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Psychology tends to be about negative things, e.g., Anxiety , Depression , Stress . It is typified by the DSM-IV , a systematic categorization of mental illnesses. Positive Psychology is an attempt to redress the balance, to encourage psychologists to try to broaden and build upon positive aspects of life, not just do something about negative things. One of its recent accomplishments is having produced an "un-DSM," a manual of strengths and virtues that are found in the happiest people (Peterson & Seligman, 2004). The ultimate aim of Positive Psychology is to enable more people to live lives filled with greater health and well-being (as well as the absence of illness and disease), described as a state of "flourishing" by the sociologist/social psychologist, Corey L. M. Keyes. RESEARCH Many researchers in positive psychology have adopted a theoretical model delineating three overlapping areas of happiness in life: # Research into the Pleasant Life or the "life of enjoyment" examines how people optimally experience and savor the positive feelings and emotions that are part of normal and healthy living (e.g. relationships, hobbies, interests, entertainment, etc.). # The study of the Good Life or the "life of engagement" investigates the beneficial affects of immersion, absorption, and Flow that individuals feel when optimally engaged with their primary activities. These states are experienced when there is a positive match between a person's strength and the task they are doing. # Inquiry into the Meaningful Life or "life of affiliation" questions how individuals derive a positive sense of well-being, belonging, meaning, and purpose from being part of and contributing back to something larger and more permanent than themselves (e.g. Nature , social groups, organizations, movements, traditions, belief systems). PHILOSOPHICAL IMPLICATIONS An important feature of Positive Psychology is its rejection of Moral Relativism . This is based on the observation that certain character traits and ways of acting are considered good by the vast majority of cultures. It is also observed that these traits lead to increased happiness when practiced. In its rejection of Cultural Relativism, Positive Psychology challenges us to accept Universal Values as applicable to all societies. REFERENCES
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