MARTIN SELIGMAN DESCRIBES POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY AS, "A COLLECTION OF STUDIES AIMED AT RESEARCHING WHAT MAKES LIFE WORTH LIVING."
POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY IS AN ALTERNATIVE TO TRADITIONAL MENTAL HEALTH TECHNIQUES. TRADITIONAL THERAPY HAS FOCUSED ON THE PROBLEMS WE FACE. IT TENDS TO FOCUS MORE ON MENTAL ILLNESS MORE THAN MENTAL HEALTH. POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY IS A STRENGTH BASED THERAPY THAT UTILIZES THE POSITIVE EMOTIONS AND TRAITS OF A CLIENT TO HELP THEM ACHIEVE BETTER WELL-BEING AND HAPPINESS. AIMS TO GAIN A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF POSITIVE EMOTIONS, POSITIVE TRAITS, AND POSITIVE INSTITUTIONS. OVER THE YEARS, THE FIELD OF PSYCHOLOGY HAS LARGELY FOCUSED ON ANALYZING MENTAL DISORDERS AND HUMAN SUFFERING. HAPPINESS WAS REGARDED SIMPLY AS AN ABSENCE OF SUFFERING, BUT HAD NEVER BEEN ACTUALLY STUDIED IN DEPTH. SELIGMAN’S AIM, INFLUENCED BY HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY, WAS NOT TO REPLACE TRADITIONAL PSYCHOLOGY, BUT TO BUILD A MORE COMPLETE PICTURE OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE. THIS SHIFTED THE MAIN PREMISE OF PSYCHOLOGY FROM ANALYZING PSYCHOLOGICAL ISSUES, TO ANALYZING MENTAL HEALTH AND HAPPINESS TO ITS BASIC COMPONENTS.
