PSYCHOLOGY IN THE 21ST CENTURY:Sports Psychology, Positive Psychology

<< PSYCHOLOGY IN THE 21ST CENTURY:Consumer Psychology

History and Systems of Psychology PSY502

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

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

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

These are factors referring to how much attention does the player needs or what makes him motivated

towards certain achievements.

Anxiety and mood factors

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

Hope

Happiness or Subjective well being

Emotional Intelligence

Self Efficacy

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

History and Systems of Psychology PSY502

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.

100

Table of Contents: