to be stable, but also shaped by the individuals’ setting, and therefore subject to change. According to Pawelski (2003), the new approach will lead to important answers regarding the issues of how character might be assessed.
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2.2.1 The VIA classification of strengths
In the context of establishing positive psychology, Peterson and Seligman (2004) argued that it was necessary to develop a classification of positive traits (virtues). With this primary objective in mind, they conceptualized a “hierarchical classification of positive characteristics” (p. 13) to categorize, define, and measure important character strengths. The project resulted in the VIA classification of strengths, which describes good character9 via the following three conceptual levels:
(a) virtues,
(b) character strengths, and
(c) situational themes (from the highest to the lowest level).
Table 1 provides a list of the virtues and character strengths including their definitions.
| Virtue I. | Wisdom and knowledge: intellectual strengths that entail the acquisition and use of knowledge |
| (1) | creativity [synonyms are originality, ingenuity]: thinking of novel and productive ways to do things |
| (2) | curiosity [interest, novelty-seeking, openness to experience]: taking an interest in all of ongoing experience |
| (3) | open-mindedness [judgment, critical thinking]: thinking things through and examining them from all sides |
| (4) | love of learning: mastering new skills, topics, and bodies of knowledge |
| (5) | perspective [wisdom]: being able to provide wise counsel to others |
| Virtue II. | Courage: emotional strengths that involve the exercise of will to accomplish goals in the face of opposition, external or internal |
| (6) | bravery [valor]: not shrinking from threat, challenge, difficulty, or pain |
| (7) | persistence [perseverance, industriousness]: finishing what one starts |
| (8) | integrity [authenticity, honesty] : speaking the truth and presenting oneself in a genuine way |
| (9) | vitality [zest, enthusiasm, vigor, energy]: approaching life with excitement and energy |
| Virtue III. | Humanity: interpersonal strengths that involve “tending and befriending” others |
| (10) | love: valuing close relations with others |
| (11) | kindness [generosity, nurturance, care, compassion, altruistic love, “niceness”]: doing favors and good deeds for others |
| (12) | social intelligence [emotional intelligence, personal intelligence]: being aware of the motives and feelings of self and others |
| Virtue IV. | Justice: civic strengths that underlie healthy community life |
| (13) | citizenship [social responsibility, loyalty, teamwork]: working well as member of a group or team |
| (14) | fairness: treating all people the same according to notions of fairness and justice |
| (15) | leadership: organizing group activities and seeing that they happen |
| Virtue V. | Temperance: strengths that protect against excess |
| (16) | forgiveness and mercy: forgiving those who have done wrong |
| (17) | modesty and humility: letting one’s accomplishments speak for themselves |
| (18) | prudence: being careful about one’s choices; not saying or doing things that might later be regretted |
| (19) | self-regulation [self-control]: regulating what one feels and does |
| Virtue VI. | Transcendence: strengths that forge connections to the larger universe and provide meaning |
| (20) | appreciation of beauty and excellence [awe, wonder, elevation]: noticing and appreciating beauty, excellence, and/or skilled performance in all domains of life |
| (21) | gratitude: being aware of and thankful for the good things that happen |
| (22) | hope [optimism, future-mindedness, future orientation]: expecting the best and working to achieve it |
| (23) | humor [playfulness]: liking to laugh and joke; bringing smiles to other people |
| (24) | spirituality [religiousness, faith, purpose]: having coherent beliefs about the higher purpose |
As illustrated in Tab. 1, virtues I–VI represent the level of (a) six virtues. Within this context, Peterson and Seligman (2004) relied on the six core virtues described by Dahlsgaard, Peterson, and Seligman (2005) which have demonstrated a continuing relevance in literature and across different cultures. Peterson and Seligman (2004) argued that these core characteristics are cross-cultural, widely recognized, and ubiquitous, suggesting the possibility of being universal. It has even been suggested that they are rooted in biology through evolutionary processes. However, since the virtues are understood at a level that is rather abstract and general, the authors did not intend to measure the concept of virtues. They focused on assessing the level of the (b) 24 character strengths [(1) to (24)], which represent the components of good character as measurable individual differences10. To establish a list of character strengths, Peterson and Seligman (2004) collected entries for “psychological ingredients – processes ←42 | 43→←43 | 44→and mechanisms – that define the virtues” (Peterson & Seligman, 2004, p. 13) and then evaluated them using various methodological methods (e.g., review of literature on good character, brainstorming in core groups of scholars, and analysis of American Boy Scouts and of popular song lyrics). Moreover, a list of several defining criteria of character strengths was used to reduce the initial list of human strengths. For instance, a criteria for a character strength is “fulfilling” (i.e., contributing to individual fulfillment, satisfaction, and happiness broadly) and “measureable” (i.e., having been successfully measured by researchers as an individual) (cf. Park & Peterson, 2007). Additionally, it was hypothesized that strengths are “distinguishable routes to displaying one or another of the virtues” (Peterson & Seligman, 2004, p. 13).
The
