Positive Approach
❖ Assumptions (Free will, goodness and excellence, ‘the good life’)
❖ Therapy (Link to Assumptions, main components, effectiveness evaluation, ethical
evaluation)
❖ Classic research (Methodology, procedure, findings, evaluation, social and ethical
implications)
❖ Debate (education/military/leisure & health, overall conclusions)
❖ Evaluation of the Positive Approach (Strengths and weaknesses)
Assumptions
Using an example from psychology, describe the Acknowledgement of free will
assumption. [4]
→ One assumption of the positive approach is the acknowledgement of free will. The
approach suggests that humans have the free will to develop their signature
strength and have control over their own well-being. This means that happiness is
accessible to all of us, as we are in control of our lives and have the capacity to
make choices.
→ One example from psychology is mindfulness and quality of life therapy.
This is where individuals are encouraged to become more aware of their own feelings and
emotions. Individuals can exercise free will to be more conscious of the present and use this to
increase their levels of happiness. Evidence by Myers and Diener shows that a belief in free
will is associated with greater well-being.
Explain how a psychologist could apply the Acknowledgement of free will
assumption to human behaviour [5]
→ One assumption of the positive approach is the acknowledgement of free will. The
approach suggests that humans have the free will to develop their signature
strength and have control over their own well-being. This means that happiness is
accessible to all of us, as we are in control of our lives and have the capacity to
make choices.
This can be applied to relationships.
Lyubomirsky, 40% of the variance in happiness is due to intentional activity. Intentional activity
can include a range of activities that people choose to engage in as part of their everyday lives,
therefore exercising their free will. One intentional activity that can improve happiness is
nurturing social relationships. Therefore, we can exercise our free will to improve and maintain
our relationships, which in turn increases our well-being.
Using examples from psychology, Describe the Authenticity of goodness and
excellence assumption. [4]
, → One assumption of the positive approach is Authenticity of goodness and
excellence.
The approach suggests that psychology became too focused on negative aspects of
personality. Other approaches focus on fixing what’s wrong with people. This is an unbalanced
view, as in reality, the positive aspects of a person’s personality exceed that of the negative.
Therefore, it’s important to research and support individuals who are ‘ok’ and wish to develop
their own personal sense of well-being.
One example from psychology is signature strengths.
This suggests that there are 24-character strengths. Each person has all of these strengths in
different degrees and should be encouraged to nurture and develop them to improve their well-
being. The VIA Classification led to an online questionnaire and resources to help individuals
apply their character strengths.
Explain how a psychologist could apply the assumption of Authenticity of
goodness and excellence to human behaviour [5]
→ One assumption of the positive approach is Authenticity of goodness and
excellence.
The approach suggests that psychology became too focused on negative aspects of
personality. Other approaches focus on fixing what’s wrong with people. This is an unbalanced
view, as in reality, the positive aspects of a person’s personality exceed that of the negative.
Therefore, it’s important to research and support individuals who are ‘ok’ and wish to develop
their own personal sense of well-being.
This can be applied to relationships.
This places an emphasis on character strengths as being an important way to improve our well-
being. Many of these character strengths are focused on developing and maintaining social
relationships. One group of the VIA character strengths is humanity. This includes kindness,
love and social intelligence, all strengths linked to our relationships. Kashdan et al found that
when individuals showed a greater appreciation of their partner’s character strengths, this was
associated with positive outcomes of the relationship.
Using examples from psychology, describe the Focus on ‘the good life’
assumption [4]
→ One assumption of the positive approach is focus on ‘the good life’. There are 3
dimensions to happiness:
➔ A pleasant life refers to activities that are focused on positive emotions which make us
feel good.
➔ The good life means engaging in activities that absorb us and help us to reach a state
of flow. This includes focusing on our key strengths, having positive relationships etc.
➔ The meaningful life refers to the state of fulfillment we get from using your character
strengths for a deeper purpose.
One example from psychology is flow developed by Mihaly.
This means reaching the state of being fully engaged in an activity. Different activities lead to a
flow state in different people. There is a balance between the level of challenge the activity
presents and the skills we must deal with it.
❖ Assumptions (Free will, goodness and excellence, ‘the good life’)
❖ Therapy (Link to Assumptions, main components, effectiveness evaluation, ethical
evaluation)
❖ Classic research (Methodology, procedure, findings, evaluation, social and ethical
implications)
❖ Debate (education/military/leisure & health, overall conclusions)
❖ Evaluation of the Positive Approach (Strengths and weaknesses)
Assumptions
Using an example from psychology, describe the Acknowledgement of free will
assumption. [4]
→ One assumption of the positive approach is the acknowledgement of free will. The
approach suggests that humans have the free will to develop their signature
strength and have control over their own well-being. This means that happiness is
accessible to all of us, as we are in control of our lives and have the capacity to
make choices.
→ One example from psychology is mindfulness and quality of life therapy.
This is where individuals are encouraged to become more aware of their own feelings and
emotions. Individuals can exercise free will to be more conscious of the present and use this to
increase their levels of happiness. Evidence by Myers and Diener shows that a belief in free
will is associated with greater well-being.
Explain how a psychologist could apply the Acknowledgement of free will
assumption to human behaviour [5]
→ One assumption of the positive approach is the acknowledgement of free will. The
approach suggests that humans have the free will to develop their signature
strength and have control over their own well-being. This means that happiness is
accessible to all of us, as we are in control of our lives and have the capacity to
make choices.
This can be applied to relationships.
Lyubomirsky, 40% of the variance in happiness is due to intentional activity. Intentional activity
can include a range of activities that people choose to engage in as part of their everyday lives,
therefore exercising their free will. One intentional activity that can improve happiness is
nurturing social relationships. Therefore, we can exercise our free will to improve and maintain
our relationships, which in turn increases our well-being.
Using examples from psychology, Describe the Authenticity of goodness and
excellence assumption. [4]
, → One assumption of the positive approach is Authenticity of goodness and
excellence.
The approach suggests that psychology became too focused on negative aspects of
personality. Other approaches focus on fixing what’s wrong with people. This is an unbalanced
view, as in reality, the positive aspects of a person’s personality exceed that of the negative.
Therefore, it’s important to research and support individuals who are ‘ok’ and wish to develop
their own personal sense of well-being.
One example from psychology is signature strengths.
This suggests that there are 24-character strengths. Each person has all of these strengths in
different degrees and should be encouraged to nurture and develop them to improve their well-
being. The VIA Classification led to an online questionnaire and resources to help individuals
apply their character strengths.
Explain how a psychologist could apply the assumption of Authenticity of
goodness and excellence to human behaviour [5]
→ One assumption of the positive approach is Authenticity of goodness and
excellence.
The approach suggests that psychology became too focused on negative aspects of
personality. Other approaches focus on fixing what’s wrong with people. This is an unbalanced
view, as in reality, the positive aspects of a person’s personality exceed that of the negative.
Therefore, it’s important to research and support individuals who are ‘ok’ and wish to develop
their own personal sense of well-being.
This can be applied to relationships.
This places an emphasis on character strengths as being an important way to improve our well-
being. Many of these character strengths are focused on developing and maintaining social
relationships. One group of the VIA character strengths is humanity. This includes kindness,
love and social intelligence, all strengths linked to our relationships. Kashdan et al found that
when individuals showed a greater appreciation of their partner’s character strengths, this was
associated with positive outcomes of the relationship.
Using examples from psychology, describe the Focus on ‘the good life’
assumption [4]
→ One assumption of the positive approach is focus on ‘the good life’. There are 3
dimensions to happiness:
➔ A pleasant life refers to activities that are focused on positive emotions which make us
feel good.
➔ The good life means engaging in activities that absorb us and help us to reach a state
of flow. This includes focusing on our key strengths, having positive relationships etc.
➔ The meaningful life refers to the state of fulfillment we get from using your character
strengths for a deeper purpose.
One example from psychology is flow developed by Mihaly.
This means reaching the state of being fully engaged in an activity. Different activities lead to a
flow state in different people. There is a balance between the level of challenge the activity
presents and the skills we must deal with it.
