Positive Psychology Essay

By definition, psychology is simply the study of the brain, so naturally this broad concept opens the door to several different types of beliefs and theories. Over time, immense amounts of changes have occurred involving psychology as well as the varying techniques psychologists tend to use. What many consider to be one of the most significant changes in the history of psychology is the somewhat recent adoption of positive psychology. In “A Balanced Psychology and a Full Life” written by one of the founders of positive psychology, Martin E. P. Seligman, he tells of the time before World War II, when psychologists’ main goals were to “cure mental illness, … make relatively untroubled people happier, and… to study genius and high talent” (539).

The people who agree with this strategy tend to believe that the traditional psychology style often fails to acknowledge this, and therefore can neglect certain crucial needs that people may have. In another of Martin Seligman’s works called: “Positive Psychology, Positive Prevention, and Positive Therapy,” he states that “the aim of positive psychology is to catalyze a change in psychology from a preoccupation only with repairing the worst things in life to also building the best qualities in life” (3). This form of psychology points out people’s strong points and gives them a sense of purpose, rather than just altering what may be wrong with them. One point that Seligman brings up in “A Balanced Psychology and a Full Life” is that the seventy percent of Americans who do not experience any type of mental disorders in their lifetimes also need some form of psychological attention at some point, giving reason for this particular form of study. Seligman argues in this work that “the absence of maladies does not constitute happiness” (540), meaning that not only the people suffering from pain and hardships need assistance in finding joy. According to its supporters, positive psychology provides these types of necessary services to those who do not believe

The people on this side of the spectrum tend to see positive psychology as something that just takes away from the negative, but necessary feelings that all humans must go through at one time or another. Newsweek writer, Sharon Begley, expresses her disagreement with positive psychology in her essay: “Happiness: Enough Already.” Throughout her work, she argues that too much happiness cannot be a good thing, therefore it should not be something that psychologists force upon their patients. She believes that positive psychology tends to push excessive happiness on people, which, in the end, results in seemingly negative results. According to Begley, people with extremely high happiness levels are ultimately less successful because they have little to strive for (556). With this point, Begley is pointing out that some amounts of discontent can be helpful for a person because it acts as a reason to push for more. Another pair of university psychologists, John H. Harvey and Brian G. Pauwels, discuss their disagreement involving positive psychology in their work: “The Ironies of Positive Psychology.” Throughout the article the two emphasize the fact that positive psychology completely ignores the effects of certain pain and struggles that all humans go through as a part of life. According to Harvey and Pauwels, positive psychology does