A bear of very little brain : positive psychology themes in the stories of Winnie the Pooh

Abstract

The aim of this study is to discover to what extent and in what way Peterson and Seligman’s (2004) twenty-four character strengths are present in Winnie the Pooh storybooks, and how they are depicted. Character strengths are a well-known theory in positive psychology and the analysis of children’s literature is a respected genre. A qualitative examination of the text was conducted using content and thematic analyses to extract examples of the strengths. The exemplars were coded and recoded before being subjected to a peer and supervisor review. The excerpts indicated that all strengths are depicted in the text, but Pooh is the only character to exhibit them all. A discussion of the findings revealed that no single strength could be deemed more prominent as they are intrinsically interconnected. It is recommended that the findings be reworked into a training manual for guardians to foster character strengths in young children.