Editing Positive psychology (section)

==Theoretical frameworks==
{{Main|Well-being}}
There is no accepted "gold standard" theory in positive psychology. The work of Seligman is regularly quoted,<ref name=":1" /> as is the work of Csikszentmihalyi, and older models of well-being, such as Ryff's [[six-factor model of psychological well-being]] and Diener's tripartite model of subjective well-being.

Later, Paul Wong introduced the concept of [[second-wave positive psychology]].

===Initial theory: three paths to happiness===
In ''Authentic Happiness'' (2002) Seligman proposed three kinds of a happy life that can be investigated:{{r|Seligman2002|p=275}}<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-sze/the-father-of-positive-ps_b_7600226.html|title=The Father of Positive Psychology and His Two Theories of Happiness|last=Sze|first=David|date=2015-06-17|website=Huffington Post|language=en-US|access-date=2018-02-19}}</ref>
# ''Pleasant life'': research into the [[pleasure|pleasant]] life, or the "life of enjoyment", examines how people optimally experience, [[Affective forecasting|forecast]], and [[Savoring|savor]] the positive feelings and emotions that are part of normal and healthy living (e.g. relationships, hobbies, interests, entertainment, etc.). Seligman says this most transient element of happiness may be the least important.<ref name=NYSciHap>{{cite magazine |last=Wallis |first=Claudia |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1015902-1,00.html |title=Science of Happiness: New Research on Mood, Satisfaction |magazine=Time |date=2005-01-09 |access-date=2011-02-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101115020515/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C1015902-1%2C00.html |archive-date=2010-11-15 }}</ref>
# ''Good Life'': investigation of the beneficial effects of immersion, absorption, and flow felt by people when optimally engaged with their primary activities, is the study of the Good Life, or the "life of engagement". Flow is experienced when there is a match between a person's strengths and their current task, i.e. when one feels confident of accomplishing a chosen or assigned task. Related concepts include [[self-efficacy]] and [[play (activity)|play]].
# ''Meaningful Life'': inquiry into the [[meaningful life]], or "life of affiliation", questions how people derive a positive sense of well-being, belonging, meaning, and purpose from being part of and contributing back to something larger and more enduring than themselves (e.g. nature, social groups, organizations, movements, traditions, belief systems).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Allen |first1=Mark S. |last2=McCarthy |first2=Paul J. |title=Be Happy in your Work: The Role of Positive Psychology in Working with Change and Performance |journal=Journal of Change Management |date=2 January 2016 |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=55–74 |doi=10.1080/14697017.2015.1128471 }}</ref>

===PERMA===
[[File:Perma.svg|alt= PERMA: Positive Emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning and purpose, and Accomplishments.|thumb|PERMA model]]
In ''Flourish'' (2011), Seligman argued that the last category of his proposed three kinds of a happy life, "meaningful life", can be considered as three different categories. The resulting summary for this theory is the [[mnemonic]] acronym [[Martin Seligman#Well-being|PERMA]]: Positive Emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning and purpose, and Accomplishments.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.edge.org/q2011/q11_2.html |title=The World Question Center 2011|page=2 |publisher=Edge.org |access-date=2011-02-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110210015906/http://edge.org/q2011/q11_2.html |archive-date=2011-02-10 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
; Positive emotions: include a wide range of feelings, not just happiness and joy,<ref name=Seligman2011>{{cite book |last=Seligman |first=M.&nbsp;E.&nbsp;P. |author-link=Martin Seligman |year=2011 |title=Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being |location=New York |publisher=Free Press |isbn=978-1-4391-9076-0 }}</ref>{{rp|at=ch.&nbsp;1}} but excitement, satisfaction, pride, and [[awe]], amongst others. These are connected to positive outcomes, such as longer life and healthier social relationships.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=Martin Seligman & Positive Psychology |url=https://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/history-of-happiness/martin-seligman-psychology/ |access-date=2022-04-08 |website=Pursuit of Happiness}}</ref>
; Engagement: refers to involvement in activities that draw and build upon one's interests. Csikszentmihalyi explains true engagement as ''flow'', a state of deep effortless involvement,<ref name=":1" /> a feeling of intensity that leads to a sense of [[Ecstasy (emotion)|ecstasy]] and clarity.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_flow_the_secret_to_happiness?language=en|first=Mihaly|last=Csikszentmihalyi|title=Flow, the secret to happiness|website=TED|date=23 October 2008 }}</ref> The task being done must call upon a particular skill and it should be possible while being a little bit challenging. Engagement involves [[Passion (emotion)|passion]] for and concentration on the task at hand—complete absorption and loss of self-consciousness.{{r|Seligman2011|at=ch.&nbsp;1}}
; Relationships: are essential in fueling positive emotions,<ref name=":4" /> whether they are work-related, familial, romantic, or platonic. As Peterson puts it, "other people matter."<ref>{{cite web|first=Jaime Booth|last=Cundy|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/the-beauty-in-the-beast/201210/other-people-matter|title=Other People Matter|website=Psychology Today|date=2012-10-10}}</ref> Humans receive, share, and spread positivity to others through relationships. Relationships are important in bad times and good times. Relationships can be strengthened by reacting to one another positively. Typically positive things take place in the presence of other people.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/brain-and-behavior/articles/2009/06/24/using-positive-psychology-in-your-relationships|title=Using Positive Psychology in Your Relationships|first=Lindsay|last=Lyon|date=2009-06-24|website=U.S. News}}</ref>
; Meaning: is also known as ''purpose'', and answers the question of "why?" Discovering a clear "why" puts everything into context from work to relationships to other parts of life.<ref name=":4">{{cite book |doi=10.4324/9781003082866-1 |chapter=Positive psychology and wellbeing |title=Positive Psychology |date=2022 |last1=Carr |first1=Alan |pages=1–29 |isbn=978-1-003-08286-6 }}</ref> Finding meaning is learning that there is something greater than oneself. Working with meaning drives people to continue striving for a desirable goal.
; Accomplishments: are the pursuit of success and mastery.{{r|Seligman2011|at=ch.&nbsp;1}} Unlike the other parts of PERMA, they are sometimes pursued even when accomplishments do not result in positive emotions, meaning, or relationships. Accomplishments can activate other elements of PERMA, such as pride, under positive emotion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://awesomeculture.com/2011/09/13/the-science-of-a-happy-startup/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110924214108/http://awesomeculture.com/2011/09/13/the-science-of-a-happy-startup/|archive-date=2011-09-24|first=Dave|last=Kashen|date=2011-09-13|title=The Science of a Happy Startup}}</ref> Accomplishments can be individual or community-based, fun-based, or work-based.

Each of the five PERMA elements was selected according to three criteria:
# It contributes to well-being.
# It is pursued for its own sake.
# It is defined and measured independently of the other elements.

===''Character Strengths and Virtues''===
{{main|Values in Action Inventory of Strengths}}
{{See also|Character education|Values education}}

The ''Character Strengths and Virtues'' (CSV) handbook (2004) was the first attempt by Seligman and Peterson to identify and classify positive psychological traits of human beings. Much like the ''[[Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders]]'' (DSM) of general psychology, the CSV provided a theoretical framework to assist in understanding strengths and virtues and for developing practical applications for positive psychology. It identified six classes of virtues (i.e., "core virtues"), underlying 24 measurable character strengths.<ref name=PetersonSeligman2004>{{cite book |last1=Peterson |first1=Christopher |author1-link=Christopher Peterson (psychologist) |last2=Seligman |first2=Martin E.&nbsp;P. |author2-link=Martin Seligman |title=Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2004  |isbn=978-0-19-516701-6 }}</ref>

The CSV suggested these six virtues have a historical basis in the vast majority of cultures and that they can lead to increased happiness when built upon. Notwithstanding numerous cautions and caveats, this suggestion of universality leads to three theories:{{r|PetersonSeligman2004|p=51}}
# The study of positive human qualities broadens the scope of psychological research to include mental wellness.
# The leaders of the positive psychology movement challenge [[moral relativism]] by suggesting people are "evolutionarily predisposed" toward certain virtues.
# Virtue has a biological basis.

The organization of the six virtues and 24 strengths is as follows:
# '''[[Wisdom]] and knowledge:''' [[creativity]], [[curiosity]], [[Toleration|open-mindedness]], [[love of learning]], [[wisdom|perspective]], [[innovation]], [[prudence]]
# '''[[Courage]]:''' [[bravery]], [[persistence (psychology)|persistence]], [[vitality]], [[Zest (positive psychology)|zest]]
# '''[[Humanity (virtue)|Humanity]]:''' [[love]], [[kindness]], [[social intelligence]]
# '''[[Justice (virtue)|Justice]]:''' [[active citizenship|citizenship]], [[impartiality|fairness]], [[leadership]], [[integrity]], [[arete|excellence]]
# '''[[Temperance (virtue)|Temperance]]:''' [[forgiveness]] and [[mercy]], [[humility]], [[self-control]]
# '''Transcendence:''' [[appreciation of beauty]], [[gratitude]], [[hope]], [[humor]], [[spirituality]]

Subsequent research challenged the need for six virtues. Instead, researchers suggested the 24 strengths are more accurately grouped into just three or four categories: Intellectual Strengths, Interpersonal Strengths, and Temperance Strengths,<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Shryack | first1 = J. | last2 = Steger | first2 = M. F. | last3 = Krueger | first3 = R. F. | last4 = Kallie | first4 = C. S. | title = The structure of virtue: An empirical investigation of the dimensionality of the virtues in action inventory of strengths | doi = 10.1016/j.paid.2010.01.007 | journal = Personality and Individual Differences | volume = 48 | issue = 6| pages = 714–719| year = 2010| hdl = 10818/33195 | hdl-access = free }}</ref> or alternatively, Interpersonal Strengths, Fortitude, Vitality, and Cautiousness.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Brdr | first1 = I. | last2 = Kashdan | first2 = T.B. | year = 2010 | title = Character strengths and well-being in Croatia: An empirical investigation of structure and correlates | doi = 10.1016/j.jrp.2009.12.001 | journal = Journal of Research in Personality | volume = 44 | pages = 151–154 }}</ref> These strengths, and their classifications, have emerged independently elsewhere in literature on values. [[Paul Thagard]] described some examples.<ref>{{cite book|last=Thagard|first=Paul|year=2005|chapter=How to be a successful scientist|editor-first1=M. E.|editor-last1=Gorman|editor-first2=R. D.|editor-last2=Tweney|editor-first3=D. C.|editor-last3=Gooding|editor-first4=A. P.|editor-last4=Kincannon|title=Scientific and technological thinking|pages=159–171|location=Mawah, N.J.|publisher=Lawrence Erlbaum Associates}}</ref>

===Flow===
{{Main|Flow (psychology)}}
{{See also|Peak experience}}
[[File:Challenge vs skill.svg|alt=A graph shows mental state in terms of challenge level and skill level, according to Csikszentmihalyi's flow model.|thumb|Mental state in terms of challenge level and skill level, according to [[Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi|Csikszentmihalyi]]'s flow model.]]
In the 1970s, Csikszentmihalyi began studying ''flow'', a state of absorption in which one's abilities are well-matched to the demands at-hand. He often refers to it as "optimal experience".<ref>{{Cite book |first=Mihaly |last=Csikszentmihalyi |title=Flow: the psychology of optimal experience |date=2016 |publisher=Joosr Ltd |isbn=978-1-78567-230-9 |oclc=959933502}}</ref> Flow is characterized by intense [[Attention|concentration]], loss of self-awareness, a feeling of being perfectly challenged (neither bored nor overwhelmed), and a sense that "time is flying." Flow is intrinsically rewarding; it can also assist in the achievement of [[goal]]s (e.g., winning a game) or improving skills (e.g., becoming a better chess player).<ref name=Csikszentmihalyi1990>{{Cite book | last1 = Csikszentmihalyi | first1 = Mihaly | title = Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience | year = 1990 | publisher = Harper & Row | location = New York | isbn = 978-0-06-016253-5 }}</ref> Anyone can experience flow and it can be felt in different domains, such as play, [[creativity]], and work.

Flow is achieved when the challenge of the situation meets one's personal abilities. A mismatch of challenge for someone of low skills results in a state of anxiety and feeling overwhelmed; insufficient challenge for someone highly skilled results in [[boredom]].<ref name=Csikszentmihalyi1990/> A good example of this would be an adult reading a children's book. They would not feel challenged enough to be engaged or motivated in the reading. Csikszentmihalyi explained this using various combinations of challenge and skills to predict psychological states. These four states included the following:<ref name="Shernoff Csikszentmihalyi Flow in Schools"/>

; Apathy: low challenge and low skill(s)
; Relaxation: low challenge and high skill(s)
; Anxiety: high challenge and low skill(s)
; Flow: high challenge and high skill(s)

Accordingly, an adult reading a children's book would most likely be in the relaxation state. The adult has no need to worry that the task will be more than they can handle. Challenge is a well-founded explanation for how one enters the flow state and employs intense concentration. However, other factors contribute. For example, one must be intrinsically motivated to participate in the activity or challenge. If the person is not interested in the task, then there is no possibility of their being absorbed into the flow state.<ref name="Cambridge University Press">{{Cite book |title=Optimal experience: psychological studies of flow in consciousness |year=1988 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |first1=Mihaly|last1=Csikszentmihalyi|first2=Isabella Selega|last2=Csikszentmihalyi |isbn=0-521-34288-0 |location=Cambridge |oclc=16685308}}</ref>

==== Benefits ====
Flow can help in parenting children. When flow is enhanced {{clarify|reason=the definition of "flow" given thusfar does not suggest it to be something that exists "between" people|text=between|date=October 2023}} parents and children, the parents can better thrive in their roles as a parents. A parenting style that is positively oriented{{Definition needed|date=October 2023}} results in children who experience lower levels of stress and improved well-being.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pentti |first1=Selja |last2=Fagerlund |first2=Åse |last3=Nyström |first3=Pär |title=Flourishing families: Effects of a positive psychology intervention on parental flow, engagement, meaning and hope |journal=International Journal of Wellbeing |date=25 September 2019 |volume=9 |issue=4 |pages=79–96 |doi=10.5502/ijw.v9i4.1003 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Flow also has benefits in a school setting. When students are in a state of flow they are fully engaged, leading to better retention of information.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1007/978-94-017-9088-8_16 |chapter=The Concept of Flow |title=Flow and the Foundations of Positive Psychology |date=2014 |last1=Nakamura |first1=Jeanne |last2=Csikszentmihalyi |first2=Mihaly |pages=239–263 |isbn=978-94-017-9087-1 }}</ref> Students who experience flow have a more enjoyable and rewarding experience.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ariani |first1=Dorothea Wahyu |title=How achievement goals affect students' well-being and the relationship model between achievement goals, academic self-efficacy and affect at school |journal=Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education |date=27 January 2022 |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=111–134 |doi=10.1108/jarhe-08-2020-0273 }}</ref> This state can also reduce stress, which helps with students' mental health and well-being.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Asakawa |first1=Kiyoshi |title=Flow Experience and Autotelic Personality in Japanese College Students: How do they Experience Challenges in Daily Life? |journal=Journal of Happiness Studies |date=2004 |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=123–154 |doi=10.1023/b:johs.0000035915.97836.89 }}</ref> This increases resilience and helps students to overcome challenges or setbacks by teaching them a [[growth mindset]].<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite journal |last1=Duckworth |first1=Angela L. |last2=Peterson |first2=Christopher |last3=Matthews |first3=Michael D. |last4=Kelly |first4=Dennis R. |title=Grit: Perseverance and passion for long-term goals. |journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |date=2007 |volume=92 |issue=6 |pages=1087–1101 |doi=10.1037/0022-3514.92.6.1087 |pmid=17547490 }}
|2={{Cite journal |last=Fredrickson |first=Barbara L. |year=2001 |title=The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions |journal=American Psychologist |volume=56 |issue=3 |pages=218–226 |doi=10.1037/0003-066x.56.3.218 |pmid=11315248 |pmc=3122271 }}
}}</ref>

Most teachers and parents want students become more engaged and interested in the classroom. The design of the education system was not able to account for such needs.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Spencer |first=John |title=Making Learning Flow: instruction and assessment strategies that empower students to love learning and reach new levels of achievement |year=2016 |publisher=Solution Tree Press |isbn=978-1-943874-19-4 |location=Bloomington, Indiana |oclc=965738894}}</ref> One school implemented a program called PASS. They acknowledged that students needed more challenge and individual advancement; they referred to this as sport culture. This PASS program integrated an elective class into which students could immerse themselves. Such activities included self-paced learning, mastery-based learning, performance learning, and so on.<ref name="Shernoff Csikszentmihalyi Flow in Schools">{{cite book|first1=David J.|last1=Shernoff|first2=Mihaly|last2=Csikszentmihalyi |chapter=Flow in Schools: Cultivating Engaged Learners and Optimal Learning Environments |year=2009 |title=Handbook of Positive Psychology in Schools|editor-first1=Rich|editor-last1=Gilman|editor-first2=E. Scott|editor-last2=Huebner|editor-first3=Michael|editor-last3=Furlong|pages=149–164|location=New York|publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9780203884089-20 |isbn=978-0-203-88408-9}}</ref>

Flow benefits general well-being. It is a positive and intrinsically motivating experience. It is known to "produce intense feelings of enjoyment".<ref name="Cambridge University Press"/> It can improve our lives by making them happier and more meaningful. Csikszentmihalyi discovered that our personal growth and development generates happiness. Flow is positive experience because it promotes that opportunity for personal development.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1007/978-94-017-9088-8_6 |chapter=Happiness in Everyday Life: The Uses of Experience Sampling |title=Flow and the Foundations of Positive Psychology |date=2014 |last1=Csikszentmihalyi |first1=Mihaly |last2=Hunter |first2=Jeremy |pages=89–101 |isbn=978-94-017-9087-1 }}</ref>

====Negatives====

While flow can be beneficial to students, students who experience flow can become overly focused on a particular task. This can lead to students neglecting other important aspects of their learning.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Flourish: a visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being |journal=Choice Reviews Online |date=August 2011 |volume=48 |issue=12 |pages=48–7217–48-7217 |doi=10.5860/choice.48-7217 |doi-broken-date=1 February 2025 |ref={{sfnref|American Library Association|2011}} }}</ref>

In positive psychology there can be misunderstandings on what clinicians and people define as positive. In certain instances, positive qualities, such as optimism, can be detrimental to health, and therefore appear as a negative quality.<ref name=LomasIvtzan2016>{{cite journal |last1=Lomas |first1=Tim |last2=Ivtzan |first2=Itai |title=Second Wave Positive Psychology: Exploring the Positive–Negative Dialectics of Wellbeing |journal=Journal of Happiness Studies |date=August 2016 |volume=17 |issue=4 |pages=1753–1768 |doi=10.1007/s10902-015-9668-y |url=http://roar.uel.ac.uk/4383/1/Lomas%20and%20Ivtzan%20%282015%29%20-%20Second%20wave%20positive%20psychology%20%28uploadable%29.pdf }}</ref> Alternatively, negative processes, such as anxiety, can be conducive to health and stability and thus would appear as positive qualities.{{r|LomasIvtzan2016}} A second wave of positive psychology has further identified and characterized "positive" and "negative" complexes through the use of critical and dialectical thinking.{{r|LomasIvtzan2016}} Researchers in 2016 chose to identify these characteristics via two complexes: post-traumatic growth and love as well as optimism vs. pessimism.{{r|LomasIvtzan2016}}

=== Second-wave positive psychology ===
{{Main|Second-wave positive psychology}}
[[Paul T. P. Wong|Paul Wong]] introduced the idea of a second wave of positive psychology, focused on the pursuit of meaning in life, which he contrasted with the pursuit of happiness in life.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wong |first1=Paul T. P. |title=Positive psychology 2.0: Towards a balanced interactive model of the good life. |journal=Canadian Psychology / Psychologie Canadienne |date=May 2011 |volume=52 |issue=2 |pages=69–81 |doi=10.1037/a0022511 }}</ref> Ivtzan, Lomas, Hefferon, and Worth have recast positive psychology as being about positive outcome or positive mental health, and have explored the positive outcomes of embracing negative emotions and pessimism.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Second Wave Positive Psychology: Embracing the Dark Side of Life |publisher=Routledge & CRC Press |year=2016|first1=Ital|last1=Ivtzan|first2=Tim|last2=Lomas|first3=Kate|last3=Hefferon|first4=Piers|last4=Worth|isbn=9781138818668}}</ref> Second-wave positive psychology proposes that it is better to accept and transform the meaning of suffering than it is to avoid suffering.<ref name="APA PsycNet">{{cite journal |last1=Wong |first1=Paul T. P. |title=Second wave positive psychology's (PP 2.0) contribution to counselling psychology |journal=Counselling Psychology Quarterly |date=2 October 2019 |volume=32 |issue=3–4 |pages=275–284 |doi=10.1080/09515070.2019.1671320 }}</ref>

In 2016, Lomas and Itzvan proposed that human flourishing (their goal for positive psychology) is about embracing dialectic interplay of positive and negative.{{r|LomasIvtzan2016}} Phenomena cannot be determined to be positive or negative independent of context. Some of their examples included:

; the dialectic of optimism and pessimism: Optimism is associated with longevity, but strategic pessimism can lead to more effective planning and decision making.
; the dialectic of self-esteem and humility: Self-esteem is related to well-being, but pursuit of self-esteem can increase depression. Humility can be either low self-opinion or it can lead to prosocial action. 
; the dialectic of forgiveness and anger: Forgiveness has been associated with well-being, but people who are more forgiving of abuse may suffer prolonged abuse. While anger has been presented as a destructive emotion, it can also be a moral emotion and drawn upon to confront injustices.

In 2019, Wong proposed four principles of second-wave positive psychology:<ref name="APA PsycNet"/>

# accepting and confronting with courage the reality that life is full of evil and suffering
# sustainable wellbeing can only be achieved through overcoming suffering and the dark side of life
# recognizing that everything in life comes in polarities and the importance of achieving an adaptive balance through dialectics
# learning from indigenous psychology, such as the ancient wisdom of finding deep joy in bad situations
Second-wave positive psychology is sometimes abbreviated as PP 2.0.

=== Third-wave positive psychology ===
The third wave of positive psychology emphasizes going beyond the individual to take a deeper look at the groups and systems in which we live. It also promotes becoming more interdisciplinary and multicultural and incorporates more methodologies.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lomas |first1=Tim |last2=Waters |first2=Lea |last3=Williams |first3=Paige |last4=Oades |first4=Lindsay G. |last5=Kern |first5=Margaret L. |title=Third wave positive psychology: broadening towards complexity |journal=The Journal of Positive Psychology |date=3 September 2021 |volume=16 |issue=5 |pages=660–674 |doi=10.1080/17439760.2020.1805501 }}</ref>

In broadening the scope and exploring the systemic and socio-cultural dimensions of people's lived realities, there are four specific things to focus on:<ref name="LomasIvtzan2016" />

# The focus of enquiry: becoming more interested in emergent paradigms like "systems-informed positive psychology" which incorporates principles and concepts from the systems sciences to optimize human social systems and the individuals within them.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kern |first1=Margaret L. |last2=Williams |first2=Paige |last3=Spong |first3=Cass |last4=Colla |first4=Rachel |last5=Sharma |first5=Kesh |last6=Downie |first6=Andrea |last7=Taylor |first7=Jessica A. |last8=Sharp |first8=Sonia |last9=Siokou |first9=Christine |last10=Oades |first10=Lindsay G. |title=Systems informed positive psychology |journal=The Journal of Positive Psychology |date=November 2020 |volume=15 |issue=6 |pages=705–715 |doi=10.1080/17439760.2019.1639799 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
# Disciplines: becoming more multi- and interdisciplinary, as reflected in hybrid formulations like [[positive education]], which combines traditional education and research based ways of increasing happiness and overall well-being.<ref>{{Cite web |last=MBA |first=Catherine Moore, Psychologist |date=2020-02-24 |title=What is Positive Education, and How Can We Apply It? (+PDF) |url=https://positivepsychology.com/what-is-positive-education/ |access-date=2024-03-18 |website=PositivePsychology.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
# Cultural contexts: becoming more multicultural and global.
# Methodologies: embracing other paradigms and ways of knowing, such as qualitative and mixed methods approaches rather than relying solely on quantitative research.