Martin Seligman – Positive Psychology

In the late 20th century, psychology was largely about fixing what was broken — diagnosing disorders, treating trauma, and managing dysfunction. But Martin Seligman, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, wanted to ask a different question: What if psychology focused not just on suffering, but on strength?

Seligman’s early work was far from cheerful. In the 1960s, he conducted groundbreaking experiments on learned helplessness (I’ve written a post on this. Do check it out) — a concept showing how repeated failure can condition individuals to stop trying, even when success becomes possible. His studies on animals and later on humans revealed how a sense of control — or lack of it — could deeply shape mental health. This research became a foundation for understanding depression and resilience.

But Seligman didn’t stop there. Decades later, as president of the American Psychological Association in 1998, he launched a new field: Positive Psychology. He urged researchers to study what makes life worth living — optimism, meaning, gratitude, and human potential. His PERMA model (Positive emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment) offered a scientific framework for well-being that went beyond mere happiness.

What made Seligman’s research revolutionary was its balance of rigor and hope. He backed his ideas with decades of empirical studies, showing that optimism could be learned, gratitude could be cultivated, and resilience could be trained like a muscle.

Martin Seligman didn’t dismiss pain or hardship — he reframed them. His work reminds us that flourishing isn’t about the absence of struggle but the presence of purpose. Through science, he made happiness not a mystery, but a measurable pursuit.