Lecture 8: Character Strengths of Altruism: Kindness, Love, Forgiveness

December 23, 2013January 5, 2014 selvam Uncategorized

Kindness
Kindness, generosity, nurturance, care, compassion, altruistic love, and “niceness” are closely related terms that indicate “a common orientation of the self toward the other” (Peterson & Seligman, 2004, p.326). Kindness consists in doing favours or good deeds to others, while compassion is more related to the emotion evoked at the sufferings of others. Compassion becomes significant when the troubles of the other person are serious, not self-inflicted, and the agent of compassion is able to picture oneself in the same predicament as the one in trouble (Cassell, 2005, p.435). Assessing kindness involves very practical indicators as in:

I have voluntarily helped a neighbour in the last month.
I always call my friends when they are sick

Love
Peterson and Seligman attempt to define love in terms of psychology:
Love represents a cognitive, behavioural, and emotional stance toward others that takes three prototypical forms. One is love for the individuals who are our primary sources […]

Lecture 9: Character Strengths of Temperance & Transcendence: Self-regulation, Hope, Gratitude, Wisdom

December 23, 2013January 5, 2014 selvam Uncategorized

Self-regulation
As one of the character strengths of temperance, self-regulation can also be referred to as self-control or self-discipline. The expressions of self-regulation and its constructs refer to how a person exerts control over his or her impulses and behaviour so as to pursue their goals while maintaining their moral standards. It can also mean a rhythm of life that facilitates self-efficacy (Bandura, 1999). “Delay of gratification constitutes an important paradigm of self-regulation,” implying that a person with self-regulation is able to resist the temptation to choose an immediate, small reward in order to obtain a larger benefit, even if the latter was delayed (Peterson & Seligman, 2004, p.500).

I am a highly disciplined person.
I can always stay on a diet.
I can always say “enough is enough.”

Hope
“Hope, optimism, future-mindedness, future-orientation represent a cognitive, emotional, and motivational stance towards the future” (Peterson & Seligman, 2004, p.570). In more precise terms, this stance […]

Now and Hereafter: The Psychology of Hope from the Perspective of Religion

December 26, 2012May 20, 2013 selvam Articles/Chapters

Selvam, S.G. & Poulsom, M. (2012), Now and hereafter: The psychology of Hope from the perspective of Religion. Journal of Dharma 37(4), 393-410.
Faced with the harsh reality of death, human beings have often drawn a sense of hope from a belief in life after death. Religions have earnestly supported this faith and hope. As Paul Tillich put it, “Without hope, the tension of our life toward the future would vanish, and with it, life itself.” In recent times, hope has also become a subject matter for psychology. Does psychology risk separating hope from religion, focussing too narrowly on the immediate future? Or could the treatment of hope offered by psychology give a sense of meaning to life similar to that provided by religion? This article examines recent developments in the psychology of hope from the perspective of religion.
DOWNLOAD OUR ARTICLE published in the Journal of Dharma (December 2012).

The Ubiquity of the Character Strengths in African Traditional Religion: A Thematic Analysis

August 30, 2012May 20, 2013 selvam Articles/Chapters

Selvam, S.G. & Collicutt, J. (2013), The ubiquity of the character strengths in African Traditional Religion: A thematic analysis. In Knoop, H.H. & Delle Fave, A. (Eds.), Well-Being and Cultures: A Positive Psychology Perspective (pp 83-102). Heidelberg: Springer.
Abstract

Positive psychology has relied on world philosophical and religious traditions for its understanding and classification of core virtues and character strengths and in demonstrating their ubiquity across cultures. However, in this endeavour, reference to African traditional religion (ATR) is minimal. The aim of the present qualitative study was to discern if the ubiquity of character strengths extends to ATR. The catalogue of Values in Action (VIA) was chosen as the coding template; some anthropological textual data on the life cycle of the individual, collected in Nairobi, Kenya, were used as the data set. Using a hybrid approach of deductive data analysis and inductive theme development, thematic equivalents were identified, and further validated with […]