VIA Character Strengths
Updated 2026-08-13
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
The VIA classification of character strengths was proposed by Martin Seligman and Christopher Peterson, who surveyed texts across cultures and traditions to isolate twenty-four positive traits, from curiosity and courage to kindness and wisdom, and grouped them under six core virtues. Its core proposition is that the useful question is not only what is broken but what is already strong and can be deployed. The key qualification is that the strengths are measured across cultures, and the survey remains the instrument rather than the territory.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Use strength inventory: take the survey and name your five strongest traits in writing. - Use role fit: match tasks to a strength rather than assigning by seniority. - Use strength pairing: combine complementary strengths across a pair so each covers the other's gap.
Anchor fast decisions
A strength already exists and does not have to be built, so effort spent deploying it returns more than effort spent repairing a weakness of the same size. Naming the trait also makes it available on purpose, because a person who cannot describe a strength cannot decide when to apply it. Grouping the traits under six virtues keeps the catalogue small enough to remember and compare across people.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- viacharacter.orghttps://www.viacharacter.org/verified
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