Happiness studies, or positive psychology as it’s called in academic circles, is a relatively new field of research. In 1998, the American Psychological Association appointed a new president, Dr. Martin Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania. Up until this point, Seligman was best known for his work in the 1960s administering electric shocks to captive dogs, but in his new role as president, he was now changing tack. Seligman used his inaugural speech to the association to declare the grand opening of a whole new branch of psychology, to be known as “positive psychology.”

This brave new discipline would cast aside the shackles of old-school negative psychology, with its party-pooping tendency to dwell on downers like depression and pathology. Instead, this new, upbeat psychology would focus exclusively on “the most positive qualities of an individual” with a particular focus on happiness. Happiness would no longer be left to chance or private experience but would be measured, assessed, documented, and then controlled and manipulated through precise clinical techniques and interventions. At the height of the economic boom, this new feel-good science captured the public mood; and in the intervening years, positive psychology has exploded, quickly becoming one of the fastest-growing and best-funded specialties in academia…

…keep reading the full & original article HERE