METODOLOGIA ȘI METODELE DE CERCETARE ÎN PSIHOLOGIA POZITIVĂ CONTEMPORANĂ
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND METHODS IN CONTEMPORARY POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

Summary/Abstract: The notions of "well-being" and / or "happiness" have a long tradition of beingconsidered as central elements of a good life. However, until recently these concepts were oftenconsidered impossible to measure and certainly outside of official statistics. In the last two decades,an increasing number of investigations have shown that subjective well-being can be measured insurveys with valid and reliable methods, and that the results can inform and influence social policydecisions. In positive psychology, a number of methods have been developed, some of which,presented in the article, are used nationally and internationally as means of identifying needs forsocial policies. At the same time, positive psychology faced several criticisms regarding the researchmethodology, requesting comparative studies, or the involvement of longitudinal research. Othercritical approaches referred to analyses focused on individualistic cultures, data collection methodsfocused excessively on self-reporting, the need for more complex techniques of statistical dataanalysis. Evidence is provided of how positive psychological constructs of well-being and personaldevelopment have been supplemented and enriched by the use of qualitative phenomenologicalresearch methods. The article presents the author's speech at the Methodological Seminar on"Contemporary Methodological Guidelines and Practices in Social Sciences", October 30, 2020.

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