essay about character strengths

Bipolar Disorder
Therapy Center
When To See a Therapist
Types of Therapy
Best Online Therapy
Best Couples Therapy
Managing Stress
Sleep and Dreaming
Understanding Emotions
Self-Improvement
Healthy Relationships
Student Resources
Personality Types
Guided Meditations
Verywell Mind Insights
2024 Verywell Mind 25
Mental Health in the Classroom
Editorial Process
Meet Our Review Board
Crisis Support

What Are the 24 Character Strengths?

Everyone has varying degrees of these positive traits

Sherri Gordon, CLC is a published author, certified professional life coach, and bullying prevention expert. She's also the former editor of Columbus Parent and has countless years of experience writing and researching health and social issues.

Amy Morin, LCSW, is a psychotherapist and international bestselling author. Her books, including "13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do," have been translated into more than 40 languages. Her TEDx talk, "The Secret of Becoming Mentally Strong," is one of the most viewed talks of all time.

Verywell / Madelyn Goodnight

Character Strengths

People often look for good character in others, whether they are employees, students, friends, or potential dating partners. According to positive psychology , good character is exemplified by 24 widely valued character strengths.

Learn how the idea of these character strengths came about, how they are organized, and how to assess which strengths a person may possess. We also share ways to maximize one's character strengths, enabling a person to live to their fullest potential.

History of the 24 Character Strengths

The notion of character strengths was first introduced by psychologists Martin Seligman and Christopher Peterson. Seligman and Neal Mayerson, another psychologist, created the Values In Action (VIA) Institute on Character, which uses the VIA Inventory of Strengths developed by Peterson to identify people's positive character strengths.

A character strength inventory can identify both a person's strengths and ways they can use those strengths in their life. Building on one's positive character strengths can help them improve their life and emotional well-being , as well as address the challenges and difficulties they are facing.

It's also important to note that the 24 character strengths that these tools identify have been studied across cultures. These strengths are important components of individual and social well-being globally, with different strengths predicting different outcomes.

For instance, intellectual, emotional, and interpersonal character strengths can help a person better cope with work-related stressors, ultimately impacting their level of job satisfaction. Interventions that help build character strengths can also improve the psychological well-being of people with chronic illnesses .

Classification of Character Strengths

The 24 character strengths are divided into six classes of virtues: wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence. Here is a closer look at the six virtues and the positive character strengths that are grouped with each of them.

Those who score high in the area of wisdom tend to have character strengths that lead them to acquire knowledge and use it in creative and useful ways. The core wisdom character strengths are:

Creativity : Thinking of new ways to do things
Curiosity : Taking an interest in a wide variety of topics
Open-mindedness : Examining things from all sides ; thinking things through
Love of learning : Mastering new topics, skills, and bodies of research
Perspective : Being able to provide wise counsel to others; looking at the world in a way that makes sense

People who score high in courage have emotional character strengths that allow them to accomplish goals despite any opposition they face—whether internal or external. The character strengths associated with courage are:

Honesty : Speaking the truth; being authentic and genuine
Bravery : Embracing challenges, difficulties, or pain; not shrinking from threat
Persistence : Finishing things once they are started
Zest : Approaching all things in life with energy and excitement

Those who score high in humanity have a range of interpersonal character strengths that involve caring for and befriending others . These core character strengths are:

Kindness : Doing favors and good deeds
Love : Valuing close relations with others
Social intelligence : Being aware of other people's motives and feelings

People who are strong in justice tend to possess civic strengths that underscore the importance of a healthy community. The character strengths in the justice group are:

Fairness : Treating all people the same
Leadership : Organizing group activities and making sure they happen
Teamwork : Working well with others as a group or a team

Those who score high in temperance tend to have strengths that protect against the excesses in life. These strengths are:

Forgiveness : Forgiving others who have wronged them
Modesty : Letting one's successes and accomplishments stand on their own
Prudence : Avoiding doing things they might regret; making good choices
Self-regulation : Being disciplined ; controlling one's appetites and emotions

Transcendence

People who are strong in transcendence tend to forge connections with God, the universe, or religions that provide meaning, purpose, and understanding. The core positive character strengths associated with transcendence are:

Appreciation of beauty : Noticing and appreciating beauty and excellence in everything
Gratitude : Being thankful for the good things; taking time to express thanks
Hope : Expecting the best; working to make it happen; believing good things are possible
Humor : Making other people smile or laugh; enjoying jokes
Religiousness: Having a solid belief about a higher purpose and meaning of life

Positive Character Traits List

The 24 positive character strengths are split into six virtue classes:

Wisdom : Creativity, curiosity, open-mindedness, love of learning, perspective
Courage : Honesty, bravery, persistence, zest
Humanity : Kindness, love, social intelligence
Justice : Fairness, leadership, teamwork
Temperance : Forgiveness, modesty, prudence, self-regulation
Transcendence : Appreciation of beauty, gratitude, hope, humor, religiousness

How Character Strengths Are Assessed

A person's character strengths can be determined using one of two inventories. The VIA Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS) is for people aged 18 and older, while the VIA Inventory of Strengths—Youth Version (VIA-Youth) is designed for kids and teens aged 10 to 17.

The goal behind the classification of strengths is to focus on what is right about people rather than pathologize what is wrong with them. It's important to point out that people typically have varying degrees of each positive character strength. In other words, they will be high in some strengths, average in some, and low in others.

There is no single indicator of good character. Instead, a person's character should be viewed across a continuum.

The VIA Institute on Character stresses that the traits not included as signature strengths are not necessarily weaknesses, but rather lesser strengths in comparison to the others. Likewise, the top five strengths should not be rigidly interpreted because there are usually no meaningful differences in their magnitudes.

Uses for Character Strengths

One of the main reasons for assessing positive character strengths is to use this information to better understand, identify, and build on these strengths. For example, identifying and harnessing character strengths can help young people experience greater academic success. It can also help people increase feelings of happiness .

Knowing a person's character strengths provides a lens through which psychologists, educators, and even parents can look. It helps them see not only what makes a person unique but also enables them to better understand how to help that person build on those strengths to improve their situations or outcomes.

For example, one strategy involves encouraging people to use their signature strengths in a new way each week. Studies have found that taking this approach can lead to increases in happiness and decreases in depression . Another approach involves focusing on a person's lowest-rated character strengths in an attempt to enhance those areas of their lives.

Research has demonstrated that traumatic events can change a person's character strengths, as evidenced by studies investigating the effects of shooting tragedies. Other studies note that some character strengths can help people better cope with these types of situations, such as was found with people who lived through Hurricane Michael, a category 5 storm.

Overall, determining and using one's character strengths has the potential to improve their health and well-being, enhance their job performance, and improve their academic success. It's also a more positive way of viewing and improving oneself than focusing on their shortcomings and faults.

Lavy S. A review of character strengths interventions in twenty-first-century schools: their importance and how they can be fostered . App Res Qual Life . 2019;15:573-596. doi:10.1007/s11482-018-9700-6

Wagner L. Good character is what we look for in a friend: Character strengths are positively related to peer acceptance and friendship quality in early adolescents . J Early Adolesc . 2018;39(6):864-903. doi:10.1177/0272431618791286

VIA Institute on Character. About .

Harzer C, Ruch W. The relationships of character strengths with coping, work-related stress, and job satisfaction . Front Psychol . 2015;6:165. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00165

McGrath RE. Character strengths in 75 nations: An update . J Posit Psychol . 2015;10(1):41-52. doi:10.1080/17439760.2014.888580

Yan T, Chan C, Ming Chow K, Zheng W, Sun M. A systematic review of the effects of character strengths-based intervention on the psychological well-being of patients suffering from chronic illnesses . J Adv Nurs . 2020;76(7):1567-1580. doi:10.1111/jan.14356

Najderska M, Cieciuch J. The structure of character strengths: variable- and person-centered approaches . Front Psychol . 2018;9:153. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00153

Wagner L, Ruch W. Good character at school: positive classroom behavior mediates the link between character strengths and school achievement . Front Psychol . 2015;6:610. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00610

VIA Institute on Character. Frequently asked questions .

Schutte NS, Malouff JM. The impact of signature character strengths interventions: A meta-analysis . J Happiness Stud . 2018;10:1179-1196. doi:10.1007/s10902-018-9990-2

Abdullah Basurrah A, O'Sullivan D, Seeho Chan J. A character strengths intervention for happiness and depression in Saudi Arabia: A replication of Seligman et al.'s (2005) study . Midd East J Pos Psychol . 2020;6:41-72.

Schueller SM, Jayawickreme E, Blackie LER, Forgeard MJC, Roepke AM. Finding character strengths through loss: An extension of Peterson and Seligman (2003) . J Pos Psycho l. 2015;10(1):53-63. doi:10.1080/17439760.2014.920405

Raney AA, Ai AL, Paloutzian RF. Faith factors, character strengths, and depression following Hurricane Michael . Int J Psychol Religion . 2022;32(4):330-346. doi:10.1080/10508619.2022.2029045

By Sherri Gordon Sherri Gordon, CLC is a published author, certified professional life coach, and bullying prevention expert. She's also the former editor of Columbus Parent and has countless years of experience writing and researching health and social issues.

Character Strengths Snapshot Survey

The Positivity Project’s Character Strengths Snapshot Survey is a concise assessment designed to provide individuals with a quick understanding of their personal character strength profile. While it is important to note that this survey has not undergone academic validation, it will serve as a valuable starting point for individuals interested in exploring their character strengths.

* Please note that The Positivity Project does not collect any personally identifiable information, psychometrics, or student data through these surveys .

Grades Pre-K – 1

Take Survey

Grades 6–12

What is positive psychology.

Positive psychology is the scientific study of what makes life most worth living — and maintains that what is good in life is as genuine as what is bad. Positive psychology’s 24 character strengths are grounded in extensive research and analysis that resulted in the landmark 800-page book Character Strengths and Virtues .

Character Strengths and Virtues presents evidence that all 24 strengths exist in every person — and in all cultures of the world. Character strengths define who, not what, a person is. Ranging from bravery and perseverance to integrity and gratitude, these character strengths are the foundation of The Positivity Project’s model.

How Developing Character Strengths Can Improve Well-Being Essay (Article)

Introduction, character strengths, definition of well-being, relationship between character strengths and well-being, positive psychological interventions, practical application in personal life.

At the turn of the twenty-first century, a new branch of psychology emerged, which was named positive psychology. This new field of psychology aims at studying people’s happiness and the ways of achieving it (Parks & Titova, 2016). Positive psychology focuses on people’s positive experiences, character strengths, and positive institutions, such as workplaces and families (Harzer, 2016). These constituents, as well as their interrelation, influence individuals’ well-being (Harzer, 2016). One way of increasing one’s happiness is to recognize and utilize one’s character strengths (Parks & Titova, 2016). This paper aims at identifying the key character strengths and their influence on people’s well-being. The knowledge of personal qualities that contribute to one’s feeling of happiness helps one to develop those traits and enhance one’s life satisfaction.

One of the key concepts used in positive psychology is character strengths. They are positive personal qualities that are stable but liable to changes through training (Gander, Hofmann, Proyer, & Ruch, 2019). Researchers distinguish 24 character strengths that are considered valuable in many cultures and contribute to greater life satisfaction (Freidlin, Littman-Ovadia, & Niemiec, 2017). Some of them are curiosity, bravery, honesty, forgiveness, self-regulation, gratitude, and spirituality (Wagner, Gander, Proyer, & Ruch, 2019). A person demonstrates these character strengths through feelings, thoughts, and behaviors (Harzer, 2016). For example, if a student is listening to the lecturer, he may be interested in the subject, thus showing curiosity through feeling. If he thinks about asking the lecturer for more details on the topic, he demonstrates this strength through thought. When he approaches the teacher after the class to ask for more information, his curiosity manifests through behavior.

Character strengths are basic qualities that contribute to the development of more complex behaviors. They provide the basis for talents, interests, skills, values, and resources (Niemiec, 2017). For example, to develop a talent, which is something that a person is inherently good at, one should exercise self-regulation, perseverance, and zest (Niemiec, 2017). While talents and skills may worsen, resources, such as friends or family, maybe lost over time, character strengths always remain in a person’s nature (Niemiec, 2017). For this reason, it would be beneficial for anyone to invest time and effort in developing positive personality traits.

There are several subgroups of character strengths, depending on the degree to which they are present within a person. Signature strengths are qualities that are the most characteristic of an individual and are used the most naturally and frequently (Niemiec, 2017). Happiness strengths are associated with life satisfaction and include love, zest, gratitude, hope, and curiosity (Niemiec, 2017). Middle strengths are supplemental to signature strengths, while lower strengths are traits that are underdeveloped and, therefore, used rarely (Niemiec, 2017). Finally, there are lost strengths that disappeared from one’s personality due to some external influences, such as an authority figure or cultural restrictions (Niemiec, 2017). This subdivision implies that, initially, a person possesses all positive traits, but over time, some of them become dominant while other ones remain underdeveloped or dormant.

Generally, character strengths improve well-being, but scholars have different opinions as to what is considered well-being. There are two points of view on this concept: hedonic and eudaimonic (Harzer, 2016). Hedonists believe that well-being is determined by “pleasures and happiness” (Harzer, 2016, p. 310). In psychology, it is usually called subjective well-being, meaning “frequent positive affect, infrequent negative affect, and high life satisfaction” (Harzer, 2016, p. 310). The eudaimonic point of view is different since it suggests that personal growth and the fulfillment of one’s potential is the key to life satisfaction; psychologists call this perspective psychological well-being (Harzer, 2016). These two viewpoints focus on different things when defining factors contributing to one’s happiness.

However, the most comprehensive explanation of well-being was proposed by Seligman. He argued that this concept comprised both hedonic and eudaimonic elements (Wagner et al., 2019). According to Seligman, well-being consists of positive emotions, positive relationships, engagement, accomplishment, and meaning (as cited in Wagner et al., 2019). Engagement means being completely focused on a task; meaning is leading a purposeful life; accomplishment means having goals and ambitions (Wagner et al., 2019). If a person pursues each of these components, he or she will experience overall well-being.

Numerous studies show that character strengths contribute to both subjective and psychological well-being. Some of them have a greater influence on life satisfaction, for example, love, gratitude, curiosity, hope, and zest (Harzer, 2016). Other character strengths, such as modesty, creativity, appreciation, and love of learning, have less impact, but none of them has a negative effect on people’s happiness (Harzer, 2016). The most important traits for subjective and psychological well-being are zest, hope, and curiosity (Harzer, 2016). Zest means feeling full of energy; hope is believing that something good will happen in the future; curiosity implies expressing interest and looking for new experiences (Harzer, 2016). Thus, it makes sense to cultivate at least these three qualities in order to achieve greater well-being.

There is also an association between underuse and overuse of particular character strengths as compared to their optimal use. The study by Freidlin et al. (2017) showed that when positive traits were utilized moderately, they contributed to individuals’ well-being. However, excessive or insufficient use of character strengths was likely to lead to mental health impairments, such as depression or social anxiety disorder (Freidlin et al., 2017). At the same time, underuse of character strengths had a greater probability of negative outcomes than the overuse of them (Freidlin et al., 2017). For example, people who underused self-regulation, zest, and humor, and overused humility were more likely to experience social anxiety (Freidlin et al., 2017). These findings imply that individuals should make efforts to recognize their character strengths and the extent to which they are developed. Further improvement of underdeveloped positive traits may enhance people’s well-being.

Research into the relationship between character strengths and well-being is important not only because it helps to understand how personality traits influence the experience of happiness. Another reason for its importance is that it provides individuals with ideas of how their well-being can be improved. Recent studies show that personality is not something unchangeable, so personal qualities may be intentionally developed or eroded (Niemiec, 2017). Based on this knowledge, researchers have begun to create techniques designed to help people increase their happiness, and these methods are referred to as positive psychological interventions (PPIs) (Parks & Titova, 2016). The purpose of PPIs is to help people cope with their negative emotions and enhance their positive feelings for a long time (Parks & Titova, 2016). The interventions involve different activities that are intended to improve particular character strengths. For example, to improve well-being through the development of gratitude, people could be asked to keep a log with reflections about their feeling grateful for something (Parks & Titova, 2016). PPIs can be self-administered, which makes them a convenient tool for people who aim at improving their well-being through self-development.

Now that I have identified the purpose of positive psychology and the role of personal qualities in enhancing well-being, I can determine how these concepts relate to my life. First of all, research into positive psychology has helped me to understand what makes people feel happy. Not material things or money but positive emotions, the experience of flow states, close relationships, a sense of purpose, and ambitions contribute to one’s life satisfaction (Wagner et al., 2019). It means that in order to improve my well-being, I need to increase the amount of these positive things in my life.

Furthermore, this research has helped me to understand the significance of personality traits for one’s feeling of happiness. Given this knowledge, I can take action to identify my signature strengths, as well as qualities that I need to develop to enhance my well-being. To perform this, I can take a test based on the Values-in-Action (VIA) classification of strengths, which is commonly used for assessing personality traits (Wagner et al., 2019). As soon as I know what qualities are my signature strengths and what my lower strengths are, I will be able to search for self-administered PPIs that may help me to improve my underdeveloped strengths and make my life more meaningful.

To sum up, the aim of positive psychology is to help people enhance their happiness by increasing the number of positive experiences. One of its key topics is character strengths, that is, 24 positive personality traits that contribute to an individual’s well-being. Since personal qualities are liable to changes, people can enhance their life satisfaction by cultivating their underdeveloped character strengths. Research into the relationship between personality traits and well-being has helped me to understand how I can become happier and more satisfied with life. I can also share this knowledge with others, thus contributing to the overall public well-being.

Freidlin, P., Littman-Ovadia, H., & Niemiec, R. M. (2017). Positive psychopathology: Social anxiety via character strengths underuse and overuse. Personality and Individual Differences, 108 , 50-54.

Gander, F., Hofmann, J., Proyer, R. T., & Ruch, W. (2019). Character strengths – stability, change, and relationships with well-being changes. Applied Research in Quality of Life. Web.

Harzer, C. (2016). The eudaimonic of human strengths: The relations between character strengths and well-being. In J. Vittersø (Ed.), International handbooks of quality-of-life (pp. 307-322). Cham, Switzerland: Springer.

Niemiec, R. M. (2017). Character strengths interventions: A field guide for practitioners . Göttingen, Germany: Hogrefe Publishing.

Parks, A. C., & Titova, L. (2016). Positive psychological interventions. In A. M. Wood & J. Johnson (Eds.), The Wiley handbook of positive clinical psychology (pp. 305-320). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Wagner, L., Gander, F., Proyer, R. T., & Ruch, W. (2019). Character strengths and PERMA: Investigating the relationships of character strengths with a multidimensional framework of well-being. Applied Research in Quality of Life. Web.

The Arizona State University Observation Instrument Definition
Behavior Management: To What Extent We Control It
"The Female Quixote" by Charlotte Lenox
Williamsburg Warehouse Architecture
Definition of Curiosity, Its Causes and Importance
Theoretical Mechanisms for Persuasive Technologies
"Evaluation of a Mobile Crisis Program" by Scott R. L.
Emotional Intelligence and Solution Formation
Behavioral Treatment of Phobias
Aggression Management in Athletes
Chicago (A-D)
Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2021, August 8). How Developing Character Strengths Can Improve Well-Being. https://ivypanda.com/essays/how-developing-character-strengths-can-improve-well-being/

"How Developing Character Strengths Can Improve Well-Being." IvyPanda , 8 Aug. 2021, ivypanda.com/essays/how-developing-character-strengths-can-improve-well-being/.

IvyPanda . (2021) 'How Developing Character Strengths Can Improve Well-Being'. 8 August.

IvyPanda . 2021. "How Developing Character Strengths Can Improve Well-Being." August 8, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/how-developing-character-strengths-can-improve-well-being/.

1. IvyPanda . "How Developing Character Strengths Can Improve Well-Being." August 8, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/how-developing-character-strengths-can-improve-well-being/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "How Developing Character Strengths Can Improve Well-Being." August 8, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/how-developing-character-strengths-can-improve-well-being/.