The “anti-DSM”, Diagnostic Manual Of The 24 Human Strengths

The “anti-DSM” movement represents the bet made by positive psychology in favor of human virtues and strengths. This perspective aims to highlight what makes us happy and thus counteract the tendency to classify and study only mental disorders.

Thus, while the DSM is the Diagnostic Manual of mental disorders and problems, the VIA (Values ​​in Action or Values ​​in Action), aims to classify human strengths by extracting patterns and proposing a common lexicon that helps us understand cross-culturally. human strengths and virtues.

In addition, like the DSM, the VIA manual also offers assessment strategies and questionnaires that help researchers assess six strengths that are broken down into 24 strengths. From the page that is linked here we can take the test in English after registration.

The 24 human strengths, the key to our happiness

We have not yet named the parents of this proposal; they are the psychologists Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman. These propose the existence of 6 virtues through which up to 24 human strengths are articulated. Let’s see what they are:

• Common sense and knowledge:
  • Curiosity or, what is the same, having an interest in what surrounds us.
  • Love of knowledge.
  • Critical judgment and mind ready to learn.
  • Creativity.
  • Perspective (criterion).
• Value as overcoming obstacles:
  • Courage / courage.
  • Industry and perseverance.
  • Integrity and honesty.
  • Vitality (desire and enthusiasm).
• Love:
  • Amiability.
  • Intimate bond.
  • Social intelligence.
• Justice:
  • Citizenship and teamwork.
  • Justice and equity.
  • Leadership.
• Characteristics of the tempera:
  • Modesty.
  • Self-control.
  • Prudence and caution.
  • Forgiveness and compassion.
• Transcendence:
  • Appreciation of beauty.
  • Fear and amazement.
  • Gratitude.
  • Hope and optimism.
  • Playfulness and humor.
  • Spirituality and goals.

The importance of highlighting the positive in education

Without falling into an excess of optimism, it is understood that the more we cultivate these virtues and strengths, the closer to self-realization and our ability to be happy we will be. This opens up great avenues for us to advance when it comes to optimizing the training and education that we provide to both children and adults in our society.

Highlighting this helps us enhance the development of these personal, emotional, cognitive and behavioral skills. A film that helps us understand the importance of highlighting human strengths is “The Club of Dead Poets . “

Arguably less rigidity and more flexibility, because learning to take perspective, having an open mind and being able to understand and learn by being aware and evaluating every possibility is essential to ensure strong and capable people to deal with the world.

Because as highlighted, education must have the ability to promote positive changes in people and improve skills at all levels, opening avenues and highlighting what is especially relevant for our development as beings in the world.

In other words, by promoting the development of human strengths we are helping children to be happy, to be more self-confident and to be able to make their decisions. However, even today there is a great lack when it comes to personalizing education and learning in schools.

In large part, this is due to the fact that the overcrowding of classes makes this task impossible, but there is also a point of ignorance and “inertia” that exhausts the few possibilities that exist in a conventional school. This phrase by Einstein that says:

“We are all geniuses. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. “

Let’s take note and start exploring each of our strengths.