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Types of Subjective Well-being in Positive Psychology

Defining well-being:

Subjective well being is defined as an individual's experience of affective reactions and cognitive judgments (Baltzell, 2013). Sometimes the term, happiness, is used interchangeably with subjective well-being (swb), but they mean different things.  If you have a high swb, then you would have good emotions, a low level of negative mood, and high life satisfaction (Csilszentmihalyi, 2014).

There are two parts to swb: affective and cognitive. The cognitive is how the person interprets his or her life situation. If a person has a high swb, they will experience joy more often than negative feelings. There will be times when they feel bad, but for the most part, they feel good. This is due to having more positive effect. These people will also be more satisfied with life.

In order to understand happiness, we need to understand it. Hedonic happiness is concerned with pleasure. Hedonic pleasure uses a number of chemical changes and physical manipulation to make someone feel happy. Hedonic pleasure is connected to instincts, genetics, and evolution (Csikszentmihalyi, 2014).  This was helpful to a person surviving and passing their genes on to the next generation. Therefore, human beings developed a reward system that made “happy” a reward for doing this action more often (Csikszentmihalyi, 2014). An example would be when someone loves to order items via the internet. This person may read reviews on social media and feel she had to have a certain item. She is at her best as she waits in anticipation for the item to arrive. She is full of hope and expectations of this item, but when the item arrives, the feeling starts to diminish. She then starts looking for something else that will give her pleasure.

Another example is sex. The orgasm is the genetically developed reward that human beings receive for engaging in the act of procreation. This was necessary at one time as a reward for all a human's hard work (White, 2013).

Social media and the internet:

Social media can increase happiness and nurture your social circle. But, depending on who you are, social media can potentially make you unhappy and more isolated. Fulvio Castellacc, the director at the Center for Technology in Oslo, wrote an article concern concerning how the internet affects well-being. The most influential impact of the internet on social media as likely through communication patterns. Communication mainly is done through cell phones, social media, instant messaging, etc. The researchers found that communication can be used to develop already existing relationships and to avoid feelings of loneliness (Castellacc & Tveito, 2018).

Other researchers believe the relationship between stress and social media is indirect. Social media increases a person's awareness of distressing events occurring in the world. The evening news presents 30 minutes of information but the internet provides so much more. The distressing events are talked about in great detail, explaining step-by-step what led to the various atrocities. This can make some people not want to leave the safety of their home (Amichai-Hamburger & Barak, 2018).

A case where social media can be dangerous is when people, especially adolescents, are victims of bullying, stalking, and the sharing of nude photographs. It's not the media at fault but they do act as an enabler. What an adolescent or adults, for that matter, are attacked online, they often develop low self-esteem depression and in some cases commit suicide.

The internet has developed new services that are used for social interaction that was not possible before, such as online dating. New technology can use location data to find others in the area. If used effectively, it could be positive for the development of social lives. But the internet can also be negative such as narcissism, super official relationships, and increased stress. The content of the communication between people in social media plays a major role in determining the effect on well-being. In other words, there are benefits and pitfalls to the internet. It really depends on each person's individual personal characteristics, in particular, age, culture, and beliefs (Castellacci & Tveito, 2018).

The PERMA model:

The perma model was developed by Seligmann to explain how people can work towards a life of forefillment, happiness, and meaning. It is based on five core elements : positive emotion, engagement, relationships, achievement, and meaning.  I will briefly describe these concepts then describe how to apply them to your life (Seligman, 1998).

Positive emotion:  feeling good, optimism, pleasure, and enjoyment

engagement:  fulfilling work, hobbies that you enjoy

relationships:  social connections, love, intimacy

 meaning:  having a purpose

accomplishments:  realistic goals, achievements, pride

Applying perma to your life:

Try to be optimistic as often as possible

find things to do that make you happy

focus on your family and friends and find ways to connect

look for meaning and purpose in things you do

enjoy your accomplishments and strive for future achievement

Well- Being and Eudaemonic Happiness:

Eudaemonic happiness is conductive to the reflective feelings regarding events and experiences. It is a more complete feeling of happiness, which is centered and absorbed in the frontal lobe. This means that the happy feelings are experienced by the conscious part of the brain (Judge, 2011).  An example is my trip to Huntington Beach California, where I have never felt so relaxed and at home. Years later, when I see a picture of Huntington Beach, once again I feel happy. Further, when I speak of my vacation, I feel pleasure just in talking about it. Therefore, the happiness experience in one situation will expand past the single experience and contribute to a general feeling of well-being (Csikszentmihalya. 2014).

Traditional Psychology:

1.  The first wave was the early years of psychology. At this time, psychology was focused on the cure and the treatment of the psychic illnesses. This is referred to as the disease model and was practiced by Sigmund Freud, Adler, and Jung (White, 2013).

Traditionally, psychologist  attempted to identify the problem, and then treat the problem.  There is discussion concerning unconscious processes, the past, and trauma. In this way, they're looking at what went wrong and how to go about repairing it.

    2.   The second wave came about in behaviorism. Leading this field was Skinner, Watson,                  and Pavlov. Skinner believed that behavior was the result of consequences from previous actions. During this period, operant conditioning was introduced, which was based on a reward system, where behavior is manipulated.  Additionally, skinner did not believe in free will, which goes against all of history (Judge, 2011).

3.       The third wave psychology is the humanistic approach. Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow stress that humans are unintentional. They believe that humans have goals and look to the future, that people seek meaning and value.

Maslow states that psychology has spent too much time focusing on the negative, the  illnesses, the sins, and shortcomings.  Instead, we need to focus on potentials, virtues, and aspirations. It is easy to see the significant foundation the humanist left for the positivist. But the humanistic approach was more qualitative wheras positive psychology is developing a more scientific approach to understanding human beings (Amichai-Hamburger & Barak).

The previous waves of psychology focused on what was wrong with people, how to overcome the flaws, avoiding pain, escape from unhappiness. Positive psychology is concerned with well-being common excitement, happiness, and the meaning of life (Baltzell, 2013).

Martin Seligman, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, shocked people when he argued for finding things that led to a happy life. Further, he believes we should not focus on where we went wrong because this is counterproductive. He explains that positive psychology does not seek to distract from predict traditional psychology but rather to expand on it (Seligman, 2000).

Conclusion:

Applied Positive Psychology is a science to develope tools and practices that will enhance human flourishing and well-being. Positive Psychology can be applied across a person’s lifespan, such as, health care, education, employment, and within the community. The goal is to enhance your well-being (Seligman, 1998). This has many possibilities for counseling, such as:

Teaching people how to focus on the brighter side of life.

Have people commit to improving their situation through various goals. This will give them a sense of a greater purpose.

Teach them how to deal with adversity

Teach them how to be productive

Focus on their strengths

Teach better communication skills

In the past, the focus was on talking about your troubles. When you focus on all the negative, it’s hard to find the sunshine. Wouldn’t it be nice for the future therapy that is all about your strengths? Life is GOOD!   

References

Amichai-Hamburger, Y., & Barak, A. (n.d.). Internet and well-being. Technology and Psychological Well-being, 34-76. doi:10.1017/cbo9780511635373.003

Baltzell, A. L. (2013). Sport coach happiness and well-being: A consideration of Seligman's Full Life and PERMA model of well-being. PsycEXTRA Dataset. doi:10.1037/e574802013-353

Castellacci, F., & Tveito, V. (2018, 02). Internet use and well-being: A survey and a theoretical framework. Research Policy, 47(1), 308-325. doi:10.1016/j.respol.2017.11.007

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2014). Flow with Soul. Flow and the Foundations of Positive Psychology, 265-278. doi:10.1007/978-94-017-9088-8_17

Judge, T. A., & Kammeyer-Mueller, J. D. (2011, 02). Happiness as a Societal Value. Academy of Management Perspectives, 25(1), 30-41. doi:10.5465/amp.2011.59198447

Seligman, M. E. (1998). Building human strength: Psychology's forgotten mission. PsycEXTRA Dataset. doi:10.1037/e529932010-003

Seligman, M. E., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2014). Positive Psychology: An Introduction. Flow and the Foundations of Positive Psychology, 279-298. doi:10.1007/978-94-017-9088-8_18

Seligman, M. E., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2014). Positive Psychology: An Introduction. Flow and the Foundations of Positive Psychology, 279-298. doi:10.1007/978-94-017-9088-8_18

White, M. D. (2013, 12). Can We—and Should We—Measure Well-Being? Review of Social Economy, 71(4), 526-533. doi:10.1080/00346764.2013.840432