Authentic Happiness

Chapters 1-3
By: Evan Adonailo, Casey Brown, Daniel Curtis,
Caroline McMinn, and Rebecca Solomon
Background
What is happiness? What is positive emotion?
What benefits do the bring?
There are a variety of strengths and virtues which bring about well-being (Seligman, 9)
Six Core Virtues - consistent among different cultures
Wisdom
Courage
Love and Humanity
Justice
Temperance
Spirituality and Transcendence
(Seligman, 11)
Positive Feeling & Positive Character
Why should we care?
Happiness leads to longevity
Of the Nuns studied, 90% of the most cheerful quarter
lived to be 85, whereas only 34% of the least cheerful
quarter lived to be 85 (Seligman, 4).
Nuns were a good example
They all live relatively similar lives
Compared without unknown outside factors.
(controlled)
Positive Feeling & Positive Character
Why should we care?
Improve the quality of our lives day-by-day
Avoid depression
Seligman claimed that depression can be prevented in a
young person by nurturing their skills of optimism
and hope (27).
Decrease risk of Alcoholism
Decrease risk of mental illness
Positive Feeling & Positive Character
Why should we care?
Happy people remember more good events that
actually happened and forget more of the bad
events.
Positive mood buoys people into a way of healthier
way of thinking
More creative, constructive and generous.
Happy people endure pain better and take more
health and safety precautions when threatened
Positive Feeling & Positive Character
1) Do you believe that pleasurable activities such as hanging out with
friends, pursuing a hobby, eating sweet/delicious foods, etc. bring greater
happiness than pursuing philanthropic acts (Seligman,9)?
2.
QUESTIONS
Intellectual capabilities
Higher productivity
Higher goals
Innovative, creative
Social life
less self-centered
Health conscious, more cautious through life
experiment with caffeine, pg. 38
Undergraduate Planning Now
Passion for your job
Productivity=increased income
Goals
rich social life
Coping with adversity
Marriage
Health, longevity, aging
Nuns (pg. 3)
Undergraduate Planning for the
Future
T/F: Happy people are less likely to
experience health problems than
unhappy people.
T/F: 50% of married people say they are
very happy with their life.
Questions
How does this research impact our career choices?
Being happy drives us to achieve more.
Research shows that Adults and children who
are put into a good mood select higher goals,
perform better, and persist longer.(41)
Being happy builds business connections.
Developing more positive emotion in our lives
will build friendship, love, and (most
importantly) greater achievement (43)
Impacting Career Choices
How does this research impact careers in
general?
Higher job satisfaction
Happier people are more satisfied with their
jobs than less happy people
Improved productivity
Happiness causes more productivity and higher
income (40)
Impacting Careers
Seligman, Martin E. P. Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment.
New York: Free, 2004. Print.
Bibliography