The History of Positive Psychology By oscar456789 1907 William James, president of the American Psychological Association (APA), calls for research to put human energy to "optimal use" 1941 U.S enters WW2, The National Research Council and Veterans Administration (VA) call for increase in mental care for veterans. 1954 Abraham Maslow coins the term "positive psychology" in his book Motivation and Personality 1962 Association for Humanistic Psychology is founded. 1998 Martin Seligman delivers his inaugural presidential address to the APA, marking the official founding of Positive Psycology 1999 The first positive psychology conference is held in Akumal, Mexico. 2005 First master's program in positive psychology is founded at the University of Pennsylvania. 2006 The Journal of Positive Psychology publishes it's first issue.