An Introduction To Positive Psychology By William C. Compton

Life can easily fall into a pattern, and lately my pattern has been one of too little time, and too much to do. Trying to fit full-time school with a part-time job and have time left over for my full-time life is not an easy task (as many of you know). Sadly the priorities for my time are not always those that I would choose to do first in my ideal life, but rather those that somebody else has chosen for me. Roughly in this order:

Work (cause they pay me)

Sue Wagaman

1. Positive self-esteem:  Positive self esteem is associated with adaptive functioning in almost every area of life.  Campbell’s study (1981) as stated on page 48 in this book, found that self-esteem was the most important predictor of subjective well-being.  Another study (Hoyle, Kernis, Learyand, Baldwin, 1999), also found in the book, found those with positive self-esteem had less delinquency, better anger control, were more satisfied in relationships, cared more for others, and had an increased capacity for creative and productive work.  Still another study (Ryan & Deci, 2000) found that high self-esteem has many advantages including a sense of meaning and value, helps to guide relationships and is a by-product of healthy personal growth.  In my experience I tend to agree with this.  In fact, I do not think that I know anyone who is truly satisfied with life that has a very poor opinion of himself but I have known those who do not enjoy life and notice the negative in their lives who have poor self-esteem.  It does seem this goes hand in hand as the studies seem to imply.  Therefore, it is important to try to increase self-esteem (possibly using cognitive and behavioral methods-reframing, positive self-talk, looking at life events more positively, etc.) to help increase life satisfaction.  This area of positive psychology that uses cognitive theories/exercises to increase life satisfaction, I find very interesting.  Just by “telling” and “training” your brain to change its way of thinking and perceiving events seems to actually cause changes in how we feel about our lives.  I know this has helped me many times.  
2. Sense of perceived control:  a belief that one has some measure of control over life events.  This is important, according to Compton, because without it life is simply random events without sense that most people would find disturbing. This does not mean we have complete control ever life.  That kind of control is destructive to well-being and impossible.  In fact, perceived control (Ryan & Deci, 2000) may be an innate need.  Most people who have this feel they have personal control over events to either maximize or minimize negative or positive outcomes.  Just as in the above area, again it seems as if our cognitive processes play a very important role in how positively or negatively we view life.
3. Extroversion:  Compton states (page 50) that, a number of studies have found extroversion to be a high predictor of subjective well-being (Diener et al., 1999). Recent studies have been done to find out why this is true.  Some suggest they are born with greater sensitivity to positive rewards and stronger reactions to pleasant events.  Still others found it may be because they find social situations stimulating

1. Optimism:  Those who are more optimistic report being happier and more satisfied with life (Diener et al., 1999) as stated in Compton’s book on page 51.  Some even report less health problems (Scheier & Carver, 1985, 1992).  The book suggests that optimism is a natural outcome of the other variables of life-satisfaction since a person who has high self-esteem, feels in control of many aspects of life and is successful in social interactions would be hopeful and positive about the future and because of this he would be able to cope better under stress.  I like the idea of learning to improve optimism.  People can learn to be more optimistic by paying attention to how they explain events in life to themselves (Seligman, 1990).  I also feel that is seems important to make a distinction between an unrealistic view of life/events and a realistic optimism based on reality checks (Schneider, 2001). 
2. Positive social relationships:  Compton’s book on page 52 states, “…the well-being and satisfaction with family and friends is one of the few universally found relationships in cross-cultural studies of well-being (Diener, Oishi, & Lucas, 2003)).” Many studies have shown the positive impact that good social support can have on well-being (Sarason, Sarason, & Pierce, 1990).  I find it very interesting but not surprising that this area seems to help increase self-esteem, optimism, and perceived control.  I know by my own reactions and by watching my family and friends that getting together socially with others either one on one or as a group almost always helps increase positive feelings.
3. A sense of meaning and purpose to life:  This is measured as religiosity. Compton’s book states that many studies have found that those who report greater religious faith and importance of faith in their lives and who attend services more frequently also report greater well-being. This is truly found in my own life.  I cannot imagine finding true satisfaction in life without a belief in God and therefore a belief that I have a reason for being on this earth and a higher purpose to fulfill.  I also feel this connects me to past, present and future generations that causes me to react to life choices and events in a less self-centered way.  Lastly, my belief in God gives me a set of values and an “ethic” code to live by that helps in everyday living and also in tough times. 

Comptons’s book mentions that marriage seems to be the only true significant bottom-up predictor of life satisfaction.  Studies suggest that this is true for all ages, sexes, income and education levels, racial and ethnic groups.  Marital quality is also a significant predictor of well-being such as having more positive interactions, emotional expressiveness and greater role sharing ( Sternberg & Hojjat, 1997).  I liked learning about the “Love Styles” on page 89 and the “Two –Factor Theory of Love”.  Sternberg’s “Love Triangle” doesn’t translate well to my type of learning but I find the studies that Gottman and Gottman conducted very useful and interesting. It is especially interesting about friendship being essential to a satisfying and stable relationship (page 101 in Compton’s book).  By friendship they actually mean many things such as good healthy and frequent communication, affection, fondness, admiration and interest in the other’s life.  In one other study (Lauer, Lauer, & Kerr, 1990) both husbands and wives who had been married for at least 15 years were asked to list qualities that are important to a successful marriage.  Being a best friend, liking your spouse, commitment, having similar aims and goals, finding your spouse more interesting over the years, wanting the relationship to succeed and believing it is a sacred institution were all listed.  They all also believed that marriages will have hard times and spouses need to accept differences as well as enjoy similarities between them.  I have been married almost 30 years and I feel I have done things that help and hurt our marriage.  Over the years we have learned a lot about how to have a healthy marriage and I feel we have succeeded.  Therefore, I know that much of this research-translated into doable exercises- has been very helpful for us and encouraging to us.