A positive approach for a better humanity

It is not necessary to look at things from a negative perspective in order to analyze problems or find solutions. By saying this, I do not mean that we should not be critical. Let us be critical, but I am saying that we should not make a habit of feeding on the negative. Let us see the negative, but let us try to eliminate it with positive touches. To heal instead of destroy.

Even in propaganda, the constant negation of opponents by rivals can create the opposite effect of what is intended in the target audience. I am not saying this; the results of scientific research say so. For example, researchers at Yale University who conducted studies in this direction on soldiers at the front during World War II reached similar results. As a result of a series of studies, Professor Carl Hovland and his team concluded that messages repeated continuously and affirming only one side in propaganda campaigns lose their credibility after a point, and that constantly criticizing the opponent without presenting any evidence or making comparisons can lead to a negative reaction in the target audience.

These findings, which were put forward with evidence in the 1940s by Yale University researchers known for their advanced work in psychology and social psychology, were later confirmed by various studies.

Constant criticism and negation cannot be limited only to propaganda efforts. This point should also be taken into account in all communicative acts and practices in human life. Being critical does not mean being constantly negative. Perhaps one of the most fundamental reasons why interpersonal communication is often problematic in daily life is the prioritization of a negative attitude and approach. As the saying goes, if you make it a habit to look at the empty side of the glass rather than the full side, you will always see the glass as if it were empty, even if it is full. This makes a person unhappy.

Each of us observes this in life. In human relations at every level, meaningless friction, disagreements, and fights often poison life for people. The number of families falling apart due to simple disagreements is increasing. In workplaces, people often become bitter enemies over trivial matters and can lose their jobs. We can say that simple disagreements and very basic communication problems are usually at the root of the pressures recently called mobbing.

Even if we call it a simple communication problem, it should not be ignored that there are other problems deep behind all of this. The individual, the social structure they are in, the environment, and the culture have a large share in this. If sufficient maturity has not been reached at the social level, this is reflected in personal relationships. The fact that people experience dissatisfaction in various aspects in the society, country, and geography they live in reflects on simple relationships in daily life. We cannot expect an individual who has grown up under constant pressure in the family or in the social environment they live in, who has not received enough love, and who has not been valued, to establish a balanced relationship and communication in the future. It is impossible to expect an individual who has grown up in financial inadequacy, and therefore has not received sufficient education, has not reached sufficient knowledge, and is not equipped with art and aesthetics, to establish flawless communication and relationships.

It is impossible not to understand that behind most of the problems in human relations and communication lie the individual's desires and tendencies to prove themselves, to be accepted, and even to engage in a kind of power display over others. An individual who has not been sufficiently cared for, valued, or even often excluded since childhood in the society, culture, family, etc., in which they live, may turn to attitudes and behaviors such as proving themselves to others and even exercising power over others throughout their entire life. Every dissatisfaction they push into their subconscious accumulates there, and when they gain power, they make life miserable for others. In simple terms, the problem develops exactly like this.

At the source of all these problems, extending from the most ordinary relationships of daily life to the professional ways of establishing relationships and communication in business life, lies the fact that the sociocultural and socioeconomic environment in which the individual is located cannot provide them with satisfactory conditions to prepare themselves for life.

All these problems were once again put on the table and discussed at the Positive Psychology Symposium, which has been held for six years at Üsküdar University. At the 6th International Positive Psychology Symposium, held on April 19-20, with the participation of scientists and experts from various parts of the world, the problems being experienced in human relations and communication were addressed on the axis of psychology. Üsküdar University, where Positive Psychology and Communication Skills is also taught as a compulsory common course in all programs of the university, has become a brand at the international level in psychology-centered relationship and communication studies with its work in this direction. The university, which is determined to contribute to the betterment of humanity and the establishment of a better world with positive touches to people and society, attracts attention at the international level with its work in this direction.

A better world, a better humanity is possible, as long as we adopt the principle of touching for good and are determined not to make space for evil.