Character Strengths and Its Utility for Military Leadership: A View from Positive Psychology

Abstract

Positive individual traits have been considered important by both Eastern and Western cultures. According to military academy manuals, the positive traits of individuals are significant elements for people who will hold military leadership positions. Since the dawn of the twenty-first century, positive psychology has had a positive trait classification of six virtues that include a total of 24 character strengths originating from the proposals of Peterson and Seligman. Because character strengths can be assessed using reliable and valid measurement instruments, several empirical investigations have been carried out in military populations in the American and European continents. The studies conducted on the 24 character strengths have been mostly on cadets. The results of these studies have shown that character strengths are related to the military population. Thus, the relationship between the 24 character strengths and several points of interest, such as membership in military academic institutions, cadets’ family of origin, and academic and military performance, among other findings, have been empirically studied.