Positive Psychology in the Schools

Positive Psychology in the Schools

Relevant Books Seligman (2009) Flourish Froh and Parks (2013) Activities for teaching and psychology: A guide for instructors O grady (2013) Positive psychology in elementary school classrooms Pelcovitz & Pelcovitz (2015) Life in the Balance: Torah perspectives on positive psychology

Why is it important that you achieve these outcomes? WHY POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY IN SCHOOLS MATTER?

Core Priority of Parents Surveys of American parents over the past 30 years find that they view preparing children to become responsible citizens as the most important goal of education When people in 50 countries were polled regarding the core values in their life caring not achievement topped the list Cohen (2006) Harvard Educational Review (76:201) Schwartz, S. (2001) Value hierarchies across cultures. Journal of Cross Cultural Psychology 32:268-290

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)

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)

Positive Psychology Programme Targeting Adolescents (9 th grade) 20-25 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

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

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

Why is it important that you achieve these outcomes? Example from Neurotheology

Insights from Neurotheology on The Role of Positive Versus Negative Focus in Religion Recent research on the role of the anterior cingulate in religious actions and beliefs (Center for Spirituality and the Mind, University of Pennsylvania) Contemplating a loving God rather than a punitive God reduces anxiety, depression and stress and increases feelings of security, compassion and love How God Changes Your Brain, Newberg, A. & Waldman, M. Ballantine, 2009

Anterior Cingulate Allows you to experience God as loving and compassionate. It decreases religious anxiety, guilt, fear and anger by suppressing activity in the amygdyla

What stories are you telling yourself about situation that are holding you back? What habits and ways of working would you need to change to make real progress? THE POWER OF ANTICIPATING OBSTACLES

Relative Pressures: The Reality of Valuing Character over Achievement Transmission of values imparted by two core invisible ingredients: 1. What do we get emotional about 2. What do we prioritize, talk about and devote time to?

MODELING Generosity in children: Immediate and long-term effects of modeling, preaching, and moral judgment. Rushton, J. Philippe Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol 31(3), Mar 1975, 459-466. doi: 10.1037/h0076466 140 elementary- and middle-schoolage children were given tokens for winning a game, which they could keep entirely or donate some to a child in poverty. They first watched a teacher figure play the game either selfishly or generously, and then preach to them the value of taking, giving or neither. Raising a Moral Child Adam Grant NYT 4/11/14

Actions Speak Louder Than Words The adult s influence was significant: Actions spoke louder than words. When the adult behaved selfishly, children followed suit. The words didn t make much difference children gave fewer tokens after observing the adult s selfish actions, regardless of whether the adult verbally advocated selfishness or generosity. When the adult acted generously, students gave the same amount whether generosity was preached or not When the adult preached selfishness, even after the adult acted generously, the students still gave 49 percent more than the norm. Children learn generosity not by listening to what their role models say, but by observing what they do. Raising a Moral Child Adam Grant NYT 4/11/14

Action over Preaching The most generous children were those who watched the teacher give but not say anything. Two months later, these children were 31 percent more generous than those who observed the same behavior but also heard it preached. The message from this research is loud and clear: If you don t model generosity, preaching it may not help in the short run, and in the long run, preaching is less effective than giving while saying nothing at all. Raising a Moral Child Adam Grant NYT 4/11/14

Psychologist, Karl Weick How can I know who I am until I see what I do? How can I know what I value until I see where I walk? Raising a Moral Child Adam Grant NYT 4/11/14

Example of Unconscious Sabotage Our outcome research on a manualized treatment for abused adolescents- Of 30 sites the only one where mindfulness interventions weren t effective was the site where the group leaders preached mindfulness but personally didn t believe in its value

The Old Grandfather And The Grandson (Tolstoy) The grandfather had become very old. His legs wouldn t go, his eyes didn t see, his ears.didn t hear,he had no teeth. And when he ate, the food dripped from his mouth. The son and daughter-in-law stopped setting a place for him at the table and gave him supper in back of the stove. Once they brought dinner down to him in a cup. The old man wanted to move the cup and dropped and broke it. The daughter-in-law began to grumble at the old man for spoiling everything in the house and breaking the cups and said that she would now give him dinner in a dishpan.

The Old Grandfather And The Grandson (Continued) The old man only sighed and said nothing. Once the husband and wife were staying at home and watching their small son playing on the floor with some wooden planks; he was building something. The father asked: What is that you are doing, Misha? And Misha said: Dear father, I am making a dishpan, so that when you and dear mother become old, you may be fed from this dishpan. The husband and wife looked at one another and began to weep. They became ashamed of so offending the old man, and from then on seated him at the table and waited on him.

What stories are you telling yourself about situation that are holding you back? What habits and ways of working would you need to change to make real progress? Insights from Neuroethics

Ethical Fading Disconnect between what parents say they want and what they really want- moral knowledge versus moral action

Before: The Inner Deliberate Voice When the prefontal cortex is in charge our thinking tends to be: Slower Conscious Effortful Explicit More logical Anytime we weigh the costs and benefits of alternative courses of action in a systematic and organized manner we are engaged in this type of thinking

In the heat of the moment we are dominated by a far more emotional and rapidly moving set of unconscious processes that is typically driven by what comes easiest in meeting our personal agendas. While this system is silent when we are formulating our rational approaches to logical situations it takes over when we are in the heat of the actual decision making process. Moral Reasoning During is Very Different than Before and After

Emotional Processing During Morally Challenging Events During morally challenging events we tend to: See the trees rather than the forest Details rather than abstract principals Make quick decisions based on immediate feelings rather than calculated thought This visceral response system tends to promote ethical fading

What habits and ways of working would you need to change to make real progress? Lessons on Anticipating Obstacles from Research on Grit

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

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

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

Anticipating Obstacles: Grit can be nurtured by systematically focusing on one s goals and dreams while at the same time preparing for the inevitable difficulties and frustrations that one is likely to encounter along the way. Dr. Duckworth and her colleagues describe an approach used to help high school students work more persistently to prepare for a college entrance examination. Duckworth, A., Grant, H., Oettingen, G. & Gollwitzer, P. (2011) Self-regulation strategies improve self-discipline in adolescents: Benefits of mental contrasting and implementation intentions. Educational Psychology: An International Journal of Experimental Educational Psychology, 31, 17-26.

Promoting Persistence by Planning for Pitfalls (continued) She asked the students to mentally visualize their hopes and desires for the future while contrasting this image with potential roadblocks they might encounter on that path. Before studying for the test the students were asked to write about their goal of getting high grades on the exam as well as two obstacles that could get in the way of realizing that goal. Students were then asked to develop a plan for dealing with each of the imagined difficulties that were encountered. Relative to a comparison group, that did not complete this exercise, the students who visualized their goals and approaches to dealing with potential difficulties showed higher levels of persistence in studying for the exam.

The Role of Habit in Sustained Change Research on three groups thinking about change- most sustained change in group that ritualizes change by making it into habit Examples from positive psychology Count your blessings Rituals for being versus doing

Service Learning as Example The Habit of Commitment to Chesed Integrated with a Structure that Builds in Personal Meaning

Essential Elements: National Service Learning Cooperative Student reflection on service learning activities Involvement of students in planning and implementation http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/service_l earning/front_service.htm

Cluster I: Learning and Clarity Regarding Goals Service-learning activities establish clear educational goals that require the application of concepts, content and skills from the academic disciplines, and the construction of one's own knowledge. Students engage in tasks that challenge them cognitively and developmentally. Assessment is used to enhance student learning and to document and evaluate how well students have met content and skills standards. http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/service_l earning/front_service.htm

Cluster II: Service Student engage in service tasks that have meet genuine needs in the school or community and have significant consequences for themselves and others. Service-learning activities employ formative evaluation of the service effort and its outcomes. http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/service_l earning/front_service.htm

Cluster III: Voice and other Critical Components that Support Learning and Service Service-learning activities maximize student participation in selecting, designing, implementing, and evaluating the service project. Service-learning activities value diversity in participants, practice, and outcomes. Service-learning activities promote communication and interaction with the community and encourage partnerships and collaboration. http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/service_l earning/front_service.htm

Reflection and Recognition Students prepare for all aspects of their service work, including a clear understanding of the task, the skills and information required to complete the task, awareness of safety precautions, and knowledge about and sensitivity to colleagues. Student reflection takes place before, during, and after service; uses multiple methods to encourage critical thinking; and is central in the design and fulfillment of curricular objectives. Multiple methods are designed to acknowledge, celebrate, and validate student service work. http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/service_l earning/front_service.htm

Benefits Documented in Research Improved academic achievement More engaged and motivated in other areas of academics Improved school attendance Improved self-esteem, feelings of self efficacy More clarity on career goals fueled by greater awareness of strengths and weakness Higher overall empathy More likely to volunteer in future

What would have to happen for you to feel happy with your progress? Research on Measuring Change

Stages of Change What are some motivators for going from precontemplation to contemplation?

Antidote to Secrecy: Clarity of Expectations and Goals Unclear standards undermine selfregulation When multiple distinct goals are in conflict people tend to ruminate and not advance towards any goal Self-awareness crucial for effective monitoring- anything that clouds self awareness like alcohol or emotional distress will impede self-control Emmons & King (1988) Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54:1040-1048

Power of Specific Goal Setting Implementation intentions: Whenever situation x arises, I will initiate the goal-directed response y! Being induced to think about when and where to write an essay as opposed to simply being asked to write an essay dramatically increased compliance (from 33% to 75%) Gollwitzer Implementation Intentions Strong Effects of Simple Plans American Psychologist 1999 Vol. 54, No. 7, 493-503

How Goals are Framed Matter Better performances are observed when people Set themselves challenging, specific goals as compared With challenging but vague goals Goal-proximity effect (proximal goals lead to better performances than distal goals Goal attainment is also more likely when people frame their good intentions as learning goals (to learn how to perform a given task) rather than performance Goals (to find out through task performance how capable one is Focus on the presence or absence of positive outcomes rather than focusing on the presence or absence of negative outcomes

Monitoring It is exceedingly difficult to control behavior that is not carefully monitored Breakdowns in self regulation are often associated with ceasing to monitor one s own behavior This can be done with regular chart keeping, cheshbon hanefesh activities or asking others to actively remind you of your goals

The Power of Monitoring In some research studies recording and graphing a behavior- with no other intervention leads to control of that behavior Power of pedometer on smartphone or wrist

Threat vs. Challenge When a task is viewed as one that can be a threat to one s self image or very essence the result is often not productive. In contrast, viewing a task as one to be taken on, deemphasizing objective evaluation and encouraging people to do their best can result in challenge-related appraisals and physiology. Thus perceiving an issue as a challenge rather than a threat results in: Greater persistence More productive thoughts and problem-solving strategies More efficient physiological responses Tomaka, J. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1997, Vol. 73,63-72, Cognitive and Physiological Antecedents of Threat and Challenge Appraisal

Gratitude Intervention

Gratitude Exercise: Grateful Processing of Unpleasant Memories Now I would like you to bring to mind an open memory. An open memory is a troubling memory from your past that you feel is not yet behind you and is poorly understood. It is an emotional memory that may intrude into your consciousness at unwelcome times, and you feel you have some unfinished business associated with this memory. In other words, in many ways this emotional memory is an still an open book for you*. Write several sentences about the event you recalled. *This memory should not be too traumatic, but can include episodes of romantic rejections, disappointing academic performance, or incidents of regret Watkins, P. (2008) Taking care of business. Grateful processsing of unpleasant memories. J. Positive Psychology 3: 87-99

Pre-intervention: On a seven point scale (from very open to closed book) how open/closed would say the memory you recalled is? Post: How does recalling the memory effect you now?

Please recall your memory again. For the next 20 minutes I would like you to write* about your open memory. Think again about this experience for a few moments. At first it may seem that the memory you wrote down might not have any positive effects on your life. However, sometimes even when bad things happen they ultimately have positive consequences, things we can now be grateful for. Try to focus on the positive aspects or consequences of this difficult experience. *As you write, do not worry about punctuation or grammar, just really let go and write as much as you can about the positive aspects of your experience that you feel you now can be grateful for

1. As the result of this event, what kinds of things do you now feel thankful or grateful for? 2. How has this event benefited you as a person? 3. How have you grown? 4. Were there personal strengths that grew out of your experience? 5. How has the event made you better able to meet the challenges of the future? 6. How has the event put your life into perspective? 7. How has this event helped you appreciate the truly important people and things in your life? 8. In sum, how can you be thankful for the beneficial consequences that have resulted from this event?

Grateful reappraisal of unpleasant open memories results in: More closure Decreased unpleasant emotional imact Decreased intrusiveness of these memories

Closing Thoughts on Gratitude Chai Lifeline parent regarding miracle of child going on bus last month

The Poor Man Has Only Himself Maharal Gevuras Hashem 51 כי המצה נקרא לחם עוני הפך מצה עשירה, שכאשר יש בה שמן ודבש נקראת עשירה כי הדבר הזה מעשיר הלחם, וזה כי העני שאין לו אלא עצמו ואין לו ממון רק עצמו וגופו, והמצה גם כן כאשר אין בה רק עצם העיסה שעצמות העיסה הוא המים והקמח וזהו עצמות עיסה ובזה הוי לחם,עוני

A Slave to Our Posessions קשיא כי העניות בעצמו הוראה על הגאולה שאין ענין הגאולה רק שיוצא ואין לו שום צירוף אל זולתו, לא כמו העבד שאינו עומד בעצמו ויש לו צירוף אל זולתו הוא האדון, לכך הדבר שיש בו עשירות אינו עומד בעצמו רק יש לו צירוף אל קנינו ואין בזה גאולה, אבל הדבר שיש בו עניות,ואין לו קנין רק עומד בעצמו שייך בו גאולה

Finding Light in the Darkness Rabbi Yissachar-Bernard Davids, Chief Rabbi of Rotterdam Holland composed the following prayer in Bergen-Belsen. He told his fellow prisoners to eat chametz due to the Jewish principle of pikuach nefesh at the hidden seder in the camp he recited the regular blessing on matza but added the following prayer: Rabbi Kenneth Brander, YU Pesach to Go, Introduction, 5774

לפני אכילת חמץ יאמר בכוונת הלב אבינו שבשמים, הנה גלוי וידוע לפניך שרצוננו לעשות רצונך ולחוג את חג הפסח באכילת מצה ובשמירת איסור חמץ. אך על זאת דאבה לבנו שהשעבוד מעכב אותנו ואנחנו נמצאים בסכנת נפשות. הננו מוכנים ומזומנים לקים מצוותך וחי בהם וליזהר מאזהרתך הישמר לך ושמור נפשך מאוד. על כן תפלתנו לך שתחיינו ותקימנו ותגאלנו במהרה לשמור חוקך ולעשות רצונך ולעבדך בלבב שלם אמן

Heavenly father, it is apparent to You that our will is to do Your will and celebrate Passover by eating matzah and refraining from chametz. But on this our hearts are distressed because the oppression prevents us from fulfilling these commandments and find our lives in danger. We ar ready and willing to fulfill Your mandate that we live by the commandments and not die by them. And we are observing Your warning Protect yourself and sustain your soul greatly. We therefore beseech You to keep us alive, sustain us, and redeem us speedily, so that we may observe your statutes, carry out your will and serve You wholeheartedly. Amen translation by Rabbi Brander, YU Pesach to Go, 5774

EDUCATING CHARACTER IN SCHOOLS (Parker Palmer) A school s climate of values, not its specific programs alters character faculty which understands and empathizes with students, - including interactions characterized by fairness, patience and lack of put-downs and sarcasm A school s interpersonal ethos is not a frill- schools which place emphasis on developing character graduate more productive adults than intellectually comparable schools Provide students with opportunities to be responsible for the care and growth of others : either younger students, chesed projects, or other forms of community servicemore powerful if integrated with academic curriculum Character development as process- not event