* Hope and Hell are both located in Michigan…

City of Big Shoulders

One of the aspects of studying positive psychology which really appeals to me is its sheer breadth – the fact that it applies in so many fields of human endeavour and experience.  Positive psychology appears in disciplines as diverse as art and design, education, politics, and business. So this new research which looks at urban positive psychology particularly caught my eye this week.

Most of the scientific research related to cities focuses on their geography, history, economy, or politics. Very few studies have looked at them from a psychological perspective. Why does this matter, you might wonder. Can psychology tell us anything interesting about cities and those who live in them anyway?

For more, read my posting to Positive Psychology News Daily

Image courtesy of  Creativity+ Timothy K Hamilton

General Larking About

As the mother of a rapidly-growing boy (aged 8, going on 18), I was very interested to come across the Positive Masculinity Model, and wondered what I could learn from it that would be useful to me as a parent.   Below is my Positive Psychology News Daily article on the subject in full.

I probably wouldn’t have been drawn to write on this subject had it not been for Louisa Jewell’s beautifully-crafted article on Positive Psychology and Femininity, so thanks Louisa!

I’m not going to explore whether men’s happiness has gone up or down in the last 30+ years, however, although that would be a fascinating topic. Instead I’m interested in how Positive Psychology can be used to support troubled men and boys. I was interested to learn about strengths-based approach known as Positive Masculinity. As the mother of a rapidly-growing boy (aged 8, going on 18), I was very interested to come across the Positive Masculinity Model, and wondered what I could learn from it that would be useful to me as a parent.

What Came Before: New Psychology of Men (NPM): A Deficit Model

According to the authors of Identifying, Affirming and Building upon Male Strengths: the Positive Psychology/Positive Masculinity Model of Psychotherapy with Boys and Men, much work into the psychology of men and masculinity over the past couple of decades has been dominated by the deficit approach, and what has been called The New Psychology of Men (NPM).

In short, NPM is an approach to men and to masculinity which not only questions traditional norms of the male role (such as competitiveness, toughness, emotional stoicism), but also takes the view that male problems such as aggression, detached fathering, and neglecting health are the unfortunate but predictable results of the male socialization process. In other words, NPM is a deficit model of male development, which leads to a remedial approach to help men overcome their problems.

Positive Masculinity Model as an Alternative

This article by Mark Kiselica at the College of New Jersey and his colleague Matt Englar-Carlson at California State University – Fullerton, suggests that a far more effective way of working is the Positive Masculinity Model – a framework which accentuates the positive aspects of male development. The goal, they say, is to help men and boys learn and embrace healthy and constructive aspects of masculinity.

Wow! As media headlines tend to focus on the problems that men and boys cause in society (boys being disruptive in the classroom, youths making a nuisance of themselves on street corners, men showing aggression in a million and one ways) it makes a refreshing change to read something that celebrates the positive aspects of being male. Was I skeptical? Yes, but too intrigued not to read further!

So what exactly is Positive Masculinity – or more accurately the Positive Psychology/Positive Masculinity model (PPPM)? In short it’s an approach based on two Positive Psychology principles:

• Emphasizing strengths and virtue over disease, weakness, and damage
• Focusing on building in men and boys what is right rather than fixing what is wrong

Male Bonding

Male Strengths

So far, so good. But what exactly are these male strengths that we should be celebrating? The authors list 10 representative male strengths:

1. Male relational styles – developing relationships through having fun, doing active things, doing shared activities (such as participating in sport)
2. Male ways of caring – being raised with  the expectation that they must care for and protect their family and friends
3. Generative fatherhood –  the way a father is committed to caring for the next generation through meeting the needs of his children
4. Male self-reliance – the way men and boys use their own resources to confront life’s challenges (I’m thinking about the cave in John Gray’s Men are from Mars…)
5. The worker/provider tradition in men – the way men naturally take on the role of the breadwinner and acquire a sense of meaning and purpose through work
6. Male courage, daring, and risk-taking – e.g. in their choice of work or sport (but balanced by good judgment against foolhardiness and recklessness)
7. The group orientation of men and boys – the way they band together to achieve a common purpose
8. The humanitarian service of fraternal organizations – developing social interest and a sense of belonging through involvement in male organizations
9. Men’s use of humor – as a way to attain intimacy, have fun, develop and maintain relationships, show they care, reduce tension, and manage conflict
10. Male heroism – demonstrating exceptional nobility in the way they lead their lives, overcoming great obstacles, or making great contributions to others.

Hmmmmm. I’m not sure that these are the same as the character strengths that Chris Peterson and Martin Seligman describe (and on which the VIA inventory of strengths is based), or the same as  Alex Linley’s definition.

It's raining men

Taking a Positive Approach

But maybe that doesn’t matter. Maybe what’s more important is taking a positive approach, and using strengths (however they’re defined) to find ways to build on what works, rather than to focus on what’s wrong. The authors suggest that professionals working with troubled men and boys in the mental health field could use the PPPM to

1. Help clients understand their areas of growth
2. Demonstrate respect for and confidence in their clients
3. Help clients identify more effective alternative beliefs

With great anticipation I read the concluding case study, in which the PPPM is used with a male client who is experiencing conflict at home with his wife and their wayward 16 year old daughter. The case study primarily focuses on using the PPPM to build rapport with the client and develop his confidence and self-efficacy in tackling the conflicts. I was disappointed – I wasn’t convinced that the same result couldn’t have been achieved by any other empathic mental health practitioner without using the PPPM. Nevertheless the great value of this article is the suggestion that men may be more willing and able to overcome their normal reluctance to seek help if practitioners focused on ‘positive masculinity’ instead of on male deficits, by using the PPPM as a bridge to the real issues.

Open Questions

The topic of ‘positive masculinity’ is in its infancy and requires a great deal more development, research, and refinement.  Even so, it’s an exciting new development in the psychology of men and masculinity, which happily leaves us with many more questions to be answered. Here are a few to get you thinking:

Q.  As a man, how do you identify with the 10 male strengths outlined above?

Q.  If there were an equivalent ‘Positive Femininity Model’, what would it look like? And would it help overcome the issues raised in Louisa Jewell’s article?

References

Kiselica, M.S. & Englar-Carlson, M. (2010). Identifying, affirming and building upon male strengths: the Positive Psychology/Positive Masculinity model of psychotherapy with boys and men. Psychotherapy Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 47(3), 276-287.

Linley, P. A. (2008). Average to A+: Realising Strengths in Yourself and Others. Coventry, UK: CAPP Press.

Peterson, C. & Seligman, M. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Images

General larking about courtesy of garethjmsaunders

Male Bonding courtesy of Shawn Allen

It’s raining men courtesy of Ewan Thot

Here’s a great article on the value of Positive Psychology to business, covering all the basics from the benefits of positive emotions (e.g enhancing creativity and problem-solving) to hiring people on their strengths not their CVs.

Plus it mentions the work of two of my Positive Psychology News Daily colleagues, David J Pollay and Senia Maymin (founder), who also happen to be graduates of the Penn MAPP programme.

Image: Kevinzhengli

Thanks to Greg Quinting for the link

In this post we look at new ways of applying 3 more of the VIA character strengths, Perseverance, Vitality and Hope.

If you haven’t already done the VIA-IS online strengths test, why not take some time out now to complete it, and when you’ve got your list of top 5 (or signature) strengths, come back to find out how you might use them differently.

Just to remind you, the purpose of using your strengths in a new way every day is because research (Seligman, Steen, Park & Peterson, 2005) shows that this has a long-term positive effect on your happiness.

PERSEVERANCE:
i) Finish an important task before the deadline
ii) Work for several hours straight without interruptions – divert your phone and don’t check your email
iii) Make a list of things to do and do one thing on the list every day
iv) Notice your self-talk about stopping a task and ignore it. Focus on the task in hand.

VITALITY / ZEST:
i) Do something physically vigorous in the morning
ii) Volunteer for an activity at work
iii) Do something because you want to, not because you need to
iv) Get a good nights sleep, and eat a healthy breakfast to give yourself more energy during the day
v) Say ‘why not?’ three times more frequently than you say ‘why?’

HOPE / OPTIMISM
i) Think of a past disappointment and the opportunities that it made possible
ii) Notice your negative thoughts. Counter them with positive thoughts.
iii) Write down your goals for the next week/month/year and make concrete plans for accomplishing them.
iv) Keep a journal and every night record a decision that you made that day which will impact your life in the long run

As mentioned before, if the activity doesn’t work for you after a couple of days, try another one.

If you would like to find more activities related to using Fairness, Kindness, Open-Mindedness, Curiosity, Love of Learning or Creativity, click here.

For more activities related to the strengths of Integrity, Love, Humour, Appreciation of Beauty or Social Intelligence, click here.

For more activities related to the strengths of Leadership, Gratitude, Perspective, Forgiveness, Teamwork (Citizenship) and Bravery, click here.

In our next post we will be looking at the remaining 4 character strengths, Prudence Self-Regulation, Humility and Spirituality.

Please also remember to send us examples of activities that worked for you, we’d love to hear about them.

Thanks to Jonathan Haidt and Chris Peterson for many of the suggested activities.

How to Use Your Top 5 Character Strengths in New Ways – Part 3. If you’ve just completed the VIA-IS online survey and are wondering what to do with your Top 5 Strengths, read on…

There’s increasing research to show that focusing on your strengths at work rather than on your weaknesses brings huge benefits, not just to yourself but also to your organisation. As mentioned in one of our previous posts, companies like Norwich Union are using strengths-based approaches successfully in the business, for example in recruitment. Other organisations are focusing on strengths for personal development, using them as the basis for the Annual Appraisal, for example. It gives employees a boost of confidence and really helps them feel good about themselves, in a way that leads to further performance improvements.

In the last couple of posts we’ve looked at new ways of applying strengths (from the VIA-IS online survey, not from the Clifton StrengthsFinder, which actually measures talents). Today we continue on this theme with six more strengths. Try picking one activity from one of your Top 5, and stick with it for a couple of weeks. If you find it isn’t working after a day or so, try something else.

LEADERSHIP:
i) Organise a social get-together for your team or department
ii) Go out of your way to make a new colleague feel welcome
iii) Take responsibility for an unpleasant task at work and make sure it gets done

GRATITUDE:
i) At the end of the day write down three things that went well
ii) Write and send a gratitude letter
iii) Keep track of how many times you say thank you during the day and increase the number every day for a week.

PERSPECTIVE / WISDOM:
i) Think of the wisest person you know and try to live one day as if you were them
ii) Resolve a dispute between two work colleagues, or two family members
iii) Don’t give advice unless asked, and then do so as thoughtfully as possible

FORGIVENESS:
i) Let a grudge go every day
ii) Write a forgiveness letter, do not send it, but read it every day for a week.
iii) When someone does something you don’t understand, stand in their shoes and try to work out their positive intention

TEAMWORK / CITIZENSHIP:
i) Pick up litter that you see on the ground
ii) Volunteer your time to a charity, community group, Parent-Teacher Association, Parish Council etc
iii) Organize a team / department dinner
iv) Act as a facilitator

BRAVERY:
i) Speak up for an unpopular idea in a group
ii) Stand up for someone even if you disagree with them
iii) Protest to the appropriate authorities about an injustice that you observe

These are just some examples of activities, you can of course adapt them to suit your circumstances.

We’d be delighted to hear your experience of using some of these activities in practice, or if you have any ideas for new ones, so please send us your comments.

We’ll cover the remaining 7 Character Strengths in future posts.

Thanks to Professor Jonathan Haidt , author of The Happiness Hypothesis, and the students in his psychology class at the University of Virginia and Chris Peterson for many of the suggested activities.