Ann Macaskill
Sheffield Hallam University, UK
Title: Positive psychology progress and pitfalls: Exploring health, well-being and education
Biography
Biography: Ann Macaskill
Abstract
Positive psychology in its most recent incarnation is now around 16 years old and it seems timely to take stock of progress. In this presentation, I will focus on the expansion of research on positive psychology that has occurred recently. This has included identification of a summary statement of human virtues and widespread acceptance of character strengths as psychological attributes worthy of study. The Values-in-Action Inventory (VIA) has been developed as a first generic measure of the hypothesised model of human virtues although not all the character strengths in the VIA are equally supported empirically by existing research it has provided a huge stimulus to researchers. My own work on applying positive psychology to examine stress in students and academics to identify the characteristics of those who cope best will be explored. We have also been examining strengths in the well elderly a much under researched population to try to identify what contributes to a happy, healthy, and productive old age. The positive psychology interventions my colleagues and I have undertaken with students and the elderly will also be presented. While great strides are being made positive psychology is not without its critics and this will be examined. However, in the spirit of positive psychology, I will examine the challenges that these identified shortcomings pose to researchers so that we can ensure that the area continues to flourish and we move on from our heavy reliance on correlational studies largely with students to employ more sophisticated designs and representative populations.