Positive psychology was given a dubious boost when David Cameron started a talking about measuring the national happiness rather than GNP. It has been commonplace for some time for academics to refer to the Kingdom of Bhutan as an example of somewhere that is a wonderful contrast from the shallow horrors of the capitalist system. It makes sense politically for a man of Cameron's calibre seeking to further his supposed reputation as a 'compassionate conservative' to talk of such things. It is debatable, however, whether the state should care about happiness anyway, except in as far as it's useful. Such questions reach to the heart of what you think a government is supposed to do.
Re; The teaching of emotional skills and character traits:
Apparently this goes on in Birmingham, for example?
Can you really teach 'resilience skills'? Is resilience really a skill?
Is altruism or stoicism something that can be taught?
There is talk of 'emotional innoculation' - no evidence, but it fits the zeitgeist nicely, I suppose.
CBT might be an example of something close that actually has clinical data.
Other than this, surely traditionalists would argue for such things to be learned at the university of life, and not for curriculum time to be spent on them.
It is debatable whether 'thinking skills' even exist.
The so-called 'happiness research' has been done by economists. The data is quite thin.
Seligman - seems to have an oversimplified approach.
Teaching someone to have a sense of the worth of all human beings is of course to be encouraged as one of the basic principles of ethics. Teaching all people to have good self-esteem can be a dubious practice, particularly when combined with a certain disregard for 'what other people say'. I have too often heard people saying 'I don't care what anyone thinks' in circumstances where you think to yourself: 'this person really should care more about what people are saying to them'! Maintaining self-esteem when you are a wretch involves lying to yourself, and learning to ignore any kind of sense of guilt or shame. The fear is that people are being convinced that they are the most wonderful people ever whilst they are doing horrible things.
Richard Bentall: 'most of the work of the world is done by unhappy people'.
People who are unhappy change the world.
We aren't here to be happy! - (I'm not sure if he meant this as a metaphysical claim)
Oliver James - talked of the importance of parenting over the first 6 years - it sets the 'electrochemical thermostat.'
He argues genes are really not that important, and emphasises the plasticity of the brain - especially when young.
Sexual abuse - studies show 5% less hippocampus development.
Further reading: M Young : Rise of the Meritocracy.
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