Happiness: A Central Objective of Positive Psychology

In western history, the Greeks are said have views as the ability to exercise powers in pursuit of excellence in a life free from constraints (Nisbett, 2003, pp 2-3). In Eastern philosophy, is described as having the of a plain country life, shared with a harmonious social network (Nisbett, p 5-6). In Buddhist teaching, when people reach a state of nirvana, they have reached a peacefulness entailing Complete harmony, balance and equilibrium (Sangharakshita, 1991). Aristotle believed that euidamonia (human flourishing associated with living a life of virtue), or based on a lifelong pursuit of meaningful development goals, was the key the good life. America's founders reasoned that the pursuit of just as important as our inalienable rights of life and liberty. These age old definitions of have had clear influences on the views of 21st century researchers. As a scientific enterprise, positive psychology focuses on understanding and explaining happiness.Happiness is a positive or pleasant emotional state and it is subjectively defined by each person. Happiness refer both positive feelings such as joy or serenity and positive states such as those involving flow or absorption. Modem psychology has focused primarily on a post materialistic view of (Diener, et al. 2002) that emphasizes pleasure, and Ufe meaning. Seligman (2002) suggests that a pleasant and meaningful Ufe can be built on the that results from using our psychological strengths.Theories ofHappinessTheories of have been divided into three types:Need/Goal Satisfaction Theory: Psychoanalytic and humanistic theorists suggested that the reduction of tension or the of needs lead happiness. In short, it was theorized that we are happy because we have reached our goals. Such happiness as satisfaction makes a target of our psychological pursuits.Process/ Activity Theory: In the process / activity camp, theorists posit that engaging in particular life activities generates happiness. Theorists proposed that people who experience flow (engagement in interesting activities that match or challenge task-related skills) in daily life tend be very happy, other theorists (Emmons, 1986; Snyder, 1994) have emphasized how the process of pursuing goals generates energy and happiness.Genetic and Personality Predisposition Theory: Those who emphasize the genetic and personality predisposition theories of (Diener & Larsen 1984; Watson, 2000) tend see as stable. Lucas and Fujita (2000) showed that extroversion and neuroticism factors of personality were closely related the characteristics of happiness.Effects ofHappinessIt is interesting know how the influence some domains of life of a person. Three main effects have been pursued by various investigators.Creativity and ProductivityEvidence shows that positive emotions can facilitate creativity and problem solving, it is not surprising that also increases work productivity. Staw et al. (1994) in a study of over 200 workers found that over an 18 month period happier people obtained better evaluations and higher pay than their less happy counterparts.Longevity:Evidence from longitudinal studies shows that has important effects on longevity. In a follow-back study of 180 nuns in the USA, Danner et al. (2001) found that the expressed in essays that the nuns wrote as they entered the order was associated with their longevity. Ostir et al. (2000) in a longitudinal study of more than 2000 Mexican Americans over 65 years of age, found that after two years, positive emotions at the start of the study predicted who lived or died and who showed greater functional independence or disability. The researchers showed one happy participants were twice as likely service and remain functionally independent compared with their unhappy counterparts. …