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History
and Systems of Psychology
PSY502
VU
Lesson
45
PSYCHOLOGY
IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Let
us now have a glance at two
other recently developed areas of
psychology:
·
Sports
Psychology
·
Positive
Psychology
Sports
Psychology
Sports
psychology is the application of
psychological principles to sports and
exercises. It emerged as a
separate
applied science in third and
fourth decade of the 20th century. It looks at such factors
as:
Motivation
in sports
o
It
refers to the motivation level of the player. In
other words, how much
motivated the player is
about
the
task he is performing.
Personality
factors
o
Personality
factors are the factors
which are a part of the personality of an
individual and have
an
impact
on the performance of the
sportsman.
Attention
and arousal factors
o
These
are factors referring to how
much attention does the
player needs or what makes
him motivated
towards
certain achievements.
Anxiety
and mood factors
o
Anxiety
and mood factors also
influence performance in sports and
are studied under
sports
psychology.
Since
sports has become a billion
dollar business world wide
and a lot of interest of
psychologists has
been
aroused
in sports psychology.
Positive
Psychology
Another
area that has been developed
recently is the area of positive
psychology. The aim of
positive
psychology
is to use psychological methodology to
discover and use factors
that individuals, groups
and
organizations
use to thrive. Positive psychology looks
at such variables as:
Optimism
o
Hope
o
Happiness
or Subjective well being
o
Emotional
Intelligence
o
Self
Efficacy
o
In
other words, positive
psychology is the scientific study of
human happiness. The history
of psychology as
a
science shows that the field
has been primarily dedicated
to addressing mental illness rather
than mental
wellness.
Its research programs and
application models have
dealt mainly with how people
are wrong rather
than
how they are right. The
need to correct this bias
was anticipated in psychological writings
as early as
those
of the American psychologist and
philosopher William James.
Several humanistic
psychologists--
such
as Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers,
and Erich Fromm--developed
successful theories and
practices
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History
and Systems of Psychology
PSY502
VU
that
involved human happiness
despite there being a lack of solid
empirical evidence behind their
work.
However,
it is the pioneering research of Martin
Seligman, Ed Diener, Mihaly
Csikszentmihalyi, Christopher
Peterson,
Don Clifton, and many
others that promise to put
the study of human happiness
onto a firm
scientific
foundation and add some
positivity to the predominantly negative
discipline of psychology.
Positive
psychology can be delineating into
three overlapping areas of
research:
i.
Research into the Pleasant
Life or the
"life of enjoyment" examines
how people optimally
experience,
forecast,
and saver the positive
feelings and emotions that
are part of normal and healthy
living (e.g.
relationships,
hobbies, interests, entertainment,
etc.).
ii.
The study of the Good
Life or the
"life of engagement" investigates the
beneficial affects of immersion,
absorption,
and flow that individuals
feel when optimally engaged with
their primary activities. These
states
are
experienced when there is a positive
match between a person's
strength and the task they
are doing, i.e.
when
they feel confident that they can
accomplish the tasks they are
facing.
iii.
Inquiry into the Meaningful
Life or
"life of affiliation" questions
how individuals derive a positive
sense
of
well-being, belonging, meaning, and
purpose from being part of
and contributing back to
something
larger
and more permanent than
themselves (e.g. nature,
social groups, organizations,
movements,
traditions,
belief systems).
The
development of the Character Strengths
and Virtues (CSV) handbook
represents the first attempt on
the
part of the research community to
identify and classify the
positive psychological traits of human
beings.
Much
like the Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders
(DSM) of general psychology, the
CSV
provides
a theoretical framework to assist in developing
practical applications for positive
psychology.
Practical
applications of positive psychology include
helping individuals and
organizations in correctly
identifying
their strengths and use them
to increase and sustain
their respective levels of
happiness.
Therapists,
counselors, coaches, and
various other psychological
professional can use the new
methods and
techniques
to build and broaden the lives of
individuals who are not
necessarily suffering from
mental
illness
or disorder.
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