STRENGTHS,

TALENTS AND
INTERESTS
GROUP 16 - DELMTU1
 STRENGTHS VS. TALENTS
Presented by: Mary Apple Baledio

Strengths appear naturally in our

daily life and we very rarely
waste our strengths

Talents can be considered to be more

innate and non-moral and can be
wasted.
On closer inspection, someone may
have a talent for football or singing but
decide not to develop or use that talent.
Clifton stated that talents are natural
According to him, strengths are extensions
of talent and it combines talent with related
knowledge and skills.
He also believed that success is closely
related to personal talents, strengths, and
analytical intelligence.
THE CLIFTON STRENGTHS
FINDER THEMES
 WHAT EXACTLY ARE STRENGTHS
AND HOW CAN THEY BE USED TO
ENHANCE AND MAINTAIN
‘THE GOOD LIFE’?
In order to be classified as a character strength, Peterson and Seligman
out several inclusion criteria, some but not all of which are listed below:

1 2 3

It must be present in a range of

It must be morally valued in
the individual’s behaviours, It must contribute to
its own right, irrespective of
thoughts, feelings, and actions, fulfilment of the good life
the beneficial outcomes it
generalizable across situations for self and others.
can lead to.
and times.
 4 5

Furthermore, displaying the The larger society provides

strength does not diminish institutions and associated
others, but may rather rituals for cultivating
benefit them strengths and virtues

6 7

It can be distinguished from

other character strengths
It can be measured
(adapted from
Boniwell,2008)
 WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE, COURAGE,
LOVE, JUSTICE, TEMPERANCE, AND
TRANSCEDENCE
Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman, identified 24 character strengths that are organized into six virtues

Wisdom & Courage Love

Knowledge
Curiosity and interest
Intimacy, reciprocal attachment
Love of learning Valour
Kindness, generosity,
Judgment, critical thinking, Industry, perseverance
nurturance
open-mindedness Integrity, honesty,
Social intelligence, personal
Practical intelligence, authenticity
intelligence, emotional
creativity, originality, ingenuity Zest, enthusiasm
intelligence
Perspective
 WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE, COURAGE,
LOVE, JUSTICE, TEMPERANCE, AND
TRANSCEDENCE
Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman, identified 24 character strengths that are organized into six virtues

Justice Temperance Transcedence

Awe, wonder, appreciation of
beauty, and excellence
Citizenship, duty, loyalty, Forgiveness, mercy Gratitude
teamwork Modesty, humility Hope, optimism, future-
Equity, fairness Prudence, caution mindedness
Leadership Self-control, self-regulation Playfulness, humour
Spirituality, sense of purpose,
faith, religiousness
PETERSON AND
SELIGMAN, 2004

The Values in Action (VIA) Classification of Strengths and

Virtues has become known within the positive psychology world
as the ‘un-DSM’, or rather a book/reference guide to which
psychologists can refer in recognition of strengths and positive
functioning, rather than classifications of disorder and dysfunction.

DONALD CLIFTON

The alternative or rival to the VIA is the Clifton Strengths Finder

which is organized into 34 talent themes (Lopez and
Ackerman, 2009). Its authors propose that talents are the
basis of strengths, which are produced when talents are
refined with knowledge and skills.
REALISE2

strengths assessment
developed at the Centre for Applied Positive Psychology
(CAPP) in Warwickshire, England
The creator of the tool, Alex Linley, is a well renowned positive
psychologist
You can access the Realise2 online, and take the test that asks
you to assess 60 attributes (ranging from Spotlight to Courage
to Relationship deepener) and determine three major factors:
whether or not these attributes have the ability to re-energize
you, whether you are good at them and how often you get to
use them in your daily life.
According to this model, Realise2 divides an individual’s attributes
into four dimensions:

Realized strengths
are the strengths of which you are aware already and use,
which in turn enable you to perform at your best.

Unrealized strengths
are strengths that you may not be able to
express on a daily basis due to your environment
and work situation. However, when you do
display them you derive energy and satisfaction
from exhibiting these attributes.
Weaknesses
encompass the behaviours that you have not managed to do
well over time and they drain you. These attributes can create
issues and need to be managed so that they do not hinder
your success in life.

Learned behaviours
encompass the behaviours that you have, over
time, learned to do well; however, you do not
derive pleasure or energy from completing them.
These are not considered strengths in the
Realise2 but attributes that you have learned to
do well, but drain you, therefore inhibiting your
ability to perform and live at your best.
THE VALUE OF
STRENGTHS
Research has demonstrated that by simply following our
strengths we can gain insight and perspective into our lives,
generate optimism, confidence, and even an enhanced
sense of vitality (Clifton and Anderson, 2001).
More importantly, strengths appear to have a preventative
mechanism in terms of buffering against certain types of
physical dysfunction such as allergies, diabetes, chronic
pain, and even some mental disorders.
Strengths help build psychological resilience with the use of
signature strengths in work, love, play, and parenting
generating positive emotions. Finally, the strengths
approach is argued to be at the heart of successful
psychological therapies.
DISTRIBUTION AND DEMOGRAPHICS
Based on the data within the US and other Western nations, the most commonly endorsed
strengths are:
kindness
fairness
honesty
gratitude, and
judgment,
and the lesser strengths include
prudence
modesty and
self-regulation (Park et al., 2004).

Hope, teamwork, and zest are more common among adolescents than adults whereas
appreciation of beauty, authenticity, leadership, and open-mindedness are more common
among adults (Park et al., unpublished).
In relation to well-being, it appears that it is better to have
some strengths rather than others. Research suggests that
the strengths of curiosity, gratitude, hope, love, and zest are
most robustly associated with life satisfaction (Park et al.,
2004). So, should we be worried that we are doomed to
never be happy if we don’t have these correlated strengths?
We would argue, on the basis of other well-documented
research, that there is a lot you can do, regardless of what
strengths you have, to enhance your wellbeing.
First of all, when you are deciding on Thus, if your top strength is kindness,
what career to follow or what job to then try and source a job with some
take, try to match your Top 5 form of the mentoring element. Or if
strengths with your job, as the most you score high on curiosity, try to
valued job, relationships and hobbies inject some adventure into your
are the ones congruent with people’s romantic relationships.
strengths.

Finally, you can try using your signature strengths in a new way every
day, for at least one week. Infusing your daily life with variety in how
you express your strengths has a lasting effect on increased
happiness and decreased depressive symptoms for up to 6 months
(Seligman et al., 2005).
 CAN MY STRENGTHS
CHANGE OVER TIME?
Presented by: Melanie Morden

Your strengths have the ability to morph over time and circumstances.
One of the biggest influences is tragedy.
An example of this is the 9/11 incident. The research compared the pre- and
post- 9/11 VIA surveys and found a significant increase in faith, hope, and love.
Moreover, Peterson and his colleagues have started to look into the connections
between illness (both physical and mental) and strengths, and they have found,
from a large sample of US citizens, that
individuals who recover from a serious physical illness score higher or greater
appreciation of beauty, bravery, curiosity, fairness, forgiveness, gratitude,
humour, kindness, love of learning and spirituality.
those who have recovered from a psychological disorder score higher on
appreciation of beauty, creativity, curiosity, gratitude and love of learning
HOW ELSE CAN WE USE THE
STRENGTHS WITHIN OUR DAILY
LIVES? Positive Introduction

An example of a positive introduction:

Please turn to the person on your left and ask them to describe a
situation when they were at their best last week. What did it feel like?
Describe the beginning, middle, and end. Once they have finished, please
switch roles and complete the introduction yourself.

One of the main contributions of positive psychology is helping people

to reflect on, consider, and recognize their underlying talents and core
strengths to utilize and attain to live a thriving life (Mead, 2022).
 Seligman offers several ideas for incorporating

MAKE A
strengths into our daily lives - creating 'a beautiful
day’ or going on a ‘strengths date' in which the
story occurs.

BEAUTIFUL To create a ‘beautiful day’, use your talents and

attributes to create the perfect day (or even half

DAY USING
day).
If your top strengths are love of learning and
curiosity

YOUR a trip to a favorite museum or;

a few hours with a book that you’ve been
meaning to read.

STRENGTHS You can also take your ‘strengths day’ further and design
a date with your significant other together so that both
of you can express your talents (sana all).
 DEVELOPING
STRENGTHS
Identify our non-signature strengths

if you are ‘low’ on curiosity and interest, you may try expanding your
knowledge in an area of interest through books, journals, magazines, TV,
radio, or the internet, for half an hour, three times a week.
In order to develop the curiosity of others, find a person in an area of your
interest and learn how he/she increased his/her expertise in that area
If you feel that you need to enhance your appreciation of beauty, try and note
at least one expression of natural beauty around you every day
Interest, a phenomenologically distinct positive
emotion, broadens by creating the urge to explore,
take in new information and experiences, and
expand the self in the process (Csikszentmihalyi,
1990; Izard, 1977; Ryan & Deci, 2000; Tomkins,
INTEREST
1962).

Interest is related to passion, things

you like or are enthusiastic about

can develop as your strength as it is a

cognitive strength that entail the
acquisition and use of knowledge.
THANK
YOU!
REFERENCES

Hefferon, K., & Boniwell, I. (2011). Positive psychology: Theory, research and applications.
Maidenhead, Berkshire, England: McGraw Hill Open University Press.

Mead, E. (2022, August 4). Personal strengths defined (+ list of 92 personal strengths).
PositivePsychology.com. Retrieved August 9, 2022, from https://positivepsychology.com/what-
are-your-strengths/
 Strengths Use in
Organizations: A Positive
Approach of Occupational
Health
Occupational Health
• Complex phenomenon that can be explored from either a pathogenic perspective or
salutogenic perspective.

Pathogenic perspective – focuses on risk factors and diseases.

Salutogenic perspective – focuses on resources for the positive promotion of health.

Positive Occupational Psychology

• the study and application of the conditions and processes
that contribute to optimal functioning in the workplace.
 • Strengths-based practices (SBP)
were based on the belief that
Theoretical Background clients are most successful at
(Strength-based achieving their goals when they
identify and utilize their strengths,
Approach) abilities, and assets.

• The formalization of SBP emerged

as an alternative to the pathology-
laden treatments for psychiatric
disorders.

• SBP have a favorable influence on a

variety of outcomes, including
social skills, stress tolerance,
psychiatric symptomatology.
 Strengths Use Theory
• Strengths are trait like, how strengths are used is dependent upon
context, values, and interests.

• Employees who use their strengths can act in accordance with their
authentic selves (Peterson & Seligman, 2004) and theories on
authenticity (Kernis & Goldman, 2006) and self-concordance (Sheldon
& Elliot, 1999) predict that employees who use their strengths are
therefore less likely to suffer from depression and job stress.

• Self efficacy theory (Bandura, 1997) predicts that strengths use will
therefore lead to improved performance.
 Consequences of Strengths Use
✓Correlational studies have indicated that strengths use is positively related to
employee work engagement, well-being and self-efficacy, and negatively related
to stress. In addition, strengths use is positively related to self- and other-ratings
of job performance and negatively related to company-registered sickness
absenteeism.
✓However, because of the correlational character of these studies, it is still
unclear to what extent strengths use is a predictor or outcome of these
variables.
✓Additionally, it is conceivable that employees who perform well start to rely
more heavily on their strengths, because of the positive feedback they receive
from others and self-confirming reactions
Positions of Strengths
• According to JD-R theory, employee well-being and job performance is a
function of two main categories of job characteristics, namely job demands and
job resources.

• JD-R theory proposes that job resources can be used to prevent the conversion
of job demands into job strain, and job resources are most important for
motivation and performance when job demands are high.

• This means that strengths use is not only an antecedent, but also a
consequence of high levels of work engagement. Specifically, strengths use
contributes positively to personal resources, and indirectly to work engagement
and performance, and those who are engaged are more likely to use their
strengths.

• Goals are achieved are likely to be more consistent with their interests and core
values making employees invest persistent effort, thereby leading to goal
attainment.
Future Research on Strength Use

• Promoting strengths use in organizations seems a promising way

to foster health and well-being at work, research on strengths use
in an organizational context is still in its early stages and several
research questions are still unanswered.

8 Important Topics for research

• A need for achieving closure on the definition of strengths.
• Although correlational studies indicate that strengths use is
positively related to self-efficacy and work engagement and
that employees who perceive a strengths-based climate in their
organization perform better, thus far, relatively few field
experiments have been conducted with strengths interventions
in an organizational context that allow for causal explanations
and that provide insight into the practices that can help increase
strengths use.
• A need to compare this identify-and-use approach to approaches that emphasize the need to develop
strengths, implying that individuals can learn to dose their strengths to avoid overuse, to judge whether a
situation is appropriate for strengths use, and to utilize their strengths in combination with leverage
competencies.

• A need to better understand the effectiveness of strengths use across diverse groups of individuals, such
as older workers and employees with disabilities.

• Should study strengths use as a team-level phenomenon.

• It is interesting and important to link leadership theory to strengths use theory.

• It seems interesting to examine how strengths can be used to deal with deficits, or to examine how
specific strengths may possibly function as a lever for other strengths.

• Finally, research has shown that individual strengths such as leadership, creativity, and kindness are
positively related to employee well-being and job performance. This means that it is important to
investigate the predictors of weekly and daily use of strengths.
 Practical Implications
• Since the application of employee strengths may be
essential for organizations that need to boost the well-being,
performance, and inclusion of their employees, strengths
interventions that help employees to identify, use, and
develop their strengths could be a valuable tool to promote
the leverage of employees’ unique qualities.

• Organizations may use several activities that may help in the

identification of worker strengths, for example, by filling in a
strength inventory or engage in a reflected best-self exercise
(Roberts et al., 2005).
 Article Synthesis
1. Strengths-based practices (SBP) were predicated in this
approach on the idea that clients are most effective in reaching
their goals when they recognize and make use of their assets.
2. Strengths are trait like.
3. Strength used to improve performance in the work.
4. Organizations should encourage employees to use their
strengths, because when employees use their strong points,
they can be authentic and they are energized and flourish.
VIRTUES AND VALUES
Group 17

Prepared by:
Miah Rina Duroy
Jezrael Dedumo
VIRTUES
Virtues are the core characteristics valued by moral philosophers
and religious thinkers.
May be universal, perhaps grounded in biology through an
evolutionary process
Considered too abstract to be studied scientifically
Virtuous individuals have a clear vision of what is good and
admirable, and they pursue those goods consistently and gladly.
Virtue can be defined as the overall constellation of virtues that
make it possible to live the best kind of life.
Presenter: Duroy
THE WESTERN PERSPECTIVE
ATHENIAN
The Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle discussed
virtues and human strengths.
Aristotle details 11 moral virtues: courage,
moderation, generosity, munificence, magnificence,
even temper, friendliness, truthfulness, wit, justice
and friendship.
In addition to these, he also describes intellectual
virtues (mainly involving wisdom).
THE WESTERN PERSPECTIVE
JUDEO-CHRISTIANITY
The Bible contains discussion of virtues in many chapters and verses.
In the Old Testament, the virtues of faith, hope, and charity are
highlighted.
These were later discussed as part of the―Seven Heavenly
Virtues by Thomas Aquinas.
According to historians, Aquinas lists these virtues as fortitude,
justice, temperance and wisdom (often called the cardinal virtues;
Peterson and Seligman, 2004), faith, hope, and charity (Williams
& Houck, 1982).
THE EASTERN PERSPECTIVE
CONFUCIANISM
Confucius or the Sage stated that leadership and education
are central to morality. He emphasized morality as the cure
for evils.
Attaining virtue lies at the core of Confucian teachings.

FIVE MAIN VIRTUES

jen – humanity; yi - duty to treat others well; li - etiquette and
sensitivity for others‘ feelings; zhi - wisdom; and xin –
truthfulness
THE EASTERN PERSPECTIVE
TAOISM
Lao-Tzu, the creator of the Taoist tradition) states that his
followers must live according to the Tao (―the way).

Tao is the energy that surrounds everyone and is a power

that ―envelops, surrounds and flows through all things
(Western Reform Taoism, 2003).
Fully experiencing life
Experiencing both good and bad events can lead to a
greater understanding of the way
THE EASTERN PERSPECTIVE
BUDDHISM
Throughout the teachings of the Buddha, the good of
others is emphasized.
Buddhism gives a very important place to virtues, Brahma
Viharas (virtues above all others in importance, called as
universal virtues by Peterson & Seligman, 2004).
These virtues include love (maitri), compassion (karuna),
joy (mudita), and equanimity (upeksha) (Sangharakshita,
1991).
THE EASTERN PERSPECTIVE
HINDUISM
The main teachings of this tradition emphasize the
interconnectedness of all things and emphasis is on the
personal improvement.
The goal is to live one‘s life correctly so that one can go to
afterlife without repeating life‘s lessons in a reincarnated form.
Karma - quest of one‘s life is to attain ultimate self-
knowledge and to strive for ultimate self-improvement.
The good life in this tradition encompasses continually doing
good actions.
 THE IMPORTANCE OF BECOMING A
VIRTUOUS PERSON
Aristotle tended to Eudaimonic happiness is achieved
emphasize the when we fulfill our true human
importance of becoming potential.
a virtuous person. We flourish when our life
Importantly for Aristotle, fulfills our human capacities.
it was the virtues that
Aristotle would claim that the
should be pursued, not
authentically happy life is also the
happiness in and of itself. virtuous life.
 Wisdom
SIX CORE Acquisition of and use
VIRTUES of knowledge
The identification of twenty-four
character strengths, or Courage
mechanisms, allow us to achieve
virtues. Will to accomplish
goals in the face of
internal or external
opposition
Love, Humanity Temperance
Strengths that protects
Interpersonal strength us against excesses of
all sorts in satisfying
our needs

Justice Transcendence
Civic strengths Strengths that
connects us to the
large universe
 ENABLING THEMES
Enabling themes are factors that lead people to
manifest given character strengths in given
situations and hence contribute to virtues
(Peterson and Seligman, 2001). It may include the
following:
educational and vocational opportunities,
a supportive and consistent family,
safe neighborhoods and schools,
political stability and democracy
existence of mentors, role models and
supportive peers inside or outside the
immediate family
VALUES
Value are deeply held beliefs that we usually internalize during our
upbringing or decide on as we grow older.
Are potential capital fueled by hope and the motivation to
expand and go forward.
Are beliefs, but are typically nonconscious and implicit
motivators.
They fuel emotions, feelings, thoughts, and behaviors.

Values measure what people feel are desirable, vital, useful, and
worthwhile. They influence the direction of how we feel, think, and
make choices; and how we perform and behave.
Presenter: Dedumo
 DISTINGUISHING NEEDS FROM
VALUES
Needs are inborn, they exist Values are learnt and personally
even if we are not aware of chosen beliefs, firm not rigid
them and are universal. convictions and are parts of our
Needs take part of an consciousness and are specific to
organism’s nature. Needs each of us.
are stable – we want to eat
Values are open to change.
today and we’ll want to eat
tomorrow (or even later
today).
Needs exist even if one is not aware of them; values exist in consciousness.
TEN UNIVERSAL VALUES
 IMPORTANT POINTS TO
REMEMBER ABOUT VALUES
Values, on the other hand, are learnt or chosen, are
parts of our consciousness and are specific to each of us.
Values are open to change.
Values form the basis of why we do what we do.
Values are especially useful in explaining why we do
things that we don’t actually like doing
Losing values, or not knowing which values to choose,
can be devastating.
VALUE AS MODERATOR MODEL
The value-as-a-moderator model predicts that people gain a sense of
satisfaction out of activities and goals congruent with their values.
Research suggests that when people engage in activities that are
congruent with their goals, they will derive a sense of satisfaction
from their day, regardless of whether or not they are extrinsic
values (such as power) or intrinsic values (for example,
benevolence or self-direction).
People exhibit more intense positive and negative affect in
response to daily events if these events are coherent with their
personal strivings.
VALUE SYSTEMS
Most western cultures are individualistic while most Eastern cultures
are collectivistic.
In individualistic cultures, the individual is the main focus and
competition and achievement are valued.
Whereas in collectivistic cultures, the group is valued above the
individual and cooperation is highly valued.

For instance, Western cultures value autonomy and personal

freedom. In contrast, this is not considered strength in Eastern
cultures where cooperation is given more importance. In collectivistic
cultures, sharing and duty towards the group is highly prized.
Emphasis is also given on “going with the flow” and avoiding conflict.
 PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES OF
VALUES
This theory is based on the following definition of values:
“A value is an enduring belief that a specific mode of conduct or end-
state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or
converse code of conduct or end-state of existence”
Values about modes of conduct, which he also called instrumental
values, refer to beliefs about which means (e.g., being honest,
courageous, or modest) lead to certain desirable outcomes. In
Contrast, values about end states of existence, also called terminal
values, refer to desirable life outcomes themselves.
 PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES OF
VALUES
“Values are the joint results of sociological as well as psychological
forces acting upon the individual sociological because society and its
institutions socialize the individual for the common good to internalize
shared conceptions of the desirable; psychological because individual
motivations require cognitive expression, justification, and indeed
exhortation in socially desirable terms”(Rokeach, 1973, p. 29).

In this view, values represent personally and socially desirable

versions of individual needs and social demands.
VALUES AND VIRTUES: INSPIRING
PSYCHOLOGISTS TOWARDS THE
ETHICAL IDEAS OF THEIR
PROFESSION
Knowledge of Our Own Values
and Aspirational Goals
Confronting and articulating their values
may set apart the outstanding teachers,
psychotherapists, or researchers from the
average ones. The outstanding ones seem
to place great value on their professional
activities. They put self interest into
perspective, they do not allow financial
interests to compromise or cloud their
judgments, they exemplify virtues, convey
their caring for others.
Developing Ourselves: Virtues
The virtues represent the most personal aspect of our ethical life.
Psychologists need to persist in the face of distractions, to
implement skills, and to have courage to act ethically in the face of
competing forces. The empirical evidence is not encouraging,
however, as psychology students and practitioners routinely report
that they would not do all they know they should in difficult
situations.
A focus on positive ethics may help psychologists integrate
their values, virtues,and behaviors so that they become more
consistent.
Thank you!!
Article Presentation

Group 17: Virtues and Values

 VALUES
The experimental psychology literature provides a strong foundation for
working with personally meaningful, prosocial values in MBIs.
Positive psychology provides a complementary perspective on moral
virtues and character strengths that have been widely recognized
across cultures.
Organizational psychology and related disciplines provide empirically
based perspectives on the ethical implications of mindfulness training
in the workplace.
 VALUES

– CARE (Cultivating Awareness and Resilience in Education) for

Teachers program encourages participants to develop a
statement of the values that motivated them to become
teachers and to use these values to guide their behavior.
– Acceptance and Commitment Therapy or ACT include working
with self-chosen values as a central treatment strategy.
 Values in ACT
– ACT is based on the psychological flexibility model: a comprehensive theory
of human functioning that integrates mindfulness- and acceptance-based
psychological processes with personally chosen values and values-consistent
behavior.
– In ACT, values are seen as essential to good psychological health because
they intrinsically motivate behavior that leads to a deep sense of meaning,
vitality, and engagement.
– The ultimate goal of ACT is to help clients develop lives that feel rich and
satisfying—though not painless or easy—by the clients’ own standards.
 Values in ACT
– Values in ACT includes qualities or characteristics that clients would like to embody
in the domains that are most important to them.
– Values are distinguished from goals, in that goals can be completed or achieved
whereas the underlying values (to be competent and helpful) continue over the
longer term.
– Mindfulness and acceptance are conceptualized as ways to help clients work
constructively with emotional obstacles to values-consistent behavior.
– The goal of ACT is not to decrease anxiety in meetings, though this may occur with
consistent practice. Rather, the goal is to help the client develop a life that feels
satisfying and meaningful, even when it is distressing or painful.
 Values in ACT

– ACT also uses experiential exercises to help clients

identify important values
– Many studies have shown that ACT leads to significant
increases in self-reported psychological flexibility, defined
as the ability to fully contact the present moment and
behave in values-consistent ways in the presence of
difficult thoughts and feelings.
 Values in Self-Affirmation Theory

This theory posits that affirmation of personal values

protects against a variety of stressors by expanding
participants’ views of themselves and their resources
and facilitating perspective on what is most important.
 Values in Other MBIs

- Mindfulness-based eating awareness training helps participants consider

the time and energy they spend thinking obsessively about food, eating, and
weight, rather than work, school, family, or friends, and encourages them to
increase their involvement in these valued activities.
- Acceptance-based behavior therapy which integrates elements of ACT,
MBCT, and DBT, uses writing exercises to help clients explore what they
value in a variety of domains.
- It also includes goal setting and behavior change strategies for increasing
values-consistent action in daily life.
 The Virtues and Character Strengths of
Positive Psychology

- Cultures hold diverse views of the ethical qualities that human beings should
cultivate.
- The central tenet of positive psychology is that mental health is more than the
absence of pathology or distress and that psychological science should include
the study of how individuals and communities can flourish and thrive.
- A central concern of positive psychology is the understanding and cultivation of
human virtues that define good character or “the domain of moral excellence”
 Core Virtues
- To explore whether any human virtues have been universally recognized as
exemplars of moral excellence, Peterson and Seligman conducted a wide ranging
review of historical and contemporary literatures and developed a framework for
defining and classifying virtues and character strengths.
- Although no two sets of virtues were identical, convergence across these diverse
traditions suggested that six core virtues consistently recognized as necessary for
good character could be identified: wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance,
and transcendence.
- In the Athenian tradition, Plato proposed four core virtues: wisdom, courage, self-
restraint (temperance), and justice; Aristotle included these four and also discussed
generosity, friendliness, and charitable acts (humanity).
 Character Strengths

– Peterson and Seligman also identified several character strengths through

which each of the core virtues can be achieved or expressed. Character
strengths are described as psychological processes or mechanisms that
define the virtues.
– As with the virtues, consistently recognized character strengths were
identified through comprehensive literature reviews.
– Most of the character strengths can be assessed using tools (primarily self-
report instruments) available before the advent of positive psychology.
 Article Synthesis
● §Values are necessary for maintaining psychological health because they naturally inspire conduct that
results in a strong sense of purpose, vitality, and engagement.
§
● Discussions of values in this study also cover traits or attributes that clients would like to exhibit in the
areas that are most significant to them.
•
● Values differ from goals in that values (to be competent and helpful) persist over a longer period of time,
whereas objectives (learn a new software program, educate coworkers how to use it) can be completed or
attained. Other opportunities to be competent and helpful will emerge once particular objectives have
been met.
§
● §Accordingto the Self-Affirmation Theory, affirming one's values shields against a variety of stressors by
enhancing participants' perceptions of themselves and their resources and fostering perspective on what
matters most.
 Article Synthesis

● •A central concern of positive psychology is the understanding and cultivation of human virtues
that define good character or the domain of moral excellence^ (Peterson and Seligman 2004, p.
•
● •Plato recommended four fundamental virtues: discernment, bravery, and restraint (temperance),
and equity. Virtues consistently recognized as necessary for good character that could be
identified: wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence.
•
● •The study emphasizes that methods that are clearly Buddhist-based approaches to ethics
instruction appear to have a number of disadvantages compared to those that are based on self-
identified values or universally acknowledged virtues and character traits.
Thank you and God bless…
SPIRI UAL ITY
DISCOVERING AND CONSERVING THE SACRED
 Presenter:

Meriame Monte Jody Ann Ligutom Jenny Rose Navarro Josiel Anne Matienza

Spirituality The Discovery of the The Conversation of Spiritual Reframing

Discovering and Sacred the Sacred
Conserving the
Sacred
DISCOVERING
AND
CONSERVING
THE SACRED
REPORTER: MARIAME MONTE
 SINCE THE EARLY PART OF THE 20TH
CENTURY, PSYCHOLOGISTS HAVE
TENDED TO:

DISCOVERING
(a) Ignore spirituality;
AND
CONSERVING View spirituality as
(b)
THE SACRED pathological;
 SINCE THE EARLY PART OF THE 20TH
CENTURY, PSYCHOLOGISTS HAVE
TENDED TO:

DISCOVERING (c) Treat spirituality as a

AND process that can be
reduced to more basic
CONSERVING underlying
(b)
THE SACRED psychological, social,
and physiological
functions.
WRITERS HAVE SUGGESTED A NUMBER OF
REASONS FOR THIS PSYCHOSPIRITUAL RIFT:

The difficulty of studying

phenomena as subjective and
elusive as spirituality;
(b)
WRITERS HAVE SUGGESTED A NUMBER OF
REASONS FOR THIS PSYCHOSPIRITUAL RIFT:

a tendency to underestimate the

power of spirituality by
psychologists who, as a group,
manifest considerably
(b)
lower
levels of religiousness than the
general public;
WHATEVER THE EXPLANATION FOR THIS RIFT,
THERE ARE A NUMBER OF GOOD REASONS THAT
PSYCHOLOGISTS SHOULD ATTEND TO
SPIRITUALITY.

spirituality is a “cultural fact”

(b)
WHATEVER THE EXPLANATION FOR THIS RIFT,
THERE ARE A NUMBER OF GOOD REASONS THAT
PSYCHOLOGISTS SHOULD ATTEND TO
SPIRITUALITY.

In a growing empirical body of

literature, the important
implications of spirituality for a
(b)
number of aspects of human
functioning are being noted.
WHATEVER THE EXPLANATION FOR THIS RIFT,
THERE ARE A NUMBER OF GOOD REASONS THAT
PSYCHOLOGISTS SHOULD ATTEND TO
SPIRITUALITY.

In a more practical vein, the

American Psychological Association
has defined religiousness as a
(b)
“cultural diversity” variable.
 ALTHOUGH MOST PEOPLE DESCRIBE
THEMSELVES AS SPIRITUAL, THEY
DEFINE THE TERM IN MANY DIFFERENT
WAYS.

DEFINING Religion is institutional,

dogmatic, and
SPIRITUALITY restrictive, whereas
spirituality is personal,
subjective, and life-
enhancing.
 ALTHOUGH MOST PEOPLE DESCRIBE
THEMSELVES AS SPIRITUAL, THEY
DEFINE THE TERM IN MANY DIFFERENT
WAYS.

DEFINING Religion is a broad

individual and
SPIRITUALITY institutional domain
that serves a variety of
purposes, secular as
well as sacred.
 ALTHOUGH MOST PEOPLE DESCRIBE
THEMSELVES AS SPIRITUAL, THEY
DEFINE THE TERM IN MANY DIFFERENT
WAYS.

DEFINING Spirituality represents

SPIRITUALITY the key and unique

function of religion. In
this chapter,
spirituality is defined
as “a search for the
sacred”
PEOPLE CAN TAKE A VIRTUALLY LIMITLESS
NUMBER OF PATHWAYS IN THEIR ATTEMPTS TO
DISCOVER AND CONSERVE THE SACRED.

Spiritual pathways include:

social involvements that range from

traditional religious institutions to
(b)
nontraditional spiritual groups,
programs, and associations.
Spiritual pathways include:

Pathways involve systems of belief that

include those of traditional organized
religions (e.g., Protestant, Roman
Catholic, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim),
newer spirituality movements (e.g.,
feminist, goddess, (b)ecological
spiritualities), and more individualized
worldviews.
Spiritual pathways include:

Pathways are also made up of traditional

religious practices that include prayer,
Bible reading, watching religious
television, and rites of passage, as well as
other human expressions that have as
their goal the sacred,
(b) including yoga,
music, art, and social action.
THE WORD SACRED IS D EFI NED AS THE HOLY, T H OS E T H ING S “S ET
APART” FROM THE ORDINARY AND WORTHY OF VENER AT ION AND
RESPECT.

The sacred includes concepts of

God, the divine, and the
transcendent.

Other objects can become sacred

o r t a k e o n e x t r a o r d in a r y p o w e r b y
v i r t u e o f t h e i r a s s o c ia t io n w it h , o r
r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f , d iv in it y .
 TI ME AN D S P AC E (T H E
SABBAT H , CH URC H ES);
SACRED
EV ENTS AN D
OBJECTS TR AN S I TION S (BI R T H ,
DEAT H ) ;
INCLUDE:
MAT ERI A LS (WIN E,
CR UCI F IX);
 CUL T URAL P RODU C T S
( MUS I C , LIT ERA T U R E);
SACRED
PEOP LE (S AIN T S , C U LT
OBJECTS LEADERS );

INCLUDE: PSYCHOLOGICAL
ATTR I BUT ES (S E LF ,
MEAN I NG);
 SOCI A L AT T RIBUT ES
SACRED ( COMP AS S ION ,
COMMUN IT Y ); A ND
OBJECTS
INCLUDE: R OL ES (MARRIAGE,
PAREN T IN G, WO R K).
Pargament’ s (1999) def ini ti on
of spirituality does not assume
that it is basical ly “good.” I n
their search for the sacred,
people can take destructive as
well as constructive pathways .
 THE
DISCOVERY
OF THE
SACRED
REPORTER: JODY ANN LIGUTOM
D I S C O V E R IN G G O D

The search for God begi ns in

childhood. “How young we ar e
when we start wondering
about it all,” Robert Coles
concludes from hi s study of
the spiritual lives of children.
D I S C O V E R IN G G O D

Social scienti st emphasi zed

that conceptions of God a r e
rooted in the child’s
intrapsychic capacity to
symbolize, f antasi ze, and
create superhuman bei ngs.
D I S C O V E R IN G G O D

Others have emphasi zed t he

importance of the social
context (f amilial,
institutional, cultural ) in
shaping the child ’ s
understanding of God.
L E E K I R K P A T R I C K ’S ( 19 9 9 )
work is an exception to this rule. Elaborati ng on Bowl by’ s
(1988) attachment theory.

He suggests that the child’s

mental models of God are likely
to correspond to the models of
self and others that emerge out
of repeated interactions with
primary attachment figures.
L E E K I R K P A T R I C K ’S ( 19 9 9 )

Kirkpatrick cites a number of

studies among children,
adolescents, and adults that
demonstrate parallels between
the quality of attachments to God
(e.g., secure or insecure) and the
quality of attachments to parents.
L E E K I R K P A T R I C K ’S ( 19 9 9 )

He not es, pe ople ma y look to

the di vi ne a s c ompe ns a tion
f or t he l oss, una v a ila bility , or
ina dequa c y of a prima ry
a ttac hm e nt fi gure .
WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS
SEARCH FOR THE DIVINE?

In a number of studies, psychologists

have found that individuals who
perceive God to be a loving,
compassionate, and responsive figure
also report higher
(b) levels of personal
well-being.
WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS
SEARCH FOR THE DIVINE?

On the other hand, people who

describe God in more distant, harsh,
fearful, or punitive terms indicate
higher levels of psychological distress.
(b)
D I S C O V E R IN G S A C R E D

God is central to any

understanding of spiri tualit y.
Spirituality involves mor e,
however, than God. I t has t o
do with the sacred, and the
sacred can be f ound on eart h
as well as in heaven.
D I S C O V E R IN G S A C R E D

Sanctification

refer to the perception of an

object as havi ng spiri tual
significance and character.

Sanctification can occur in

theistic and nontheistic way s .
OSTENSIBLY SECULAR OBJECTS ALSO CAN
DEVELOP SACRED CHARACTER WHEN THEY
ARE IMBUED WITH DIVINE LIKE QUALITIES:

Many parents perceive their

children as blessings.
Others view the body as something
holy. (b)
Many describe love as eternal.
M A H O N E Y E T A L . (1 9 9 9 ) A N D
P A R G A M E N T (1 9 9 9 )
point to three important implications of
sanctification.

First, people are likely to preserve and

protect sacred objects.
Second, people are likely to invest more
of themselves in the pursuit of things
sacred.
M A H O N E Y E T A L . (1 9 9 9 ) A N D
P A R G A M E N T (1 9 9 9
point to three important implications of
sanctification.

Third, people are likely to derive more

meaning, strength, and satisfaction
from sacred dimensions of their lives.
Spiritual strivings

Defined as personal goals that

are concerned wi th ulti mat e
purpose, ethics, commitment
to a higher power, and a
recognition of t he
transcendent.
The discovery of the sacred is
accompanied by an enhanced sense
of themselves, more satisfying
relationships with others, and
feelings of connectedness with the
transcendent.
 THE
CONSERVATION
OF SACRED

REPORTER: JENNY ROSE NAVARRO

THE CONSERVATION OF SACRED

ONCE FOUND, PEOPLE STRIVE TO HOLD ONTO

THE SACRED. THE ULTIMATE PURPOS E OF
SPIRITUAL INVOLVEMENT FOR THE RELIGIOUS LY
MINDED IS NOT EXCLUSIVELY BIOLOGICAL,
PSYCHOLOGICAL, OR SOCIAL.

Spiritual persons are concerned

with developing, maintaining, and
fostering their relationship with
the Sacred.
THE CONSERVATION OF SACRED

Spiritual stability rather than

change appears to be the
norm.

L e v e l s o f f a i t h a n d r e lig io u s
b e l i e f s a n d p r a c t ic e s a r e la r g e ly
unchanged or strengthened
after traumatic events such as
accidents or war.
PRAYER
i s a me a n s b y whi c h i n di v i dua l s
pe t i t i o n Go d f or a s s i s t a nc e. I t c a n
a l s o be di r e c t e d t o ma i nt a i ni ng a
r e l a t i o n s h i p wi t h God .
 4 TYPES OF PRAYER

Petitionary Co n v e r s a t i o n

Ritual Me di t a t i o n
MEDITATIVE FORM

the experience of a divine

relationship. Many people
who practice meditation
regularly do so with a
spiritual mantra in mind.
MEDITATIVE FORM

The sense of the connection that

the individual regularly
experiences with the
transcendent can help foster a
sense of spirituality. People can
draw on a number of spiritual
coping methods to help conserve
the sacred in times of stress.
M A R K I N G B O U N D A R IE S

THREATS
-to the sacred may be among the
most dangerous.
SOME RELIGIOUS GROUPS COPE WITH THESE
THREATS BY DEFINING CLEAR BOUNDARIES.

Protestantism, Catholicism,
Hinduism, Islam, or Judaism define
God in very different ways.

People can selectively filter, block,

(b)
or distort material that threatens
their sacred beliefs, practices, and
values.
SOME RELIGIOUS GROUPS COPE WITH THESE
THREATS BY DEFINING CLEAR BOUNDARIES.

Those who cross the boundary line may

be sanctioned in degrees that range
from criticism and disapproval to ex-
communication.

People who pray(b) and attend church

more frequently are less likely to make
the "Christianity is evil" message easier
to hear.
I N T H E " F A C E O F T H R E A T " , P E O P L E M A Y IN T E N S IFY
THEIR BELIEF COMMITMENTS. BATSON (1975)
ILLUSTRATED THIS PROCESS IN A STUDY OF GROUPS
OF STUDENTS.

many people build barriers against

spiritual dangers

barriers may be accompanied by

negative c o n (b)
sequences, such as
prejudice and aggression.
I N T H E " F A C E O F T H R E A T " , P E O P L E M A Y IN T E N S IFY
THEIR BELIEF COMMITMENTS. BATSON (1975)
ILLUSTRATED THIS PROCESS IN A STUDY OF GROUPS
OF STUDENTS.

Altemeyer and Hunsberger ( 1992)

reported higher levels of
prejudice toward many minority
groups (b)by religious
fundamentalists.
G L O C K A N D S T A R K (19 6 6 )

Found that Chri stians who view

themselves as "si ngularl y possessed of
the one true faith" were more l ikel y t o
agree with state- ments such as "Jews
can never be forgi ven f or what t hey did
to Jesus".
G L O C K A N D S T A R K (19 6 6 )
There is a cl ear connect ion b et ween
fundamentalism, prej udi ce and aggr es s ion
toward people and practices t hat are s een
as threats to the f aith.

The process of marki ng bound aries is one way

people preserve and protect t he s acr ed . When
boundaries are "overmarked" though, the
sacred may be protected at high cos t t o
oneself or others.
 SPIRITUAL PURIFICATION
Rituals of purification
- c o p i n g m e t h o d s t h a t a llo w p e o p le t o c le a n s e
t h e m s e l v e s o f t h e ir s in s a n d r e c o n c ile w it h G o d .
 RITUAL FORMS

P h y s i c a l e l e me nt s ( e . g. , wa t er , f i r e,
r a i n , a s h e s , s u n, a nd b l ood )

variety of b e ha v i or s (social
i s o l a t i o n , r e p e nt a nc e , s a c r i f i c e,
pu n i s h me n t )
 RITUAL FORMS
As a group, they involve three steps:

1. r e c o g n i t i o n o f p e r s ona l
transgressions;
2. r e pa r a t i o n s f or mi s d e e d s ;
3. a " c l e a n i n g o f t he s l a t e , " a c c o mpa ni ed
by f o r g i v e n e s s , f or gi v e ne s s , a nd
reconciliation.
In one study, they asked a group
of undergraduates to write about
either the most traumatic event
they had experienced or a set
of unimportant assigned topics
over 4 consecutive days
(Pennebaker & Beall, 1986).
THE GROUP OF "TRAUMA" PARTICIPANTS WERE FURTHER
SUBDIVIDED INTO THREE SUBGROUPS THAT WERE AS KED T O WRIT E:

Trauma-emotion - only about their

feelings related to the trauma

T r a u m a - f a c t u a l - o n ly a b o u t t h e
facts associated with the trauma

Trauma-combination - both
their feelings and the
facts related to the
trauma
THERE ARE IMPORTANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE SECULAR FORM
OF CONFESSION STUDIED BY PENNEBAKER AND HIS COLLEAGUES
AND THE SPIRITUAL FORMS OF PURIFICATION.

S p i r i t u a l f o r m s o f p u r if ic a t io n a r e a ls o
marked by a sense of acceptance and
forgiveness from the divine.

Potentially powerful spiritual experiences

o f t h i s k i n d c o u ld m a g n if y t h e im p a c t o f t h e
c o n f e s s i o n o n t h e in d iv id u a l' s e m o t io n a l a n d
p h y s i c a l w e l l - b e in g .
SPIRITUAL
REFRAMING
REPORTER: JOSIEL ANN MATIENZA
SPIRITUAL REFRAMING
-this is a spiritual change.

You are transforming

hopelessness to wholeness.
One way to maintain beliefs in a just, loving God in
the midst of trauma and loss is to see a larger,
benign, spiritual purpose behind the negative
event.
This is a form of reframing in which crises become
spiritually meaningful, or even opportunities for
growth.
For example, one parent was able to make
sense of the death of her firstborn son
this way: “They say there’s a reason for
God to do everything you know. I think
that’s very true because I think I love him
(second child, born after the death of
first child) a lot more than I would [have]
had our first son been here” (Gilbert,
1989, p. 10).
Seeing a spiritual design beneath
tragedy, interpreting negative events as
opportunities for spiritual growth, or
attributing loss to a loving God whose will
cannot be fully understood are ways that
people preserve their beliefs in the
benevolence of the divine in the face of
trauma.
In their empirical studies,
researchers have shown that
individuals who interpret
negative life events within a
more benevolent religious
framework generally experience
better adjustment to those
crises.
JENKINS AND P ARGAM ENT (1 9 8 8 )

asked patients wi th cancer a b out t he degree

to which they fel t that God was in cont rol of
their illness.

Attributions of control over the illness to God

were tied to self-reports of greater self-
esteem and nurses’ reports of better patient
adjustment.
IT SHOULD BE NOTED, THOUGH, THAT THERE MAY BE D IS AD VANT AG ES
ASSOCIATED WITH CERTAI N WAYS THAT PEOPL E CONS ER VE T H EIR
BELIEFS IN A CARING, J UST GOD.

For example, negative events can be

viewed as a caring but punishing God’s
effort to teach necessary lessons to
those who have sinned.

G o d ’ s b e n e v o l e n c e a ls o c a n b e p r e s e r v e d
b y a t t r i b u t i o n s o f n e g a t iv e e v e n t s t o a
d i f f e r e n t , m a l e v o le n t s p ir it u a l f o r c e , s u c h
as the devil.
IT SHOULD BE NOTED, THOUGH, THAT THERE MAY BE D IS AD VANT AG ES
ASSOCIATED WITH CERTAI N WAYS THAT PEOPL E CONS ER VE T H EIR
BELIEFS IN A CARING, J UST GOD.

Although these forms of religious

reframing may conserve the sacred,
they may be purchased at the price of
self-blame and guilt, victim-blame and
derogation, or fear and anxiety.
Researchers also have reported correlations
between these negative forms of religious
reframing and higher levels of depression,
distress, physical symptomatology, and
maladjustment to life stressors.
The struggle to conserve the sacred in the face
of seemingly incomprehensible tragedy and
injustice requires a delicate, tripartite
balancing of the ways that people understand
themselves, the world, and the sacred.
THANK
YOU!
 UNDERLYING SPIRITUALITY AND
MENTAL HEALTH: THE ROLE OF
BURNOUT
RAINBOW TIN HUNG HO1,2, CHEUK YAN
SING1, TED CHUN TAT FONG1, FRIENDLY SO
WAH AU-YEUNG3, KIT YING LAW3, LAI FAN
LEE3 AND SIU MAN NG2

Article Presented by: Jody Ann Ligutom

Jenny Rose Navarro
Meriame Monte
Josiel Anne Matienza
 OBJECTIVE

This study investigated the effects

of burnout on the relationship
between spirituality and mental
health among healthcare workers in
Hong Kong.

20XX Pitch Deck 2

 The health and social service sectors are
particularly stressful workplace settings, in which
healthcare workers often experience job burnout.

Burnout is a prolonged response to chronic emotional and

interpersonal workplace stressors and is defined by
exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy.

In recent decades, spirituality and mental health have

become the foci of a large body of scientific research.

Spirituality is defined as the attempt to find meaning,

purpose, and hope in relation to the sacred or significant,
on a secular, religious, philosophical, humanist, or
personal level.

INTRODUCTION The beneficial effects of spirituality with regard to

individual health have been documented in different
populations. For instance, spirituality was found to buffer
the adverse effects of stress on negative affect and
physical symptoms among Korean university students.
20XX Pitch Deck 3
 In fact, one of the core components of spirituality is
transcendence, which refers to an individual’s capacity to
transcend the self and view life from a larger and more
objective perspective.

In the healthcare context, this capacity to transcend could

be a kind of personal resource that may shift individuals’
focus of attention and help lower stress and burnout levels
and thus protect healthcare workers from developing
mental health-related problems.

INTRODUCTION

20XX Pitch Deck 4

 METHODS

ABSTRACT
Using a cross-sectional design, 312 healthcare workers
(mean age=38.6, SD=9.9; 77.7% females)
in a mental rehabilitation institution completed a self-
administered questionnaire on anxiety, depression,
burnout, and daily spiritual experiences.

Multivariate regressions were used to test the

effects of burnout on the relationships between
daily spiritual experiences and anxiety and
depression.

20XX Pitch Deck 5

 RESULTS

MAR 20XX
Release the product to the general public and monitor press
release and social media accounts

BURNOUT AS A MEDIATOR BETWEEN DAILY SPIRITUAL

EXPERIENCE AND DEPRESSION
As illustrated in Table 3, after controlling for age, education
level, marital status, and staff ranking, a significant negative
relationship was found between daily spiritual experiences and
depression (β=−0.07, p<0.01) as well as burnout (β=−0.22,
p<0.01), with increased daily spiritual experiences being related
to lower levels of depression and burnout. Increased levels of
burnout were also found to be associated with increased levels
20XX of Pitch
depression
Deck (β=0.12, p<0.01). 6
 BURNOUT AS A MEDIATOR BETWEEN DAILY
SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE AND ANXIETY

Table 3 also shows that, after controlling for the

sociodemographic variables, increased daily spiritual
experiences was significantly associated with decreased
levels of anxiety (β=−0.05, p<0.01) and burnout (β=−0.22,
p<0.01). Elevated levels of burnout were also associated
with higher levels of anxiety (β=0.17, p<0.01). The effect of
daily spiritual experiences on anxiety became
nonsignificant when burnout was included in the regression,
suggesting that burnout had a significant complete
mediating effect (z=−3.06, p<0.01) on the daily spiritual
experiences-anxiety relationship, with burnout accounting
for 73.9% of the variance in anxiety

20XX Pitch Deck 7

 DISCUSSION

•This study investigated the relationships between daily spiritual

experiences, burnout, and mental health using a Chinese sample of
healthcare workers in Hong Kong.

• The results supported the hypothesis that daily spiritual experience

is negatively associated with depression, anxiety, and burnout.

• Individuals who regularly experience feelings of blessedness,

connectedness, and transcendence are less likely to experience
depression, anxiety, and burnout, suggesting that day-to-day spiritual
practice can serve as a potential protective factor against mental
health-related problems.

• Burnout was found to partially mediate the link between daily

spiritual experience and depression, and to completely mediate the
relationship between daily spiritual experience and anxiety.

20XX Pitch Deck 8

 DISCUSSION

• The results of the Sobel tests revealed that about 37.8% and
73.9% of the variance in depression and anxiety, respectively, may
be due to changes in the levels of burnout.

•A possible explanation for this finding is that daily spiritual

activities provide a release from fear and worry, cultivate meaning
and purpose, and enable individuals to focus on the small joys of
everyday life, which may help lessen their distress and reduce their
risk of developing mental health problems.

• The results of this study offer initial insights suggesting that day-
to-day spiritual practice has a significant influence on the mental
health of health-care workers and support burnout as a potential
mediator of the relationship between spirituality and mental health.

20XX Pitch Deck 9

 ARTICLE SYNTHESIS
1. The search for significance, meaning, and
hope in relation to the sacred or noteworthy is
referred to as spirituality. This search might be
conducted on a secular, religious, philosophical,
humanist, or personal basis.

2. A person’s sense of interconnectedness,

purpose and meaning in life, inner resources, and
transcendence are all manifestations of
spirituality, which is an integrating factor within
the person.

20XX Pitch Deck 10

 ARTICLE SYNTHESIS

3. One of the fundamental elements of

spirituality is transcendence, which refers to a
person’s ability to rise above the ego and
observe the world from a bigger, objective
perspective.

4. Self-transcendent people reported

considerably greater levels of self-esteem, hope,
and emotional well-being, and the self-
transcendence was linked to a variety of
favorable psychological factors.
20XX Pitch Deck 11
 ARTICLE SYNTHESIS
5. Burnout is supported as a potential mediator
of the relationship between spirituality and
mental health and has a major impact on the
mental health of healthcare professionals.
6. The connection between stressors and life
satisfaction is influenced by spirituality.
7. The pursuit of spirituality is described as a
secular, theological, philosophical, humanist, or
personal level in relation to the sacred.

20XX Pitch Deck 12

 THANK YOU!

20XX Pitch Deck 13

 Article Presentation

Is Humor Advertising
always effective?
Parameters for effective Use of Humor in
advertising
 Introduction
Use of Humor in Advertisement

Today's Effects of Humor in

Advertisement

Agenda Product Types

Relatedness with humor in
Advertisement

Research Methodology

Discussion

Conclusion
Introduction
Humor is a content of message that contains persuassive
effect, increase message linking and create positive mood.
Humor is an advertisement feature that would like to put
people in a good mood and has a permanent role in
advertising.

Humor is powerful in attracting consumer’s attention and

creates a positive effect. However, it does not guarantee
success and too much overuse of humor could make lower
effect.

Influence that humor has in advertisement and suitable

products is not covered by literature. Thus, the aim of this
research article is to investigate humor approach in modern
advertisement.
Use of humor in
advertisement
Humor attracts attention
A humor may increase liking for
the source and create a positive
mood
Humorous may produce affect
comprehension
Humor may increase persuasion,
distract the audience and reduce
contra arguments in the message
Audience characteristics may
confound the effect of humor.
Back to Agenda
 Five Humor Types
There is no one humor type that has universal positive or negative characteristics

Comic Wit Sentimental Humor

Level of respondent’s response The degree of effective relief

Back to Agenda
Satire
Identification with or detachments from
the humor’s victim

Back to Agenda
 sentimental comedy Full comedy
incongruity resolution and arousal safety Incongruity resolution, dispositional
humor and arousal safety

Back to Agenda
 Effects of
Humor in
Advertisement
Two Impacts of humor advertisement

1. Humorous message attract

attention
2. Audience characteristics may
confound the effect of humor

Back to Agenda
 Two Factors might be expected to influence the
positive effect of humor.
First, humor should be directly related to and well integrated with the objective
and message of a joke

Second, Humor produce positive effect in advertisement without changing or

improving any brand information in advertisement.

Formulating by advertisements
Advertisement with low-complex
with high-complex humor such as
humor that either may or may not
complex humor containing all
be related with the brand.
three humor process.
Product types and relatedness with humor in advertisement
Humor effect is observed by 2 parameters : Humor relatedness and Humor complexity.

Three Categories of humor relatedness

1) Humor dominant. Product message is presented
with a humorous content in the ad. If the humor is
removed, the advertisement does not make sense.
Intentional Relatedness
2) Message dominant. There are two separate types
a. Information-focused:
b. Image-focused

the relationship of humor to product related theme in

Semantic Relatedness advertisement. It gives more explanation of humor
relatedness with product, its use, its name or its benefits.

syntactical function of humor with in message-dominant

Structural Relatedness advertisement and product information with humor-
dominant advertisement
The product color matrix
the products are divided according their characteristics into four
different groups, White, Red, Blue and Yellow.

white products are high risk

products often, not always, based Red color is chosen for those
on price. Those are “Big” tools products because it symbolizes
products which often fill functional grandiosity and expressivity.
need,

Yellow goods or “Little” toys are

Blue products, represent low-risk
seen as day-to-day reward
are functional-decision making
products which we often threat
products.
ourselves with.

Back to Agenda
 Research
Methodology
 For the purpose of investigating Write a note
here

the effects of humor in modern

advertising, several factors were
taken into consideration,
.

-as humor type, relatedness with the message

-and different products which are suitable for
humor usage.
 1) To investigate the meaning of the humor
The main used in advertisement and to investigate
research aim with whether humor in modern advertisement
this project is to is more effective than serous version of
investigate the message appeal;
humor approach
in
advertisements, 2) To find out parameters used to produce
the effect which higher effectiveness: humor complexity and
humor creates relatedness of humor with the product
among audience advertised and their correlation in between;
and the way it is
perceived.
Therefore,
following
3) To find out appropriate products for use of
objectives could
humor in advertisement;
be identified:
Effects - people like the humor and enjoy watching
it in advertisements

which
humor - humor can keep their attention

creates in watching it till the end but it does not

create purchase in habits neither sells

advertise
recall.

ments - too much humor could produce opposite

effect and could not even capture the
audience attention
Appropriate yellow products are most
products for suitable and mostly used for
humor as, beer, soft drinks,
use of humor
in
advertisement followed by low risk (blue)
functional products, such as
household products

While, humor is less suitable for high (red)

emotional products as life insurance or
brand clothing and in comparison more
suitable for white functional products, like
sport cars, but far more behind the yellow
or blue product.
conclusion
Humor used in advertising positively affects attention paid to
advertisement, linkage of advertisement, reduces irritation
experience and increases linkage and attachment to the product.
Humor increases audience attentions, creates positive influence
and positive overall emotion. Besides, humor may make
advertisement funnier and enjoyable and is obviously considered
as a guarantee for effective advertisements. But, humor also
involves a risk. If it pays off then it‘s worth it. If used humor does
not pay off then it might be detrimental. Positive effect is created
when humor is related and well integrated with the object or
message in advertisement.
article
synthesis:
1) People find humorous message more effective than serious
version of the message.
2) Humor attracts attention, may increase liking for the source
and create a positive mood.
3) Humor makes advertisement more memorable and leaves
long-term positive feeling inside the customer after seeing
them.
4) Humor has word-of-mouth effect and easily becomes “talk” in
town.
5) 60% of the time humor is cost-effective.
6) There is no humor type that has universal positive or
negative characteristics.
7) The anomaly of humor in advertising is that effectiveness of
the humor is hard to measure even nowadays.
Group 19

Humor
Herbert M. Lefcourt

Eda Lorraine B. Epino

1st presenter
Overview
Early Responses to the - Humor as a Positive Asset for Dealing
Phenomenon of Humor With Mortality
A Current Model of Humor as - Coping Styles Associated With Humor
a Positive Asset - Humor and Immune System Functioning
Individual Differences in - Humor and Other Stress-Related
Humor Physiological Processes
Current Research Findings Interventions for Improving Sense of
- Humor as a Positive Asset in Humor
Recovery From Illness Directions of Future Research
What is Humor?
Humor is fundamentally a social phenomenon; it is a
form of social play comprised of the perception of
playful incongruity that induces the positive emotional
response of mirth and the vocal-behavioral expression
of laughter. (R. A. Martin and T. E. Ford, 2018)
Early Responses to the
Phenomenon of Humor
Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, and Rousseau
- Humor was characterized as a form of
hostility.
the derisive qualities of laughter, most often
directed at ugliness and deformities in others,
made humor seem undesirable and cruel.

Laughter was said to reflect the more

unattractive aggressive qualities of humans that
resulted in the victimization.
Early Responses to the Phenomenon of Humor
Robertson Davies and Umberto Eco (1975)
- They argue that joking about the past is a way of diminishing its importance and
“veiling its horror.”

Humor is essentially evil because it - Humor as an emotion

prevents people from learning what focused coping strategy, by
they would need to know if they are to which emotional responses
survive without further duress. may be muted

“A Laugh a Day: Can Mirth Keep Disease at Bay?,” Jeffrey Goldstein (1982)
- cited contributions of physicians and philosophers from the 13th through 19th centuries
Early Responses to the Phenomenon of Humor
1. Gottlieb Hufeland, a 19th-century professor - Laughter is one of the most important
helps to digestion
2. 13th century, surgeon Henri de Mondeville suggested that laughter could be used as an
aid in the recovery from surgery
3. 16th century, Joubert (1579) - laughter produces an excessive blood flow that helps to
create healthy-looking complexions and vitality in facial features.
4. Richard Mulcaster - believed that laughter could be thought of as a physical exercise
promoting health
5. 20th century, a medical professor Walsh (1928) - The best formula for the health of the
individual is contained in the mathematical expression: health varies as the amount of
laughter.
Early Responses to the Phenomenon of Humor
Philosophers and theologians, and those concerned with morality and religion from
earlier centuries, excoriated humor and laughter as being derived from malicious
delight at the failings and misfortunes of others

Physicians were more observant of the health benefits of laughter and humor.

Freud (1905) - laughter as a release of defensive tension that had been aroused by
circumstances preliminary to the laugh.

- humor as an alleviator of emotional distress.

A Current Model of Humor
as a Positive Asset

Norman Dixon (1980) has proposed that humor may

have evolved as an alternative to feelings of anger, which
became less adaptive when humans began living in less
nomadic and more populous groups

the expression of anger and aggression would have

become maladaptive in settings where populations were
stable.
A Current Model of Humor as a Positive Asset

If humor helps to avert the likelihood of violence between

people, it also can enhance interactions within social groups

Bonanno and Keltner (1997) - bereaved persons who can smile and
laugh as they speak about their deceased spouses are judged to be
more attractive and appealing to their interviewers than are those
who remain solemn.

Laughter, smiling, and humor signify that mourners are ready to

return to social interaction, making it easier for others to approach
them
A Current Model of Humor as a Positive Asset
Humor comes in many forms

Humor as a “mature defense mechanism”

“self-deprecating” humor, which often is perceived as tendentious

humor is described as adaptive because laughing at ourselves while
undergoing stress can lessen the emotional impact of those stressful
events

Wit or hostile humor, was thought to be an aggressive means for

controlling others and, therefore, less likely to afford relief when a
person is on the receiving end of stressful experiences
A Current Model of Humor as a Positive Asset

Humor could reduce the seriousness with which failure is

regarded as being among the most mature of ego defenses

Disparaging humor was found to be intimidating to those who

observed it even if they were not its target.

- it may result in social isolation of the comic even if the expression

of dislike for his ridiculing humor is not made obvious by “fearful”
observers.

Nonhostile form of humor that would prove most adaptive and arousal
reducing, Freud presciently labeled “humor” describing as an emotion-
focused coping strategy.
Individual Differences in Humor

Gordon Allport (1961) found that 94% of people questioned reported

that their sense of humor was either average or above average.

In early measures of humor, however, the issue of self-promotion was

skirted by simply assessing preferences for one kind of humor or
another (sexual, aggressive, nonsense, etc.).

Jahazel Yvon P. Amplayo

2nd presenter
In our early studies we adopted the aforementioned Freudian view of “humor”
that people with a good rather than poor sense of humor could take themselves
and their experiences less seriously.
Situational Humor Response Questionnaire (SHRQ; Martin & Lefcourt, 1984) and
the Coping Humor Scale (CHS; Martin & Lef- court, 1983), both of which were then
deployed in studies examining the stress-moderating effects of humor.

In the SHRQ respondents are asked to describe how often and to what degree
they are apt to respond with mirth in situations that could be as irritating as they
might be amusing. In hindsight, this measure seems to be assessing a readiness
to experience humor in lieu of annoyance or anger; accordingly, the SHRQ can be
thought of as an index of emotion-focused coping whereby unsettling emotions
are circumvented or short- circuited by laughter.

In the CHS, however, respondents are queried as to their deliberate use of humor
to alter difficult circumstances.
Current Research Findings
In the first study, which yielded disconfirming results, Porterfield (1987) used both
the CHS and the SHRQ to predict emotional responses to life stressors. Elevated
humor was related directly to lower depression, but no interactions emerged
between humor and stressing the prediction of depression.

In the following year Nezu, Nezu, and Blissett (1988) reported a study with strong
confirmatory findings. In this investigation, both the CHS and the SHRQ were
evaluated for their moderator effects on the relationships be- tween life stress,
depression, and anxiety. Those persons who scored high on humor varied little
with changing levels of stress and were always less depressed than their low-
scoring counterparts. On the other hand, the results obtained when anxiety was
the dependent variable were unrelated to humor.
Humor as a Positive Asset in Recovery From Illness

Carver et al. (1993) have reported on the ways in which a sample of women
coped with surgery at an early stage in the development of breast cancer. While
these investigators’ primary interests were in the effects of optimism as a
moderator of the illness-distress relationship, they also explored the effects of
other coping mechanisms, including the women’s use of humor during this period.

Given the nature of the very real stressful circumstances explored in this study,
the positive effects for optimism and humor are compelling.
Humor as a Positive Asset for Dealing With Mortality

1st study
Students were led to think about their own deaths through the completion of a series of
tasks: completing a death certificate in which students had to guess at the cause and
time of their future deaths; composing a eulogy that they would like to have delivered at
their funerals; and constructing a will disposing of the worldly goods they anticipated
having at the time of their deaths.

As was predicted, most persons exhibited an increase in mood disturbance, reporting more
depression, tension, anger, and confusion following completion of the death exercises. The
only exceptions to this trend were among those persons who had scored high on a measure
assessing “perspective-taking humor.” These persons showed little or no change in their
moods following completion of the death exercises.
Humor as a Positive Asset for Dealing With Mortality
2nd study
Humor was used to predict the willingness to become an organ donor. We reasoned
that the very act of signing an organ donation form required, if only for a moment,
recognition of the possibility of sudden and accidental death. This recognition of that
possibility, however brief, would be aversive enough that most people would never get
around to signing an organ donation form.

This led us to assert that persons who had signed their organ donation forms were generally
less phobic about death related thoughts and behaviors. In turn, when organ donation
signing was examined for its relationship to humor, it was found to be positively associated
with both the SHRQ and our cartoon measure of perspective taking humor
Coping Styles Associated With Humor
It is often asserted that coping methods that involve avoidance or denial of impending
stressful experiences leave persons more vulnerable to those stressors than coping
styles that involve awareness and active dealing stressors (Lazarus, 1996; Janis, 1958).

Humor has been found to be associated with more active and confrontative coping
styles and negatively related to avoidance and denial.

Optimism and humor were positively correlated and associated with: less distress (in
Carver’s (1993) study, specifically in response to breast cancer), positive reframing, and
“approach” coping styles.

Andrei Kristine Lim

3rd presenter
Humor and Immune System Functioning
Stressful events can result in immunosuppression which leaves an organism more
vulnerable to a range of illnesses. (Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 1987; Pennebaker, Kiecolt-Glaser,
& Glaser, 1988).

Humor, a positive emotional state, may be an “antidote” for immunosuppression (Dillon,

Minchoff, & Baker, 1985).

Because immunosuppression commonly occurs in stressful circumstances when

negative affect is elicited, these findings suggest that humor may reduce negative affect
and/or increase positive affect, which, in turn, disinhibits potential activity of the
immune system.
Humor and Other Stress-Related Physiological Processes
Humor has also been found to be linked with physiological responses associated with
stress.

Berk et al. (1989) concluded that mirthful laughter modifies or attenuates some of the
neuroendocrine and hormone levels that are associated with stress.

Newman and Stone (1996) found that the act of creating a humorous monologue to
accompany a stressful film (the industrial accident film used in lab studies of stress;
Lazarus, 1966) had a marked effect on heart rate, skin conductance, and skin
temperature.
Therefore, active humor creation seemed to have had an anxiety-reducing effect during
the presentation of this stressful film.
“Humor is a positive asset, a “wired-in” response that
enhances our wellbeing and protects us against the
ravages brought on by stress.”
Interventions for Improving Sense of Humor

There is a surprising dearth of literature concerning how people can improve their sense of
humor:

descriptive accounts of humor use rather than focusing on the improvement of humor
itself--Nevo, Aharonson, and Klingman (1998) described a more systematically designed
program to increase the use of humor among a sample of Israeli schoolteachers.

Nevo et al. (1998) expanded the dispositional element to include motivational,

emotional, social, and behavioral components of humor that became targets for
instruction in their program.
Interventions for Improving Sense of Humor

to improve their humor and to enhance the cognitive skills associated with humor such
as rapid shifting of cognitions, tolerance of childishness, playfulness, and the like.

the encouragement of flexible thinking, of learning to generate multiple responses to

singular stimuli, and lessening the fear of rejection for attempts at being comical or
provoking laughter could be good starting points for those investigators wishing to
enhance the humorous capacity of their subjects.
Directions of Future Research

A potentially fruitful direction for future positive psychology research would involve the
ways in which various forms of humor can promote the well-being of individuals.

One major area of research that the author advocates, therefore, pertains to the power
of humor to bond people to one another.

A second area of importance for future research attention concerns the different roles
that humor plays for males and females.

Finally, the assessment of humor needs refining.

Thank you for listening!
References

C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez. 2002. "Hand Book of Positive Psychology". Oxford University Press
 THE PURSUIT OF
MEANINGFULNESS IN LIFE

Roy F. Baumeister & Kathleen

D. Vohs
 The Pursuit of Meaningfulness in Life

Thinking usually involves meaning, as in the use of language, symbols, and

connections between concepts.

Psychologists gradually have begun to study meaning in life.

Frankl’s (1959/1976) early worked emphasized the importance of finding
value in life, and he is widely credited with being a pioneer in the study of
meaning.

Klinger’s (1977) Meaning and Void, which emphasized the importance of

purposes for conferring meaning on life.
The Pursuit of Meaningfulness in Life
 The Nature of Meaning

MEANING can link two things Ultimately, therefore, meaning is

even if they are physically a nonphysical reality. It is real in
separate entities, such as; that it can have genuine causal
if they belong to the same consequences, and yet it cannot
category, are owned by the be reduced to physical principles.
same person, or,
are both used for a common
goal.
 The Nature of Meaning

MONEY provides one of the best illustrations of the nonphysical

reality of meaning. A dollar bill certainly has a physical reality as a
scrap of green paper with a certain molecular structure.

For example, if you have a bank account, the bank theoretically holds
some of your money.

A seeming paradox in the concept of a meaning of life is that meaning

is stable whereas life is malleable.
 The Nature of Meaning

LIFE, in contr a st, is cha r a cter ized by ongoing cha nge. Gr ow th, decline, ingesting food,
eliminating waste, reproducing, and other natural parts of life all involve change.

A M EAN IN G O F LIFE is ther efor e a n im position of a sta ble conception onto a cha nging
biological process.
Thus, meaning can be regarded as one of humanity’s tools for imposing stability on life.

The human organism is exposed to change but desires stability, and it turns to meaning to
help create that stability.
 The Nature of Meaning

Vallacher and Wegner (1985, 1987)

explicated how people’s behaviors and
experiences are altered by shifting
among different levels of meaning.

Low levels involve concrete, immediate,

and specific meanings, whereas high
levels involve long time spans and broad
concepts.

For example, the activity of walking to

school can be described in low-level
terms as a sequence of leg movements
and other physical activities.
 Baumeister (1991) concluded that the quest for a meaningful life can be
understood in terms of four main needs for meaning.

I. For purpose . The future events lend direction to the present so that
the present is seen as leading t o w ar d those eventual purposes.
Two main types:

1. Simply goals: an objective

outcome or state that is desired but
not yet real, and so the person’s 2 . Fulfillments, which are
present activities take meaning as subjective rather than objective.
a w a y of translating the current
situation in to the desired (future)
one.
 II. For values , which can lend
a sense of goodness or positivity
to life and can justify certain III. For a sense of efficacy.
courses The person might know what
of action. was
desirable but could not do
Value bases (Baumeister, 1991). For
anything with that knowledge.
example, many religious people
believe that God’s will is a value
base, insofar as they regard it as
supremely right and good that God
serves some yet higher purpose.
IV. For a basis for self-worth . Self-worth can be pursued individually
such as by finding ways of regarding oneself as superior to others (see Wood,
1989). It also can be pursued collectively, such as when people d r a w
meaningful self-esteem from belonging to some group or category of people
that they regard s worthy (Turner, 1975).
The Value Gap and The Self

Nevertheless, Baumeister (1991) was able to

d r a w some general conclusions about how
people succeed and fail at finding meaning
in modern life.
Modern western society also furnishes an
appealing assortment of ways to establish
self-worth.
Baumeister (1991) reviewed extensive
evidence showing that having children
reduces the happiness and life
satisfaction of parents, but that this
loss of happiness may be compensated
by an increase in meaningfulness.

SUFFERING - it appears to stimulate the needs for meaning. When

people suffer some misfortune, they often cope with it by finding some
form of meaning.
 Making Meaning

The term “meaning-making” refers to an active

process through which people revise or
reappraise an event or series or events (e.g.,
Taylor, 1983).
Making Meaning

MEANING-MAKING also has been defined

as the search for significance (Park & Folkman,
1997). Park and Folkman (1997) distinguished
between the global and situational levels of
meaning- making.
Global meaning-making refers to the
establishment of a basic orientation, long-term
belief system, or set of valued goals.
Situation-specific meaning-makin
refers to finding meaning in a particular
context or situation that is congruent with
one’s global meaning structure.
 Research Methods for Studying
Meaning-Making

The interviews are conducted 614

PART VIII. SPECIFIC COPING
APPROACHES
by trained professionals and may
take place in the context of a
therapeutic session (e.g., Clarke,
1996).

INTERVIEWS are advantageous

because they allow research
participation by people w h o are
not able to convey information in
written form.
 Research Methods for Studying Meaning-Making

THE NARRATIVE METHOD typically involves asking people to write an

account of an event or period in their lives, such as a traumatic experience
(Pennebaker, 1993) or successful or failed attempts at life change
(Heatherton & Nichols, 1994).
Life stories (e.g., McAdams, 1985) are in-depth descriptions of a person’s
whole life. In research conducted by McAdams and colleagues (e.g., McAdams,
1993; McAdams et al., 1997), people are asked to look at their life as a book
with a title, chapters (significant periods in life), and plot summaries.
Benefits of Making-Meaning

The people who achieve the greatest benefits are those

w h o transform their perceptions of circumstances from
being unfortunate to fortunate.
McAdams (1996) noted that a life story can be used to
create, transform, solidify, or highlight important
aspects of life.
 Benefits of Making-Meaning

Pennebaker’s research on traumatic events indicates that

even short writing sessions over 3 days can have wide-
ranging effects. It will heighten immune system functioning,
fewer physical illnesses and physician visits and improve
liver enzyme functioning (Pennebaker, et.al 1992).

Clarke (1996) and others reported that meaning-making in

the process of psychotherapy was associated with more
successful outcomes. In fact, some therapists explicitly use a
story or narrative metaphor to represent w h a t occurs in
the therapy hour (see Neimeyer & Stewart, 2 0 0 0 ) .
How Meaning Is Made
LANGUAGE provides an opportunity to develop new insights
and coping strategies.

Content analyses of written traumatic accounts revealed that growth

in insight from the start of the writing period to its end is most
predictive of later positive outcomes.

In telling a story, both the background and the ordering of events are
important. Thus, the person is able to place the story in a setting
appropriate to its outcome or purpose (e.g., Heatherton & Nichols,
1994).
 How Meaning Is Made

McAdams ( 1997) has found that generative people tend to write their
stories in a particular order, such that the story begins with a bad event or
burden, which ultimately is transformed into a positive outcome.

The main w a y that meaning-making achieves benefits involves imposing a

coherent structure on events and in particular imposing a structure that is
characterized by movement from negative to positive.
Importance for Positive Psychology

Baumeister, Vohs, Bratslavsky, and

Finkenauer ( 2 0 0 0 ) have proposed that
one general principle of psychology is that
bad is stronger than good, and so it is
hardly surprising that early psychologists
have focused on the bad rather than the
good.

Happiness, fulfillment, generativity, and

other forms of positive well-being are the
essential focus of positive psychology, and
meaning is integral to all of them.
· “Purpose in life and personal growth are
not contributors to, but in fact defining
features of positive mental health” - Ryff
and Singer (1998).

THANK YOU!