MINDORO STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Arts and Sciences

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology

UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

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COURSE DETAIL
COURSE CODE SOC SCI 111 COURSE TITLE UNDERSTANDING THE SELF
CREDIT UNIT 3 SEMESTER OFFERED SECOND SEMESTER
INSTRUCTOR Ms. Dianne Hernandez Dudas

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“The difference between misery and happiness depends on what we do with our attention.”

– Sharon Salzberg
 INTRODUCTION
Psychology tackles the behavior and mental processes. Because of this, it has
Share your understanding different fields under its umbrella, with different expertise. One of its roots is
of the word “Psychology” research. And through research, psychology has blossomed into different fields
______________________ and has given the world different theories and concepts to understand a person
______________________ (even animals) and to help for the improvement of our lives. Recently, Positive
______________________ Psychology, another subfield, has been emerging.
______________________
______________________ Before World War II (1939-1945), psychology’s distinct missions are to (1) cure
______________________ mental illness, (2) nurture talent, and (3) make people happier.
______________________
______________________ Historically speaking, the focus of psychology is to cure mental illness. Before
______________________ the age of scientific inquiry, people with abnormal behavior were believed to be
______________________ possessed by an evil spirit, or that they were witches. Another perspective by
______________________ Hippocrates, in the 5th century, was that people has too much blood, or phlegm,
______________________ or bile. When the soldiers went home when World War II has ended,
psychologists have been busy treating the trauma soldiers got from the war.
Because it was and still is a hard process of curing mental illness, psychologists
took a long time to achieve this first mission. Fortunately, with this time and age,
we can now manage mental disorders through counseling, therapy, and
medication.
How do you think people
achieve happiness? It seems that it is only recently that the field focused on the second and third
______________________ missions. How to nurture talent? How can we make people happy? How can we
______________________ teach them to be resilient despite the happenings in the world? How can we
______________________ manage our emotions? So, with countless interactions with people, a very long
______________________ time in trying to understand a person, and lots of research, positive psychology
______________________ is born.
______________________ ______________________________________________________________
______________________
______________________ LEARNING OUTCOMES
______________________
______________________ After successfully completing this module, you should be able to:
______________________ 1. Acquire and hone new skills and learnings for better managing of one’s self
______________________ and behaviors.
______________________ 2. Apply these new skills to one’s self and functioning for a better quality of life
3. Reflect on how the PERMA-V model can be applied in one’s daily life
__________________________________________________________

PRETEST
Direction: Identify whether the following statements are correct or not. Write a
check (/) if true and (x) if false. Write your answer in the space provided.

_________ 1 Positive Psychology is the study of strengths and virtues

that enable individuals, organizations, and communities
to flourish.

_________ 2 Flourishing is the state of optimal mental health.

_________ 3 Positive Psychology gives us the PERMA-V model to

achieve flourishing.
_________ 4 Having meaning is like having a compass that provides
direction and a sense of purpose.

_________ 5 Achievement builds self-belief and strengthens self-

esteem.
 CONTENT
POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY AND MENTAL HEALTH
Positive Psychology
_________________________ POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
_________________________
_________________________ Positive Psychology is the scientific study of happiness, well-being, and
_________________________ flourishing. It is also the study of strengths and virtues that enable
_________________________ individuals, organizations, and communities to flourish. Former American
_________________________ Psychological Association president Dr. Martin E.P. Seligman is one of the
_________________________ pillars of Positive Psychology. His earlier works focused on learned
hopelessness- a phenomenon whereby individuals believe they are
incapable of changing their circumstances after repeatedly experiencing a
stressful event. However, since psychology is dynamic, his works are now
focused on learned optimism – that people can learn and cultivate a
How can you strengthen your
mental health positively? positive mindset. Positive psychology can also be explained as “removing
_________________________ the weeds, planting the seeds.”
_________________________
_________________________ According to World Health Organization (2004), mental health is “a state
_________________________ of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities,
_________________________ can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and
_________________________
fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community”.
_________________________
Mentally healthy adults have successful mental functions, fulfilling
relationships, productive activities, and a capacity of adaptation.

MAIN GOAL OF POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

Main Goal of Positive The main goal of positive psychology is to achieve flourishing. It is a state
Psychology
_________________________ of optimal mental health. Another concept in positive psychology is
_________________________ languishing, the absence of mental health. It is more prevalent than the
_________________________ major depressive disorder. It is described as quiet despair, and people feel
_________________________ “hollow”, or “empty”.
_________________________
_________________________ In order to attain flourishing, or to achieve optimal mental health, positive
psychology gives us the PERMA-V Model. The idea is that when these six
things are present in our life, we will attain flourishing.

POSITIVITY/POSITIVE EMOTIONS
A person who is mentally healthy
thinks more positively and
experiences more positive emotions
than negative emotions. They
consistently think good and feel
good. Negativity is important too for
survival and adaptation, but
positivity has benefits too.

____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
 What are the health benefits of positive thinking?
• Increased life span
• Lower rates of depression
Positivity • Lower rates of distress
_________________________ • Greater resistance to common cold
_________________________
_________________________ • Better psychological and physical well-being
_________________________ • Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease
• Better coping skills during hardships and stress

ENGAGEMENT

Why is Engagement important It is important in our lives to

in achieving optimal mental be able to find activities that
health? take our full engagement.
_________________________ Engagement in the activities
_________________________ in our lives is important for us
_________________________
to learn, grow and nurture
_________________________
our personal happiness.
We all need something in our
lives that entirely absorbs us into the present moment, creating a ‘flow’ of
blissful immersion into the task or activity. This type of ‘flow’ of
engagement is important to stretch our intelligence, skills, and emotional
Share some tips on how we can
capabilities.
be mentally healthy.
__________________________
__________________________ RELATIONSHIP (Positive Relationship)
__________________________
__________________________ What makes us happy is the lasting
and positive relationships with the
people around us, people we love
and respect. Living in a negative or
toxic relationship has deleterious
effects on our health, personal
happiness, and life expectancy.

MEANING

Having meaning is like having a

compass that provides direction
and a sense of purpose.

Research shows that relationships

are usually seen as the most
important source of meaning in life
(Emmons, 2003). But we also find
meaning by engaging in a creative
endeavor (Frankl, 1996) or
attaining personal goals that we have set for ourselves. Meaning also
happens when we ignite our character strengths and virtue beyond
oneself (Seligman, 2011). This is often termed “self-transcendence”.

Further, a sense of meaning is achieved when we have the ability to

reflect upon and grow from negative experiences or suffering (Frankl,
1963).
 ACHIEVEMENT

Having explicit goals in life, even small ones like reading for an hour every day
and making efforts to achieve them are important to our well-being.
Achievement
_________________________ Achievement builds self-belief and strengthens self-esteem. When we asked
_________________________ what makes for a happy, fulfilling, and meaningful life, we usually discuss our
_________________________ life goals, wishes, and dream.
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________

Why is Achievement important

in achieving optimal mental
health?
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________

Difference between comfort,

fear, learning, and growth zone.
The most dangerous zone is your comfort zone. Our comfort zone is a
_________________________
_________________________ beautiful place because there is security, habit, survival, but nothing ever
_________________________ grows here.
_________________________
_________________________ A study by Angela Duckworth found out that grit, passion, and perseverance
_________________________ for long-term goals, are the characteristics of people of becoming successful
_________________________ in their journey. It is not IQ, social intelligence, physical health that makes
these students continue their education, it was grit. Students who have higher
grit remain in school until they graduated.

VITALITY

Vitality is approaching life with excitement and energy; not doing things
halfway or halfheartedly; living life as an adventure; feeling alive and
activated. In both the physical and mental sense, vitality refers to a feeling of
aliveness. In the physical sense, this vitality refers to feeling healthy and
capable, and energetic. Psychologically, this state of aliveness brings a sense
that one's actions have meaning and purpose.

We can achieve this through:

• Staying active
• Eating healthily
• Meditating
• Savoring the moment
• Having good rest and sleep
• Anticipating future joys
REFERENCES
Online References
Moore, C. (2020, February 11). Learned Optimism: Is Martin Seligman’s Glass Half Full? Positive
Psychology. Retrieved from: https://positivepsychology.com/learned-optimism/
Kintanar, N. S. M. (2018, May 22). National Psychology Teachers Congress: Teaching Positive
Psychology [Microsoft Powerpoint].
Retrieved from: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1sXhed1rJA7RyavJbjQFCtvZyxPadIOT_.