The science of positive psychology operates on three different levels – the subjective level, the individual level and the group level.

The subjective level includes the study of positive experiences such as joy, well-being, satisfaction, contentment, happiness, hope and flow. For me this is not simply about feeling good, rather the study of what is a healthy or natural emotional response or way of being or what is possible. Positive Psychology’s value is the place that it gives to negativity too: natural, understanding, acceptance.

At the next level, its aim is to identify the constituents of the ‘good life’, how to create a life with purpose and meaning, and the personal qualities that are necessary for doing this, through to studying human strengths and virtues, future-mindedness, capacity for love, courage, commitment, perseverance, resilience, forgiveness, originality, discipline, wisdom, interpersonal skills and giftedness.

Finally, at the group or community level, the emphasis is on civic virtues, social responsibilities, nurturance, altruism, civility, tolerance, work ethics, positive institutions and other factors that contribute to the development of citizenship, communities ,social imagination and universal meaning-making.