Articles

Check here for latest research and great articles on Strengths and Positive Psychology.

Character Strengths: Research and Practice

 Abstract

Character strengths are the foundation of optimal life-long development and thriving. Good character is not a singular thing but rather plural—a family of positive traits shown in one’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. This paper provides an overview of the Values in Action (VIA) project, which classifies and measures 24 widely-recognized and valued strengths. Research shows that character strengths are linked to important aspects of individual and social well-being, although different strengths predict different outcomes. This paper discusses ways to recognize and cultivate character strengths, within the context of a strengths-based approach to education and personal development. Character matters, and cultivating its components should be an important goal for all.

The Principles of Strengths-Based Education

Abstract

Doing what we do best leads to high levels of engagement and productivity. Educators who capitalize on their strengths daily help students do what they do best by developing a strengthsbased approach to education. The principles of strengths-based education include measurement, individualization, networking, deliberate application, and intentional development. Through a parallel process, educators practice the principles of strengths-based education when advising and teaching while students learn to put their strengths to work in learning and social situations.

 

Integrating Strength-Based Education into a First-Year Experience Curriculum

Abstract

This article describes an initiative that integrated a strengths-base curriculum into a first-year experience program at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Using a positive psychology framework, students completed the StrengthsQuest and participated in activities designed to help them learn and apply their signature talent themes. A pre- and postsurvey were included to assess measures related to students’ self-awareness. The results suggest that a curriculum based on strengths positively impacts students’ awareness of their strengths, a factor that, in turn, has positive implications for students’ major/career choices and future decision-making. Strategies for practice and guidelines for future research are highlighted.

Character Strengths in College: Outcomes of a Positive Psychology Project

Abstract

Theory and practice of positive psychology can be successfully incorporated into higher education. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of teaching character strengths as part of an educational psychology course. The results indicated that participants perceived the project as successful and beneficial, and that they were intrinsically motivated to work on their character strengths.

Capitalizing on Personal Strengths in College

This study aims to gather descriptive information about students’ use of strengths using qualitative theory. Strengths programming directors nominated students based on explicit criteria. The students were interviewed on their backgrounds, strengths programs, signature strengths, strengths application, capitalizing, and benefits of capitalizing. Data indicate that college students who are the best of the best at using their strengths—the capitalizers—utilize sustained social supports and build on successful experiences that give them the confidence to apply their strengths in new situations.

Shifting to a Strength-Based Approach

 

STRENGTHS AND CAREERS: APPLYING A STRENGTHS APPROACH TO HELP CLIENTS MOVE AHEAD

BY JENNIFER BRADLEY AND EMMA TRENIER

 

Positive Psychology: The Science at the Heart of Coaching

The Positive Psychology Approach to Coaching

Clifton strengths explorer

The Clifton Youth StrengthsExplorer Assessment: Identifying the Talents of Today’s Youth

The aim of many educators is to help youth reach their maximum potential. The Clifton Youth StrengthsExplorer gives teachers a tool to help identify the talents of their students, as well as actionable suggestions for utilizing those talents. Such information can help teachers to individualize the ways in which they respond to youths, and the manner in which they can teach most effectively. In addition, it provides teachers and parents a common language, goals, and sets of action, all based on the unique talents of youth. The Gallup Organization, best known for its polls, has been involved in the measurement of human talents for several decades. Under the leadership of educational psychologist Donald O. Clifton, Gallup developed the Clifton StrengthsFinder, a Web-based talent assessment for adults. This article presents the goals of the StrengthsExplorer, which are as follows: (1) help youths identify their positive characteristics; (2) help youths improve their understanding of self; (3) help youths develop from their areas of greatest talent; (4) improve parents’/instructors’ understanding of their children/students; (5) provide an opportunity for an important kind of communication between parents and their children (i.e., discussion of one’s unique nature, the positive characteristics/gifts that one has, and how those can be developed); and (6) provide the theme-based language that youths and parents/ instructors could use to discover and describe positive characteristics. Among other things discussed in this article are the themes as to how the assessment measures talent, such as: (1) presence; (2) confidence; (3) competing; (4) relating; (5) achieving; (6) future thinker; (7) caring; (8) discoverer; (9) organizer; and (10) dependability.

 

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