Positive psychology in research with the deaf community: An idea whose time has come

Abstract

The emergence of positive psychology as an approach to studying what makes life worth living has inspired a new wave of research. Studies have focused on the prevalence and degree of positive attributes, attitudes, and characteristics in the wider population. Increasingly, lessons learned from positive psychology have been applied to understanding the more diverse experiences of individuals belonging to various groups. Only recently, however, has positive psychology research incorporated a disability perspective, and very little research from a positive psychology stance has been conducted with deaf people. This article addresses the application of positive psychology constructs in the context of deaf communities and individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. We argue that utilization of a positive psychology paradigm can broaden and enrich a collective understanding of deaf people, and suggest a different set of research questions. A positive psychology mindset encourages scholars to learn how people who are deaf or hard of hearing, and those within the larger deaf community1, may define and attain "the good life."