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Positive Psychology

Positive psychology is an important field of study and this is illustrated in the articles reviewed below.

Robbins, B. D. (2008). “What is the good life?: Positive psychology and the renaissance of humanistic psychology,” The Humanistic Psychologist

In this article Robbins (2008) argues that positive and humanistic psychology overlap but only in thematic context and theoretical presuppositions as positive psychology distances itself explicitly as a newer field of study. Robbins (2008) show that positive psychology is an important area of study because it has continually shown potential for bringing conceptions of happiness in several dimensions of counseling. Robbins (2008) uses a comparative approach and provides a systematic review of literature in relating humanistic and positive psychology. Positive psychology especially stands out in its approach of affirming humanistic principles and placing emphasis on happiness and optimal experience.

This article is well written and offers reliable information on positive psychology. Considering that psychologists need to bring out the best in human beings, it is necessary to dig into humanistic principles. Robbins (2008) therefore shows the synthesis between humanistic psychology and positive psychology.

Sheldon, K. and King, L. (2001). “Why positive psychology is necessary,” American Psychologist

Sheldon and King (2001) discuss positive psychology by indicating that it is a show of appreciation to human nature. Positive psychology is defined as the study of ordinary human strengths and virtues. On the other hand, a biased negative psychology limits the psychologist’s understanding of the typical functioning and success of human nature. Sheldon and King (2001) show that positive psychology is an important aspect of human science in regards to bringing out the good in people and providing a better understanding of people to the psychologist. Through positive psychology the psychologists should allow themselves to see the positive and negative in people but should only focus on the positive in order to bring out the best in people.

The article is well written and itsprovision of practical examples has made it easier to comprehend as well as find the article interesting.

Schueller, S. (2009). “Promoting wellness: Integrating community and positive psychology,” Journal of Community Psychology

Schueller (2009) highlights the importance of positive psychology with a focus to community wellness. Positive psychology and community psychology both form important areas by which psychologies strive to bring out the wellness. However, Schueller (2009) argues that the subject of connecting positive psychology to community wellbeing has long been ignored. Schueller (2009) provides a synthesis of the themes and theories of community psychology and positive psychology and their role in promoting community wellness. The article shows that the study of positive psychology is important because positive psychology defines and enhances human wellness in both philosophy and psychology.

The article made an interesting read especially through showing that the individual human values of happiness can be translated into the entire community. This shows a further importance of studying positivepsychology.

Sin, N. & Lyubomirsky, S. (2009). “Enhancing well-being and alleviating depressive symptoms with positive psychology interventions: A practice-friendly meta-analysis,” Journal of Clinical Psychology in Session

Sin and Lyubomirsky (2009) article reports on the findings of a meta-analysis study whose purpose was to answer the research question as to whether positive psychology interventions enhance well being and alleviate depressive symptoms. The study involved the use of 51 positive psychology interventions on 4,226 subjects. The findings of the study showed that the psychological well being of the intervened individuals improved significantly while the depressive symptoms were significantly decreased. Sin and Lyubomirsky (2009) show that the individuals who were motivated and expected the intervention to make them happier actually benefited in contrast to their peers who were less motivated. The article therefore provides a background for clinical practice as psychologists try to establish the best methodologies in cultivating positive feelings, positive behaviors and positive cognitions. Studies should focus on several dimensions of human nature and create positive psychology interventions that can address these dimensions.

The article is reliable and present viable findings as a result of conducting primary research to investigate the effect of positive psychology in accentuating wellness in human beings.

Conclusion

Positive psychology is a newer area of psychology studies but considering that early studies have shown it to be an effective psychology intervention method, further research should be done for the purpose of creating the best psychological intervention for human psychological problems.

References

Robbins, B. D. (2008). “What is the good life?: Positive psychology and the renaissance of humanistic psychology,” The Humanistic Psychologist, 36: 96-112.

Schueller, S. (2009). “Promoting wellness: Integrating community and positive psychology,” Journal of Community Psychology, 37(7); 922-937

Sheldon, K. and King, L. (2001). “Why positive psychology is necessary,” American Psychologist, 56(3): 216-217

Sin, N. & Lyubomirsky, S. (2009). “Enhancing well-being and alleviating depressive symptoms with positive psychology interventions: A practice-friendly meta-analysis,” Journal of Clinical Psychology in Session, vol. 65(5): 467-487