Capstones

By Abby Blyler

This scoping review examines the current research on life stories and narrative identity. A systematic analysis of 203 peer-reviewed articles published between 1976 and 2024 revealed six major themes: 1) methodologies used to study narrative identity; 2) structural aspects of the personal narrative; 3) autobiographical reasoning; 4) motivational and affective themes; 5) the development of narrative identity across the lifespan; 6) personality, social, and cultural influences on life stories. The review highlights consistent associations between narrative features and various indicators of psychological well-being across diverse populations and contexts. However, the field lacks shared frameworks and tools for systematic study, limiting its potential. It requires more rigorous, standardized approaches to studying life stories and their impact on well-being. To address this gap, the author proposes a research agenda to develop a comprehensive "Core Stories" framework that can improve how researchers, study and apply narrative concepts across multiple domains including psychology, education, public health, and artificial intelligence. Such a framework could significantly enhance our understanding of human experience and flourishing through the lens of personal narratives.

By Daniela Cepeda

This capstone explores the possibility of increasing resilience among Latin American immigrants in the United States by integrating narrative reframing and character strengths framed within a culturally attuned lens. The Transitar program aims to foster resilience by enhancing self-efficacy and community support, drawing from positive psychology. Further, this paper contextualizes the challenges and cultural values inherent to Latin American immigrants. The proposed program involves the creation of a guided conversation program, Transitando Juntos Conversation Group. The program includes a facilitator's guide with psychoeducational concepts and prompts for reflection based on a game. During the conversations, participants will use the Transitando Juntos Card Game for cohort discussions to recognize and spot character strengths within their narratives and their peers, building self-efficacy. The program's methodology aims to reframe immigrants' self-narratives, leverage character strengths, and make meaningful social connections conducive to community support, ultimately fostering a resilient adaptation process during migratory transitions. Most importantly, this capstone highlights the importance of cultural competence in designing and applying effective psychological interventions and offers future directions for expanding and adapting the proposed program to diverse immigrant populations.

See Daniela’s full capstone on Penn’s Scholarly Commons website.

By Antonio Dill-Word

Emerging adulthood is a period of intense flux as young adults (ages seventeen through late twenties) navigate the challenges of becoming adults. This period of self-identity and development is distinctive by its feelings of instability, feeling in between adulthood and adolescence, identity exploration, self-focus, and optimism. However, for foster youth “aging-out” of the foster care system, this period is completely different. It is a period of lack of support, limited opportunities, low civil engagement, and low educational attainment. This paper offers a theoretical pathway toward a sufficient and secondary system following emancipation- aging-in. It looks at the psychological needs to reach self-actualization and how to experience wellness outcomes to create a system equitable to emerging adulthood while considering the challenges foster youth face. It suggests a model centered around five key areas: basic needs support, personal development and skills training, mentorship and internal community engagement, external community integration and matriculation, and returning as mentors and training in natural mentorship. The Integrated Positive Development Model of Aging-in is a research based, testable model that has the transformative potential to reshape the experience of emancipation.

See Antonio’s full capstone on Penn’s Scholarly Commons website.

By Sonya Looney

This capstone is concerned with perfectionists’ evaluation of their accomplishments.  It includes a brief introduction to positive psychology and a review of the literature that examines how perfectionism and different types of goals relate to social contribution, purpose in life, mattering, and examines the various emotions associated with accomplishment and social impact. The second half includes a qualitative study with individuals high in self-oriented perfectionism, testing the hypothesis that perfectionists experience a greater sense of accomplishment through contribution goals rather than achievement goals. Six themes emerged from this study that contributed to a theoretical framework. The findings reveal that redefining success to include both personal and socially meaningful goals and incorporating a specific form of savoring can enable perfectionists to experience a heightened sense of accomplishment and purpose. The proposed theoretical model suggests that there are two types of satisfying goals with savoring as a moderator, enhancing the positive effects of goal attainment on well-being. Different mediating factors influence personal or other-focused goals. This research offers practical interventions to help perfectionists shift from self-validation to purpose and meaningful contribution, ultimately enhancing mattering and psychological well-being.

By Molly Peterson

The relationship between human well-being and environmental well-being is deeply intertwined. This paper explores the constructs of gratitude, nature connectedness, and social relationships to establish the scientific foundation for a positive psychology intervention titled Toward a Culture of Connection: Sharing a Love Letter to Nature. The randomized controlled study will use research on the pathways to nature connectedness by targeting emotional and cognitive leverage points for greater systemic change, addressing calls for more comprehensive, system-informed approaches in positive psychology. As we confront unprecedented environmental challenges and a surge in loneliness and mental health issues, this intervention for couples seeks to enhance both human connection and nature connectedness. Social connection is one of the leading contributors to happiness, and by fostering stronger emotional bonds and a greater cognitive understanding of our interdependence with nature, the intervention aspires to promote happiness and drive positive behavioral changes that support human and environmental well-being.

See Molly’s full capstone on Penn’s Scholarly Commons website.

By Stephany Tousignant

In this capstone project, I aimed to provide a realistic look at parenting, a topic extensively researched for its challenges but surprisingly underexplored for its benefits. The pressure to be “better” is constant—but what tools do parents already have inside? Drawing from the extensive literature on gratitude's emotional and psychological effects, I conducted a mixed-method study focusing on mothers' experiences, explicitly examining parental gratitude's antecedents, functions, and outcomes (N=18). Among the mothers interviewed, 61% displayed symptoms that could be diagnosed as parental burnout. When facing the challenges of parenthood, 72% of participants deliberately used gratitude as a tool. One notable outcome was participant self-efficacy, showing a strong positive correlation to overall well-being (r=.46). Additional results showed that parents who are able to experience moments of parental gratitude may experience less burnout and overall improved well-being. However, while parental gratitude partly reduces burnout, relying solely on internal resources may not suffice. Systemic support, such as paid leave and flexible work options, may be integral to accessing meaningful time with children, fostering parental gratitude, and helping them to thrive. In addition, further research is needed into other benefits of being a parent.