Positive psychology: A clinical behavior analytic perspective

Psychology has focused too much on reducing symptoms of distress and amelio rating behavioral problems rather than attending to the rewarding, engaging , and good side of human life. This article offers a radical behavioral vie w of some of the epistemic issues relevant to the design of this new area o f research, and it proposes a rapprochement between humanistic and behavior analytic psychology. Examples drawn from both humanistic and behavior anal ytic research are given to illustrate the utility of a deterministic view f or a generative science of positive psychology and to offer an alternative conceptualization of control. The article considers how to design environme nts that evoke positive behavior from those within them and how to give ind ividuals the skills to control their own behavior and circumstances in ways that will maximize their quality of life.