Psychology Notes
Positive Psychology
Study notes on well-being, strengths, resilience, flow, and the science of human flourishing.
What Is Positive Psychology?
An introduction to the origins, goals, and core principles of Positive Psychology — the scientific study of what makes life worth living.
Flourishing: What Does It Mean to Thrive?
A deeper look at what it means to live well — moving beyond happiness as a feeling to flourishing as a complete, multidimensional state of well-being.
The PERMA Model
Seligman's five-element framework for well-being — Positive Emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment.
Flow State
Csikszentmihalyi's concept of optimal experience — the state of complete immersion in a challenging activity
Character Strengths and the VIA Classification
An introduction to the 24 character strengths identified by Peterson and Seligman — and how identifying and using your signature strengths supports well-being.
The Science of Gratitude
Why gratitude is one of the most researched and reliably effective practices in Positive Psychology — and how to cultivate it deliberately.
Mindfulness and Present-Moment Awareness
What mindfulness is, how it supports well-being, and the evidence behind its most common practices.
Resilience: Bouncing Back and Growing Forward
What resilience is, what it is not, and how the science of post-traumatic growth reframes how we understand recovery from adversity.
The Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotions
Barbara Fredrickson's theory explaining why positive emotions matter beyond feeling good — and how they build the lasting resources that support flourishing.
Optimism and Hope
The psychology of optimism and hope — what distinguishes them, how they are measured, and why they are among the strongest predictors of well-being and performance.
Positive Relationships and Social Connection
Why relationships are one of the most powerful predictors of well-being — and what the science says about what makes them thrive.
Self-Determination Theory
Deci and Ryan's theory of human motivation — why autonomy, competence, and relatedness are the three fundamental psychological needs that drive sustained well-being.