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IIRC, these kinds of approaches are collectively termed "positive psychology": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_psychology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Po
by scythe 12y ago
IIRC, these kinds of approaches are collectively termed "positive psychology":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_psychology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_psychology
The theories in this field suggest that many disorders can be explained as the absence of certain knowledge and skillsets: in the case of autism, language skills and nonverbal social skills; in the case of depression, stress management and exercise habits, among others.
Another way to look at it is that there are actually several underlying causes of autism, not all of which must be present for symptoms to appear, and only in certain cases can it be reversed. It appears that a particular and persistent functional deficit in the children treated was that they did not understand how to get other people's attention: maybe various events or genetic factors in early childhood can inhibit the way this is normally learned, and maybe that learning process can be retriggered.
- gohrt 12y agoYour summary goes too far. Positive psychology doesn't "explain" disorders. Positive psychology focuses on improving the quality of mental/emotional life in a holistic, as a complement or alternative to trying to cure a specific phyisically-identifiable problem. For example: If you become quadripelegic (or whatever), positive psychology can help you orient your life and attitude to accomplish your life goals and find happiness within the particular constraints of your condition, instead of feeling depressed and miserable and angry about your situation.
- pekk 12y agoABA is in NO way part of positive psychology. It is an offshoot of Skinner's school of behaviorism.
- tedks 12y agoA positive psychologist might use behaviorist techniques, cognitive techniques, or even psychoanalytical techniques if they think it will contribute to their patient becoming less incongruent. Positive psychology is a preference of goal states; behaviorism is an early theoretical approach (the first scientific approach to psychology) to studying minds.