In this essay I will define and discuss the concepts of ‘positive psychology’, of ‘happiness’, which is synonymous with subjective well-being (SWB); of ‘the architecture of sustainable happiness’; and the biopsychosocial model. I aim to demonstrate that SWB is a multifaceted and can only be understood by investigating biological, psychological and social factors and their interdependence to construct a holistic model. I will provide examples of these different factors and their interdependence and explain why the biopsychosocial paradigm is the best for understanding happiness and conclude that SWB is indeed a ‘biopsychosocial phenomenon’.
The concept of positive psychology is fairly new having only being defined in 2000 as:
“[the] scientific study of optimal human functioning [that] aims to discover and promote the factors that allow individuals and communities to thrive.” (Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi, quoted in Boniwell and Rostron, 2010, p.119)
Essentially, it is the scientific study of happiness, or SWB.
SWB is a state in which a person will “feel many pleasant and few unpleasant emotions, when they are engaged in interesting activities, when they experience many pleasures and few pains, and when they are satisfied with their lives” (Diener, in Toates, 2010, p.8). This is personal and subjective and quantifying it is usually based on personal reports.
SWB can also be defined as “life satisfaction + affect” (Boniwell and Rostron, 2010, p.123). Life satisfaction is a person’s assessment of their own life (cognitive process); affect is a person’s mood (emotional process).
The biopsychosocial model assumes that biological, psychological and social factors all play a role in mental health and that they are interdependent, m...
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...and Well-being [online]. Available at https://learn2.open.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/976358/mod_resource/content/4/assets/animation/b2act21.html?content=b2act21.xml (accessed 15th January 2014).
Toates, F. (2010) ‘Bodies, brains, behaviour and minds’ in SDK228 The science of the mind: investigating mental health, Unit 1, ‘Core Concepts in Mental Health’, Milton Keynes, The Open University, pp. 1-27.
Toates, F. (2010) ‘Factors that contribute to mental well-being’ in SDK228 The science of the mind: investigating mental health, Unit 1, ‘Core Concepts in Mental Health’, Milton Keynes, The Open University, pp. 63-90.
Urry, L., Nitschke, J.B., Dolski, I., Jackson, D.C., Dalton, K.M., Mueller, C.J., Rosenkranz, M.A., Ryff, C.D., Singer, B.H., Davidson, R.J. (2004) ‘Making a life worth living: neural correlates of well-being’, Psychological Science, vol. 5, no. 6, pp. 367-372.
Psychology comprises of two words originally used by the ‘Greeks’, ‘psyche’, defining the mind, soul or spirit and lastly ‘logos’ being study. Both words define together the ‘study of the mind’. Psychology perspectives evaluate the normal and abnormal behaviour and how persons’ deal with different concepts of issues and problems. Psychology theories’ are based on ‘common sense’, but its scientific structure, everything needs to be evaluated and tested, therefore, promoting different psychological theories’.
In Martin Seligman and other’s article “A Balanced Psychology and a Full Life,” he states that the definition of happiness, “Is a condition over and above the absence of unhappiness” (Seligman et al 1379).
It is generally accepted within healthcare that to understand mental health we must adopt the biopsychosocial model. This model assumes that an interdependent relationship exists between biological, psychological and social factors which are involved in all aspects of mental health (Toates, 2010, p. 14). To be true to the model research must be holistic and not investigate the factors in isolation.
Wellbeing was first discussed as authentic happiness by Seligman. In the concept of authentic happiness he discussed the components of positive emotions, meaning in life and engagement. He had described these components to be very much essential in bringing in authentic happiness which he called as wellbeing. It takes the shape of subjective wellbeing, when it becomes subjective to a person’s experience alone. The concrete aspects of health and wealth may stay away from this, when a person’s subjectivity is concerned (Kammann, 1983). Over the years as we see in other studies, this concept has changed to subjective wellbeing being defined on the basis of all the areas of life, wherein the objective factors of wealth and health, and
Prince, M.; Patel. V.; Saxena, S.; Maj, M.; Maselko, J.; Phillips, M.R.; and Rehman, Atif. (2007). No Health without Mental Health. Global Mental Health Series 1, 370: 859–77
However, mental health is more than just the absence of mental disorders and there are a number of problems that can interfere with a person’s cognitive, social and emotional abilities. Biological approaches to mental health view all psychiatric disorders as being caused by organic factors such as genetic and biochemical factors. The role of psychiatrists or clinical psychologists is to help the patient cope with the illness or control the effects of it by means of medication or therapy (Cardwell, Clark, and Meldrum, 2008). In contrast to the biological theory, the social theory to mental ill health offers a holistic approach to try and understand mental disorders. This means that there may also be social factors that may influence a person’s resistance or susceptibility to psychiatric disorders. These could be triggered by certain life events such as a tragedy or stress. It also takes into consideration the labelling theory where society labels a person as ‘mentally ill’ who then accepts that status (self-fulfilling prophecy) and may lead to a severe mental
Utilizing a pie chart, she illustrates the crux of her research; 10% of our happiness is increased or decreased by our circumstances. 50% of our happiness is increased or decreased by genetic predisposition, 40% is within our ability to control. We have “opportunities to increase or decrease our happiness levels through what we do and how we think” (22). She provides 12 specific happiness enhancing activities. She implores us to commit time, resources and energy to this “intentional activity”. Promoting these changes in our lives to accommodate being happier, which will benefit everyone in the end.
Finding the level of ultimate contentment and life satisfaction can be challenging, but the perception of situations or powerful social connections strengthens the level of happiness within a person. Topic Significance: In recent years, the rate of depression in young adults has increased as people struggle to find the meaning of happiness and how they can achieve happiness. As people continue throughout their life, it is important to recognize what makes them happy.
... middle of paper ... ... Subjective well-being is apparently a product of psychological reactions to external stimulants, and those reactions are a product of learning social paradigms through cultural influences. As such, it is not possible to strictly relate it to any given external circumstance, person, or object for all communities and individuals.
Whether an individual has positive or negative attitude is not a major contributor to their happiness and a realistic attitude would be ideal for those trying to increase their
Works Cited • www.mentalhealth.org.uk • www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov • www.rethink.org.uk • www.psychologytoday.com www.hope-health-recovery.org.uk - www.hope-health- • www.nami.org.uk
Hewstone, M. Fincham, F. and Foster, J (2005). Psychology. Oxford: The British Psychological Society, and Blackwell Publishing. P3-23.
Throughout history, philosophers and scientists of various kinds have been trying to define happiness, identify its causes and the obstacles to reaching it. According to Jon Gertner, psychologist Gilbert and economist Loewenstein have succeeded in pointing out several reasons why people are unhappy (pp: 444-6). It is important to note that according to Gilbert, it is not that people cannot g...
This is the acknowledgment that quality of life/well-being has both objective components which are the components external to an individual and measurable by ‘others’ and subjective components which are personal assessments of one’s own life or of particular aspects of life using measures of satisfaction, happiness, or other self-assessment scales.
Real happiness is more than brief positive feelings but rather a lasting state of peace or contentedness. According to Reich, a former professor of psychology at Arizona State University, happiness is “deeper than a momentary good mood” (Reich). When ordinary happiness is experienced, Jacobsen, a professor in the Department