Martin Seligman Wants to Apply Positive Psychology to Games, the Army

Martin Seligman. From Princeton.

Martin Seligman, considered to be the father of positive psychology, is still pushing the science in new and interesting directions, according to Gamasutra. His recipe for happiness is PERMA, or positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and achievement. Seligman is now assisting the U.S. Army in teaching PERMA to soldiers in an attempt to alleviate common problems that soldiers have, like post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, drug abuse, and divorce.

The Army will ship drill sergeants to the University of Pennsylvania, where Seligman teaches. The effectiveness of PERMA techniques will then be measured on one million soldiers over their entire careers. The whole program will cost $150 million.

On the topic of games, Seligman mentions a lot of untapped potential. Though he hasn't seen any games that relate to positive psychology thus far, he says, "I believe that PERMA's future...might be that gaming will be the great, exponential amplifier. Teaching emotional literacy to young people throughout the entire world [through gaming]." He also mentions a lack of research on this topic, but that there is some evidence of Bridge's positive effect in preventing dementia.

For more on positive gaming, you might check out Reality is Broken by Jane McGonigal. I haven't read it, but I'd really like to. You can also click on my Martin Seligman tag.

New "International Journal of Wellbeing" Offers Articles on Happiness

From the International Journal of Wellbeing.

Ahh, doesn't the Super Bowl put you in the mood to curl up and read a new scientific journal? Well, you may be in luck. Today the Wellington.Scoop reports on the launch of a new online research journal that specializes in positive psychology. The journal--founded by Dan Weijers of the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand--is called the International Journal of Wellbeing.

Aaron Jarden, co-founder of the journal and president of the New Zealand Association of Positive Psychology, says the IJW is a natural extension of the International Wellbeing Study, which is being conducted by around 70 researchers worldwide. The journal's editorial board consists of around 50 top researchers on four continents.

The founders hope to affect positive change around the world, especially with the recent crop of Gross National Happiness laws. As Weijers says, "...policymakers are increasingly being asked to take various aspects of wellbeing into account when making new policies. Since the journal is open access and accessibly written, policymakers from all over the world will be able to gain deeper insight into what promotes wellbeing so that society is able to flourish."

The journal already boasts papers from "father of positive psychology" Martin Seligman and Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman. All articles are free to view and download, so check it out!

Teachers in Ireland Starting to Teach Kids About Happiness

Sixth graders in Castletownbere. From The Creaky Traveler.

School Days reports that Irish teachers are jumping on the positive psychology train by teaching their students about happiness. According to Cian Traynor of the Irish Times, around 400 Irish primary and secondary school teachers have enrolled in the Teaching Happiness program, which is based on Martin Seligman's principles of learned optimism.

This means that Ireland has joined England, Australia, and others in teaching happiness to kids. The programs often improve kids' attention spans, memories, and problem solving abilities.

Some teachers in Ireland think these classes should be mandatory. What about you? Would mandatory happiness classes in your country improve your children's education?

I don't know the answer, but I do wonder if making these classes mandatory would turn them into "just another class," making them lose their effectiveness. Not that they would ever become mandatory, because I'm sure there are plenty of budget hurdles to overcome before they're even offered in most countries!

Happiness Class Now Offered at Duke Law School

From Duke Law Map.

Ashby Jones of the Wall Street Journal reports that Duke Law is now offering a class entitled "Well-Being and the Practice of Law." This makes a lot of sense, given that lawyering is an incredibly stressful occupation--so much so that around 1/3 of lawyers say they would choose another profession if they could.

As for what's in the class itself, American Lawyer magazine's Dimitra Kessenides explains:

"Four weeks in, they’ve already tackled Aristotle (as part of a consideration of the philosophical roots of happiness) and renowned psychologist Albert Maslow, the founder of 'humanistic' psychology (in a review of pre-World War II scientific research on happiness)."

The class goes on to cover Martin Seligman and the like. So it sounds like an extremely comprehensive review of happiness through the ages, from ancient times to the present day. This is an interesting approach (different from other happiness classes I've heard of) that may or may not relieve stress. For students who are truly stressed out, a class like this may only act as a Band-Aid. The world needs lawyers, but law is not a profession for everyone, so I hope those who are troubled will put happiness ahead of status and money to find a career that suits them. In any case I wish Duke Law and its students all the best!

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Weekend Viewing: Martin Seligman

Here he is, the father of modern happiness science:  Martin Seligman. Mr. Seligman coined the term "positive psychology" in the early '90s as a response to most psychologists' focus on mental disorder (as opposed to the good parts of the human psyche). Psychology students may also recognize him as the creator of the learned helplessness concept.

In this TED Talk, Seligman gives a good introduction to his theories. He starts out being maybe a little too down on regular psychology, but he soon moves on to discuss the difference between real happiness and "Hollywood happiness," flow, and optimism. He gives very practical advice on finding happiness, especially after the 18-minute mark, so give it a watch! Hopefully it'll get your weekend off to a (meaningfully) happy start!