impact, where learners:

1. Score higher in exams
2. Enjoy greater wellbeing and happiness
3. Forge stronger relationships with their peers and teachers

Teaching can be an extremely rewarding profession, seeing learners develop and achieve so many proud achievements. It can also be quite a stressful and demanding role. A Positive Education approach will help teachers to improve the engagement and enjoyment of learners, as well as building resilience for teachers and to play to their strengths, so that they themselves are able to flourish.

Happiness and Well being

Most researchers use ‘happiness’ to mean nothing more than a state of mind, like being satisfied with your life or having a positive emotional condition. To ask what happiness is, in this sense, is just to ask about the nature of a state of mind.

By contrast, researchers normally use ‘well-being’ to denote a kind of value. This value concerns what benefits or harms you, or makes you better or worse off. Depending on what ultimately benefits people, this might include things beyond happiness, such as achievement or friendship. Other words for well-being include ‘flourishing’, ‘thriving’ and ‘welfare’. ‘Eudaimonia’ was the ancient Greek term for well-being. To ask what well-being is, then, is to ask what ultimately is good for people.

Mindfulness and Compassion

Compassion involves three elements: Kindness, mindfulness, and common humanity (Pommier, 2010). Some definitions of compassion explicitly include an element of 'recognizing suffering', whereas in others, this is implied.

Mindfulness is the first step in emotional healing—being able to turn toward and acknowledge our difficult thoughts and feelings (such as inadequacy, sadness, anger, confusion) with a spirit of openness and curiosity.

Self-compassion involves responding to these difficult thoughts and feelings with kindness, sympathy and understanding so that we soothe and comfort ourselves when we’re hurting. Research has shown that self-compassion greatly enhances emotional wellbeing. It boosts happiness, reduces anxiety and depression, and can even help maintain healthy lifestyle habits such as diet and exercise.

Eudaimonia and Wellness

In its simplest (translated) form, eudaimonia is often taken to mean happiness (Deci & Ryan, 2006; Huta & Waterman, 2014; Heintzelman, 2018). Sometimes it is translated from the original ancient Greek as welfare, sometimes flourishing, and sometimes as well-being.

Philosophy, Religion and Language

Philosophy is the most critical and comprehensive thought process developed by human beings. It is quite different from religion in that where Philosophy is both critical and comprehensive. Religion attempts to offer a view of all of life and the universe and to offer answers to most , if not all, of the most basic and important questions which occur to humans all over the planet.  The answers offered by Religion are not often subject to the careful scrutiny of reason and logic.  Indeed many religious beliefs defy logic and seem to be unreasonable.  Religion has its basis in belief.  Philosophy , on the other hand, is a critic of belief and belief systems.  Philosophy subjects what some would be satisfied in believing to severe examination.  Philosophy looks for rational explications and justifications for beliefs. 

Philosophy has its basis in reason.Philosophy of Religion is rational thought about religious issues and concerns without a presumption of the existence of a deity or reliance on acts of faith.

There has always been a sense in which, although words have given flight to our understanding and have enabled us to master our world, they also constrain us. Language is our means not only of describing reality but of interpreting it. It may be fair to say that human beings would wish language to be a neutral form of communication, but experience suggests that it is anything but. Nevertheless, it is our only substantial means of communication and thus it is left to philosophers to draw attention to the influence that language may be having on the meaning we seek to convey. Some philosophers have seen this as the only true role of philosophy.

Humanities and Social Sciences

Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the time. Today, the humanities are more frequently contrasted with natural, and sometimes social sciences, as well as professional training.

Yoga, Meditation and Spirituality

What’s your definition of spirituality? Spirituality is universal, yet in many ways, it’s personal, just like yoga itself. There are countless benefits to practicing yoga. Many people enjoy it because it helps them to feel good and fit physically. Others love a peaceful hour away from their busy lives. For many, what makes yoga special, is the spirituality.

Although there are many physical benefits to practicing yoga, the benefits reach far beyond your physical body. Yoga can help you work through psychological changes, emotional stress, and connect with a higher power as well.

Buddhism, Wisdom and Self-transcendence

Buddhism is an Indian religion attributed to the teachings of the Buddha, supposedly born Siddhārtha Gautama, and also known as the Tathāgata.

Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to think and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowledge, self-transcendence and non-attachment, and virtues such as ethics and benevolence. Self-transcendence is a personality trait that involves the expansion of personal boundaries, including, potentially, experiencing spiritual ideas such as considering oneself an integral part of the universe. The observation that people do things for no other reason than that they bring enjoyment is hardly earth-shattering. But its simplicity can obscure the richness of its implications.

Leadership and Motivation

Motivation is a goal-oriented characteristic that helps a person achieve his or her objectives. It encourages an individual to work hard at achieving his or her goals. The desired leadership traits will assist management to influence motivation of employees. One should keep an open perspective on human nature. Knowing different needs of employees / team members will make the decision-making process and daily operations easier. Both employees and management must possess leadership and motivational traits.

Leadership is used as a means of motivating others. This training is suitable for delegates that will fulfil a leadership role as part of their job. A good leader should possess the following characteristics:

1. Honesty and Integrity
2. Inspiring to Others
3. Commitment and Passion
4. Good Communicator
5. Decision-Making Capabilities
6. Accountability
7. Delegation and Empowerment
8. Creativity and Innovation

Psychology and Resilience

Adversity is a fact of life. Resilience is that ineffable quality that allows some people to be knocked down by life and come back at least as strong as before. Rather than letting difficulties or failure overcome them and drain their resolve, they find a way to rise from the ashes.

Psychologists have identified some of the factors that make a person resilient, such as a positive attitude, optimism, the ability to regulate emotions, and the ability to see failure as a form of helpful feedback. Research shows that optimism helps blunt the impact of stress on the mind and body in the wake of disturbing experiences. And that gives people access to their own cognitive resources, enabling cool-headed analysis of what might have gone wrong and consideration of behavioral paths that might be more productive.

Entrepreneurship and Organisation Development

Entrepreneurship is about starting an organization, organizing effort, and exploiting opportunities (with the phases of emergence, recognition, evaluation, and exploitation of opportunities). Entrepreneurial activity predicts wealth creation across nations. Entrepreneurs start new organizations and mold their organizational climate and culture. Entrepreneurial success (successful start-up, survival, firm growth) depends on the owners and may be a more useful (and a more objective) performance outcome variable than the supervisor ratings typically used in industrial/organizational psychology. Industrial/organizational psychology should, therefore, do more research on entrepreneurship.

A psychological model of entrepreneurship looks at distal variables of interpersonal variables, cognitive ability, school education, and experience and at proximal variables, such as cognitions (e.g., opportunity perception), motives (such as entrepreneurial visions and passions), and action strategies (e.g., proactive vs. reactive strategies). All of these factors should affect entrepreneurial success in interaction with situational and environmental conditions (such as industry, difficulty of doing business in an environment, and culture).

Meta-analyses and other reviews show that among the interpersonal variables, need for achievement, self-efficacy, cognitive ability, and expertise are clearly related to starting a business and business success. Similarly, entrepreneurial orientation, such as proactivity, innovativeness, competitive aggressiveness, risk taking, and autonomy, are related to starting a business and success. More recent resource-based theorizing argued for the importance of firm-specific knowledge and experiences for success that cannot be easily duplicated by competitors in the market.

Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Industrial-organizational psychology is the branch of psychology that applies psychological theories and principles to organizations. Often referred to as I-O psychology, this field focuses on increasing workplace productivity and related issues such as the physical and mental well-being of employees. Industrial-organizational psychologists perform a wide variety of tasks, including studying worker attitudes and behavior, evaluating companies, and conducting leadership training. The overall goal of this field is to study and understand human behavior in the workplace.

The organizational side of psychology is more focused on understanding how organizations affect individual behavior. Organizational structures, social norms, management styles, and role expectations are all factors that can influence how people behave within an organization.

By understanding such factors, I-O psychologists hope to improve individual performance and health while at the same time benefiting the organization as a whole.

I/O psychologists:

1. Identify training and development needs
2. Design and optimize job and work and quality of work life
3. Formulate and implement training programs and evaluate their effectiveness
4. Coach employees
5. Develop criteria to evaluate performance of individuals and organizations
6. Assess consumer preferences, customer satisfaction and market strategies

Mental Health and Quality of Life

Mental health refers to our cognitive, behavioral, and emotional wellbeing - it is all about how we think, feel, and behave. The term 'mental health' is sometimes used to mean an absence of a mental disorder. The term quality of life (Qol) has become a rallying cry for all those who strive to integrate patients' subjective experience of their life during illness into clinical care. With its intuitive appeal, Qol seems to be understood by everyone involved in managing health and disease. However, when examining the ever increasing research literature, it becomes clear that many methodological questions still beset this field, since neither a commonly accepted definition nor a gold standard for measuring Qol exist.

Psychiatry and Psychiatric Disorders

A psychiatric disorder is a mental illness diagnosed by a mental health professional that greatly disturbs your thinking, moods, and/or behavior and seriously increases your risk of disability, pain, death, or loss of freedom.

A large number of psychiatric disorders have been identified.

1. Depression
2. Personality disorders
3. Anxiety disorders
4. Schizophrenia
5. Eating disorders
6. Addictive behaviors

Stress, Anxiety and Depression

Everybody encounters stress and anxiety at once or another. The contrast between them is that pressure is a reaction to a danger in a circumstance. Nervousness is a response to the pressure. Wretchedness and tension can happen simultaneously. Actually, it's been assessed that 45 percent of individuals with one emotional well-being condition meet the criteria for at least two disorders. Although each condition has its very own causes, they may have comparable manifestations and medications.

Physical movement is a demonstrated method to decrease pressure. Normal investment in vigorous exercise has been appeared to diminish in general degrees of pressure, lift and balance out temperament, and improve rest and confidence. Other viable strategies incorporate personality body practices of breathing activities, yoga, and contemplation.

Relaxation techniques have been used to assist in the treatment of phobias, panic disorder, and depression, as well as providing relief for people in stressful situations. Find out more about complementary and alternative medicine.

Psychotherapy and Counseling Psychology

Counseling generally refers to short-term consultation while psychotherapy typically refers to longer-term treatment.  Counseling ordinarily manages present issues that are effectively settled on the cognizant level while psychotherapy seriously and broadly analyzes an individual's mental history. Advising typically helps a customer procedure amazing feelings, for example, sadness or outrage, manage quick reasons for pressure and uneasiness, explain values and recognize alternatives when settling on significant individual or expert choices, oversee clashes inside connections, grow better relational and relational abilities, or deliberately change useless considerations and practices.

Psychotherapy, on the other hand, is an evolutionary process that helps a person look at long-standing attitudes, thoughts, and behaviors that have resulted in the current quality of one’s life and relationships. It goes a lot further to reveal underlying drivers of issues, bringing about progressively emotional changes in context with respect to oneself, one's beneficial experience, and the world all in all. Eventually, psychotherapy intends to engage the person by liberating him/her from the hold of oblivious triggers or driving forces through expanded mindfulness.

Behavioral Health and Bullying

As indicated by the American Psychological Association, bullying is a form of aggressive behavior in which someone purposefully and repeatedly causes another person injury or discomfort. Even though bullying commonly happens in childhood, the impact can last well into adulthood. Duke University recently conducted research that shows the rates for agoraphobia and panic disorders extraordinarily increments with bullying. Mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and low esteem haunt many adults who were once bullied in childhood.

Child Psychology, Autism and Protection

Parents of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder often report higher levels of depression, anxiety, and mental health–related issues. The combination of stressors and family adjustment difficulties can cause distress which may develop into a crisis.

In inclusive classrooms, children with ASD are only involved in peers’ social relationships about half of the time, and appear to be even less connected with increasing grade level. Promoting children with ASD’s skills in popular activities to share with peers in early childhood may be a key preventive intervention to protect social relationships in late elementary school grades.

 Understanding crisis in the family is important to mental health practice since it can serve as a guide in delivering service to at-risk families.

LGBT and Sexual Orientation

LGBT (or GLBT) is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the term is an adaptation of the initialism LGB, which was used to replace the term gay in reference to the LGBT community beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s.

Sexual orientation is the emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction that a person feels toward another person.

There are several types of sexual orientation; for example:

1. Heterosexual
2. Homosexual
3. Bisexual
4. Asexual

Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug Abuse and Recovery

Addiction is a psychological and physical inability to stop consuming a chemical, drug, activity, or substance, even though it is causing psychological and physical harm.

Alcoholism, also known as alcohol use disorder (AUD), is a broad term for any drinking of alcohol that results in mental or physical health problems. In a medical context, alcoholism is said to exist when two or more of the following conditions are present: a person drinks large amounts of alcohol over a long time period, has difficulty cutting down, acquiring and drinking alcohol takes up a great deal of time, alcohol is strongly desired, usage results in not fulfilling responsibilities, usage results in social problems, usage results in health problems, usage results in risky situations, withdrawal occurs when stopping, and alcohol tolerance has occurred with use.

Research on the science of addiction and the treatment of substance use disorders has led to the development of research-based methods that help people to stop using drugs and resume productive lives, also known as being in recovery.

Psychiatric Nursing and Nursing Education

Psychiatric Nursing or mental health nursing is the appointed position of a nurse that specialises in mental health, and cares for people of all ages experiencing mental illnesses or distress. These include: schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, eating disorders, suicidal thoughts, psychosis, paranoia, and self-harm.

Nurses in this area receive specific training in psychological therapies, building a therapeutic alliance, dealing with challenging behaviour, and the administration of psychiatric medication.

Nursing education refers to formal learning and training in the science of nursing. This includes the functions and duties in the physical care of patients, and a combination of different disciplines that both accelerates the patient's return to health and helps maintain it.

Positive Psychology 2020 – Market Analysis

According to the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania, positive psychology is the scientific study of the strengths that enable individuals and communities to thrive. Positive Psychology is based on two ideas: That people seek meaning, and that they possess strengths that can help them find it.

In other words, people want to do more than survive, they want to thrive. They have the ability to live the lives they want, even if they might need a little help to do it. This orientation moves psychology beyond the realm of fixing problems or treating disorders, to helping people be their best selves and lead better lives. Marketing is beginning to recognize these ideas and build on them, giving rise to positive psychology marketing.

Since the 1940s, psychology students (and marketers) have looked at Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs as a guideline for human needs. At the lowest level are physiological needs and security needs, such as food, water, shelter, air to breathe, rest and feel safe. Once those needs are met, humans have psychological needs, such as the needs for love and friendship, and the need for accomplishment or to feel good about one's self. These orders of need are sometimes called deficiency needs, or D-needs.

These levels of need are all about deficiency or lack. And marketing has generally always played to these lower order needs with a "problem - solution" orientation. You have a need, we have a product or service that can fill it. Buy our product and you'll be less miserable. But the highest order need - the need for self-actualization, or the need to fulfill your highest potential - is one that psychologists and marketers have only recently begun to recognize. These are sometimes referred to as B-needs because they are not just about filling a need but about being; becoming a better person.

Positive Psychology Marketing Catching On 

According to Maslow, as one level of deficiency needs became fulfilled, humans would inevitably discover new levels of need until they finally reached the level of self-actualization. For instance, if your need for food, shelter and security was fulfilled, you might then notice your loneliness, and become aware of your need for love and friends. Once you were no longer lonely, you might begin to feel that you ought to accomplish something. For the last 100 or so years, most marketers have been focused on fulfilling deficiency needs. For the most part, this has worked in spectacular fashion. Consumers have purchased products to fulfill needs for food, shelter, security, friends, and family. Even accomplishment needs can be marketed: Think forprofit universities and career coaching. But still, people yearn for more. They are now looking to enhance their state of being; marketing is beginning to reflect this. Several recent marketing campaigns have demonstrated how positive psychology is increasingly being incorporated into modern-day marketing. Dove soap once marketed itself as a product that could help you have softer skin, now it is about "Real Beauty," promising to help you "embrace your natural beauty," which is more about self-acceptance and self-love than it is about cleaning your skin. A few years back, Olay promised to help you "love the skin you are in." Again, this is not just about moisturizing the skin; it's about loving yourself.

Marketers, of course, are experts at identifying and jumping on board when a concept is having its moment, and positive psychology is definitely having one. There's a shift taking place where people are no longer seeking fulfillment through simply acquiring more stuff, but through ideas like mindfulness, acceptance and purpose that are more likely to lead to real happiness. Brands are no longer just touting what they do, and why they do it, but the purpose behind what they do. The signs are there that positive psychology could be marketing's future, leading marketers away from a focus on simply solving problems with a product, towards the meaning behind the product - why does it exist? How can it help customers become the person they want to be and lead to true personal fulfillment?