Scientific Pollyannaism by Oksana Yakushko

Author:Oksana Yakushko
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783030159825
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Building a New Religion from the Sciences of Happiness

Seligman , the field’s principal leader and founder, began publishing and promoting books on positivity targeted towards “normal people,” but also in order to create lucrative contracts with businesses, governments, the military as well as via online positive coaching services (Ehrenriech , 2009). According to Seligman’s (2002, 2006) books, with titles like The Learned Optimism and Authentic Happiness , positive psychology was also the promotional development product encouraged by his editor, who believed (probably correctly) that Seligman’s writings on tortured animals and people (i.e., his learned helplessness studies) were not as marketable to the general public. In his introduction to Learned Optimism Seligman (2006) quoted his agent Richard as saying: “I pray you’ll write a book about this [positivity]. They make religion out of this stuff!” (p. iii). Seligman (2006) goes on to complain about psychology’s exclusive focused on “victims” who were apparently living in the “negative” life spheres (p. xi). In contrast, he proposed a psychology for those who, like him, needed “to go from plus two to plus seven” (Seligman , 2006, p. xi).

Consistent with earlier versions of Scientific Pollyannaism , positive psychology’s focus remains on demonizing negative emotional states and enforcing the requirement of positivity in order to be considered mentally healthy. Being positive emerges here as a skill that can be acquired through the techniques of positive psychology , and mental health now requires more than supposed freedom from disordered emotions (i.e., sadness , anger ) but the perpetual presence of positive ones. According to Seligman (2011),the skills of enjoying positive emotion … are entirely different from the skills of not being depressed, not being anxious, and not being angry. These dysphorias get in the way of wellbeing, but they do not make well-being impossible; nor does the absence of sadness , anxiety, and anger remotely guarantee happiness . The takeaway lesson from positive psychology is that positive mental health is not just the absence of mental illness . … Positive mental health is a presence: the presence of positive emotion. (p. 182)

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