Department of Psychology, University of Tennessee, USA.
Am Psychol. 2012 Feb-Mar;67(2):101-10. doi: 10.1037/a0024572. Epub 2011 Jul 25.
The field of positive psychology rests on the assumption that certain psychological traits and processes are inherently beneficial for well-being. We review evidence that challenges this assumption. First, we review data from 4 independent longitudinal studies of marriage revealing that 4 ostensibly positive processes-forgiveness, optimistic expectations, positive thoughts, and kindness-can either benefit or harm well-being depending on the context in which they operate. Although all 4 processes predicted better relationship well-being among spouses in healthy marriages, they predicted worse relationship well-being in more troubled marriages. Then, we review evidence from other research that reveals that whether ostensibly positive psychological traits and processes benefit or harm well-being depends on the context of various noninterpersonal domains as well. Finally, we conclude by arguing that any movement to promote well-being may be most successful to the extent that it (a) examines the conditions under which the same traits and processes may promote versus threaten well-being, (b) examines both healthy and unhealthy people, (c) examines well-being over substantial periods of time, and (d) avoids labeling psychological traits and processes as positive or negative.
积极心理学的基础假设是，某些心理特征和过程对幸福感具有内在的益处。我们回顾了挑战这一假设的证据。首先，我们回顾了四项独立的婚姻纵向研究的数据，这些研究表明，四种表面上积极的过程——宽恕、乐观期望、积极思考和善良——可以根据其运作的环境而对幸福感产生有益或有害的影响。尽管这四种过程都预测了健康婚姻中配偶关系幸福感的提高，但它们也预测了更棘手的婚姻中关系幸福感的下降。然后，我们回顾了其他研究的证据，这些证据揭示了表面上积极的心理特征和过程对幸福感的影响取决于各种非人际关系领域的背景。最后，我们的结论是，任何旨在促进幸福感的举措，如果能够（a）检查相同的特征和过程在何种条件下可能促进或威胁幸福感，（b）同时研究健康和不健康的人群，（c）在相当长的时间内考察幸福感，以及（d）避免将心理特征和过程贴上积极或消极的标签，那么它就可能取得最大的成功。
