Why The P.E.R.M.A Model (And Is It Enough)?

A model for a successful and fulfilling life and words of caution on its application

It is my contention that the aims of Positive Psychology are honourable and accurate for the most part. But that’s not enough. All theories of human behaviour have flaws, and to ignore those flaws is short-sighted and naive at best, misrepresentative of the truth and unethical at worst. So in this article, I aim to offer arguments both for and against the merits of Positive Psychology, and in particular, PERMA. As always, some references to open-access material so you can read further.

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Most people want to be happy. It’s what we are all after, is it not? Yet, happiness can be elusive, fleeting and difficult to define. You’re happy in your work today because you got a bonus, but you’re unhappy the next day because you didn’t win that contract you thought was a sure thing. You’re happy because you got married last week, but six months later, when the honeymoon period is over, your mortgage is due, and your partner’s farts and dirty underwear are testing you, you’re not so happy. The circumstances of life seem to have an overwhelming influence on your sense of happiness. Corporations know this, and they go to great lengths to have you believe that you can have this happiness at the drop of a hat. We are, in this sense, manipulated and buffered by manufactured circumstances.

So, is it possible to achieve a prevailing sense of happiness regardless of what life and manipulative organisations throw at us? Is that prevailing sense of contentment happiness itself, or is happiness hedonic? Or is happiness something else?

Happiness is a subjective experience, which means it can vary from person to person and between cultures. What brings happiness to one person might not afford another the same level of experience. For native tribes on the Serengeti, for example, meat and honey are what bring happiness, and they’re not always available. For out-of-shape, well-looked-after white Europeans, on the other hand, meat and honey are taken for granted and therefore, not so strongly linked to happiness. It seems what’s rare is wonderful, as the fella says. Regardless, research and, indeed, personal experience have taught us that happiness can be cultivated and developed through conscious effort, and importantly, acceptance of conditions despite their immediate emotional response.

What you think about, how you interpret events and circumstances, and what you spend your time doing from moment to moment matter. Rather than lamenting the less-than-perfect life you’ve been afforded and wondering when the gods will look kindly on you, Positive Psychology, for example, suggests you can do something about it. This is what Mental Skill Development is all about. It’s also about taking a particular view of oneself and the world, and it is why, in developing mental skills, I include acceptance as a critical aspect. Acceptance is a feature of psychological flexibility, and without it, the non-achievement of goals may not be processed in a healthy way (Kashdan & Rottenberg, 2010).

The PERMA Model of Well-being

Scientists don't like using the term “happiness“ very much because it is difficult to agree on what constitutes it. Subjective well-being appears to be more appropriate. While happiness often refers to a transient subjective state marked by pleasant or euphoric emotions, subjective well-being is complex and multifaceted, encompassing a broader range of experiences like life satisfaction and connections with others. One of the most influential models in the study of happiness is the PERMA Model, which Martin Seligman originally formulated and outlined in his 2011 book Flourish¹. PERMA proposes the following five core components that contribute to happiness and well-being:

1. Positive emotions

2. Engagement

3. Relationships

4. Meaning

5. Accomplishment

PERMA is said to be an holistic approach to well-being that addresses multiple dimensions, including emotional, psychological, and social factors, and is said to enhance positive emotions, achievements, sense of purpose, and social connections. The PERMA model can also help people satisfy the three basic human needs, which, according to Ryan & Deci’s Self-Determination Theory², are key psychosocial conditions for well-being and growth.

Autonomy
Competence, and
Relatedness

A Word Of Caution Applying These Ideas

A word or two of caution in advance for those who may be well-meaning yet over-enthusiastic about the virtues and accuracy of PERMA and Positive psychology in general. Critics of Positive Psychology argue that it may set unrealistic expectations of what ‘the good life’ entails, claiming that we will never be able to enjoy a minimum of happiness if we do not have the help of a positive psychology practitioner (Fernández-Ríos & Novo, 2012). In this, positive psychology facilitates the perhaps flawed notion that we can and must function above our possibilities to achieve happiness. Consequently, there may be an overemphasis on irrational optimism and the creation of unrealistic expectations. Irrational obsession with the illusion of happiness may cause significant harm in the long term through unsuccessful pursuits to lead “one’s best life”, a term that, I must add, infuriates me.

Other issues with the theory, according to researchers

Despite its widespread popularity and application across various domains such as education, healthcare, and organisational practice, Positive Psychology has faced increasing scrutiny from scholars across the psychological sciences. A growing body of literature has raised critical concerns regarding its conceptual, methodological, philosophical, and ethical foundations. See van Zyl et al., 2024³, for a concise summation of these critiques.

1. Positive Psychology lacks theorising and conceptual thinking

2. There are problems with measurement and methodology

3. It lacks scientific rigour and has been labelled pseudoscience

4. It is absent of novelty and is isolated from mainstream Psychology

5. Positive Psychology is a decontextualised Neoliberal Ideology

6. It represents the commodification of behaviour and is supportive of Capitalist interests

Life is not a bed of roses, and occasionally, many over-enthusiastic people are likely to misinterpret what Positive Psychology promotes. It is not a “happyology”, Seligman insists (Seligman, 2011). Additionally, we must recognise that the PERMA model is not a prescription for well-being but rather a framework for well-being - it is what is present for people who are psychologically and physiologically healthy and high-functioning. In simpler terms, no single measure defines subjective happiness by itself; instead, each of the five key elements of PERMA serves as a foundational block of happiness. In the same way that wind speed, precipitation, temperature, and other measures are compiled to explain the weather, PERMA combines the five measurable components mentioned above. In addition, PERMA is not the end of it. It may not be sufficient by itself, and other researchers, such as Todd Kashdan⁴, suggest that these focus points fail to capture many of the fluctuating, conflicting forces readily apparent when people navigate the environment and social world.

Kashdan suggests that Psychological Flexibility is another key aspect of well-being that must be considered. It spans many human abilities and situations; for example, psychological flexibility involves recognising and adapting to various situational demands and shifting mindsets or behaviours when these strategies compromise personal or social functioning. How do you respond, for example, when things don’t go your way? What do you do when you fail? Psychological flexibility is essential for maintaining balance and being aware, open, and committed to behaviours congruent with personal values. These values drive behaviour rather than an objective end or material success.

Personality matters too, executive function matters, goal-directed behaviour matters, locus of control and many other factors matter. A life well-lived has many elements at work, so much so that it could be detrimental to try to perfect everything. Building a personal awareness of these concepts and a willingness to self-reflect in a non-judgmental way is required. It seems to me that we’ve got to develop a certain orientation to the world. We’ve got to view ourselves and others in a certain way, and then all the things that psychologists say are required for a happy and fulfilled life will come about as a consequence.

Mental Skill Development may provide a route to this self-realisation.

If taking PERMA as a framework, ask yourself these questions;

1. Do you experience sufficient positive emotion? I don’t mean simply the buzz you get from alcohol, buying a new car or winning gold at the Olympics. That stuff counts, but I also mean the subtle yet unmistakable feeling that life is good and that you and yours are fortunate despite perhaps not having material things. I mean, does the content of your life provide enough challenge and allow you to develop new skills?

2. Are you fully engaged and turned on by what you spend most of your time doing? Your work, play, volunteering, hobbies, etc., do they give you the sense of personal volition and fulfilment you need to sustain yourself? Are you tested by what you do, are you enthusiastic when things don’t work out, and do you get lost in these things?

3. Are your relationships with others mutually supportive and fulfilling? Loving relationships, work, social, etc, are they providing you with what you need, or are they draining you? Do you have a challenging yet supportive peer group?

4. Do you feel you have meaning and purpose in your life? All of the above feed into these feelings. It is the inherent worth in the doing of the things we do beyond extrinsic benefit and reward. No one needs to pat you on the back or pay you to do it. There’s meaning enough in the doing of it. The things you do ar inherently valuable.

5. Do you have goals—what do you want to achieve? Again, this may not be a material reward, but it is a sense of “if I do this thing, it will lead to something good”. Are your pursuits values-based and goal-directed?

These are my interpretations of PERMA in action. I’ll post more from Seligman and Co. over the coming weeks, so be sure to check out the Mental Skills section for more articles and assessments on this idea. PERMA forms part of Mental Skills Development, but for some, it may not be enough on its own.

Thanks for reading, Slán for now

1. Seligman, M. E. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. Simon and Schuster.

2. Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2024). Self-determination theory. In Encyclopedia of quality of life and well-being research (pp. 6229-6235). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

3. van Zyl, L. E., Gaffaney, J., van der Vaart, L., Dik, B. J., & Donaldson, S. I. (2024). The critiques and criticisms of positive psychology: A systematic review. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 19(2), 206-235.

4. Kashdan, T. B., & Rottenberg, J. (2010). Psychological flexibility as a fundamental aspect of health. Clinical psychology review, 30(7), 865-878.