Self-Esteem Research, Theory, and Practice Toward a Positive ...

232 SELF-ESTEEM RESEARCH, THEORY, AND PRACTICETHE NEW POSITIVISTIC POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGYThe origins of the new form of positive psychology cannot be too closelytied to those of the older or original one because instead of taking issuewith the reductionism of the positivistic paradigm, the emerging fieldfully embraces that approach. Instead, Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi(2000) see the development of positivistic positive psychology in relationto certain events associated with the aftermath of World War II. In particular,the negative effects of the war on various soldier and civilian populationscoupled with a huge influx of federal and academic moneytoward treatment shifted the very foundations of American psychology:It moved from a traditional academic footing to a more applied one,especially one that focuses on dealing with psychopathology and mentalproblems. One result of this development is that most of modern clinicalpsychology focused on negative rather than positive behavior. The newpositive psychology is offered as an antidote to this condition. In short,positivistic positive psychology gaining momentum today is precededby an older, original, humanistic positive psychology that shared thesame concerns except for one: the question of paradigms, which wereencountered in Chapter 2.Basic IdeasTo examine the place of self-esteem in positivistic positive psychology, wemust first understand what it is. The general intent of this approach isclearly defined by its adherents in almost all of their basic writings on thetopic: This positive psychology aims to correct an important deficiencythat characterizes much of traditional psychology.The message of the positive psychology movement is to remind ourfield that it has been deformed. Psychology is not just the study of disease,weakness, and damage; it also is the study of strength and virtue.Treatment is not just fixing what is wrong; it is also building what isright. Psychology is not just about illness or health; it is also aboutwork, education, insight, love, growth, and play. And in this quest forwhat is best, positive psychology does not rely on wishful thinking,self-deception, or hand waving; instead, it tries to adapt what is best inthe scientific method to the unique problems that human behaviorpresents in all its complexity. (Seligman, 2002, p. 4)Thus, positivistic positive psychology aims to offer a corrective balanceto traditional psychology. This effort starts at the theoretical level byreminding psychology that although it should be concerned with studyingnegative human behavior to help ease humanity’s suffering, it may be