Often called the study of happiness, positive psychology can more broadly be defined as the study of human potential. Traditional psychology focuses on individuals who lie below the norm—those who suffer from mental illness and distress—and offers solutions to get them back on track. While this function of psychology is critical to human health, it only tells half the story. Instead of just trying to get people back up to average, positive psychology asks: what lies above average?
To understand the full range of human experience and potential, we cannot study only what goes wrong; we must also study what goes right. Positive psychology research seeks to identify the conditions that lead to optimal functioning. What are the positive emotions, character traits, and skills that allow people to thrive? And how can we get more of them? The end goal is to learn things that can be taught to all. Instead of trying to maintain the status quo, we seek to bring the average up.
To understand the full range of human experience and potential, we cannot study only what goes wrong; we must also study what goes right. Positive psychology research seeks to identify the conditions that lead to optimal functioning. What are the positive emotions, character traits, and skills that allow people to thrive? And how can we get more of them? The end goal is to learn things that can be taught to all. Instead of trying to maintain the status quo, we seek to bring the average up.