3 ms·

I talked to some psychologists at a conference a while back and they were mildly opposed to "positive psychology" on the grounds of crowding out healthy negativ

by kriro 10y ago

I talked to some psychologists at a conference a while back and they were mildly opposed to "positive psychology" on the grounds of crowding out healthy negative thoughts with positive ones being potentially detrimental to learning and potentially harmful with non-understood side effects. They said the research isn't exactly conclusive and noted that there's a lot of snake-oil salespeople branding themselves with "positive psychology" (which makes sense as it's a prefect self help topic which tends to attract some of them). I never followed up on this by reading current studies. The criticism section for the "positive psychology" article seems to suggest something similar. I'd be interested in more informed opinions.

simonswords82 10y ago
That's interesting, I'd love for somebody with more knowledge to chime in. As a layperson my response to a psychologist who was critical of positive psychology would be "okay fine, let's assume you're right - what would you recommend people do to help themselves get better if not mindfulness, CBT or some other form of mental programme to improve their mental wellbeing?". I totally agree that there are people selling snake oil off the back of positive psychology becoming more mainstream. That's life unfortunately... Personally I'd take "non-understood side effects" over feeling like there's nothing I can do in the event I suffered from depression/anxiety/low self esteem or one of the dozens of other mental health issues that society on the whole still aren't very good at recognising and treating.
- mtreis86 10y ago
  I am not sure mindfulness falls into 'positive psychology'. Accepting things for what they are, seems neutral to me.
  - Disruptive_Dave 10y ago
    This. At least the mindfulness I practice (rooted in Buddhist teachings, not tied to them however) is definitely not driven by an expected outcome of "positivity." Oddly enough, this has led me to a more positive outlook, generally speaking.
    - davidjnelson 10y ago
      That's a great insight. When you experience the truth of yourself, you experience the joy in it. Not because you are "trying to find joy". It's more realizing the joy you already are. Or that's been my experience with meditation and mindfulness at least.
taurath 10y ago
In my experience, I've known people to take the techniques of positive reinforcement much too far. They do not acknowledge negative emotions and constantly try to stay as positive as possible which alienates them from people reacting to negative events (and can also make those people feel terrible because they're not as 'positive' as the other person). You can take anything too far, and I think the risk of positive psychology is being too happy in inappropriate times. That said, for someone who is prone to depression, moodiness, rumination and anxiety training ones self to dig rails for positivity is incredibly important and necessary. I tend to think of my thinking and mood as either a snowball effect or like a very deep groove thats been built over time. Thats what causes even small negative experiences to drop me deep into depression - the depression is like a groove with somewhat high walls, easy to fall into. Digging an equally deep positive groove requires what the OP's article suggests, and can eventually help to move more easily between them. I've noticed that procrastination seems to follow the exact same pattern - if I start my morning with news and trivia then its far more difficult to move off of it later.
tim333 10y ago
Positive psychology is really the study of what makes people do well and be happy in a similar way that regular psychology can study regular behaviour and things that can go wrong like depression. It's a bit up to the individual as to which findings they try to use in everyday life. No doubt there's snake oil out there and sound science also. As a field of study it makes sense. After all people want to be successful and happy so why not study what works? Personally I've tried some stuff with success. CBT type stuff worked when I was a bit depressed - not sure if that's positive but anyhow... I tried some of the gratitude journal type things with moderate results. One thing I'm looking at now is I read somewhere the biggest difference between people who are averagely happy and top 10% is social skills and relationships. I think I got that from http://www.authentichappinessfacts.com/2016/02/happiness-fact-16-10-happiest-have-rich.html http://www.authentichappinessfacts.com/2016/02/happiness-fac... which is a kind of garbled summary of http://condor.depaul.edu/hstein/NAMGILES.pdf http://condor.depaul.edu/hstein/NAMGILES.pdf

by kriro 10y ago

simonswords82 10y ago

That's interesting, I'd love for somebody with more knowledge to chime in. As a layperson my response to a psychologist who was critical of positive psychology would be "okay fine, let's assume you're right - what would you recommend people do to help themselves get better if not mindfulness, CBT or some other form of mental programme to improve their mental wellbeing?". I totally agree that there are people selling snake oil off the back of positive psychology becoming more mainstream. That's life unfortunately... Personally I'd take "non-understood side effects" over feeling like there's nothing I can do in the event I suffered from depression/anxiety/low self esteem or one of the dozens of other mental health issues that society on the whole still aren't very good at recognising and treating.

mtreis86 10y ago
I am not sure mindfulness falls into 'positive psychology'. Accepting things for what they are, seems neutral to me.
- Disruptive_Dave 10y ago
  This. At least the mindfulness I practice (rooted in Buddhist teachings, not tied to them however) is definitely not driven by an expected outcome of "positivity." Oddly enough, this has led me to a more positive outlook, generally speaking.
  - davidjnelson 10y ago
    That's a great insight. When you experience the truth of yourself, you experience the joy in it. Not because you are "trying to find joy". It's more realizing the joy you already are. Or that's been my experience with meditation and mindfulness at least.

taurath 10y ago

In my experience, I've known people to take the techniques of positive reinforcement much too far. They do not acknowledge negative emotions and constantly try to stay as positive as possible which alienates them from people reacting to negative events (and can also make those people feel terrible because they're not as 'positive' as the other person). You can take anything too far, and I think the risk of positive psychology is being too happy in inappropriate times. That said, for someone who is prone to depression, moodiness, rumination and anxiety training ones self to dig rails for positivity is incredibly important and necessary. I tend to think of my thinking and mood as either a snowball effect or like a very deep groove thats been built over time. Thats what causes even small negative experiences to drop me deep into depression - the depression is like a groove with somewhat high walls, easy to fall into. Digging an equally deep positive groove requires what the OP's article suggests, and can eventually help to move more easily between them. I've noticed that procrastination seems to follow the exact same pattern - if I start my morning with news and trivia then its far more difficult to move off of it later.

tim333 10y ago

Positive psychology is really the study of what makes people do well and be happy in a similar way that regular psychology can study regular behaviour and things that can go wrong like depression. It's a bit up to the individual as to which findings they try to use in everyday life. No doubt there's snake oil out there and sound science also. As a field of study it makes sense. After all people want to be successful and happy so why not study what works? Personally I've tried some stuff with success. CBT type stuff worked when I was a bit depressed - not sure if that's positive but anyhow... I tried some of the gratitude journal type things with moderate results. One thing I'm looking at now is I read somewhere the biggest difference between people who are averagely happy and top 10% is social skills and relationships. I think I got that from http://www.authentichappinessfacts.com/2016/02/happiness-fact-16-10-happiest-have-rich.html http://www.authentichappinessfacts.com/2016/02/happiness-fac... which is a kind of garbled summary of http://condor.depaul.edu/hstein/NAMGILES.pdf http://condor.depaul.edu/hstein/NAMGILES.pdf