Positive Psychology Theory

Snyder, Irving & Anderson (1991, as cited in Snyder, 2000, p.8) define hope as “a positive motivational state that is based on an interactively derived sense of successful (a) agency (goal-directed energy) and (b) pathways (planning to meet goals)” . Hope theory...

The flow experience is a state of complete involvement in an activity that requires complete concentration (Csikszentmihalyi, 1999). Flow is characterised by the matching of high environmental challenges with equally high levels of personal skills, the merging of...

Research in optimism is a burgeoning field. There have been more studies on optimism in the last seven years than in the previous twenty. Reviewing the field of research on optimism, one is at first struck by the overwhelming number of positive outcomes associated...

‘Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement...no pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit’. Helen Keller (1880 – 1968) Helen Keller’s words reflect the popular upbeat concept...

How often have you been advised - or advised others - to “play to your strengths”? It sounds like common sense, but is it actually a recipe for success? Well, there is certainly research evidence to support the value of identifying and playing to your strengths....

Irene Kuchner (a summary of Martin Newman's 'Emotional Capitalists') The concept of emotional intelligence was initially developed by psychologists John Mayer of the University of New Hampshire, and Peter Salovey, of Yale University. Reuven Bar-On worked independently...

Positive psychology places a lot of emphasis on being a new and forward thinking discipline.  

Emotional Intelligence (EI) is currently a flourishing area in positive psychology and research has shown it is associated with academic achievement (Banchard in press, Bracket, Mayer & Warner, in press, Lam & Kirby, 2002), a decreased likelihood of aggressive...

Happiness has been a topic of interest for many centuries, starting with Ancient Greek philosophy, post-Enlightenment Western-European moral philosophy (especially Utilitarianism) to current quality-of-life and well-being research in social, political and economic...

Self-efficacy, or confidence as it is commonly known, is one of the most enabling psychology models to have been adopted into positive psychology. It is the optimistic self-belief in our competence or chances of successfully accomplishing a task and producing a...

Is happiness enough for a good life? This question is becoming increasingly prominent in positive psychology. Is feeling good an adequate measure of someone's quality of life? Do we really know what it means to be subjectively well when we assess someone's subjective...