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handouts for:
HopeHopeJanuary 19, 2011 1
PositivePositivePsychologyPsychology
HopeLocus of controlEllen Langer & adultsTiffany Field & infantsEdward Tronick and infants
1. Let’s take a closer look at our class website.
2. Let’s revisit the set of 6 virtues and 24 strengths.
http://www.canyons.edu/faculty/rafterm
http://www.canyons.edu/faculty/rafterm
Courage: emotional strengths that involve the exercise of will to accomplish goals in the face of opposition, external or internal
Justice: civic strengths that underlie healthy community life
Humanity: interpersonal strengths that involve tending to and befriending others
Transcendence: strengths that forge connections to the larger universe and provide meaning
Temperance: strengths that protect against excess
Wisdom & Knowledge: cognitive strengths that entail the acquisition and use of knowledge
Each strength is valuedin almost every culture and period of time.
Each strength is valuedin its own right, not just as a means to other ends.
Each strength is malleable. “I can learn a particular strength and get better at it.”
24 strengths were identified:
Bravery: not shrinking from threat, challenge, difficulty, or pain
Persistence: finishing what one starts, persisting in a course of action despite obstacles
Integrity: authenticity, honesty, speaking the truth, and presenting oneself in a genuine way
Vitality: zest, enthusiasm, and energy; approaching life with excitement and energy; not doing things halfway or halfheartedly; living life as an adventure, feeling alive and activated
Citizenship: social responsibility, loyalty, teamwork; working well as a member of a team; being loyal to the group; doing one’s
share F
airness: treating all people the same according to notions of fairness and justice; not letting personal feelings bias decisions about others; giving everyone a fair chance
Leadership: encouraging a group of which one is a member to get things done and at the same time maintain good relations within the group; organizing group activities and seeing that they happen
Kindness: generosity, nurturance, care, compassion, and altruistic love; doing favors and good deeds for others; helping others; taking care of others
Love: valuing close relations with others, in particular those in which sharing and caring are reciprocated; being close to people
Social Intelligence: emotional intelligence, personal intelligence, empathy; being aware of the motives and feelings of self and others; knowing what to do to fit into different social situations; knowing what makes other people tick
Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence: noticing and appreciating beauty, excellence, and skilled performance in all domains of life, from nature to arts to mathematics to science and everyday experience
Gratitude: being aware of and thankful for the good things that happen; taking time to express thanks
Hope: optimism, future-mindedness, future orientation; expecting the best in the future and working to achieve it; believing that a good future is something that can be brought about
Humor: playfulness; liking to laugh and tease; bringing smiles to other people, seeing the light side; making (not necessarily telling) jokes
Spirituality: religiousness, faith, purpose; knowing where one fits within the larger scheme; having coherent beliefs about the higher purpose and meaning of life that shape conduct and provide comfort
Forgiveness and Mercy: forgiving those who have done wrong; accepting the shortcomings of others; giving people a second chance; not being vengeful
Humility and Modesty: letting ones accomplishments speak for themselves; not seeking the spotlight; not regarding oneself as more special than one is
Prudence: being careful about one’s choices; not taking undue risks; not saying or doing things that might later be regretted
Self-Regulation: self-control; regulating what one feels and does; being disciplined; controlling one’s appetites and emotions
Creativity: thinking of novel and productive ways to do things
Curiosity: taking an interest in all of ongoing experience
Open-Mindedness: thinking things through and examining them from all sides
Love of Learning: mastering new skills, topics, and bodies of knowledge
Perspective: being able to provide wise counsel to others
A life bound by
virtues & strengths.
“The future is not a gift. It is an achievement.”
Robert F. Kennedy
Reflects individuals’ perceptions of their capacities to:
1.Clearly conceptualize goals
2.Develop the specific strategies to reach those goals (pathways thinking)
3.Initiate and sustain the motivation for using those strategies (agency thinking)
Goals can be significant and lifelong or mundane and brief
Both the pathway and agency components are both necessary to sustain successful goal pursuit.
The hiker.
The assessment:
Goals ScaleRead each item carefully. Using the scale shown below, please select the number that best describes YOU and put that number in the blank provided.
1 = Definitely False 2 = Mostly False 3 = Mostly True 4 = Definitely True_____1. I can think of many ways to get out of a jam._____2. I energetically pursue my goals._____3. I feel tired most of the time._____4. There are lots of ways around any problem._____5. I am easily downed in an argument._____6. I can think of many ways to get the things in life that are most important to me._____7. I worry about my health._____8. Even when others get discouraged, I know I can find a way to solve the problem._____9. My past experiences have prepared me well for my future.____10. I’ve been pretty successful in life.____11. I usually find myself worrying about something.____12. I meet the goals that I set for myself.
Distracter items = 3, 5, 7, 11
Pathways items = 1, 4, 6, 8Agency items = 2, 9, 10, 12
The individual’s Locus (place) of control is perceived to be internal or external.
Internal = skill, ability, my choice
“I am in control.”
External = luck, other people, the situation
“I have no control.”
The I-E Locus of Control assessment,
and the research –
pathways (goal-oriented strategies) and agency (initiate and sustain the motivation to do the strategies)
Chapter 6: Mindful Aging
4 Research Studies
STUDY #1: 1976 Study with Rodin:
Examined the effects of decision making & responsibility on residents in a nursing home
Experimental Group: Encouraged to make more decisions for
themselvesOffered a plant to care for
Control Group:Nursing home staff took care of decision-
making; encouraged to rely on themGiven a plant, but told the staff would care
for it.Ellen Langer - Chapter 6: Mindful AgingEllen Langer’s book, Mindfulness Chapter 6: Mindful Aging
Results of the experiment:
18 months after the study:Those in the experimental group
(decision making & responsibility) were significantly more active and sociable
The health of those in the experimental group had improved, those in the control group had worsened
7/48 subjects in the experimental group had died
13/44 subjects in the control group had died
Ellen Langer’s book, Mindfulness Chapter 6: Mindful Aging
STUDY #2: 1979 Study with Perlmuter
4 different groups, divided according to the level of mindfulness
Subjects, retirees and residents of nursing homes, would take note of the choices they made in their daily activities.
Found that the more decisions and control required of the subjects, they were:Less depressedMore independent and confidentMore alert and differentiated in their choices
Ellen Langer’s book, Mindfulness Chapter 6: Mindful Aging
STUDY #3: Putting Age in Context: An Experiment Subjects: Elderly men ages 75-80 years
A newspaper ad called for male subjects over 70 years old for a 5–day retreat. Those in “reasonably good health” were selected.
Experimental group: Men would be immersed in their world of 20 years ago (“It is now 1959.”)
Control group: Men reflected back on the world 20 years ago
Ellen Langer’s book, Mindfulness Chapter 6: Mindful Aging
Putting Age in Context The Results: Compared to the men in the control group who only
reflectedreflected on 1959, The men in the Experimental group who
livedlived as if it actually was 1959:Looked an average of 3 years younger after the study Improved in hearing and psychological functioningExperienced greater manual dexterity, gained more
weight, and slightly better vision
Ellen Langer’s book, Mindfulness Chapter 6: Mindful Aging
STUDY #4: Reversing Memory Loss (1979)
Attempted to answer the question: Does giving people a reason to remember something make memory loss reversible?
Subjects: Residents in a retirement home.Experimental group: Received chips
redeemable for gifts if they gave a correct answer.
Control Group 1: Received chips not redeemable for anything.
Control Group 2: Received nothing.Ellen Langer’s book, Mindfulness Chapter 6: Mindful Aging
Results of the study: The experimental group outperformed those in the
control groups in short-term memory tests Overall health in the experimental group was
better 2 years later:7% of experimental group died (Received chips redeemable
for gifts if they gave a correct answer)
33% of Control Group 1 died (Received chips not redeemable for anything)
27% of Control Group 2 died (Received nothing)
Ellen Langer’s book, Mindfulness Chapter 6: Mindful Aging
Fig. 2. Double-bedded premature twins.
Diamond A , Amso D Current Directions in Psychological Science 2008;17:136-141
Copyright © by Association for Psychological Science
Double-bedded premature twins. Born 12 weeks early, these twins were initially whisked into separate incubators. Kyrie (on the right), the larger by over 2 pounds, slept peacefully, but Brielle (on the left) had breathing and heart-rate problems, didn't gain weight, and fussed when anyone tried to comfort her. Finally a nurse, acting counter to hospital regulations, put the two sisters together. As Brielle dozed, Kyrie put her arm around her smaller sibling. Brielle began to thrive. Sooner than expected, the girls went home. Today a handful of institutions use double bedding, which reduces the number of hospital days.
Click hereto listen to this song.
“The future is not a gift. It is an achievement.”
Robert F. Kennedy
““I hopeI hope
we’ll keep in touch.”we’ll keep in touch.”
The End.
