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Sunday, January 8, 2012
List of personal strenghts
The Question
Is there a list
of personal strengths of character, and are there common virtues, that can
be identified across cultures and throughout history? Martin Seligman, past
president of the American Psychological
Association and founder of the modern positive psychology movement, and
especially Christopher Peterson, professor at the University of Michigan
since 1986 and member of the Positive Psychology Steering Committee, spent
three years researching this.
Psychology's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV)
catalogs what's wrong with people - their psychological problems. Peterson and
Seligman set out to catalog what's right with people - their psychological
strengths, specifically contrasting it with the DSM. The result is what
well-known Harvard professor Howard Gardner called "one of the most
important initiatives in psychology of the past half century," the
816-page Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification.
Through their research Peterson and Seligman discovered that personal
strengths and virtues were more universal than they - or their colleagues -
expected. One result was their list of two dozen character strengths, grouped
within six broad areas of virtue.
The Criteria
What qualifies as a personal character strength, and how do you know if one
is really yours? The researchers discuss many aspects of their methods and
those of scientific psychology in the past. In A Primer in Positive Psychology (2007), Peterson
explains:
I believe that people possess signature
strengths akin to what Allport (1961) identified decades ago as personal
traits. These are strengths of character that a person owns, celebrates, and
frequently exercises. In our interviews with adults, we find that almost
everyone can readily identify a handful of strengths as very much their own,
typically between two and five.
Peterson goes on to present a list they used in 2004 summarizing their
"possible criteria for signature strengths":
a sense of
ownership and authenticity ("this is the real me") vis-a-vis the
strength
a feeling
of excitement while displaying it, particularly at first
a rapid
learning curve as themes are attached to the strength and practiced
continuous
learning of new ways to enact the strength
a sense of
yearning to act in accordance with the strength
a feeling
of inevitability in using the strength, as if one cannot be stopped or
dissuaded from its display
the
discovery of the strength as owned in an epiphany
invigoration
rather than exhaustion when using the strength
the creation
and pursuit of fundamental projects that revolve around the strength
intrinsic
motivation to use the strength
The list of personal character strengths is not set in stone. Like other
scientific theories it is subject to change as evidence is evaluated over time.
Here are the 24 strengths of character at present, grouped in 6 categories of
virtues:
The List
Strengths of Wisdom and Knowledge: Cognitive
strengths that entail the acquisition and use of knowledge
1. Creativity [originality, ingenuity]: Thinking of novel and
productive ways to conceptualize and do things.
2. Curiosity [interest, novelty-seeking, openness to experience]:
Taking an interest in ongoing experience for its own sake; exploring and
discovering.
3. Open-mindedness [judgment, critical thinking]: Thinking things
through and examining them from all sides; weighing all evidence fairly.
4. Love of learning: Mastering new skills, topics, and bodies of
knowledge, whether on one's own or formally.
5. Perspective [wisdom]: Being able to provide wise counsel to
others; having ways of looking at the world that make sense to oneself and to
other people.
Strengths of Courage: Emotional
strengths that involve the exercise of will to accomplish goals in the face of
opposition, external and internal
6. Bravery [valor]: Not shrinking from threat, challenge,
difficulty, or pain; acting on convictions even if unpopular.
7. Persistence [perseverance, industriousness]: Finishing what one
starts; persisting in a course of action in spite of obstacles.
8. Integrity [authenticity, honesty]: Presenting oneself in a
genuine way; taking responsibility for one's feeling and actions.
9. Vitality [zest, enthusiasm, vigor, energy]: Approaching life with
excitement and energy; feeling alive and activated.
Strengths of Humanity: interpersonal
strengths that involve tending and befriending others
10. Love: Valuing close relations with others, in particular those
in which sharing and caring are reciprocated.
11. Kindness [generosity, nurturance, care, compassion, altruistic love,
"niceness"]: Doing favors and good deeds for others.
12. Social intelligence [emotional intelligence, personal intelligence]:
Being aware of the motives and feelings of other people and oneself.
Strengths of Justice: civic strengths
that underlie healthy community life
13. Citizenship [social responsibility, loyalty, teamwork]: Working
well as a member of a group or team; being loyal to the group.
14. Fairness: Treating all people the same according to notions of
fairness and justice; not letting personal feelings bias decisions about
others.
15. Leadership: Encouraging a group of which one is a member to get
things done and at the same maintain time good relations within the group.
Strengths of Temperance: strengths
that protect against excess
16. Forgiveness and mercy: Forgiving those who have done wrong;
accepting the shortcomings of others; giving people a second chance; not being
vengeful.
17. Humility / Modesty: Letting one's accomplishments speak for
themselves; not regarding oneself as more special than one is.
18. Prudence: Being careful about one's choices; not taking undue
risks; not saying or doing things that might later be regretted.
19. Self-regulation [self-control]: Regulating what one feels and
does; being disciplined; controlling one's appetites and emotions.
Strengths of Transcendence: strengths
that forge connections to the larger universe and provide meaning
20. Appreciation of beauty and excellence [awe, wonder, elevation]:
Appreciating beauty, excellence, and/or skilled performance in various domains
of life.
21. Gratitude: Being aware of and thankful of the good things that
happen; taking time to express thanks.
22. Hope [optimism, future-mindedness, future orientation]:
Expecting the best in the future and working to achieve it.
23. Humor [playfulness]: Liking to laugh and tease; bringing smiles
to other people; seeing the light side.
24. Spirituality [religiousness, faith, purpose]: Having coherent
beliefs about the higher purpose, the meaning of life, and the meaning of the
universe.
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