Psychology 118
Exam 1 Study Guide

POWERPOINT SLIDES

What Is Positive Psychology?
What are the three pillars of positive psychology according to Seligman (2002)?
Positive Subjective Experiences
Happiness
Pleasure
Gratification
Fulfillment
Positive Individual Traits
Strengths of character
Talents
Interest
Values
Positive Instituations
Family
School
Business
Religion
Community
Sociey
2. The early Greek philosophers identified two components of happiness, hedonia and eudaimonia. Define each term.
Hedonia: motivated by the desire for pleasure and the avoidance of pain (i.e., the presence of positive affect and the absence of negative affect)
Eudiamonia:actualizing one’s human potentials (e.g., pursuing personal growth, development of their potential, achieving personal excellence, and contributing to the lives of others)
How did Diener conceptualize happiness or subjective well-being? the presence of positive affect, the absence of negative affect, and the assessment of life satisfaction: subjective well-being = life satisfaction + positive affect – negative affect
According to Seligman what are the three components of authentic happiness?
Pleasure
Engagement
Meaning

Happiness
1. What personality factors are most highly and consistently associated with subjective well- being or happiness?
High self-esteem—happy people like themselves
Sense of personal control—external vs. internal locus of control
Optimism
Extraverted
Have close relationships with family and friends
Find things in life that are challenging with a resulting engagement using the skills people possess
Religious/spiritual
2. How does Ben-Shahar (2007) conceptualize happiness? Describe Ben-Shahar’s (2007) four personality archetypes.
The overall experience of pleasure(present benefit) and meaning(future benefit)
Four personality archtypes
Rat Race(No present and All future)
Nihilism(No present and No Future)
Happiness(Present and Future)
Hedonism(All present and No Future)
3. What benefits do happier people have over people who are less happy according to Seligman (2002)? According to Lyubomirksy, King, and Diener (2005)? are more sociable. are more energetic. are more charitable. are more cooperative. are better liked by others. are more likely to get married and stay married. establish a richer network of friends and social support. show more flexibility and ingenuity in their thinking. are more productive in their jobs. are more effective leaders. earn more money. are more resilient in the face of hardship. have stronger immune systems.
4. Discuss the evidence for variability in happiness due to age Adolescent turmoil
Young adult future stress
Middle age empty nest
Old age loneliness gender/biological sex
Women more vulnerable to depression and anxiety
Men more vulnerable to alcoholism and antisocial personality disorder
Women report higher levels of sadness but also higher levels of joy
Gender accounts for 1% of the variability in SWB ethnicity African-Americans report nearly as much happiness as Caucasians but are also less vulnerable to depression
The most important factor seems to be self-esteem that is enhanced by valuing things that people excel in while attributing problems to external sources culture Varies with expectations
What is the relationship between happiness and monetary wealth?
Money can buy happiness to an extent. Once basic needs are met, annual income does not effect happiness levels notably.
According to Myers and Diener (1995), what are at least five characteristics of happy people?
High self-esteem—happy people like themselves
Sense of personal control—external vs. internal locus of control
Optimism
Extraverted
Have close relationships with family and friends
Find things in life that are challenging with a resulting engagement using the skills people possess
Religious/spiritual
7. Surveys of what college freshmen want in 1968,