Pros and Cons of Positive Psychology: A Critical Look

We hear a great deal about positive psychology these days, and the field is booming. But how useful is it? In this course, we examine the field of Positive Psychology from a critical standpoint. An approach based on Positive Psychology is currently used with members of the United States military for the purpose of helping them accept their actions and return to active duty, and many find this ethically questionable. Ideas from Positive Psychology are also used with cancer patients, who may be set up for deep shame if thinking positively fails to eradicate their sickness. Another common objection is that humans are meant to experience the full range of human emotions, and that the classification of negative and positive emotions is harmful.

This intermediate level course is composed of five audio interviews and two text articles. Dr. David Van Nuys has been interviewing professionals in a warm and engaging manner for over seven years. The first section includes audio interviews, with Dr. Rakesh Sarin on engineering happiness and Dr. Russ Harris on “the happiness trap.” The second section includes two audio interviews, with Dr. James Coyne and Dr. Lisa Aspinwall. Both of these discuss the effectiveness (and lack thereof) of using Positive Psychology with cancer patients. The third section covers the controversial issue of using Positive Psychology with members of the military for the purpose of returning them to active duty. It includes one text article by Dr. Roy Eidelson, Dr. Marc Pilisuk and Dr. Stephen Soldz, and one audio interview of Dr. Stephen Soldz. Finally, the course includes a brief article by Dr. David Van Nuys. Additional resources and references are provided for further study, but they are not part of the course.