The Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania, directed by Dr. Martin E.P. Seligman, promotes research, education, and dissemination of Positive Psychology, resilience, and grit. Positive Psychology is the scientific study of the strengths that enable individuals and communities to thrive, founded on the belief that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, cultivate what is best within themselves, and enhance their experiences of love, work, and play. The field has three central concerns: positive experiences (contentment with the past, happiness in the present, hope for the future), positive individual traits (love, courage, compassion, resilience, creativity, curiosity, integrity, self-knowledge, wisdom), and positive institutions (justice, responsibility, civility, leadership, teamwork, purpose, tolerance).
Why It Matters: During its first century, psychology justifiably focused on human suffering—making marked progress on depression, anxiety, and phobias—but paid little attention to what makes life most worth living. People want more than an end to suffering; they want meaningful, fulfilling lives that cultivate the best within themselves. By creating a science that not only heals psychological damage but builds strengths enabling people to achieve the best things in life, Positive Psychology fills a critical gap—studying positive experiences, individual traits, and institutions that foster thriving communities rather than merely treating pathology.
