**2. Positive psychology research**

During the last decade of the twentieth century, the field of psychology began to shift from a focus on pathology to a focus on possibility [13]. While numerous factors contributed to this shift, a growing body of research on the subjectivity of human perception undoubtedly played a significant role [14, 15]. The 1990s were characterized by breakthrough research into the perceptual process, enabled by positron emission tomography (PET) and later functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Research into the role of intention and attention in the perceptual process led to an increasing awareness that intention is the psychological process by which humans create reality [16]. Intention shifts attention; thus, providing access to new perceptual choices that otherwise would have been missed.

Positive psychology focuses on identifying factors that enable people to live a good life—a life of happiness. Obviously, intention is a key factor. Intention causes people to focus their attention on certain goals, while ignoring a plethora of other perceptual possibilities, thus aligning perceptions with desires. This led to the first wave of positive psychology interventions including affirmations, visual imagery, and gratitude

### *Identifying the Gaps between Biopsychosocial Research and Human Behavior… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107500*

journals, to name only a few. More recently a growing body of researchers has labeled positive psychology as hedonic due to its focus on individual mastery and positive affect as the critical ingredients for achieving happiness [17]. In other words, the early research in positive psychology framed happiness as the absence of negative emotions and focused more on individual agency than on human connectivity.

Scholarly pushback regarding this Western bias in happiness research has led to an emergent wave of scholarship referred to by a variety of labels: existential positive psychology [18], the second wave of positive psychology [19, 20], and positive psychology 2.0 [21]. At the heart of positive psychology 2.0 (PP2.0) is the recognition that optimal well-being comes from the dynamic interplay between positive and negative experiences and emotions [21]. In other words, PP2.0 recognizes the importance of dialectical (paradoxical) thinking which is based on the philosophical idea that everything is composed of opposites. For example, it is possible to feel both happy and sad, and to love and hate simultaneously. Nothing is ever all good or all bad.

Numerous scholars have expressed concern that by focusing only on the positive, the first wave of positive psychology failed to adequately acknowledge that people live in a multi-faceted reality—not a binary world. The second wave of positive psychology recognizes well-being requires "appreciating and even embracing the complex and ambivalent nature of life" ([11], p. 1757). In certain situations, positive qualities (e.g., optimism) can even be detrimental to well-being, while frequently labeled negative emotions (e.g., anxiety) are sometimes useful [11]. Cognitive flexibility is a prerequisite to seeing both the positive and negative aspects embedded in each of life's challenges. Seeing life from multiple perspectives requires dialectical thinking.

The theoretical evolution of positive psychology not only integrates hedonic and eudaimonic definitions of well-being, but PP2.0 is also a step toward integrating Eastern and Western perspectives on happiness. As noted above, there is increasing recognition that hardship and negative emotions may be unavoidable aspects of a good life. Ho and Ho [22] comment that "true happiness includes the wisdom to embrace unhappiness as a part of life" noting that happiness may "come naturally when one is no longer obsessed with pursuing it" (p. 64).

Yet, even as the field of positive psychology is broadening its definition of happiness and well-being, a large population of Western "happiness seekers" [23] continue to focus on simply learning techniques (e.g., gratitude journals, affirmations, and vision boards) rather than expanding their worldview to incorporate the scientific discoveries of the twenty-first century and their behavior to align with these discoveries. There are tens of thousands of instantly downloadable self-help applications claiming happiness to be only a few clicks (or techniques) away [23], yet their longterm efficacy is primarily untested. This chapter is not meant to discount the value of digital self-help apps, rather it is intended to provide a complementary and much more comprehensive set of skills that integrate scientific findings from three disparate disciplines into a new way of conceptualizing, creating, and sustaining human happiness and a subjective sense of well-being.

### **3. Neuroscience research**

During the past two decades, neuroscience research has made remarkable discoveries about the human brain. Many of these discoveries are a result of novel ways of imaging the brain such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). This noninvasive procedure creates computerized images that allow researchers to digitally track individual

thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in order to map the corresponding biological pathways. Some of the pathways and circuitry identified relate to the experience of well-being. An example is the so-called social brain [24]. The social brain circuitry suggests that humans are hardwired to connect with others and that human connection is a prerequisite for optimal thriving [25]. A sense of connection reduces anxiety and depression [26]; conversely, loneliness increases mental, physical, and emotional distress [27].

Similarly, new knowledge regarding neurotransmitters such as oxytocin and dopamine provides new insights into the biochemistry of well-being. Dopamine, sometimes referred to as the pleasure chemical [28], has mental health implications far beyond the treatment of addictions [29] and ADHD [30]. Recent research indicates dopamine levels can be increased via lifestyle changes such as a high protein diet [31], physical exercise [32], adequate sleep [33], listening to music [34], sunlight exposure [35], and yoga [36], thus increasing a sense of well-being. Meditation has an especially strong correlation with increased dopamine levels. One study identified a 65% increase in dopamine production after 1 hour of meditating, compared to a control group that was resting quietly [37].

Recent research has also expanded our understanding of the role that oxytocin plays in well-being. This brain chemical, often referred to as the bonding hormone, is not only released during the birthing process to promote bonding between female mammals and their offspring, it can also be released by experiences ranging from simple human touch to eye contact with a pet [38]. Empathy and trust are both increased by oxytocin [39, 40]. Oxytocin produces antidepressant-like effects in animals [41] and low levels of oxytocin are believed to be a factor in human depression [42]. Current research is also investigating the role that serotonin plays in mood disorders and mental health issues [43].

One of the most remarkable discoveries is the identification of the brain's neuroplasticity, an umbrella term that refers to the brain's ability to modify, change and adapt both structure and function throughout life and in response to experience [44]. Using fMRI researchers have discovered that individuals can actually change neural connections, thus re-wiring their brains [45]. Furthermore, the development of new neural networks appears to be facilitated via positive interactions with others. Studies at Oxford University found that as adult monkeys were encouraged to interact in positive ways with other monkeys, the brain pathways linked to the social brains of these monkeys increased both in size and connectivity [46]. At the human level, research suggests that the human brain has the ability to synchronize with other brains creating increased empathy and cooperation which leads to a greater sense of well-being [47]. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIS) has shown that brain synchrony increases when individuals mirror the body movements of others; while MRI studies have demonstrated the power of eye contact to stimulate the mirror neurons in the limbic system, thus deepening a sense of connection to others and increasing awareness of others' intentions [48].

Even though neuroscience research has made remarkable progress in understanding brain functioning, researchers have not yet fully identified the role that the brain plays in human consciousness. Chalmers [49] refers to this as the "hard problem" in neuroscience and purports that consciousness can never be explained solely via classical analysis due to the qualitative/subjective properties (i.e., qualia) of lived experience. Though other researchers [50] have a very different perspective and continue to strive to analyze the neural correlates of consciousness, there is a growing body of research suggesting that consciousness is a function of quantum processes in the brain [51]. These scholars believe brain/mind/consciousness processes are so complex that

they cannot be reduced to the sum of their elementary ingredients [52]; furthermore, if consciousness is a function of quantum processes at the subatomic level of the brain, these processes will never be observable via classical brain mapping.
