Positive Psychology Center

OUR MISSION Our Mission: The mission of the Positive Psychology Center is to promote research, training, education, and the dissemination of Positive Psychology. Positive Psychology is the scientific study of the strengths that enable individuals and communities to thrive. Dr. Martin E.P. Seligman is the Director of the Center and Zellerbach Family Professor of Psychology. The Rationale: During its first century, psychology justifiably focused most of its attention on human suffering. Marked progress as been made in understanding and treating numerous psychological disorders - depression, anxiety, and phobias, to name a few. While alleviating suffering, however, psychology has not paid much attention to what makes life most worth living. Positive Psychology is founded on the belief that people want more than an end to suffering. People want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within themselves, to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play. We have the opportunity to create a science and a profession that not only heals psychological damage but also builds strengths to enable people to achieve the best things in life. The Three Pillars: Positive Psychology has three central concerns: positive experiences, positive individual traits, and positive institutions. Understanding positive emotions entails the study of contentment with the past, happiness in the present, and hope for the future. Understanding positive individual traits involves the study of strengths, such as the capacity for love and work, courage, compassion, resilience, creativity, curiosity, integrity, self-knowledge, moderation, self-control, and wisdom. Understanding positive institutions entails the study of the strengths that foster better communities, such as justice, responsibility, civility, parenting, nurturance, work ethic, leadership, teamwork, purpose, and tolerance. Our Goals: Some of the goals of Positive Psychology are to build a science that supports: Families and schools that allow children to flourish Workplaces that foster satisfaction and high productivity Communities that encourage civic engagement Therapists who nurture their patients' strengths The teaching of Positive Psychology Dissemination of Positive Psychology interventions in schools, organizations, and communities.