Interdisciplinary Psychology:

The Four Activities

The first activity that I picked was the elevator ride. (Up please) Some of the strategies I use for lifting my mood are watching cartoons on television, listening to music, or socializing with friends and family. I find this increase my positive emotions. The reason I chose these things are because of the fact that I can get away from life’s negative circumstances for a while. I find that when I come back to the problem I have a positive outlook to begin with again on the problem. (Down please) The way I slow my cognitive processes and physiological arousal is by either detaching myself from the situation for a few minutes by walking away to clear my mind, or by doing breathing exercises, or by meditation. I find by doing this I stay in a good mood during the day.

 Introduction to Positive Psychology

William Compton 

“People deal too much with the negative, with what is wrong. Why not try and see positive things, to just touch those things and make them bloom?” -Nhat Hanh- 

            It was a pleasure reading Compton’s Introduction to Positive Psychology. I appreciated having the material broken down into such scientific form. From studies and research to real life application, the findings in his book really shed a new light on my understanding of Positive Psychology.

Reader Response

An Introduction to Positive Psychology by William C. Compton

I find it ironic this book is called An Introduction to Positive Psychology because it seems more like a primer on research to date.  It is almost a meta-analysis of positive psychology.  That being said, I really enjoyed how well Compton summarizes myriad studies on positive psychology, going back to long before the term “positive psychology” even existed.  I was particularly impressed by his ability to briefly summarize the work of Csikszentmihalyi, Jung, Adler and Maslow.  No small task with any of these psychologists, especially not with Jung.  This book provides a true wealth of knowledge, particularly as a leaping point to further investigations into any particular research study or area of focus.  The references alone are worth the price of the book.

Activity #2

Do Unto Others 

            One thing that I’ve slacked on for the last year is spending time with my parents. I moved out a little over a year ago, and my time spent back at home has been limited. Although my dad understands, my mother has found it a little bit harder to deal with. In an effort to do unto others, I invited my parents over last weekend for some pizza and football. It was nice catching up and having them over to my house. My dad got to eat and watch football (two loves of his life) and my mom got to visit with me and my girlfriend.

Activity #1

            Over the past few weeks, I’ve consciously taken measures to lift my mood and also slow down my cognitive process. Often times my life is too busy and overly complicated. These exercises unquestionably helped me relax more and enjoy my life more fully.