Chapter 4 Positive Psychology
Education psychology kinda encourages us to 'verbalise' what we learn so... here goes :D
Research shows that 40% - 50% of an individuals' happiness is determined by genetics...
That is almost everyone is born with a certain capicity for happiness, except perhaps the unfortunate few who are on the negative side of the scale... though psychology has already progressed quite far in helping those on the negative end of the scale, so we're seeking to help the rest of the population. (aren't we nice? seriously I think we're just tryin to make ourselves happier people lol)
so simply put I am born with a potential to be happy... say 80 on a scale of 1 - 100 ( 1 being apathetic, 100 being I've taken drugs "I'm the king of the world! Woo Hooo!")
however due to circumstances I'm only performing at 60, so positive psych wants me to achieve my fullest potential and more, hopefully to extend happiness beyond 80
other interesting tidbits, I find much of positive psychology discussing how people should 'conform' or go with socieities' norms, the question here is what if an individuals' genetic predisposition does not allow him/her to fit into society?
do we change the person? or the environment? (Singapore vs Australia vs Amsterdam)
Approach Goals i.e. I'm gonna pass my exams with flying colours, use energy derived from such aims to motivate myself...
Avoidance Goals i.e. I gonna fail my exams badly, use fear to drive myself towards studying
Research shows that people in individualistic and colletivist cultures react differently to such goals, in fact often utilise different methods
(on a side note I thought individualistic culture vs collectivist cultures is an idea that's pretty old school)
I wonder if it's possible to actually adopt both approaches? I mean I'm afraid to fail my exams, and I've been doing decently well in school so I expect myself to perform decently if not well. So it's very difficult to verify the research, since people often posses both approach and avoidance goals at the same time?
I kinda agree that extroverted people are more likely to be happy than introverted people, since both culture these days support the extroverted individual, vs someone who requires plenty of personal time
oh and
SMILE
happy people smile more often, and somehow smiling makes u feel better
ps: I've decided after long consternation this blog is private, ie it's seriously only for me, and well as much as ur thoughts matter. I'm not tailoring my blog for external viewing (although this note begs to differ)
blogs - public or private?
Research shows that 40% - 50% of an individuals' happiness is determined by genetics...
That is almost everyone is born with a certain capicity for happiness, except perhaps the unfortunate few who are on the negative side of the scale... though psychology has already progressed quite far in helping those on the negative end of the scale, so we're seeking to help the rest of the population. (aren't we nice? seriously I think we're just tryin to make ourselves happier people lol)
so simply put I am born with a potential to be happy... say 80 on a scale of 1 - 100 ( 1 being apathetic, 100 being I've taken drugs "I'm the king of the world! Woo Hooo!")
however due to circumstances I'm only performing at 60, so positive psych wants me to achieve my fullest potential and more, hopefully to extend happiness beyond 80
other interesting tidbits, I find much of positive psychology discussing how people should 'conform' or go with socieities' norms, the question here is what if an individuals' genetic predisposition does not allow him/her to fit into society?
do we change the person? or the environment? (Singapore vs Australia vs Amsterdam)
Approach Goals i.e. I'm gonna pass my exams with flying colours, use energy derived from such aims to motivate myself...
Avoidance Goals i.e. I gonna fail my exams badly, use fear to drive myself towards studying
Research shows that people in individualistic and colletivist cultures react differently to such goals, in fact often utilise different methods
(on a side note I thought individualistic culture vs collectivist cultures is an idea that's pretty old school)
I wonder if it's possible to actually adopt both approaches? I mean I'm afraid to fail my exams, and I've been doing decently well in school so I expect myself to perform decently if not well. So it's very difficult to verify the research, since people often posses both approach and avoidance goals at the same time?
I kinda agree that extroverted people are more likely to be happy than introverted people, since both culture these days support the extroverted individual, vs someone who requires plenty of personal time
oh and
SMILE
happy people smile more often, and somehow smiling makes u feel better
ps: I've decided after long consternation this blog is private, ie it's seriously only for me, and well as much as ur thoughts matter. I'm not tailoring my blog for external viewing (although this note begs to differ)
blogs - public or private?