tailieunhanh - Adaptive mental mechanisms their role in a positive psychology

This article raises questions that must be solved if psychol- ogists are to develop a science of positive psychology. First, how should psychology quantify positive mental health? At present, psychology has no metric except per-haps scores of greater than 85 on the DSM-1V's Axis V (Global Assessment of Functioning). If more reliable meth- ods or assessing the relative maturity of defenses can be developed, psychology may gain a means of quantifying the theoretical formula for positive mental health that Marie Jahoda (1959) offered to psychology 40 years ago.  | Adaptive Mental Mechanisms Their Role in a Positive Psychology George E. Vaillant Brigham and Women s Hospital Psychology needs a metric for positive mental health that would be analogous to the IQ tests that measure aboveaverage intelligence. The Defensive Function Scale of the DSM-IV offers a possible metric. In the present article the author links the transformational qualities of defenses at the mature end of the Defensive Function Scale altruism suppression humor anticipation and sublimation to positive psychology. First the methodological problems involved in the reliable assessment of defenses are acknowledged. Next the use of prospective longitudinal study to overcome such difficulties and to provide more reliable definition and measurement of defenses is outlined. Evidence is also offered that unlike many psychological measures the maturity of defenses is quite independent of social class education and IQ. Last evidence is offered to illustrate the validity of mature defenses and their contribution to positive psychology. Since the days of alchemy humanity has been fascinated with how to turn lead into gold. People are intrigued by the real-life alchemy of the oyster transforming an irritating grain of sand into a pearl. Rumpel stiltskin spinning straw into gold is a favorite fairy tale. In their laudable quest to relieve human suffering however both psychiatry and psychology have been less interested in positive transformations. Instead they have been more concerned with how cold mothers and bad genes create disease and so turn gold to lead. In contrast to psychiatry however psychology has made at least some effort to measure the positive as well as the pathological. Intelligence tests are a good example. In contrast to intelligence however most facets of positive human behavior for example creativity maturity and empathy are extraordinarily difficult to measure. This article discusses efforts to conceptualize the mature defenses aka involuntary coping .