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Top1. Introduction
In the last half century, psychology researchers have made significant progress in the treatment of negative emotions and mental illnesses. However, excessive focus on negative psychological factors can only mitigate symptoms; it cannot help patients foster positive psychological factors (Seligman et al., 2005). Suppose we consider where an individual’s psychological state falls on a normal distribution. Psychologists generally concentrate on moving patients from the left (negative) side of the normal distribution to the middle mean; they have rarely explored techniques to move patients from the mean to the right (positive) side. Psychologists should not simply focus on treating mental illnesses; they should also strive to improve the mental well-being of patients and aid them in building more meaningful lives (Yu & Chou, 2009).
In view of this, Seligman promoted positive psychology during his term as president of the American Psychological Association and collated various past studies associated with positive emotions and happiness. Positive psychology can be roughly divided into three areas: positive emotions, positive characters, and positive institutions. These areas are associated with three corresponding lifestyles: the pleasant life, engaged life, and meaningful life (Seligman et al., 2005).
Research involving positive psychology has made progress in domains such as psychology, education, and business administration (Seligman et al., 2006). Methods that teach individuals how to enhance their positive thinking, emotions, and behaviors based on positive psychology are called positive interventions (PIs) or positive activity interventions (PAIs). A number of studies (Duckworth et al., 2005; Lyubomirsky, Sheldon & Schkade, 2005; Seligman et al., 2005) have established that PIs can effectively enhance happiness or reduce depression as well as improve internal locus of control and willingness to participate. One advantage of PI methods is that individuals can practice them independently. Moreover, PIs are less costly and time-consuming than psychotherapy and can swiftly improve moods while decreasing the degree of stigmatization, all without adverse effects. Nonetheless, although PIs have proven effective in laboratory scenarios, researchers have advised that understanding contextual factors associated with PIs, such as continued practice, motivations, and person-activity fit, is likely to further enhance the effectiveness of these methods (Biswas-Diener, 2011). Sheldon and Lyubomirsky (2004) also emphasized the importance of person-activity fit in PIs, which increases the personal motivation of individuals to participate in PIs and prevents hedonic adaption from impairing PI effectiveness.
In recent years, the proportion of college students with mental health issues has remained high and even continued to increase. Thirty percent of college students reported having felt depressed in the last year (Wickham, 2016). Another survey in Taiwan revealed that almost a quarter of college students had experienced depression (Yu & Hsu, 2013). Finally, a survey conducted by the Center for Collegiate Mental Health found almost half of college students attended co-counseling for mental health concerns, and 30.3% of college students who sought mental health services in 2013 reported having seriously considered a suicide attempt at some point in their life; this was up from 23.8% in 2010 (Novotney, 2014). These surveys show that mental health issues of college students cannot be ignored. Studies have showed that positive and negative emotions are in fact independent dimensions rather than opposite poles. That is, the present of one do not indicate the absence of the other (Lucas et al., 2003). In view of this, the absence of depression does not guarantee happiness. PIs are likely to be an effective tool in improving the mental health of college students, as they use positive psychology to promote mental health and develop resistance against negative life events.