PERMA Model
Updated 2026-08-01
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
Proposed by Martin Seligman in Flourish as a theory of well-being. PERMA names five elements that are independently measurable and cultivable: positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment. Seligman argued that well-being cannot be reduced to life satisfaction, and that each element contributes separately to flourishing. The framework is used in education, organizations, and coaching as a diagnostic checklist, and it deliberately includes achievement alongside feeling good.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Diagnose well-being: score each of the five elements to find which one is dragging - Target effort: design one concrete intervention for the weakest element rather than improving everything - Rebalance priorities: check whether achievement is being pursued while meaning and relationships starve
Anchor fast decisions
Well-being is a composite rather than a single feeling, and the five elements rest on partly different mechanisms: pleasure on reward, engagement on absorption, relationships on belonging, meaning on serving something larger, and accomplishment on competence. Because they are separable, strength in one does not compensate for absence in another, which is why a full diagnosis beats a general push to be happier.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PERMA_modelverified
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