Margarida Pocinho
Soraia Garcês
Daniela Popa- 1Department of Psychology, University of Madeira/CIERL, Funchal, Portugal
- 2Research Center for Tourism, Sustainability and Well-Being, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal
- 3Department of Psychology, Education, and Teacher Training, Transilvania University of Brasov, Brasov, Romania
Editorial on the Research Topic
Positive Psychology in Everyday Life
Introduction
Positive Psychology has been established as a major-based-evidence field of knowledge that aims to understand how people can improve their lives, and ultimately, flourish. Studies have been conducted since Seligman (2016) and Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2014) spearheaded this movement of looking for the positive aspects of life rather than focusing on the negatives.
However, although the focus of studies in the area of positive psychology is on “cultivating positive feelings, behaviors, or cognitions” (Sin and Lyubomirsky, 2009, p. 468), we wonder whether beliefs about improved wellbeing in response to positive psychology interventions do not bias the way we conduct research in this field. Recent studies show that moderators may exist in such situations from both the characteristics of the activities designed in the interventions and those of the research participants. Current research has shown that participation in activities aimed at improving wellbeing positively biases the beliefs of people in the sample (Gander et al., 2022). It is therefore more than likely that respondents will respond positively to tasks in research designs, anticipating their beneficial purpose, engage in behaviors they would not ordinarily engage in, and self-evaluate themselves as more effective than they actually are.
Despite, this growing concern, Positive Psychology has been extensively a target of research which has led, so far, to interesting results. From the benefits of positive psychology interventions in improving wellbeing and diminishing depression, anxiety or stress (Boiler et al., 2013; Carr et al., 2020), to contributing to employees' performance and productivity (Kour et al., 2019), to reducing distress in people diagnosed with clinical disorders (Chakhsii et al., 2018), or even promoting resilience and hope through specific interventions in schools settings (Platt et al., 2020). Positive psychology practices have constructive impacts on people's everyday lives such as reducing stress and anxiety, increasing resilience and promoting self-growth, wellbeing, and quality of life. This happens among different cultures, populations, contexts, and fields of knowledge, similar to the results emphasized by current meta-analyses (Koydemir et al., 2021; van Agteren et al., 2021).
Positive psychology has undeniably been a “breath of fresh air” in promoting flourishing rather than focusing only on remediation. Thus, this and other concerns most intensely discussed by each of us today are found in the themes addressed by the research on this topic. It was this diversity of results, doubts, and dispersion along with different fields of knowledge that inspire this Research Topic. The aim of this Research Topic and e-book was to explore this possible “fragmentation” of Positive Psychology and how it can lead to more dispersion or instead lead to a more unified field.
Contributions of This Research Topic
In this Research Topic, articles were collected that highlighted the close connection between the 3 pillars of positive psychology (Seligman et al., 2009). We observed how different positive experiences, lived in various institutional settings, can contribute to the development of personality traits. Although this Research Topic appears to be an eclectic collection of research, in fact, Positive Psychology in Everyday Life reflects the multiple dimensions of the urban quotidian from an integrative perspective.
With an international editorial team of researchers specializing in Positive Psychology, this Research Topic has attracted more than 35 publications from 134 authors from around the world on different aspects of the topic. This Research Topic includes studies from 19 countries: Portugal, UK, Ireland, Italy, Spain, France, Sweden, Poland, Romania, USA, Canada, Chile, China, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, and Brunei. Therefore, we are proud to bring together the most current theory and practice regarding positive psychology across disciplines, such as Wellbeing, Education, Tourism, Social and Organizational settings, Special needs, and Positive Psychology in multidisciplinary fields, including communication, multiculturalism, psychometrics, and cross-cultural studies.
These studies include cutting-edge ideas and research that explore multidisciplinary approaches to positive psychology in daily life and how these can contribute to reshaping the field or moving into a new “wave” of positive psychology. All studies main goals are summarized in Table 1.
Table 1. Summary of the contributions to this Research Topic.
The articles in this Research Topic focused on a wide variety of populations across the lifespan and included those suffering from psychological/mental problems as well as healthy children and adults. The studies were conducted in a variety of settings—schools, universities, residential care, business, tourism, and in the community—suggesting that positive psychology interventions can be done anytime and anywhere and included both short-term and long-term interventions. Beyond this, the research included in this topic has covered a wide range of methodologies, from experimental and correlational studies to systematic and comprehensive reviews. There have also been several articles that focused on participants' experiences. However, from this diversity 6 big clusters of topics also emerged.
Positive Education
One of the education studies explores the influence of parental emotional warmth on 893 college students' altruistic behavior in the virtual environment, as well as, and the mediating roles of personal belief in a just world and positive moral personality traits (Zhang et al.). The study by Mieres-Chacaltana et al. showed a positive relationship between prosocialness and happiness in a sample of 224 students and teachers. In positive psychology, spirituality is an important variable, but often an overlooked aspect of the self that may affect college students' wellbeing and belonging. The study by Gilbertson et al. examined closeness to God and spiritual struggles as predictors of first-year college students' wellbeing. Other research investigated a conceptual model by testing flow experience and subjective wellbeing of 1.109 university students during COVID-19 considering their underlying academic self-efficacy and self-esteem (Wu et al.). In another interesting research, the relationship between psychological capital profiles and internal learning in teams was analyzed. The student profile with the highest scores in self-efficacy, optimism, hope, and resilience exhibited also the highest scores of internal learning in teams; there was no significant relationship between the profile with a positive combination between self-efficacy and hope and the profile that presents the optimism as the only positive psychological capability (Geremias et al.). Similarly, Dolan and Henwood examined how narratives provide simple rules about how we might live and what our decision-making priorities ought to be. Chen, Bao et al. showed the positive effects of Teacher-Student Relationships and Academic Self-Efficacy on Proactive Personality and Academic Engagement with 549 children. In another spectrum of positive education, parents' emotional management was highly required during the COVID-19 lockdown, juggling their job as it moved online with being a parent of a child whose school was online and that proved to be a challenge for many (Henter and Nastasa). The authors also investigated the participants' level of flourishing, as these changes impacted differently on every parent's wellbeing. The analysis of the data provided us with the opportunity to make a series of recommendations for parents' wellbeing in such a situation, as the prospect of continuing to work and learn online in the future seems very real. The need to set clear boundaries between the roles played in these settings emerged as the main objective of future therapeutic interventions based on positive psychology.
Quality of Life of Special Needs and Vulnerable Populations
The Research Topics also gathered a cluster of articles that focused on the benefits of positive psychology approaches with vulnerable and special needs populations, where there was a strong emphasis on improving the social and emotional wellbeing and quality of life. Thus, Jones and Drummond did a summary of current findings on quality of life and wellbeing domains and a proposal for their inclusion in clinical interventions. Also, Fratczak-Müller investigated the efficacy of implementing a positive social housing program in increasing the quality of life of vulnerable people. Likewise, Calheiros et al. analyzed youth in residential care, through a cross-sectional mediation analysis of youth's perceptions of their social images, self-representations, and adjustment outcomes. The results emphasize the relevance of stimulating positive SR, by showing that they can be a protective factor for youth in residential care. In another study Wang et al. explored the influence of patient activation (PA) and relational aspects on the quality of life (QoL) in patients with Atrial Fibrillation (AF) for developing measures to improve PA and QoL. Park investigated individuals with adventitious visual impairment acquired during adulthood through a traumatic event, for an in-depth and contextual understanding of the factors and processes that led to positive changes in their life. Another research from Mahmic et al. showed the efficacy of a System of a positive psychology approach to identify and shift disempowering paradigms for families of children with disability. Finally, the article of Czyzowska and Gurba showed that strengthening the sense of meaning in life and psychological wellbeing brings benefits for mental health to a group of young adults particularly vulnerable to mental problems.
Social and Organizational Positive Psychology
In the field of social and organizational psychology, several studies showed the benefits of the use of positive psychology “personality” in everyday work life. The role of geographical area and entrepreneurs' personality by Yurrebaso et al. proposed a line of research on entrepreneurship based on the analysis of positive personality traits. Thus, the profile of the entrepreneur, who maintains a high entrepreneurial intention, would be characterized by a high internal locus of control, a low external locus of control, high self-efficacy, proactivity, risk-taking tendencies, and personal initiative. Xu et al. indicated psychological capital as a positive variable in influencing employees' behavior and its role in maintaining a sustainable workforce in underprivileged rural China. Deng et al. investigated the factors that contribute to employee wellbeing among non-profit sectors. In the same way, Tisu and Vîrgă provided a cross-lagged examination of the relationships between proactive vitality management, work–home enrichment, and entrepreneurial performance. Liu et al. conducted a systematic and comprehensive meta-analysis of the relationship between thriving at work and its antecedents, based on a positive psychological state. Chen, Yu et al. investigated how trust influences creativity by summarizing existing findings of various empirical studies.
Psychometric Research
The need for measures with good psychometric proprieties was also seen in the two studies that focused on psychometric research. One of the studies focused on the validation of the French Version of the Positive Scale (Vancappel et al.), a self-report measure of positivity, which is the tendency to view and address life and experience with a positive approach. The other was an adaptation of the Chinese version of the Basic Empathy Scale, with a sample of 805 college students (Chen, Dou et al.). This study showed that emotion and empathy have a significant correlation with gratitude and altruism online.
Sports and Arts
Barbry et al. indicated the links between positive affect and sports club membership among French adolescents. Sun et al. explored physical and mental health issues in middle-aged women, demonstrating that participation in square dancing can increase women's positive subjective wellbeing and has the potential to reduce their negative emotions, which can improve their long-term health. According to Martins et al., from the standpoint of the school settings, sports participation constitutes a key strategy concerning the manifestation of positive behaviors that result from the development of personal and social responsibility. Thus, this article validated a positive development of sports intervention with institutionalized youngsters, based on the teaching of personal and social responsibility. Linking positive psychology and intercultural competence through movies was the research of Popa et al. from Brunei and Romania. Cultural consumption provides numerous benefits for individuals, especially for younger generations. Imaginary travel narratives can shape people's perceptions about other cultures and thus are useful tools for developing positive intercultural competencies.
Improving Wellbeing
Kosugi et al. unveiled the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for improving subjective and eudaimonic wellbeing in healthy individuals. The study of the processes that enrich positive relationships has been an under-researched area within positive psychology practice (De Netto et al.). The authors consider communication as the heart of a relationship, examining capitalization, accommodation, and self-construal on relationship satisfaction. Another article examined the posttraumatic growth helpful in overcoming mental health disorders due to COVID-19. It showed the moderating effect of posttraumatic growth in the relationship between COVID-19 and psychological health (Park and Im). A systematic review conducted by Battulga et al. demonstrated that subjective wellbeing (SWB) has a protective role in mental health maintenance and is prone to change during short stressful moments, such as pregnancy. An intervention resilience program focused on self-regulation and academic success, the R2 Resilience Program, was applied to clients of urban social services to workers in a long-term care facility, managers in the health care sector, staff of a Fortune 500 corporation, students in a primary to grade 12 school, and adult volunteers affiliated with an international NGO (Ungar and Jefferies). In another paper on this Research Topic it is said that many studies establish that finding meaning in life reduces stress and promotes physical and psychological wellbeing. However, extant literature focuses on meaning in life among the general population (e.g., college students or office workers). The study presented on this issue includes Korean army soldiers and aims to understand how the search for meaning leads to the presence of meaning by the mediating roles of leisure crafting and gratitude (Lim et al.). In Farnicka et al., the study showed that life satisfaction and mental wellbeing were the main subjects of interests by researchers in Poland. Finally, two papers on this Research Topic focused on the tourism field. One was a systematic literature review during COVID-19 about wellbeing and resilience in tourism, by Pocinho et al. Results showed that a positive and resilient approach to dealing with the adverse outcomes of the pandemic is a concern for stakeholders and the future of the organizations in the tourism and hospitality sector, as is tourists' wellbeing. Other research explored the effect of place attachment on overseas students' tourism ambassador behavior: a mediation role of life satisfaction, as a hotspot in positive psychology in recent years (Wang et al.).
Overall, while this strong and evidence-based body of knowledge and studies about positive psychology is a major enabler in advancing the research in this field and bringing practical tools and insights for improving peoples' everyday lives, these clusters of information provide an equally vast dispersion of research across disciplines. However, at the same time, these clusters show us that Positive Psychology can be part of everyone's daily lives. While a so-called fragmentation can be seen when we think of the multiple fields, techniques, variables and populations that were target of the different studies that compile this Research Topic, in this dispersion we can also see its importance and maybe its unification. Positive Psychology theory and practice are sought ought in every context: education, research (psychometrics), sports, arts, social settings and organizations; by a diversity of people including specific populations such as special needs and in disadvantages situations; with a common ground: improving wellbeing. In this, we can see how the dispersion of themes and interests in research can also be proof that positive psychology is possible in everyday's live, and in so, we can see its potential for a more fulfilling life in every place, culture, context and environment.
Conclusion
In conclusion, positive psychology and its immeasurable associated variables have been the focus of a large amount of research as perhaps no other so young a science has been to date. Although fragmentation of the field in multiple directions can be seen, this does not undermine the positive benefits of this field, it highlights that today, maybe more than ever, positive psychology is needed in everyone's everyday life.
Author Contributions
All authors listed have made a substantial, direct, and intellectual contribution to the work and approved it for publication.
Funding
This paper was financed by National Funds provided by FCT- Foundation for Science and Technology through project UIDB/04020/2020.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Publisher's Note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
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Keywords: wellbeing, quality of life, positive education, multiculturalism, tourism, special needs, sport and arts, positive work environment
Citation: Pocinho M, Garcês S and Popa D (2022) Editorial: Positive Psychology in Everyday Life. Front. Psychol. 13:913569. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.913569
Received: 05 April 2022; Accepted: 18 May 2022;
Published: 01 June 2022.
Edited and reviewed by: Llewellyn Ellardus Van Zyl, North West University, South Africa
Copyright © 2022 Pocinho, Garcês and Popa. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Margarida Pocinho, mpocinho@staff.uma.pt