Positive psychology progress: Empirical validation of interventions

Positive psychology has flourished in the last 5 years. The authors review recent developments in the field, including books, meetings, courses, and conferences. They also dis-cuss the newly created classification of character strengths and virtues, a positive complement to the various editions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disor-ders (e. g., American Psychiatric Association, 1994), and present some cross-cultural findings that suggest a surpris-ing ubiquity of strengths and virtues. Finally, the authors focus on psychological interventions that increase individ-ual happiness. In a 6-group, random-assignment, placebo-controlled Internet study, the authors tested 5 purported happiness interventions and 1 plausible control exercise. They found that 3 of the interventions lastingly increased happiness and decreased depressive symptoms. Positive interventions can supplement traditional interventions that relieve suffering and may someday be the practical legacy of positive psychology