This document discusses how positive psychology influenced self-tracking of character strengths. It provides an overview of positive psychology and defines character strengths as consistent traits that produce positive outcomes. Two assessments are described - Gallup Strengthsfinder and VIA Character Strengths - that can help identify top strengths. The author tracked their own strengths daily using an experience sampling method app to see when and how strengths were used and related to mood, energy and activities. Key learnings included underutilized strengths and the "dark side" of overusing some strengths. The author concludes self-tracking strengths can provide insights for lifestyle design.

1. Self-Tracking of Character
Strengths
Positive Psychology Influenced Self-
Tracking
By Jeff Fajans

2. Positive Psychology in a Nutshell
• The Psychology of Human Flourishing
• Optimal Functioning and Well-being
• Why not study people at their best?
• Examples of Positive Psychology Research Areas:
– Happiness
– Flow
– Creativity
– Engagement
– Hope
– Positive Emotions
– Meaning in Life
– Character Strengths & Talents

3. What is a Strength?
• When you might experience flow,
engagement, success, inner drive, positive
emotion
• Traits of character (consistent traits people
universally express across all areas of their life
-- home, family, social life, work).

4. What is a Strength?
• An ability to consistently produce a positive
outcome through near-perfect performance in
a specific task (Gallup)
• Composed of
– Skills- your basic abilities, acquired through
training and practice
– Knowledge- acquired through education
– Talents – ways in which you naturally think, feel,
and behave. We each have unique talents within
us.

5. Identifying Strengths
• Yearnings- an internal force, magnetic attraction that leads
you to a particular activity or environment again and again
• Rapid Learning- acquiring skill or knowledge seems easy
• Satisfaction- Psychological Fulfillment
• Timelessness- becoming so engrossed you lose track of
time
• Glimpses of Excellence- flashes of outstanding
performance

6. Identifying Strengths
• Two Assessments:
• Gallup Strengthsfinder
– http://www.strengthsfinder.com/home.aspx
• Values in Action (VIA)
– http://www.viacharacter.org

7. VIA
• The VIA is the positive psychology counterpart
to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders (DSM) used in traditional
psychology.
• Created by Christopher Peterson and Martin
Seligman
• A 240 item measure

8. Character Strengths & Virtues
• 24 Character Strengths Under 6 Virtues:
– Wisdom and Knowledge
– Courage
– Love and Humanity
– Justice
– Temperance
– Spirituality and Transcendence

9. Character Strengths & Virtues
• Creativity • Citizenship
• Curiosity • Fairness
• Open-mindedness • Leadership
• Love of Learning • Forgiveness and mercy
• Perspective • Humility
• Bravery • Prudence
• Persistence • Self Control
• Integrity • Appreciation of Beauty
• Zest • Gratitude
• Love • Hope
• Kindness • Humor
• Social Intelligence • Spirituality

10. Gallup Strengthsfinder
• 34 Themes
• Clustered into 4 Categories
– Executing
– Strategic Thinking
– Influencing
– Relationship Building

11. My Strengths
• VIA
– Creativity, Originality
– Curiosity, Interest in the world
– Authenticity, Integrity, honesty
– Perspective, wisdom
– Bravery, valor
• Strengthsfinder
– Achiever
– Significance
– Learner
– Command
– Strategic

12. What I Am Tracking
• How often do I really utilize my strengths?
• Are there certain strengths that give me more
benefits in terms of well-being?
• Is there a dark side to any of my strengths?
• What kinds of activities am I doing where I feel I
am using my strengths? With who?

13. Why?
• Lifestyle Design and Optimization
– Get a better understanding for how I operate
• Prediction, treatment
– Enhance mood, energy
– Do more or less of certain activities
– Spend more or less time with certain people

14. How?
• PACO
– Personal Analytics Companion
– Android –Based Self-Experimentation App
– Experience Sampling Method (ESM)
– Created by Bob Evans

15. How?
• Signals me 6 times a day, at semi-random times
• Asks me
– What I am doing?
– What is my mood?
– What is my energy level?
– Who am I with?
– Where am I?
– What Strengths, if any, I am using?
– Etc.

16. What Have I Learned?

17. Distributions SF
1- Achiever
2- Significance
3- Learner
4- Command
5- Strategic
6- None

18. Distributions VIA
1- Creativity
2- Curiosity
3- Authenticity
4- Perspective
5- Bravery
6- None

19. When I Feel Energized
1- Achiever
2- Significance
3- Learner
4- Command
5- Strategic
6- None

20. When I Feel Energized
1- Creativity
2- Curiosity
3- Authenticity
4- Perspective
5- Bravery
6- None

21. In High Positive Mood
1- Achiever
2- Significance
3- Learner
4- Command
5- Strategic
6- None

22. In High Positive Mood
1- Creativity
2- Curiosity
3- Authenticity
4- Perspective
5- Bravery
6- None

23. Fully Activated (High Mood, High
Energy)

24. Fully Activated (High Mood, High
Energy)

25. The Dark Side…Low Energy, Low
Mood

26. The Dark Side…Low Energy, Low
Mood

27. The Dark Side of Authenticity &
Honesty

28. When I Am Feeling Creative…

29. When I Am Feeling Creative…

30. When I Am Feeling Creative…

31. When I Am Feeling Creative…
1 – Independently
2- Interdependently

32. When I Am Feeling Creative…

33. When I Am Feeling Creative…

34. When I Am Feeling Creative…

35. When I Am Feeling Creative…

36. When I Am Feeling Creative…

37. When I Am Feeling Creative…

38. Now What?
• Balance Out My Underutilized Strengths
– Significance
– Command
– Perspective
– Bravery

39. Significance

40. Significance

41. Bravery

42. Last Thoughts and Key Takeaways
• Consider Incorporating Strength Tracking into
your own QS stuff
• Very Powerful for Lifestyle Design
– To test assumptions
– To identify what, where, when, with who
– Fun to see how it relates to mood and energy
variables
– What else would be interesting to test?

43. Thank You
Questions?
Jeff Fajans
Jeffrey.fajans@cgu.edu
214-766-3908