Martin Seligman
August 12, 1942
Martin E. P. Seligman is an American psychologist, professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, and the 31st most cited psychologist of the 20th century.
He became famous for his theory of learned helplessness, which he developed in his attempts to explain the phenomenon of depression. He developed a dynamic concept of well-being, which is also called the PERMA model. He is the author of a number of publications. The books "Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Thinking and Life", "True Happiness: Positive Psychology in Practice" and "Flourishing: New Insights into the Nature of Happiness and Mental Well-Being" have all been published in Czech.
Seligman has received several Outstanding Scientific Contribution Awards from the American Psychological Association (APA). In 2009, he received the British Academy's inaugural Wiley Prize for lifetime achievement in psychology. In 1996, Dr. Seligman was elected president of the American Psychological Association, with the largest number of votes in its modern history.
Learned helplessness theory It stated that a living organism or a group of organisms can learn that they cannot influence a certain situational outcome by their behaviour, and they generalise this experience and transfer it to another situation. He associates learned helplessness with people who are "stuck in situations causing massive anxiety" and get the impression that they cannot positively influence events. According to Seligman, helplessness can be learned and is transferred to situations other than those in which it originally arose. It spreads by scaremongering and imitation. With these conclusions in mind, a number of methods have been developed, such as mindfulness, which was developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Mindfulness says, among other things, that we should perceive the uniqueness of the current situation without prejudice and bias. Seligman followed up on the theory of learned helplessness with his typology, dividing people into externalists and internalists. Externalists ascribe the results of their activities to external influences, internalists to internal influences.
Well-being Seligman is referred to as the "pioneer of positive psychology". He elaborated on the concept of well-being. One of the five pillars of positive psychology is positive emotions, along with engagement, positive relationships, meaningfulness, and successful performance.
Book Flourishing He notes that Western civilization perceives happiness more as a "good mood", but in the book he works with the concept of "flourishing" – deepening mental well-being. While happiness is an important part of our lives, it doesn't make sense on its own. Mental well-being is essential, which is based on experiencing positive emotions and on four other pillars: engaged engagement, positive relationships, meaningfulness and successful performance (PERMA concept). In the publication, he answers questions about how to apply positive psychology in practice, how mental well-being can help improve health, reveals how to improve relationships with loved ones, and explains why it is advisable to master the art of slowness or how to explore one's own attitudes and goals.