Positive Psychology (College Board AP® Psychology): Study Guide

Positive psychology & subjective wellbeing

Positive psychology

• Positive psychology emerged in the late 1990s through the work of Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi

  • It developed as a response to psychology’s traditional focus on mental illness and dysfunction

• Positive psychology argues that equal attention should be given to understanding and promoting what makes life meaningful and fulfilling

• It aims to identify factors that contribute to:

  • wellbeing: overall life satisfaction and flourishing

  • resilience: the ability to adapt positively to adversity, trauma, or significant stress

  • positive emotions:such as joy, gratitude, and love

  • psychological health: positive functioning, not just the absence of disorder

Subjective wellbeing (SWB)

• A central concept in positive psychology is subjective wellbeing (SWB)

  • This refers to a person's own evaluation of how satisfied and happy they are with their life

• It is subjective because it is based on personal experience rather than objective measures

• SWB has three components:

  • Life satisfaction: a cognitive judgement about overall life quality

  • Positive affect: the frequency and intensity of positive emotions experienced

  • Negative affect: the relative absence of frequent or intense negative emotions

• High SWB is characterized by:

  • high life satisfaction

  • frequent positive emotions

  • low levels of negative emotions

Gratitude & subjective wellbeing

• Research consistently shows that gratitude enhances subjective wellbeing

  • Gratitude involves recognizing and appreciating positive aspects of life and the contributions of others

• Gratitude improves SWB through several mechanisms:

  • shifting attention away from negative experiences

  • strengthening social relationships

  • reducing hedonic adaptation (taking positives for granted over time)

• Effective gratitude practices include:

  • keeping a gratitude journal and regularly recording things one is grateful for

  • writing and delivering a gratitude letter to someone who has been important or helpful

  • noting three positive events for each day

• The gratitude-wellbeing relationship has been supported by experimental research:

  • Studies using random assignment to gratitude vs control conditions have found that gratitude practices increase happiness and life satisfaction

  • Experimental evidence supports a causal relationship between gratitude expression and increased SWB

Six virtue categories & signature strengths

Character strengths and virtues

• Peterson & Seligman developed the Values in Action (VIA) classification, which identifies character strengths

  • These are positive, morally valued traits that contribute to wellbeing

• These strengths are grouped into six universal virtue categories

  • Each representing a broad domain of human functioning

• Research shows that identifying and using signature strengths (those that feel most natural and energizing) is linked to higher happiness, greater engagement, and increased meaning in life

The six virtue categories

• These categories are proposed to be universal, appearing across cultures and historical traditions, although their expression may vary

Applying signature strengths

• Positive psychology emphasizes building on strengths rather than focusing only on weaknesses

• Using signature strengths in new ways is associated with:

  • increased happiness

  • reduced depressive symptoms

  • greater engagement and sense of purpose

• For example:

  • A person high in curiosity explores new topics or skills

  • A person high in kindness engages in helping or volunteering

Post-traumatic growth (PTG)

• Post-traumatic growth (PTG) refers to positive psychological change that arises from the struggle with highly challenging life events such as trauma, severe stress, or adversity

  • It does not mean trauma is beneficial, but highlights that some individuals develop in ways they would not have otherwise

• PTG is distinct from recovery:

  • recovery is returning to baseline after trauma

  • PTG involves growth beyond the pre-trauma level of functioning

Domains of post-traumatic growth

• Research identifies five key areas of growth:

  • Personal strength: a greater sense of one's own resilience and capacity

    • "If I survived that, I can handle this"

  • New possibilities: the opening up of new paths, interests, or roles in life that were not previously considered

  • Relating to others: deeper, more meaningful relationships

    • Increased empathy and appreciation for others

  • Appreciation of life: a greater sense of gratitude for life and for what one has

    • Heightened awareness of the value of everyday experience

  • Spiritual or existential change: deepened spiritual beliefs or a broader philosophical understanding of life's meaning

• PTG is not universal, and growth can occur alongside ongoing distress

• Its occurrence does not minimize the real suffering that trauma causes as:

  • many people experience lasting negative effects alongside any growth

  • the presence of PTG does not mean a person is fully healed or that their trauma was less serious

PTG & resilience

• PTG and resilience are related but distinct:

  • Resilience is the ability to bounce back to baseline functioning after adversity

  • PTG is developing beyond previous functioning

• PTG is more likely to occur when:

  • the trauma challenges core beliefs

  • the person has access to social support during recovery

  • the person engages in reflection and meaning-making about the experience

  • the person is open to experience and is emotionally expressive

Connection to positive psychology

• PTG is central to positive psychology as it:

  • highlights the human capacity for growth, meaning, and transformation following adversity

  • challenges a purely deficit-focused view of mental health

  • supports a strengths-based approach

  • aligns with the broaden-and-build theory, where positive emotions during recovery may support cognitive flexibility and growth