Positive psychology: a new way to support wellness in older adults? by Marge Coalman, EdD

What would you pay or do to be happy? It’s an intriguing question—one that has been studied, evaluated and marketed for a very long time.

In the annals of history, the pursuit of happiness goes back to ancient times. Aristotle, Abraham, Buddha, Solomon and other ancient scholars wrote about the impact of a positive outlook supported by life choices and creeds that provided the road map to well-being. In the 20th century, Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers and Erich Fromm developed successful theories and practices that became the foundation of many psychology classes in universities worldwide, and that are still taught today. The newest research focus as of the last years of the previous century is positive psychology, defined as the study of positive emotion, positive character, and positive institutions (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). Leading researchers are convinced that interventions and strategies can, and do, influence an individual’s aptitude for happiness. The other side of the positive psychology coin is skepticism.