1、2012/8/3 lesson 1Positive psychologyTeacher:TalIntroPos psy is popular and it really works(Self help movement lacks substence, over-promising and low-delivering)My aim is to create a bridge between the ivory tower and mainstreet(to bridge the gap)-science that works,theories that can be appliedRequi
2、rements:1.Anonymous emails2.Raise your hand if you had any problem3.Active note-taking(write down what you think is significant)We need “time-in”, that means to stop for a moment and look inward(quiet times), to embrace stillnessIts unecessary to fill in all the gaps(Indian appreciate absence of wor
3、ds)PP Background-from humanistic psychology (the third force)Three forces:1. behaviorism(Skinner)regard huaman as a box(H: we have soul and spirits)2. Psychoanalysis(Freud,Jung)(H:ask for more dignity and morality)3. humanistic psychology(a reaction to behaviorism,lacks specific theories)Abraham Mas
4、low:the first one claim that we should research on kindness and goodness and optimismKaren Horney:look at the fine qualities and cultivate themAeron Antonovsky: “Salutogenesis”(the origin of health)Next stage:Martin Seligman:the father of PP(2 aims),Ellen Langer,Philip Stone The story of a form(its
5、the shape of the container, or you interpretation of life that counts,its all about “transformation”)The story of Michelangelo:to chip away the excess stone, to get rid of barriers and limitationsTo make common sense more common, nothing new but “reminding”Self-actualization, fulfiling our potential
6、, chip away the limitationsWell bring up more question marksAt the end of this course just tell me the changes on you, what you are doing differentlyQ1:Am I happy?Happiness resides in a continuum(no definite definition of happiness or unhappiness), the question, however, is “How can I be happier?”20
7、12/8/4 lesson 2Words before the class:The class is for everyone, not just for people who are unhappyNot everything works for you,make a choiceYoull have to hand in the response paperLets welcome Deb Levy from extension schoolWhy do we focus on pos psy?People have been spending too much time on negat
8、ive studies(21:1), these are things what doesnt work.At the same time, more and more depression, neurosis and suicide happens. For example, 47% Havard students have experienced depression of not functioning during last year.3 reasons1.What works or what we focus on rather creates reality2.Being happ
9、y is not just the negation of unhappiness3.The most effective way of prevention is to focus on the positiveNow next one, how do we focus on what works?A research in 1980s:Why do some people succeed despite the unfavorable circumstances?Pos psy begin to study on these people.(resilience, an ability t
10、o adapt to the environment, was found in this way. And it works for everyone.)From the pathogenenic model to the salutogenenic modelA person constantly think about his weaknesses cant succeed. We have to ask ourselves: what am I good at? To draw attention to the positive things, we had to raise up s
11、uch questions from time to time. In a word: questions create reality.My role model:Marva CollinsHow can we keep students in school?(in Chicago)Call up self-confidence and self-esteem by repeating remindingSee the seed greatness in children2012/8/5 lesson 3Review the 3 reasons(supplement):2.If we tak
12、e away all the negative factors, will we be happy?Its like the relationship between food and your tase sense.People nowadays are in “comfortably numb”or “quiet desperation”.4. Our aim is to cultivate the capacity to resist the nagative effects or to strengthen our immune system.Premises(5)1.Bridge b
13、uilding Vs. Division and separationLets begin with bridge buildingHow is academia related to us?The story of young students: idealism is not enough(many people have no access to psychological theories, let alone apply them)Identical twins, even brought up in different circumstances, have the same ch
14、aracter and same degree of happiness. Genes do matter a lot, but in this case we also see that internal factors(psychological, or character) play an extremely important role in wellbeing. Charaters are basically determined by genes, but can be changed.We can not exclude the average or why most peopl
15、e fail, but lets also focus on those “best examples”.Human nature will be sold short when we only study the average(Abraham Maslow).The Cambridge-Somerville Youth Study Psychology”,started in 1930sChose 250 kids from an at-risk population, 5-year- intervention, got academic help from the best doctor
16、s and professors(best treatment,psychological)The control group, also 250 kids40 years follow-upThe results were shocking:Juvenile offensesno differenceAdult offencesno differencePhysical health and mental healthno differenceAlcoholism-significantJob status-significant(the white collar jobs)But thin
17、gs in control group were much better, that means intervention did more harm than good(wasnt practical).2012/8/6 lesson 4Last time weve talked about a famous research, and through this I want to tell you is that only passion is not enough, we need to be the realistic idealist, to research on what wor
18、ks.2.Change is possible Vs. Change is illusiveCan I make a difference?-Most people underestimate their ability to bring about change.“All history is a record of the power of minorties, and of minorities of one.”(by Emerson)All change begins in the mind of single person or a small group.And then it e
19、xpand.How does it expand?How change happens?-change happens exponentially(connections create a “butterfly effect”, just like smiles are contagious)3.Internal factors primarily determine happiness Vs. Happiness is primarily a function of external circumstancesMany scientists use “objective measures”,
20、 for example,scan our brain. Extreme circumstances make very little difference to our wellbeing(and cant last long, soon it will return to the base level).Once our basic needs are met, too much wealth cant make a difference.If we lower our expectations, well probably be happier. But its whether we h
21、ad right or wrong expectations that determines our wellbeing.We need to change our perception, our mental state, and our interpretation about the world.Internal factors do matter, and we need transformations.4.Human nature must be obeyed Vs. Human nature must be perfectedSo,can human nature(instinct
22、, desire,ect) be changed?2 opposite visionsActually our nature cannot be changed but rather be guided(in other words, its managable).The difference between the saddest and the happiest is their ability to recover.And our psychological immune system strengthens when we give ourselves the permission t
23、o be human.“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;the courage to the things I can change;and the wisdom to know the dfference.”This wisdom can be learned throughout the semester.Then,what it really means to give ourselves the permission to be a human?Now I want to do a grou
24、p meditation.Try to understand it, not only in cognitive level of the research but also to experience on the visceral emotional level. Try to remind yourself of it once or twice a day and allow others to do so-you deserve it.2012/8/7 lesson5and6an organization-Teach For AmericaJust apply, give yours
25、elf an opportunity, our school needs you.Ill introduce two friends, supporters of pos psy.And they will give a brief presentation about the Masters of Applied Positive Psychology at University of Pennsylvania(the only and the first).5. Happiness is and ought to be our ultimate endVS.Happiness should
26、 be a secondary pursuitWhy should we have happiness as our hightest end, as our chief concern?Positive emotions have an evolutionary reason,beyond just making us feeling good, its about building capacities(immune systems, ect).-by Barbara FredricksonWhen you are under negative influences, your consc
27、iousness narrows and constricts, entering a downward spiral, a vicious cycle.Postive emotions can bring us from the downward spiral to the upward spiral.Pursuing my happiness, isnt that selfish? But selfishness is not identical to immorality.1. happiness is a positive sum game(not zero or negative),
28、 for happiness is contagious, its like passing on light.2. people who experience a lot,all the ups and downs, but overall work on happiness and become happier and happier,have better relationships. More generous, more tolerant.(not people who are “always happy” )3. helping others is also helping our
29、selves(both happy)selfishness is part of our naturea story of Gandi- “Be the change you want to see in the world.”Most people do as what you do rather than what you say(also apply to leadership).The best way of spreading happiness is to work on your own happiness, then youre leading by example.Belie
30、fA story of Roger Bannister,a runnerNo runner can run 1 mile for under 4 minutes before.He used to be a doctor, but eventually succeed.It became known as the “dream mile”.In following years, this result has always been improving.-Beliefs do matter a lot.PygmalionThis theory is commonly used in the f
31、ield of education.It works-beliefs as self-fufiling prophecies.(lesson6)The situation is powerful,but can we also create a powerful, positive sitatution to bring out the best in people?The answer is yes.Priming can be done in the conscious or subconscious level, it means planting a belief or a word.
32、People who were primed with “old words”behave exactly like an old person, thats subconscious.The priming study is also related to iceberg principle, that when youre measuring a phenomenon, youre changing the phenomenon as well as changing yourself.So by researching the positive were also priming our
33、selves.Most of these theories come from the self help movement, our mind creates the world“Whatever your mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”.(the law of attraction)Such powering words appeal to many people.But is the meassge right?- It draws on a truth and blows it out of proportion(not
34、create, but”co-create”)Albert Bandura, reading task for this week.He thinks that people with strong beliefs produce their future rather than simply foretell it.And this ability can be learned, we can transform our “form”.In other words,“self concept is destiny”the famous Placebo effect-“With beliefs
35、 alone, they cured themselves.”()What mediate between beliefs, expectations and actual performance in the real world?-2 mechanism1. motivation2. the notion of consistency or congruenceWe all have a mental schema of the world(what the world should be),and this is inside.Things take place in the outsi
36、de world.The inside & The outsideMind likes consistency or congruence between the inside and the outside, if not, well experience a dissonance(not feeling good).-Either change the reality or change or mind.When there is a dissonance, the first thing we can do is to update the schema.The second, igno
37、re or discard the external information.The third,seek confirmation(these two backup the schema)The fourth, change the reality.Edisons story-I believe and Ill work even harder(most creative, also failed the most times)Learn to fail, or fail to learn.Setting goalsShort term goals are equally imporatnt
38、 to long term goals.Pessimists:short-realistic-long-realisticOptimists:short-unrealistic-long:realisticPes are too realistic that they have low levels of belief, they dont think theyll do well.Opt can learn from mistakes, until they bring the unrealistic reality to the realistic, to match their beli
39、efs, in long terms they succeed.Therere also detached(blind) optimists So how can we tell from the realistic and the unrealistic?Believe and at the same time realize the reality.Do high expectations lead to disappointment?William James:self-esteem=achievements/expectationsHigh expectations will hurt
40、 our self-esteem.Last time we talked about the ups and downs, and theres a base level.For one with higher expectations, his or her base level increases.2012/8/8 lesson7How can we raise that base level?coping(base level going up, not around a parellel line)how can we be an optimist?1. take action, to
41、 put ourselves on the line.Constantly prasing will hurt self-esteem, hurt the motivation of studentsWe should be more discerning with praise, and praise in right way.Not to dare is to lose oneself. Give ourselves an opportuinity to fail.2. imagination or visualization.When we see something, therere
42、certain neurons in our brain that are firing, they take the shape of it. Even if we close our eyes, we can still see it.When Im imaging success, Im in fact fooling my mind.-Subconscious mind doesnt know the difference between the real thing and the imaginary thing.If I imagine success, and the mind
43、doesnt like inconsistencies,it will bring up the external reality to match this internal schema(the imagination is not just about the result, but also the process). Best example-Martin Luther King3.congnitive therapy(most effective therapeutic intervention)Basic premise:thoughts drive emotionWe shou
44、ld firstly make a change in the level of congnition(restore rationality).3 “M”s(irrational thought, distort of the reality)Magnify(exaggerate what happens, over generalize)Minimize( “tunnel vision”-only care about the minority)Making up(personalize or blame,emotional reasoning)FocusChange our focus,
45、 change the questions,and change the reality.The benefit-finder focus on what works, looks on the bright side of life,finds the miracle in the common.Congnitive reconstruction is about learning to interpret things optimistically.Stuff happens, we can either let it pollute or make fertillizer out of
46、it.Much of what happens, we co-create with the reality.2012/8/9 lesson 8and9(leeson8)Last time I told my story in two perspectives: fault-finder and benefit-finderThe difference between them is that the benefit-finder understand that its possible to make the best of things that happen- give himself
47、the permission to fail,and things will turn out fine.Those who perceive benefits of the trauma were physically and psychologically healthier.The media does focus to the great extent on the negative. But the media doesnt just report reality as it is, it highlights certain aspects of reality(bias towa
48、rds the negative).Media creates cognitive distortions and actually make us become pessimists.We need to correct for that, and to counter.We need to realize theres always something real to appreciate.Single sentence of appreciation can give us strength to go on(it has to be genuine).Art is important
49、in changing our internal schema.“Fiction is more important than history.”-Aristotle(fiction depict life as it can or ought to be)If we dont highlight the good, the good will depreciate-this is what pos psy does.Its a good thing to adapt(when faced with the negative). But on the other side, when we adapt we take daily things (family, friends, etc.)for granted, then we cease to appreciate.We began to appreciate life when theres tragedy.Kids will visualize the words, so they find everything inte
