Personality and Social Psychology | Distance Learning Systems (DLSI)

In An Introduction to Positive Psychology, Dr. William Compton depicts positive psychology as looking “to make typical life more satisfying.” It uses the scientific method to comprehend the positive and candidly satisfying parts of human behavior. It is the study of what actions, interests and inspirations best contribute to the good life. These interests are accessible to us paying little heed to our heritage, background or socioeconomic standing. They are uninhibitedly accessible to any individual who decides to commit their lives to them. Here are some interesting positive psychology studies done by researchers.

1. From Wealth to Well-being – Harvard Business School, 2009. While there does seem, by all accounts, to be some association between happiness and income when fundamental needs are not yet met, individuals have a tendency to overestimate the impact of riches on happiness by 100%. Money does not lead as much happiness that individuals think it will.

2. Purchasing Experiences, not Possessions, Leads to Greater Happiness – San Francisco State University, 2009. This psychology study shows that experiential buys, for example, a dinner out or theater tickets, bring about better well being than material belongings. These experiences have a tendency to fulfill higher order needs, particularly the requirement for social connectedness and a feeling of being invigorated.

3. The Science of Gratitude – University of Pennsylvania, 2005. One of the best contributing variables to general happiness in life is the amount of appreciation we show. Furthermore, an observable contrast could be experienced with as little as three words every day (“Thank you for… “).

4. Trust, Morality, and Oxytocin – Claremont Graduate University, 2011. In light of research discoveries, psychologists believe humankind’s trust, compassion and ethical quality expand as their levels of oxycotin expand.

5. For a Better Day, Smile – Michigan State University, 2011. Individuals who smile as a consequence of developing positive thoughts can fundamentally and promptly enhance their mood. Simply put, one easy approach to enhance your state of mind at this moment is to recall pleasant memories and smile about it.

What exactly is the distinction between personality psychology and social psychology? Essentially, personality psychology concentrates on the person, while social psychology concentrates on the situation, how people act in different circumstances, or how circumstances impact people. In a guide that covers subjects as different as inspiration, prejudice, relationship, authority, connections, assisting actions, and anti-social behavior, each subject researched from the two viewpoints of personality psychology and social psychology; a lay audience is likely to discover several subjects of attention. For example, in a section on multiculturalism, it is shown how the research of multiculturalism can be valuable to both personality and social psychologists.

Much of what psychologists have discovered in the last few years has been depending on new calculating techniques, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG). In a section known as “Neuroscience Techniques in Social and Character Mindset,” Bob M. Amodio and Eddie Harmon-Jones talk about how these relatively new techniques evaluate brain activity, and explain several concepts that have been suggested depending on these techniques. One concept that of the mirror neuron system posits “a brain network dedicated to knowing other people through their activities.” Amodio and Harmon-Jones state that the phrase mirror neurons refers “loosely to places of the brain that are triggered both when an individual notices the actions of another person, and when one functions the same behavior”—i.e., when one imitates someone else’s activities.

Out of fascination, I tried a search of PubMed for mirror neuron, and it raised more than a million content. I found it exciting to consider how much interest mirror neuron analysis has drawn, considering what Amodio and Harmon-Jones say about the concept. They tested it as having “intuitive appeal” but state that research queries the credibility of the concept, concluding that “more analysis will be needed” since “so many public communications often need supporting responses…rather than mimicry.” More recent concepts, they tell us, such as mirror-touch synesthesia (a trend believed to be due to mirror neurons), have been depending on what may still be a misguided program.