# Motivation and emotion/Tutorials/Growth psychology

Tutorial 06: Growth psychology This is the sixth and final tutorial for the motivation and emotion unit of study.

## Overview

This tutorial is about growth psychology, self-actualisation, and provides active review of key learning from the unit.

## Growth psychology assumptions

To what extent do you agree with the underlying assumptions of growth psychology? Not sure? Consider these questions (do a class line-up (as per the first tutorial for each and discuss):
* Do you think that "evil" (or anti-social) behaviour:
** is inherent in human nature?
** is a product of a sick culture?
* How does learning best occur? Does effective learning follow from:
** well-developed curricula and expert teaching?
** having one’s interests identified, facilitated, and supported?
* Does psychological therapy work best by:
** fixing what is broken?
** nurturing what is best?
* Which answers correspond to growth psychology paradigms? (the 2nd answer in each case)

## Self-actualisation

* Self-actualising is the process of fulfilling your potential.
* Complete this Self-evaluation of self-actualisation
* Review your answers and highlight:
** What are you doing that is particularly helping you towards self-actualisation?
** What aspects could you grow and develop to help towards self-actualisation?

## Happiness

Since the development of positive psychology in 1990s, there has been a significant focus on psychological research and understanding of happiness.
* Martin Seligman suggests three components of happiness which he calls the:
** Pleasant life: Dealing with the past, optimism about the future, happiness in the present (hedonic pleasure and the skills to amplify pleasure). However, this form of happiness is limited by being short-lived, subject to the hedonic treadmill, and heritable.
** Good life: or Eudaimonia; Engagement (flow, absorption)
** Meaningful life: Connection to a higher purpose)
* Dan Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness, suggests two components of happiness: (Why are we happy? (Dan Gilbert, 2004, 21:20, TED talk)):
** Natural happiness: What we feel when we get what we want
** Synthetic happiness: What we feel when we learn to like what we get

## Pearls of wisdom - Nuggets of truth

This exercise seeks to crystallise and share the:
* "pearls of wisdom"
* "nuggets of truth"
* "flashes of insight"
* "take-home messages" etc.
that have arisen from your engagement with Motivation and emotion content and/or learning activities.
* What pearl(s) of wisdom or nuggets of truth have occurred to you through this unit?
* Write each pearl of wisdom on a separate post-it note (generate as many as possible) - place these nuggets upside down in a collective pile. Sources may include:
* What have been the most valuable theoretical or practical insights you have gained from the unit?
* What have you learnt from the unit that you've put into practice in your own life?
* What was the key message of the book chapter you worked on?
* Take turns to pick up a random nugget, read it out to the class, explain what you think the author means, then then select a location for the nugget on the wall (organise around themes)
* Based on these nuggets of truth, what meta-themes have emerged from this unit?
* Link: Pearls of wisdom

## Recording

* Tutorial 05 recording, 2017