Towards a positive psychology

Abstract

When asked "How are you?" we Maltese usually reply "not bad" rather than "good", "fine" or "OK". No problem there except that we mean to say something positive but express it in a rather negative way. In other words, we focus more in terms of the negative side of the picture. Something similar has happened to psychology. It has focused mainly on pathology and less on the positive elements of normal human development, on how people can flourish and grow psychologically, on what contributes to one's well-being. In the words of Seligman (2008): "It has become a science largely about healing, concentrating on repairing damage within a disease model of human functioning" . Psychologists in their practice worked on a mental illness model just as medical doctors worked on physical ailments. A paradigm shift is needed so that the science and practice of psychology may tap the human potential and develop the strengths of normal people. This would necessitate establishing a new approach in psychology by creating what has become known as Positive Psychology.