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What Is a Positive Psychology Film?
Abstract
Reviews the film, The pursuit of happyness directed by Gabriele Muccino (2006). The portrayal of positive psychology in the movies is a fascinating new area that warrants further exploration. For example, a clinician or instructor would do well to start with the film The pursuit of happyness . This film is based on the true story of an African American man, Chris Gardner, living in San Francisco in the 1980s. Financial hardship leads Gardner's wife to leave him and their son in pursuit of a better life in New York. Gardner, already struggling to bring in a small income selling bone density scanners, faces increased financial pressure along with the new challenge of being a single father. Although the film panders to the pseudo-positive psychology theme that hard work makes anything possible, it is a high-quality positive psychology film. The Gardner character is a fairly balanced portrayal of several positive psychology strengths (e.g., persistence, love, and hope); there are a variety of real-life obstacles to each strength (e.g., homelessness, unemployment, being a victim of theft, and the protagonist's separation from his wife); he overcomes obstacles and builds on his strengths (e.g., empathy for his son, creativity in an imagination game at a low point, finding ways to save time at work, and staying motivated at difficult times); and the film's tone is uplifting and inspiring. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
... Odak grup görüşmesinden elde edilen verilerin geçerlik ve güvenirliği ile ilgili gerekli bazı önlemler alınmıştır. İç geçerlik çalışması kapsamında, görüşme sorularının oluşturulmasında konuyla ilgili alanyazın taranmış (Biswas- Diener ve Patterson, 2011;Niemiec, 2007;Park, ve Peterson, 2009;Seligman ve Csikszentmihalyi, 2000) ve sorular bu doğrultuda oluşturulmuştur. Ayrıca hazırlanan sorulara yönelik uzman görüşüne başvurulması da başka bir iç geçerlik çalışması olarak uygulanmıştır. ...
... Elde edilen sonuçlar ayrıca filmlerin lisans düzeyinde pozitif psikoloji öğretiminde yararlı bir öğretim yöntemi olarak kullanılabileceğini ima etmektedir. Araştırma bulguları, pozitif psikolojinin öğretiminde filmlerin önemli bir araç olarak kullanılabileceğine işaret eden ilgili alan yazındaki görüşleri destekler niteliktedir (örn., Niemiec, 2007;Rufer, 2014). ...
Bu çalışmanın başlıca amacı, Esaretin Bedeli filminin, pozitif psikoloji yaklaşımına dayalı
olarak incelenmesidir. Bu amaç doğrultusunda Rehberlik ve Psikolojik Danışmanlık
bölümünde son sınıfta okuyan ve “Pozitif Psikoloji” adlı bir seçmeli dersi alan 14 öğrenciyle
dönem sonunda “Esaretin Bedeli” adlı film izlenmiş ve sonrasında izlenen film üzerine bir
odak grup görüşmesi gerçekleştirilerek pozitif psikoloji alanına özgü kavramlar tartışılmıştır.
Araştırmadan elde edilen bulgular, söz konusu filmi izleyen psikolojik danışman adaylarının,
filmin içeriğini pozitif psikoloji yaklaşımının umut, psikolojik sağlamlık, olumlu duygular ve
karakter güçleri gibi pek çok kavramı ile ilişkilendirdiğini ve bu kavramlar çerçevesinde
yorumladıklarını göstermektedir. Elde edilen sonuçlar ayrıca filmlerin lisans düzeyinde pozitif
psikoloji öğretiminde yararlı bir öğretim yöntemi olarak kullanılabileceğini ima etmektedir
... In short, it is one that captures that trifecta of meaning in that it's enjoyable, engaging, and empowering. More specifically, a positive psychology movie meets four criteria (Niemiec, 2007): ...
Good movies have the potential to capture a trifecta of meaning: they can be enjoyable, engaging, and empowering. In other words, we experience pleasure, focused attention and concentration, and are inspired toward the good or reach new insights into ourselves, others, or the human condition. Drawing on the rapidly emerging science in character strengths, areas of integration with cine-matherapy are outlined and explored. A therapeutic change model for character strengths cinematherapy is discussed, with emphasis on the roles of cinematic elevation and cinematic admiration. Practical suggestions to help therapists match client goals, well-being areas, signature strengths, lower strengths, and psychopathology or problem areas are framed. While integration into large scale projects to impact social change is possible with character strengths cinematherapy, the starting point is helping therapists to use this approach with the client in front of them to promote that change one person at a time. K E Y W O R D S character strengths, cinematherapy, cinematic admiration, cinematic elevation, positive media "No art passes our conscience in the way film does, and goes directly to our feelings, deep down into the dark rooms of our souls" (Ingmar Bergman).
... Nesse sentido, um filme de PP parece ter mais chances de estimular a elevação cinemática, pelas suas próprias qualidades positivas. Niemiec (2007) apresentou quatro características necessárias para qualificar um filme como positivo, sendo que todas são facilmente reconhecidas no filme Meu pé esquerdo. A primeira é a descrição de um personagem que demonstra forças de caráter da PP e, na primeira metade do filme, já é possível reconhecer em Christy Brown as seguintes forças, conforme classificação de Park, Peterson e Seligman (2004): bravura, criatividade e esperança. ...
This paper deals with an investigation centered on the human relationship with the movies, from a Positive Psychology point of view, which focuses on the promotion of values and well-being. This search emerges from the following question: could movies potentiate the confrontation to overcome strong contingent adversities to human life? Specifically, the purpose of the paper is to discuss how movies can enhance the body resilience. Therefore, the sense of resilience is explored when the body itself seems to limit someone to perform ordinary tasks. For that, the movies Meu pé esquerdo (1989) and A teoria de tudo (2014), which portray, respectively, the stories of Christy Brown and Stephen Hawking are both used as clear examples that the limitation of the body is not enough to limit the happiness. In the end, the elements identified in the selected narratives are expected to help strengthen movies as foundational technology for human development, especially from the perspective of Positive Psychology.
... The field of positive psychology is complementary when studying well-being in its own right; yet, it has the breadth to also be comprehensive and integrate with realistic appraisals of what is not entirely right in the world. When emphasizing character strengths and strengths-spotting in movies, one might consider four criteria for an optimal positive psychology film (Niemiec, 2007, Niemiec & Wedding, 2014): 1. A character displays (at least) one of the 24 strengths in the VIA Classification. ...
Children learn in part from what they see and hear, whether modeling parents’ or peers’ behavior, reading books, or viewing movies. Parents and their children share the same and often unspoken goal—to live “the good life”—in a state of well-being. Character strengths are foundational to well-being, and movies are a rich source with which to build character strengths and hence flourishing. However, even though movies are considered efficacious (and more rigorous studies are needed), there are minimal resources for parents on how to use this powerful tool with their children and teenagers. Movies are presented here as an educational force, with the ability to promote altruism and self-improvement. The power of the narrative stimulates emotions, and these emotional responses influence learning and behavior. Immersion into a character in a movie increases empathy, and allows the viewer to live the experiences of the character without having to experience the real-life consequences. The following paper will discuss: movies as positive media, the rationale for how movies build character strengths, the benefits of building character strengths from movies in particular, and curriculum/criteria for “Positive Psychology at the Movies for Families, Children, and Teenagers.” The 24 character strengths will be reviewed, and an exemplar movie presented for each, followed by discussion points and potential positive interventions. A literature review of positive psychology and character strengths can be found in the Appendix.
... Ryan Niemiec (2007) has expanded his character strengths work into creating criteria for what makes a "positive psychology film". He outlines four: ...
Media has become an increasingly large part of our lives, and therefore plays a crucial role in our well-being. Positive psychology, the science of well-being, can be complemented through the new potentialities of media, which in many ways also seeks to improve the human experience. I create the context for a new dialogue about what "positive media" might be. By adopting a positive lens and discussing exemplars in different formats, this paper explores the ways media effectively incorporates elements of well-being. Through this positive approach, we gain an appreciation for what media does well. The paper also recommends ways that people can consume media in support of their well-being, and ways media creators can design content that optimizes human flourishing. Lastly, the paper encourages a dialogue between the important fields of positive psychology and media. With a partnership between these fields, it posits the opportunity for dramatically increasing global well-being.
... I believe that positive psychology's substantive themes, and often inspiring findings, mixed in with the entertaining medium of film is a win-win learning platform, especially in terms of educating students, assisting clients, and connecting communities together. My colleague, Danny Wedding, and I believe so strongly in this that we wrote a book on the topic (Niemiec & Wedding, 2008), and no doubt Belic's film will make it into the next edition because it certainly meets the criteria for a positive psychology film (Niemiec, 2007). In the end, Belic has provided viewers with a great vehicle for infusing joy into their journey of positive psychology cinemeducation. ...
The documentary film, Happy, offers educators and practitioners a unique opportunity to provide a novel learning experience for students and clients. The film integrates meaningful stories and expert interviews with quality filmmaking to offer viewers knowledge, entertainment, and engagement. Cinematic elevation, the process by which a viewer observes virtuous behavior, feels physiological sensations of inspiration, and is consequently motivated to do good or to be a better person (e.g., copying the strengths of the film's characters) is particularly at play in Happy. Where there are gaps in the film's scope of the field of happiness, wellbeing, and positive psychology, suggestions are made for the viewer to overcome these and maximize the potential to derive benefit from the film.
The media annals for the last 75 years form a veritable social history with values, attitudes, habits, and prejudices evolving over this time span. Movies have been especially powerful when portraying stereotypes, especially those of stigmatized groups including people with disabilities. If we look at films conceived after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA; 1990), we find that people with disabilities are now portrayed in cameo and background roles that do not lead to inspiration as they did previously (e.g., Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker and Don in Butterflies Are Free). Older films reveal an interesting phenomenon, that is, many of the films discussed in this chapter do have the positive psychology approach of offering a balanced portrayal of a character overcoming obstacles in an uplifting or inspirational manner. Reasons for this seeming paradox are discussed; whereas the law now protects the civil rights of those with disabilities, these people seem to have lost their interest as major dramatic personae.
Albert Bandura (1977) has noted the power of modeling, stating, “Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them what to do. Fortunately, most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling: from observing others one forms an idea of how new behaviors are performed, and on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action” (p. 22).
Positive psychology has often used both fictional and nonfictional examples to describe positive traits and outcomes. However, a film’s contribution to understanding of experiences has been rather underresearched in positive psychology literature. Although researchers in areas including journalism and film studies have conducted such investigations over the years, positive psychologists are yet to pursue this actively. This article is an attempt to explore positive psychology concepts displayed in the film Wadjda through thematic analysis. The film is about the life of an ordinary girl who displays positive outcomes under circumstances that might have overwhelmed others. This article focuses on the journey of the characters in the film and attempts to identify positive psychology features in the story. Although all characters portrayed in the film are shown to be undergoing some challenge, they are depicted as handling their life circumstances in a healthy manner. The story radiates positivity and fits Niemiec’s criteria of a positive psychology film. The article concludes by highlighting the need to conduct research on positive psychology films and its application in different areas.
Positive psychotherapy (PPT) contrasts with standard interventions for depression by increasing positive emotion, engagement, and meaning rather than directly targeting depressive symptoms. The authors have tested the effects of these interventions in a variety of settings. In informal student and clinical settings, people not uncommonly reported them to be "life-changing." Delivered on the Web, positive psychology exercises relieved depressive symptoms for at least 6 months compared with placebo interventions, the effects of which lasted less than a week. In severe depression, the effects of these Web exercises were particularly striking. This address reports two preliminary studies: In the first, PPT delivered to groups significantly decreased levels of mild-to-moderate depression through 1-year follow-up. In the second, PPT delivered to individuals produced higher remission rates than did treatment as usual and treatment as usual plus medication among outpatients with major depressive disorder. Together, these studies suggest that treatments for depression may usefully be supplemented by exercises that explicitly increase positive emotion, engagement, and meaning. ((c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).
A science of positive subjective experience, positive individual traits, and positive institutions promises to improve quality of life and prevent the pathologies that arise when life is barren and meaningless. The exclusive focus on pathology that has dominated so much of our discipline results in a model of the human being lacking the positive features that make life worth living. Hope, wisdom, creativity, future mindedness, courage, spirituality, responsibility, and perseverance are ignored or explained as transformations of more authentic negative impulses. The 15 articles in this millennial issue of the American Psychologist discuss such issues as what enables happiness, the effects of autonomy and self-regulation, how optimism and hope affect health, what constitutes wisdom, and how talent and creativity come to fruition. The authors outline a framework for a science of positive psychology, point to gaps in our knowledge, and predict that the next century will see a science and profession that will come to understand and build the factors that allow individuals, communities, and societies to flourish.
According to the hedonic treadmill model, good and bad events temporarily affect happiness, but people quickly adapt back to hedonic neutrality. The theory, which has gained widespread acceptance in recent years, implies that individual and societal efforts to increase happiness are doomed to failure. The recent empirical work outlined here indicates that 5 important revisions to the treadmill model are needed. First, individuals' set points are not hedonically neutral. Second, people have different set points, which are partly dependent on their temperaments. Third, a single person may have multiple happiness set points: Different components of well-being such as pleasant emotions, unpleasant emotions, and life satisfaction can move in different directions. Fourth, and perhaps most important, well-being set points can change under some conditions. Finally, individuals differ in their adaptation to events, with some individuals changing their set point and others not changing in reaction to some external event. These revisions offer hope for psychologists and policy-makers who aim to decrease human misery and increase happiness.
In this article, the author describes a new theoretical perspective on positive emotions and situates this new perspective within the emerging field of positive psychology. The broaden-and-build theory posits that experiences of positive emotions broaden people's momentary thought-action repertoires, which in turn serves to build their enduring personal resources, ranging from physical and intellectual resources to social and psychological resources. Preliminary empirical evidence supporting the broaden-and-build theory is reviewed, and open empirical questions that remain to be tested are identified. The theory and findings suggest that the capacity to experience positive emotions may be a fundamental human strength central to the study of human flourishing.
Positive psychology emphasises the need to understand the positive side of human experience, as well as understanding and ameliorating psychopathology and distress.
Positive Therapy explores the relevance of positive psychology to therapy. Stephen Joseph and P. Alex Linley argue that therapy is not so much about what you do as how you do it, emphasising the influence of the views we hold about human nature on our approach to therapy, and the importance of the relationship between therapist and client over the technique of the therapist. They consider the full range of positive therapies and illustrate the application of the approach in relation to their own work in the field of posttraumatic stress and posttraumatic growth. Finally, they discuss how positive therapy focuses our attention on the social and political context of our work as therapists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
New research uncovers some anti-intuitive insights into how many people are happy--and why.