Positive Psychology Essay: Happiness Comes From Outside and Within

Introduction

Positive psychology is one of the new areas and is associated with Seligman who founded it in 2000. Seligman was concerned that the traditional view of psychology had emphasized the negative aspects of human life such as pain, trauma, mental illness, suffering, and abnormal psychology. He argued that psychology should also consider the positive aspects of human life such as flourishing, well-being, strengths, happiness, and exceptionalism. Despite being a new field, it has been a subject of interest to many scholars. Positive psychology has been defined differently by various scholars and institutions. Some scholars define it as the study of what makes people happy.

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Since the traditional psychology focused more on other issues in human life that has nothing to do with happiness such as mental illness, positive psychology is regarded as a departure of the focus on dysfunctional aspects of humans. The emphasis in positive psychology is on how ordinary people can become happier and derive a sense of fulfilment. One of the most accepted definitions of positive psychology was advanced by Peterson who asserted that positive psychology involves scientific studies of what makes people's way of life worth living. Peterson's further added that positive psychology from a broader perspective involves the study of human behavior, thoughts, and feelings. He pointed out that the focus of positive psychology is more about strengths rather than weakness. It is more to do with building a life worth living instead of mending the bad.

The field of positive psychology is broad. In this paper, I will focus on the science of happiness, and the factors that contribute to people's happiness. I think that it is true that traditional psychology focused a lot on the negative aspects of human life. Additionally, I also believe that positive psychology is a broad topic. Happiness may be defined easily but the factors that influenced it may be different among people. In this paper, I will focus on two approaches: hedonic and eudaimonic. Hedonic approach regards happiness as a product of one's personal experience. The eudaimonic approach is based on the view that an individual's happiness is a product factor outside the individual.

Part 1

The definition of happiness and well-being has been characterized by complexities and controversies. One of the major factors that have contributed to the controversies and complexities in the definitions is the number of fields involved. Whereas many fields have defined happiness and well-being, this section is going to be concerned with the field of psychology and economics. There is no clear definition of happiness and well-being since both are subject to the perceptions of the individual trying to define it.

In the psychological approach, Diener advanced the concept of 'subjective well-being.' According to him, subjective well-being describes the way people evaluate their lives concerning domain satisfaction, global judgment of life satisfaction, and emotional responses (Arcidiacono & Di Martino, 2016). Diener pointed out that the four domains can be analyzed differently, and also together. The concept of subjective well-being is concerned with is not only about internal factors that affect people's lives, but also external factors. The theory of happiness postulated by Saligman included engagement, positive emotion, and meaning. When the theory of well-being was added, two other domains added included achievements and relationships. Saligman's approach to positive psychology has been criticized. Those who criticize him argue that placing unnecessary responsibility on people so that they can determine their life with a narrow sense of society as a consequence. It has also been blamed for being the emblem of personified view of happiness.

Besides the psychological approach, there is also an economic perspective on happiness and well-being. Previous economist, Adam Smith, had associated happiness with three domains: prudence, justice, and beneficence (Arcidiacono & Di Martino, 2016). Some economists contend that happiness is not only concerned with individual pursuit but rather it is strongly influenced by the nature of the societies an individual lives in. While relating to the concepts of economics, some economists attempted to establish a link between concepts of utility and happiness, and the nature of impact macro elements such as inflation, unemployment, and income on individual satisfaction (Arcidiacono & Di Martino, 2016). Certain factors suggested by economists help promote a good life. The factors include personality and demographic factors, micro-and macroeconomic factors, and the institutional conditions in an economy and society.

The utilitarian approach to happiness suggests that the society should also promote the highest level of happiness to the greatest possible number of individuals. Deriving from the utilitarian standpoint, Layard postulated the Big 7 Model which depict seven main indicators to happiness that is evenly spread between both external and internal determinants such as financial situation, work, community and friends, personal values, family friendships, and family relationships (Arcidiacono & Di Martino, 2016). These definitions of happiness and well-being have taken different directions. However, no single definition is accurate since it is based on people's subjectivity.

Countries all over the world strive to survive by improving the economic situation of its citizens such as creating wealth, ensuring there is employment, houses, roads and so forth. Poor citizens are not happy, and they can easily drive out a government even if it is a dictatorial one. There have been investigations to establish the links between SWB and other factors in life such as money and income. Research has demonstrated that money and income have a positive impact on SWB especially if it means avoiding poverty (Diener $ Biswas-Diener, 2000). It has also been found that high levels of SWB may increase one's chances of earning a higher income. However, while income and money increase SWB, it plays a role if the motivation is to avoid poverty. According to Diener and Oishi (2000), the nation's priority to create wealth for its citizen suggest that there is a strong link between SWB and happiness.

Part 2

SWB has been defined as the way individuals experience and evaluate their lives as well as specific domains, and also activities in their lives (Stone & Mackie, 2013). Based on this definition subjective well-being (SWB) falls under the hedonic approach to happiness. Hedonic approaches are anchored on the premise that human happiness is about maximizing pleasure while minimizing pain (David, Boniwel, & Ayers, 2013). Many psychologists who are associated with this approach contend that wellness is based on the attainment of pleasure and avoidance of pain. The reason why it is called SWB is due to the subjective nature of the notions of pleasant emotions or even absence of pleasant emotions, and the idea that overall life is satisfying.

I differ with this perspective of where happiness is defined in the context of subjective appraisals of the life experiences that are taking place currently. The hedonic approach seems to assert that the definition stands no matter the circumstances. It does not consider the importance of identifying activities that are expected to contribute to wellbeing. In my view, the hedonic approach does not identify the universal factors that are expected to enhance or reduce happiness.

Researchers interested in SWB have been studying the consequences of well-being. Two of the theories that have been postulated include adaptation and discrepancy theories. The discrepancy theory asserts that happiness is inversely associated with perceived discrepancies between what an individual has and the standards, which include what individual desires or wants (desire discrepancy). Past comparison discrepancy is when a person compares with what he had in the past, and what those currently relevant other individuals have (social comparison discrepancy). Research in the measurements of the three types of comparison showed that there are substantial differences in not only happiness but also satisfaction measures (Brown, Kasser, Ryan, Linley, & Orzech, 2009). The hedonic concept of adaptation is a process where people revert to their baseline level of happiness when there is a change in circumstances in their lives. In the context of SWB, hedonic adaptation refers to a situation where people can adapt to almost every life event, and that their levels of happiness levels go up and down within a biologically determined set point which hardly changes (Lucas, 2007).

While feelings of pleasures are good, there are negative impacts. People who get used to pleasure only will tend to focus on those things that bring pleasure while avoiding those that lead to pain (Bishop, 2016). In the event of sudden, devastating expectations of factors that causes pleasure, the person is largely affected. Not all situations that arouse pleasure are good. Getting used to good feelings of emotion may force one to engage in dangerous activities such as drug abuse.

Part 3

Eudaimonic Approach to Happiness

Eudaimonia was a notion coined by Aristotle which meant well-being. Eudaimonia is derived from the Greek words eu to mean "the good life" and daimon to mean "spirit." The words describe the process of a life characterized by the realization of potentials, virtues, and contemplation. The eudemonic approach has been viewed as the opposite of the hedonic approach to happiness. Eudaimonism has been described as an ethical philosophy which emphasizes living in a manner that stresses human excellence. In the field of psychology, scholars who support this approach postulate that full functioning is an objective condition which incorporates living a life that is consistent with the individual's daimon, or true nature, and is experienced subjectively as individual expressiveness. Self-determination theory posits that happiness is associated with the fulfilment in the areas of competence and autonomy (Counselling Connection, 2018). Flow, according to Seligman, occurs when one encounters a challenge that tests their skills (Boniwell, 2018). That is a challenge that is at par with the skills needed to solve it. Psychological well-being in eudaimonic approach is achieved when one experiences a state of feeling integrated, feeling elevated, personal expressiveness, feeling accomplished, feeling engagement, and so forth (Huta, 2015).

The theory of eudaimonic approach to happiness is relevant in understanding human excellence. From my experience, I have encountered people who truly live a life that is consistent with their true nature. Personally, I also feel happy to live a life that is truly natural. That is a life which gives me a chance to experience life purpose, growth, and also challenges. I have encountered people who aspire to live a life where their happiness is associated with their fulfilment in the areas of competence and autonomy. Those people gain happiness through life purpose and higher level meaning. To them, happiness does not come as a result of pursuing pleasure but by the development of their individual strengths and virtues which are linked to the concepts of psychology.

Part 4

In his Authentic Happiness Theory, Seligman pointed out that individuals can feel happiness due to various types of experiences such as a pleasant life, engaged life, and meaningful life (Learning theories, 2018). He explained that the flow defines the engaged life. Pleasant life involves having feelings of positive emotions intuitively. Engaged life involves experiencing feelings of flow. The act of total losing of oneself in...