Author Question: What does positive psychology expert Michael Fordyce suggest we do to enhance our happiness and ... (Read 97 times)

bclement10

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 560
What does positive psychology expert Michael Fordyce suggest we do to enhance our happiness and well-being?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

According to Seligman, if we minimize negative affect does it necessarily follow that we will experience happiness and well-being?
 
  What will be an ideal response?



Natalie4ever

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 335
Answer to Question 1

Pioneer Michael Fordyce (1977, 1981, 1983), one of the first researchers to develop a program designed to increase personal happiness, attempted to answer this question. Based on his research, Fordyce (1983, p. 517) recommends practicing what he calls the 14 fundamentals of personal happiness: (a) spend more time socializing, (b) strengthen your closest relationships, (c) develop an outgoing, social personality, (d) be a better friend, (e) work on a healthy personality, (f) lower expectations and aspirations, (g) develop positive, optimistic thinking, (h) value happiness, (i) become more active, (j) become involved in meaningful work, (k) get better organized and plan things out, (l) develop your present orientation,' (m) reduce negative feelings, and (n) stop worrying.. In a series of studies, Fordyce (1977, 1983) found that compared to placebo controls, students who participated in his program showed greater elevations in happiness.

Answer to Question 2

As you know, subtracting negative affect at best brings us to a neutral state. We have to add positive affect and build on those good feelings if we want to achieve happiness and well-being. As Seligman (2011, p. 57) states, if we want to flourish and if we want to have well-being, we must indeed minimize our misery; but in addition, we must have positive emotion, meaning, accomplishment, and positive relationships.  He further notes that before the advent of positive psychology, as a psychotherapist he had success helping his patients get rid of many of their feelings of sadness, anxiety, and anger, but he did not necessarily get a happy patient. As he laments, I got an empty patient. That is because the skills of enjoying positive emotions, being engaged with people you care about, having meaning in life, achieving your work goals, and maintaining good relationships are entirely different from the skills of not being depressed, not being anxious, and not being angry (Seligman, 2011, p. 168).



Related Topics

Need homework help now?

Ask unlimited questions for free

Ask a Question


 

Did you know?

Fungal nail infections account for up to 30% of all skin infections. They affect 5% of the general population—mostly people over the age of 70.

Did you know?

Eating food that has been cooked with poppy seeds may cause you to fail a drug screening test, because the seeds contain enough opiate alkaloids to register as a positive.

Did you know?

Patients who have undergone chemotherapy for the treatment of cancer often complain of a lack of mental focus; memory loss; and a general diminution in abilities such as multitasking, attention span, and general mental agility.

Did you know?

When blood is exposed to air, it clots. Heparin allows the blood to come in direct contact with air without clotting.

Did you know?

Approximately one in three babies in the United States is now delivered by cesarean section. The number of cesarean sections in the United States has risen 46% since 1996.

For a complete list of videos, visit our video library