Positive Psychology
Positive psychology is the study of the positive aspects of the human experience. Positive psychology began as a domain of psychology in 1998 and it is a reaction against past practices, which had focused on "mental illness", emphasising negative behaviour and thinking. Positive psychology encourages an emphasis on happiness, well-being, optimism and positivity.
(a) Listen to a British Council podcast and identify the topic of the lecture
Positive Psychology
A happy life
The Theory of Flow
(b) Listen to the podcast again and complete the notes below with no more than THREE WORDS from the audio.
Positive psychology looks at how to help people (1) ___________
A question to begin: what makes a happy life?
Csikszentmihalyi suggests the theory that
happiness is not caused by external events
Our (2) ____________ of these things makes us happy or sad
If we want happiness, we have to actively (3) _____________
Theory of Flow
Our happiest moments happen when we are in a state of flow.
When we are totally involved in, or (4) _________, what we are doing
Csikszentmihalyi watched how artists worked in a studio.
They completely (5) ________ of time,
Could work for hours, even days, without stopping.
People who have experienced this state of (6) _________ have said it's difficult to explain.
It is like being (7) _________ and the flow carries you away.
Rest of this lecture
Explore this theory of flow in more detail
Look at Csikszentmihalyi's life, and how it influenced his ideas.
Then, the (8) __________that go with a state of flow.
Finally, we will look at activities that can help us achieve flow in our everyday lives.
When you are ready, enter your answers in the sheet below
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