Positive Psychology and Master Resiliency Training in the Army
This paper examines the relationship between positive psychology and Master Resiliency Training (MRT) in the U.S. Army. Drawing on Fredrickson's broaden-and-build theory and Seligman's positive psychology framework, the paper argues that Sergeants Major can use MRT to cultivate mental and emotional toughness in their soldiers. It outlines the six core competencies of MRT — self-awareness, self-regulation, optimism, mental agility, character strengths, and connections — and illustrates how these competencies equip soldiers to overcome personal challenges such as stress, trauma, substance abuse, and relationship difficulties. The paper also emphasizes the importance of unit cohesion, peer support, and empathy in building lasting resilience.
- Introduction: MRT rooted in positive psychology for soldier resilience
- What Is Positive Psychology?: Defining positive psychology and its core resources
- Master Resiliency Training (MRT): How MRT equips Army leaders to build resilience
- Overcoming Leadership Challenges: Six MRT competencies address soldier mental toughness
- Getting Soldiers to Support One Another: Peer empathy and support as resilience in action
- Conclusion: MRT and positive psychology sustain soldier well-being
✍️ How to write this paper — guide, tools & examples ▾
What makes this paper effective
- The paper anchors its argument in peer-reviewed sources — particularly Fredrickson (2001), Reivich et al. (2011), and Sheldon and King (2001) — lending academic credibility to a practical military topic.
- It moves logically from theory (positive psychology) to application (MRT) to concrete example (the story of the angry and friendly soldier), making abstract concepts accessible and memorable.
- The numbered list of six MRT competencies provides structural clarity, helping readers quickly grasp the training framework before the paper elaborates on each element.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper effectively uses an extended illustrative anecdote — the interaction between two soldiers, one angry and one supportive — to translate abstract psychological constructs into a vivid, real-world scenario. This technique, moving from theory to concrete example, demonstrates how to ground academic argument in practice without sacrificing analytical focus.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a clear thesis statement in the introduction, then dedicates a section to defining positive psychology before explaining MRT as its applied military expression. Two body sections address leadership challenges and peer support respectively, each supported by citation. The conclusion and summary restate key points and reinforce the paper's central argument, following a textbook five-part essay structure appropriate for an undergraduate-to-graduate-level audience.
Introduction
Sheldon and King (2001) state that positive psychology is "nothing more than the scientific study of ordinary human strengths and virtues" (p. 216). In other words, it is the science of how people can live well and be strong. For that reason, positive psychology serves as the core of Master Resiliency Training (MRT) in the U.S. Army. Just as positive psychology focuses on identifying the elements that enable individuals to flourish (Fredrickson, 2001), MRT enables leaders in the Army to demonstrate and teach the skills that soldiers need to overcome obstacles and face challenges with determination, commitment, and the ability to succeed. As Gen. Casey (2011) puts it, "the Army is leveraging the science of psychology in order to improve our force's resilience" (p. 1). This paper argues that Sergeants Major can use positive psychology in general and MRT in particular to teach mental and emotional toughness to the soldiers in their units, so that those soldiers in turn can face a variety of difficulties — from substance abuse to dealing with sexual assault — with grace, determination, and focus, surmounting them to maintain a good life.
What Is Positive Psychology?
Positive psychology focuses on what motivates people to succeed. It looks at the sources of inspiration that make individuals want to reach toward the light and hold onto the good. Positive psychology is the essence of the concept of "chicken soup for the soul" — the idea that people need to surround themselves with positive inputs in order to resist the negative distractions and oppressive feedback that can stymie their potential. It is the core approach of basic psychology, insofar as psychology focuses on how to help human beings be happy and at peace (Sheldon & King, 2001).
The way to achieve this happiness and peace is through the cultivation of positive emotions (Fredrickson, 2001). The way to cultivate positive emotions is through the development of resources that people can use to ward off anxiety, stress, depression, and anger — anything that can hold one back. The resources most commonly utilized to assist in this process are mental toughness, which comes by way of conditioning; commitment to an ideal, which can be fostered through habit and virtue; and mindfulness, which can come by way of meditation (Fredrickson, Cohn, Coffey, Pek, & Finkel, 2008). Sergeants Major can help soldiers develop their mental toughness, commit to an ideal, and strengthen their mindfulness by implementing MRT.
Create your account
Always verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.