I’m teaching the positive psychology class again this semester. I love this class, because it’s all about what promotes happiness and well-being and how to find more well-being in one’s life. What more can you ask from a class?
Martin Seligman, the father of positive psychology, breaks well-being into five factors (2011):
- Positive emotion (Of which happiness and life satisfaction are all aspects)
- Engagement
- Relationships
- Meaning and purpose
- Accomplishment
This, not surprisingly, is known as the PERMA model.
To go through each letter:
- Positive emotion: Basic happiness, including hedonic happiness based on consumption of goods and experiences.
- Engagement, or connecting: With hobbies and activities, volunteerism, and work. The idea is to do, not just experience.
- Relationships: Good relationships. Not just romantic, but friendship; familial; connection with co-workers and the people around.
- Meaning: Feeling a purpose beyond oneself. This does not have to be religious in nature.
- Accomplishment: Completion of goals, development of expertise, recognition of work.
An instance can fulfill more than one of the PERMA aspects. For example, I do moulage — casualty simulation — making people look like disaster victims as a volunteer for the Emergency and Disaster Management program. Through both my absorption in applying the makeup and my involvement in a volunteer activity, I achieve engagement. Through my improvement in skills over the past several years, I achieve accomplishment. You could stretch this even further regarding my connection to the other staff members as relationships.
To achieve well-being (which is more than happiness or life satisfaction) one should be fulfilling all five.
This is one of the first things I will be teaching in class. I’m glad I got to teach you first.
Seligman, M. (2011). Excerpt from Flourish: Authentic Happiness. Available: https://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/learn/wellbeing [January 7, 2023]
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