Psychological Capital: The Keys to Success

Understanding psychological capital and how to develop confidence, motivation, and resilience for success

Thomas Edison, who had brilliantly invented the light bulb, was trying to build the first battery. After a series of unsuccessful attempts, a young man asked him why he didn't give up after so many failures. Thomas Edison replied, "I haven't failed; I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." It all seems to depend on how we perceive the things that happen to us. Thomas Edison possessed a high level of psychological resilience. What does this mean? How can we develop our own psychological resilience so that we too can achieve success? 

What is psychological capital (PsyCap)?

THE psychological capital (Psy Cap) is a key concept in positive psychology. Widespread in English-speaking countries, it remains relatively unknown in France.

The PsyCap, as it is sometimes called, represents an individual's state of positive psychological development. It is characterized by the following four elements: sense of self-efficacy, hope, resilience and optimism (Luthans et al., 2007).

The 4 pillars of psychological capital

The feeling of self-efficacy

It stems from confidence in our ability to mobilize and exert the effort necessary to successfully overcome challenges. We feel we can control the situation and derive a positive benefit from it. It's our capacity to feel, "I can do it." We feel competent in this area. To improve our sense of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997), we must become aware of our past accomplishments/performances, learn from similar experiences of others (vicarious learning), and receive positive feedback that fosters social persuasion. Finally, we must be aware of our emotional and somatic states when judging our self-efficacy, which also allows us to perform better.

Hope

Hope is what allows us to persevere until we achieve our goals. Hope is a thought process in which individuals are able to conceptualize achievable goals. They are also able to envision paths to reach these goals, which they may sometimes need to modify (waypower). Finally, thanks to hope, individuals also believe in their ability to get started and remain motivated throughout the journey until they reach their initial objective (willpower) (Snyder, 2002). To cultivate hope, one must be careful in choosing achievable goals (SMART). The path must be planned by breaking it down into small steps, and alternative routes must be considered. It is essential to capitalize on one's strengths and positive aspects to maintain motivation. Finally, we must acknowledge that obstacles are inevitable on this path, but we can remain positive by recognizing that they are part of life and by remembering precisely how we have already overcome obstacles.

Resilience

Resilience is our capacity, in the face of problems and adversity, to resist and bounce back to achieve the goals we have set for ourselves. Resilience is a resource we possess. It is based on confidence, social support, adaptability, and determination. Resilience is a skill that can therefore be developed. It can be developed through various techniques summarized in the SPARC methodology (Boniwell & Ryan, 2011): working on the situation encountered, on the perception of this situation, on the autopilot techniques we naturally employ in response to this situation, on the reaction we adopt, and on the cognitive aspects, or what we retain from the situation afterward. 

Optimism 

Optimism is defined as the belief that one will succeed now and in the future. Optimism is "a stable characteristic of a personality trait that includes a generally positive mindset or attitude toward the future and a tendency to anticipate favorable outcomes in life situations where a dispositional pessimist would generally have negative expectations of that same future" (Hirsch et al., 2007). First and foremost, it must be said that optimism should not be a permanent state. Indeed, a certain degree of pessimism is essential when faced with risky or uncertain situations, or when listening to the problems of others, for example. One must not fall into the trap of positive illusion, which could lead to dangerous behaviors. Simply put, optimists believe that defeat is temporary, that it is due to a combination of circumstances and people at a given moment; they remain unperturbed. Difficult situations then become challenges for self-improvement (Seligman, 2011). What is important in optimism, therefore, is how you approach things. It's not the reality and the number of positive or negative events that make up your day, but how you positively approach those events. positive thinking This is therefore the key to realistic optimism. To cultivate optimism, one works primarily on "reframing," for example by trying to see one's situation through the eyes of other people in a more positive light.

Concrete example

Let's return to Thomas Edison. He is often cited as a reference in the field of optimism because he demonstrated the use of all the concepts of psychological capital. Indeed, he set himself a challenge to achieve based on his abilities (sense of self-efficacy), he persevered in the face of more than 10,000 unsuccessful attempts (hope), mobilizing his ability to bounce back (resilience). All this while remaining optimistic about achieving the challenge he had set for himself.

We have seen that psychological capital is a set of resources that can be improved.

It is also possible to think that Thomas Edison had learned from his first experiment with the light bulb.

Why develop your psychological capital?

One might want to improve their psychological capital (PsyCap) for personal reasons. This then presents an opportunity to work on dimensions such as self-esteem, primary attachments, health, and inner peace. One can also develop PsyCap to achieve financial goals, social recognition, or gain notoriety (Hobfoll, 2002). For companies, it is becoming essential to consider the psychological capital of their employees. Just like financial, technological, physical, and human resources (Jensen & Luthans, 2006), the psychological capital of employees contributes to increasing a company's competitiveness (Avolio & Luthans, 2006).

 An article written by Justine Chabanne, Occupational Psychologist since 2016

Additional resources for understanding Psychological Capital:

Our game Positive Transformation Cards which was created based on the theory of psychological capital 

Article on Psychological Capital: 

Choisay, F., Fouquereau, E., & Chevalier, S. (2021). Psychological capital: a construct of major interest for work psychologists. Psychological practices, 27(1), 19-31.