Reference no: EM134036516 , Length: Word Count:1800

Assessment: Assessment of positive psychology interventions

Task Description

In Assessment 1, you will write an essay and (1.1) choose an applied real-world setting (e.g., the workplace, older persons’ residential care, a school) or group (e.g., example, new mothers, people experiencing illness), (1.2) discuss an issue experienced by that group (e.g., stress, burnout, isolation) and (2) detail the implementation of a positive psychology intervention (e.g., gratitude practice, increasing self-compassion, mindfulness) in that setting or for that group.

You will examine in your essay contextual factors involved in implementing the intervention and ways to measure and document change in participants and the setting in which the intervention is applied.

Note: Noticed above that choosing an applied real-world setting and an issue experienced in that setting are listed as subcategories (i.e., as 1.1 and 1.2)? That is because these parts together should be one section of your essay and to help ‘set the scene’ for the core focus – detailing the implementation of a positive psychology intervention in that setting or for that group.

Your essay

In your essay, you will consider:

An outline of the real-world context you have selected.

You should note the type of setting/characteristics of a group and note contextual features that help the reader understand who is involved and what the environment is like.

Identify and explain the issue experienced in that setting or group.

This section should explain the well-being-related issue that affects the people in your chosen context.

An overview of your chosen intervention.

Discuss why this intervention is a good fit for your target audience and setting? That is, how does the intervention address an identified issue(s) in the chosen setting?

What is the evidence (literature) to support the efficacy of the chosen intervention?

Is the evidence strong for the use of this intervention in your chosen setting, or does the use of the intervention make good sense based on the identified

issue(s) and expected outcomes? Note that your chosen intervention may have been used in your chosen setting or with your target audience; or, it may have not been used specifically in that setting, but its use is justified based on studies in similar settings or because the intervention has been found to address issues you have identified in your chosen setting/target audience.

Consider what the literature tells us about the outcomes of this intervention for individuals’ wellbeing and/or related concepts. If possible, locate systematic reviews or meta-analyses that have considered the evidence for your chosen intervention across several studies. This allows you to obtain a more complete picture of the evidence.

What type of research design might you use to assess the efficacy of the intervention and to evaluate change?

Consider what quantitative (e.g., specific measurement scales) or qualitative (e.g., semi-structured interviews, focus groups) approaches you could implement to determine whether positive changes have occurred and justify their use (e.g., validity, reliability, the measures are designed to measure the change/outcome that the intervention aims to achieve).

How would you administer the intervention?

Use literature to consider factors such as length of intervention, types of exercises implemented, and types of participants included. You do not need to go into discussing a step-by-step program, but you should discuss how the intervention is/can be done (e.g., self-administered, in groups, etc.).

Are there any practical issues you need to consider when implementing the intervention in your chosen setting?

For example, might an existing intervention need to be modified for your setting or target audience?

What might be some considerations when implementing the intervention with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples?

For example, cultural appropriateness of the intervention, any delivery modifications needed, and how results might be evaluated. Some of these issues will be covered in the unit materials and you should also consult the literature regarding wellbeing in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Remember that your essay should also have:

An Introduction outlining your topic and the main issues that will be covered.

A Conclusion summarising the main points of the essay and leaving the audience with final things to consider.

As part of Assessment 1, you are required to discuss some potential considerations when implementing a positive psychology intervention within your chosen context or with your chosen group. For example, when discussing the use of the intervention for your chosen group, you will consider aspects such as:

with whom has the research investigating the efficacy of the intervention largely been conducted? Has your chosen context/group been included?

If your context/group has been studied, what is the strength of the evidence for the effectiveness of the intervention within this context or group?

If your context/group has not been studied, why might the intervention be useful for your chosen context/group? Are unique considerations working within your chosen setting group.

We would also like you to consider in one section of your essay some potential considerations when implementing your intervention with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We hope that this will assist you to develop knowledge of any unique cultural considerations that may need to be considered when working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and groups.

Chang et al. (2016) outline what they see as two “pressing and related challenges” (p. 4) in positive psychology. The first is that “positive psychologists have continued to take an essentialist view of human behavior by not carefully considering variations in what positive psychology may mean for individuals of different racial and ethnic backgrounds”; and second, “the field of positive psychology has been slow to identify and validate positive psychological interventions that are designed to be culturally sensitive or meaningful to diverse groups” (p. 4).

With this in mind, there are many angles that you can take for this part of your essay. It is recommended that you choose 1-2 of these areas so that you can discuss them in sufficient depth, rather than try to cover them all. You might:

Examine how the concept that the intervention is focused upon (e.g., gratitude, forgiveness, compassion) or the proposed outcomes (e.g., increased wellbeing, subjective wellbeing) are conceptualised and thought about by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Examine whether there are studies that have examined the efficacy of the intervention with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander samples?

Examine what are some considerations when conducting an intervention and evaluating its effectiveness. For example, what might be some ethical considerations? Might there need to be additional steps added to the research process, such as community consultation?

Based on the ways that the intervention and its evaluation are usually carried out, you might suggest:

Modifications are needed to the intervention itself.

Modifications are needed in how effectiveness is evaluated (e.g., different measures or multiple measures need to be used to capture the concepts that the intervention is addressing and what they mean to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples).

The intervention perhaps not be recommended or be recommended cautiously until further research is undertaken.

It is important to remember that “There is a great diversity of cultures, languages, kinship structures and ways of life among Aboriginal people across Australia. Aboriginal peoples have distinct cultures. Aboriginal peoples are comprised of many different language and/or tribal groups”. This means that in your writing respect for the unique perspectives, history, and experiences of people and groups needs to be paramount (you can read more about the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Culture here).

So, try to avoid generalisations – e.g., ‘All people from…’ Instead, tell your reader where the studies you are discussing were conducted and with what samples of participants, and temper your conclusions (e.g., ‘Based on the groups studied, happiness definitions might need to consider…’). This is particularly important when considering managing in a multicultural environment.

Choosing the setting

When choosing a real-world setting, you may focus on one that is more general or more specific. For example, you might choose ‘workplaces’ more generally, identifying some of the wellbeing issues facing individuals that are likely to exist across workplaces (e.g., stress, lack of engagement, not finding meaning in one’s work). Alternately, you might choose to focus on a more specific workplace setting. For example, since there are unique wellbeing issues depending on the workplace (e.g., issues facing health professionals are likely to be different to those faced by people working in corporate settings), you could restrict discussion to a particular workplace focusing on some of the issues faced by workers in that setting/profession.

For settings that include a range of developmental (age) groups, it is recommended that you choose a specific age group. For example, rather than focus on ‘young people’ in schools, choose a particular age group (e.g., primary school children, high school children). As another example, rather than focusing on people in prison and including both adolescents and adults, choose one or the other. This is because some the wellbeing issues faced by one group (e.g., younger children in school) are likely to be different for another group (e.g., adolescents in school). Trying to cover too many groups within a setting will mean that you cannot provide sufficient depth of discussion of the chosen intervention and its implementation. Additionally, some interventions (e.g., one that is heavily focused on writing) may not be suit all age groups.

Some students choose to focus their essay on a particular life experience or target group/audience – e.g., new mothers, people experiencing illness, older people living in the community. While these are not technically ‘settings’, this is acceptable so long as you consider factors such where participants might complete the chosen positive psychology intervention – for example, could they do this on their own, would it need to be completed with the assistance of others (e.g., facilitated in a new mothers’ group), and what might be the issues associated with rollout of the intervention?

Whatever choice you make, ensure that you identify the issues faced for people in your chosen setting/domain (or the issues faced by your target audience), and that you

choose a positive psychology intervention that will address some of the identified wellbeing issues.

Choosing a positive psychology intervention

The chosen intervention should be one that is considered to be a positive psychology intervention. Several authors offer guidance on deciding whether an exercise of intervention is a positive psychology intervention (e.g., Boiler et al., 2013; Chakhssi et al., 2018; Chowdhury, 2019; Hendriks et al., 2020; Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009).

Positive psychology interventions tend to be those:

That are based on positive psychology theories or concepts.

That focus on increasing positive thoughts, feelings, or behaviours, rather than focusing on addressing deficits, problems, symptoms, or disorders.

Where the intended outcome is to improve wellbeing and/or related concepts such as happiness, life satisfaction, and flourishing.

Remember that wellbeing or flourishing are multidimensional. If we use PERMA as an example, higher wellbeing or flourishing includes factors such as experiencing positive emotions, engagement, satisfying relationships, deriving meaning in life, and accomplishing goals. Some interventions may predominantly focus on one aspect of wellbeing (e.g., increasing positive emotions), whilst others will address multiple (e.g., increasing positive emotions and addressing relationships). You can choose an intervention that is more specific or one that attempts to address multiple aspects of wellbeing.

While researching a suitable intervention, you will notice that in addition to seeing the term ‘positive psychology interventions’, you might also see ‘positive psychology exercises’ or even ‘positive psychology activities’. Interventions is a term often used for activities that are facilitated by somebody else (e.g., a skilled coach, psychologist), while exercises or activities are more likely to be things that one can complete by oneself. For the purposes of this unit, consider interventions, exercises, or activities as largely interchangeable – that is, so long as the chosen intervention/exercise/activity is positive psychology-based, you can choose to focus on a practice that is facilitated or self-administered.

Some of the positive psychology interventions/exercises/activities that you will be familiar with or may have used include:

mindfulness

gratitude

self-compassion, compassion, or empathy

optimism and hope based interventions

character strengths building

meaning based interventions/exercises

savouring

You may focus your essay on a set of interventions, such as considering self-compassion or gratitude interventions as a whole, or you can focus on a particular intervention – for example, a particular self-compassion exercise (e.g., writing a letter to oneself) or a particular gratitude exercise (e.g., gratitude letter). If you choose a specific intervention/exercise, ensure that there have been studies evaluating that intervention/exercise.

As a starting point to find a positive psychology intervention for your essay, we recommend you look through:

Positive psychology textbooks (e.g., recommended books in the unit or books through the CQU Library Catalogue)

The weekly materials and readings

Positive psychology websites (e.g., PositivePsychology.com)

The homepages of positive psychology researchers or their lists of publications (e.g., by searching for the researcher in Google Scholar).

Importantly, your chosen positive psychology intervention should address the issues facing individuals in the chosen setting. No intervention can address all issues facing individuals, but your intervention should be a logical fit to address some of the pertinent issues identified in your setting/context. For example, if you found that a particular issue faced by individuals in your chosen setting was lower engagement, it would make sense to focus on an intervention that has been found to increase engagement.

For example, when considering workplace wellbeing issues such as stress management, the intervention should be selected according to the needs of the particular setting and target group.

Ethical considerations should also be considered when planning and evaluating the intervention.