Positive Psychology:

Transcription

1 Positive Psychology

2 Positive Psychology: Problem Free is Not Fully Prepared Huge difference between an adolescent who is not depressed or anxious and one who bounds out of bed in the morning with twinkling eyes.. Between an adolescent who says no to drugs and one who says yes to meaningful involvement in family, school and community.. Seligman, 2005

3 Parental Dreams Most parents, if asked what they desire most from their children will not answer falling short of DSM criteria - parents want their children to be safe, healthy, happy, moral and fully engaged in life (Seligman, 2005) bonim tovim u mehagonim

4 Weeding vs. Fertilizer A month of network and local TV news coverage of American youth recently analyzed.. Just 2% of adolescent were shown at home, only 1% in a work setting. In contrast the criminal justice system accounted for one of every five visual backdrops (Communitarian Network, 2000) Dmus dyookno- Yaakov perceived Yosef as somebody incapable of sinning when tempted by Potiphar s wife- this was the reflection he saw in the window

5 Positive Psychology in the Schools Seligman and Colleagues Oxford Review of Education 35:293

6 Core Priority of Parents Surveys of American parents over the past 30 years find that they view preparing children to become responsible citizens is the most important goal of education Cohen (2006) Harvard Educational Review (76:201)

7 Skills Taught by Positive Psychology Predict Success in Marriage and on the Job In business meetings a ratio of three to one of positive statements to negative statements differentiate flourishing corporate teams relative to stagnating teams (Fredrickson & Losada, (2005) American Psychologist 60:678) Marriages require at least a five to one ratio of positive to negative interactions (Gottman, Family Process, 38:143)

8 Social Emotional Skills are More Predictive of Academic and Financial Success than Academic Skills Self discipline is twice as good a predictor of high school grades as IQ (Duckworth, 2005, Psychological Science, 16:939) Happy adolescents go on to earn very substantially more money 15 years later than their less happy counterparts (Diener, (2002)Social Indicators Research, 59:229)

9 Grit Scale (Duckworth) requires self-rating on just 12 questions, from I finish whatever I begin to I often set a goal but later choose to pursue a different one. It takes about three minutes to complete, and it relies entirely on self-report yet when Duckworth took it out into the field, she found it was remarkably predictive of success. At Penn, high grit ratings allowed students with relatively low college-board scores to nonetheless achieve high G.P.A. s. What if the Secret to Success Is Failure? NYT 9/14/11

10 Who will Survive the Beast Barracks? Duckworth and her collaborators gave their grit test to more than 1,200 freshman cadets as they entered West Point and embarked on the grueling summer training course known as Beast Barracks. The military has developed its own complex evaluation, called the Whole Candidate Score, to judge incoming cadets and predict which of them will survive the demands of West Point; it includes academic grades, a gauge of physical fitness and a Leadership Potential Score. But at the end of Beast Barracks, the more accurate predictor of which cadets persisted and which ones dropped out turned out to be Duckworth s 12-item grit questionnaire. What if the Secret to Success Is Failure? NYT 9/14/11

11 I.Q. is the better predictor of scores on statewide achievement tests, but measures of self-control were more reliable indicators of report-card grades. What if the Secret to Success Is Failure? NYT 9/14/11

12 Penn Resilience Program: A School Based Program to Prevent Depression Over 17 studies documenting it s effectiveness in Reducing risk for depression Reducing risk for anxiety modulation Helping in reduction of behavioral difficulties See the optimistic child by Seligman for detailed description of program

13 Positive Psychology Program Targeting Adolescents (9 th grade) eighty minute sessions during 9 th grade including discussion, inclass activities, application of skills in real life, reflection in journals) Helps students identify signature strengths (e.g. kindness, courage, wisdom, perseverance) Systematically teaches students to use these strengths in their daily life

14 Outcome of School Based Positive Psychology Program Relative to Controls the Students Report Higher: Enjoyment and engagement in school More creativity Social skills such as empathy, assertiveness, self-control This is not at expense of traditional academic goals which are enhanced rather than hampered