Character Strengths
When we think about strengths, what comes to mind?
Do you think of strengths of the heart, strengths of character, maybe physical strengths, or skills?
One of the major undertakings in positive psychology research has been to create a methodology for identifying what is right with people (Peterson & Seligman, 2004).
Rather than the DSM IV, which provides clinicians with a tool to diagnose what is wrong with someone, the classification of character strengths and virtues provides a tool to understand what is good, right, and strong about individuals.
So what is the criteria for a quality to be considered a strength?
Well, in order to make the list it must be:
- Ubiquitous—widely recognized across cultures.
- Fulfilling—contributes to individual fulfillment, satisfaction, and happiness broadly construed.
- Morally valued—is valued in its own right and not for tangible outcomes it may produce.
- Does not diminish others—elevates others who witness it, producing admiration, not jealousy.
- Nonfelicitous opposite—has obvious antonyms that are “negative.”
- Traitlike—is an individual difference with demonstrable generality and stability.
- Measurable—has been successfully measured by researchers as an individual difference.
- Distinctiveness—is not redundant with other character strengths.
- Paragons—is strikingly embodied in some individuals.
- Prodigies—is precociously shown by some children or youth.
- Selective absence—is missing altogether in some individuals.
- Institutions—is the deliberate target of societal practices and rituals that try to cultivate it.
The classification proposes 24 character strengths:
- Appreciation of beauty and excellence [awe, wonder, elevation]: Noticing and appreciating beauty, excellence, and/or skilled performance in all domains of life, from nature to art to mathematics to science to everyday experience.
- Bravery [valor]: Not shrinking from threat, challenge, difficulty, or pain; speaking up for what is right even if there is opposition; acting on convictions even if unpopular; includes physical bravery but is not limited to it.
- Citizenship [social responsibility, loyalty, teamwork]: Working well as a member of a group or team; being loyal to the group; doing one’s share.
- Creativity [originality, ingenuity]: Thinking of novel and productive ways to do things; includes artistic achievement but is not limited to it.
- Curiosity [interest, novelty–seeking, openness to experience]: Taking an interest in all of ongoing experience; finding all subjects and topics fascinating; exploring and discovering.
- Fairness: Treating all people the same according to notions of fairness and justice; not letting personal feelings bias decisions about others; giving everyone a fair chance.
- Forgiveness and mercy: Forgiving those who have done wrong; giving people a second chance; not being vengeful.
- Gratitude: Being aware of and thankful for the good things that happen; taking time to express thanks.
- Hope [optimism, future–mindedness, future orientation]: Expecting the best in the future and working to achieve it; believing that a good future is something that can be brought about.
- Humor [playfulness]: Liking to laugh and tease; bringing smiles to other people; seeing the light side; making (not necessarily telling) jokes.
- Integrity [authenticity, honesty]: Speaking the truth but more broadly presenting oneself in a genuine way; being without pretense; taking responsibility for one’s feelings and actions.
- Judgment [open–mindedness, critical thinking]: Thinking things through and examining them from all sides; not jumping to conclusions; being able to change one’s mind in light of evidence; weighing all evidence fairly.
- Kindness [generosity, nurturance, care, compassion, altruistic love, “niceness”]: Doing favors and good deeds for others; helping them; taking care of them.
- Leadership: Encouraging a group of which one is a member to get things done and at the same time maintaining good relations within the group; organizing group activities and seeing that they happen.
- Love: Valuing close relations with others, in particular those in which sharing and caring are reciprocated; being close to people.
- Love of learning: Mastering new skills, topics, and bodies of knowledge, whether on one’s own or formally; obviously related to the strength of curiosity but goes beyond it to describe the tendency to add systematically to what one knows
- Modesty and humility: Letting one’s accomplishments speak for themselves; not seeking the spotlight; not regarding oneself as more special than one is.
- Persistence [perseverance, industriousness]: Finishing what one starts; persisting in a course of action in spite of obstacles; “getting it out the door”; taking pleasure in completing tasks.
- Perspective [wisdom]: Being able to provide wise counsel to others; having ways of looking at the world that make sense to oneself and to other people.
- Prudence: Being careful about one’s choices; not taking undue risks; not saying or doing things that might later be regretted.
- Self–regulation [self–control]: Regulating what one feels and does; being disciplined; controlling one’s appetites and emotions.
- Social intelligence [emotional intelligence, personal intelligence]: Being aware of the motives and feelings of other people and oneself; knowing what to do to fit in to different social situations; knowing what makes other people tick.
- Spirituality [religiousness, faith, purpose]: Having coherent beliefs about the higher purpose and meaning of the universe; knowing where one fits within the larger scheme; having beliefs about the meaning of life that shape conduct and provide comfort.
- Zest [vitality, enthusiasm, vigor, energy]: Approaching life with excitement and energy; not doing things halfway or halfheartedly; living life as an adventure; feeling alive and activated.
Several character strengths have been linked to well-being.
Peterson, Seligman, and Park found that hope, zest, gratitude, love, and curiosity are linked to life satisfaction (Park, et al., 2004 p. 603).
What may be more interesting is understanding the effect of a person working with one of their top character strengths. Does this lead to increased happiness, life satisfaction, and well-being?
Initial evidence points to yes.
Performing an intervention where an individual was asked to use their top five strengths, determined using the VIA-IS assessment, in a new way led to increased happiness and decreased depression (Seligman, et al., 2005) . This leads to the conclusion that a job that draws on an individuals strengths, and perhaps does so consistently in new ways, may similarly lead to increased happiness.
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Photo Credit: Flickr/UggBoy<3UggGirl