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It Builds Character, But How Can We Tell?

John M. Yeager and Sherri Fisher

Psychological testing is the ultimate heuristic to simplify the complexity of being human.Such assessment comes in many flavors: cognitive, achievement, temperament, processing,

perceptual, and affective are just a few. Nearly everyone wants to know what their testresults really mean -- to be spared both the mystery and misery of self-discovery -- and be

told the pathway to true happiness. Positive psychology, the study of positive subjectiveexperience, positive individual traits, and the institutions enabling both of these, is rooted in

the belief that people can become happier. Why be happy? Beyond the good feelings thathappiness confers, happy people tend to have increased mental and physical health, and are

more cooperative and other-centered.

Research indicates that three pathways to happiness exist: pleasure, engagement andmeaning. Parents send their children off to college fearing overindulgence in the first, but

hoping for the development of character that will result in the latter two. For studentsattending college, the responsibility to build character seems to fall largely on the shoulders

of institutions where, despite many learned people, a clear definition of character is often

difficult to identify. Ones character is undeniably an important part of who a person is.However, while character is glorified, discussed, and studied, it is unusual when people can

agree to what character actually is.

Positive Psychology has set out to define character in its Manual of the Sanities, Peterson

and Seligmans (2004) Character Strengths and Virtues. Rooted in 3000 years of humanhistory and philosophy across cultures and wisdom traditions, and viewed through the

theoretical lens of positive psychology, character strengths are presented as the foundationof the human condition and an essential route to the good life. Within these traditions, 24

strengths of character falling into six virtue categories have been found to be ubiquitous.See the list here: http://viastrengths.org/index.aspx?ContentID=44.

Positive psychology, with its study of building character and the good life, attracts studentsas well as researchers. Promoting a broadening of the focus of psychology from minimizingmental illness to instead promoting full, rich lives, positive psychology is the most popular

class at Harvard this year. Similar courses have emerged world-wide, from New York toCalifornia to Australia to Great Britain. The University of Pennsylvania offers the first Master

of Applied Positive Psychology program. Positive psychology research covers subjectsranging from states such as flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990) to age-old virtues such as

wisdom, courage, love, justice, temperance, and transcendence. It includes hope andoptimism, mindfulness, and grit. It even delves into the nature and basis of how we reach

moral judgments.

Todays college students possess various desires, appetites, and motives, and a well-formedcharacter may serve as a protective and enabling factor in the various constructive and

mitigating environments experienced on campuswhether it be in the classroom, athletic field,stage or in daily residential life. The cultivation of character strengths typically doesnt happen

in isolation. Empirical research advocates addressing character from a multidimensional

perspective (Park, 2004), Tom Lickona and Matt Davidson (2005) suggest that there are twotypes of character. Performance character focuses on diligence, perseverance and self-

discipline necessary to a commitment to academic, athletic, and other areas of excellence.

Peterson and Seligman call these virtues temperance and courage.Moralcharacterembodies the traits of integrity, justice, caring, and respect needed for successful

http://viastrengths.org/index.aspx?ContentID=44http://viastrengths.org/index.aspx?ContentID=44

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interpersonal relationships and ethical behavior. These are Peterson and Seligmans virtuesof humanity, justice, and transcendence.

If we are to emphasize the importance of moral character on our college campuses, it may

be prudent to intentionally examine strategies to bring out the best in the students. To doso we will need to know what character traits students already have, as well as which ones

wed like them to develop. Robert Brooks (2001), in the Atlantic Monthly article, TheOrganization Kid, provides a compelling example of the state of performance and moral

character on Princetons campus. From a performance character perspective, he found thatmany students felt that they were like tools for processing information in their quest for

knowledge and the ultimate GPA. When asked if Princeton builds [moral] character, Brooksclaims, [Students] would inevitably mention the honor code against cheating, or policies to

reduce drinking. When I asked about moral questions, they would often flee such talk andstart discussing legislative questions.

Avoiding poor character, however, is not the same as building virtue. So just how does one

go about identifying traits of moral character in a positive way that is empirically sound aswell as appealing? The VIA-IS (Values in Action Inventory of Strengths), based on the work

of Peterson, Seligman et al, looks at the age-old question, What is the good of a person?

It assesses both the core characteristics (virtues) valued by moral philosophers andreligious thinkers, as well as the psychological ingredients (character strengths) which

enable one to achieve virtue. The VIA-IS is easily available in an on-line format, and ones

top five Signature strengths will be presented on completing the test. Some strengths ofcharacter are phasic and may change in response to ones environment while others are

tonic and more trait-like over time. Find your Signature Strengths.

Institutions of higher education set out to build character in college students. With the VIA-IS, we can accurately measure the strengths of character a person already has. In part two

of this series, we will discover how colleges and universities can use positive psychology toboth assess and develop the good character of their students.

*****Yeager, J.M. and Fisher, S. (2006). It Builds Character, But How Can We Tell? Essay for the

First-Year Assessment Listserv. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, NationalResource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition. To read the

complete essay: (http://www.sc.edu/fye/resources/assessment/essays/Yeager-10.31.06.html).

References:

Aristotle (1950) The Ethics of Aristotle translated by D.P. Chase. New York: Dutton.Brooks, D. (2001). The Organization Kid. The Atlantic Monthly. Volume 287, No. 4Csikszentmihalyi (1990). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. New York: Harper Collins.DeToqueville, A. (1956/1984/2001). Democracy in America. New York: New Library/Signet/Penguin.Lickona, T. and Davidson, M. (2005). Smart and good high schools: Integrating excellence and ethics

for success in school, work, and beyond. The Character Development Group.Park, N. (2004). Character strengths and positive youth development. The annals of the American

Academy. AAPSS, 591, 40-54.Peterson, C. and Seligman, M.E.P. (2004). Character Strengths and Virtues A Handbook and

Classification. New York: Oxford University Press.Tigner, S. Cultural Foundations for Educators (unpublished coursepacket Boston University School

of Education).United States Department of Education (2006). Comprehensive Schoolwide Character EducationInterventions: Benefits for Character Traits, Behavioral, and Academic Outcomes.

http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/http://www.sc.edu/fye/resources/assessment/essays/Yeager-10.31.06.htmlhttp://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/http://www.sc.edu/fye/resources/assessment/essays/Yeager-10.31.06.html