| Prüfung |
- Class participation (20%)
Given the nature of the course, it is important for students to contribute regularly and productively to class discussions and activities. These are grounded in assigned readings, videos and class lectures. In-class positive contributions are those that advance the discussion by formulating meaningful questions, presenting new ideas or insights, building on classmates’ comments, or presenting counterpoints in a respectful way.
Note: Students should be prepared to give a 2-minute description of what they learned from the assigned reading(s) (see literature) and videos (see e-learning).
- Personal mini-experiments or re-wirements (20%)
Positive psychology is a relatively new branch of psychology that focuses on the promotion of happiness and well-being rather than on cures for mental illness, trauma, suffering or pain. Positive psychology interventions are evidence-based, intentional activities that aim to re-wire people’s habits in order to enhance their overall well-being. They have proved to be effective in promoting happiness of the general public. Students will be asked to put some of these experiments to the empirical test, by critically assessing the strengths and challenges of these interventions as well as by reflecting on their personal response while completing them. The experiments include the following: (1) using your character strengths; (2) random acts of kindness; (3) using photography or music to increase savoring (i.e. noticing and appreciating the positive aspects of life); (4) Meditation; (5) Self-compassion. For more specific guidelines please see separate hand-out. For each experiment students will write a short written report (250 words).
- Personal project (10%)
Students can choose to either: (1) Develop a regular mindfulness practice, (2) embark on a no-shopping practice, (3) commit to spending time regularly in nature or (4) keep a gratitude journal. By the end of the course, students are asked to write a brief reflection on their experience (see separate hand-out for more specific guidelines) (750-100 words).
d) Living as a philosopher: learning by doing (20%)
Philosophers are well-aware that we learn by doing. Happiness is no different. It is one thing to read and write about philosophies of happiness. It is another thing to reach or obtain happiness. As philosophers, we should also exercise some conscious reflection on the experience of trying to live out a philosophy of happiness, because writing out your experiences with a practice makes it clearer what you understand about the philosophy, what you find to be its limits or practicality, and what you think you could or should do better or differently, or reject, or embrace. For this mid-term assignment, students are requested to (1) pick one of the philosophies of happiness; (2) plan out how they could practice it for at least 5 days; (3) critically reflect on its pro and cons. For more specific guidelines and instructions please see separate handout.
e) Final project: falling walls lab, engaging the public (30%)
The Falling Walls lab is a unique international platform for scholars of science, business, politics, the arts and society. It aims to foster discussion on research among a broad audience from all parts of society. It was initiated on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall. The question of each gathering is: which walls will fall next?
This assignment asks students to break down the wall of cultural prejudice against happiness as a subject worthy of serious inquiry. They will be asked to create a public health speech on the importance of the philosophical and psychological approach to happiness for the general public. The speech can take several forms: a short video, a monologue etc. There are no limits to your creativity. For more specific guidelines and instructions please see separate hand-out.
IMPORTANT: In order to earn credits and participate at the exam registration via Uni Portal within the exam registration period is MANDATORY. Further information: www.unilu.ch/en/study/courses-exams-regulations/health-sciences-and-medicine/exams/ |
| Literatur |
Students should be prepared to give a 2-minute description of what they learned from the assigned reading(s).
Bergsma, A., Poot, G. & Liefbroer, A.C. (2008). Happiness in the Garden of Epicurus. J Happiness Stud 9, 397–423.
Brauer, K., Proyer, R. Editorial: Introduction to the Special Issue “Well-being in Romantic Relationships”. Int J Appl Posit Psychol (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41042-023-00105-6
Brown, N.J.L., Rohrer, J.M. Easy as (Happiness) Pie? A Critical Evaluation of a Popular Model of the Determinants of Well-Being. J Happiness Stud 21, 1285–1301 (2020).
Crocker, J., & Park, L. E. (2004). The costly pursuit of self-esteem. Psychological Bulletin, 130, 392-414.
Dweck, C. S. (2007). The secret to raising smart kids. Scientific American Mind,
18(6), 36--43.
Gable, S. L., & Haidt, J. (2005). What (and why) is positive psychology? Review
of General Psychology, 9, 103-110.
Gazica, M., & Spector, P. (2015). A comparison of individuals with unanswered callings to those with no calling at all. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 91, 1-10.
Fredrickson, B. L., Cohn, M. A., Coffey, K. A., Pek, J., & Finkel, S. M. (2008). Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95, 1045-1062.
Lavin, K., Goeke-Morey, M. C., et al. 2020). The Role of Self- Compassion in College Students’ Perceived Social Support. Journal of Positive School Psychology 4(1): 41-48.
Lyubomirsky, S., Sheldon, K. M., & Schkade, D. (2005). Pursuing happiness: The architecture of sustainable change. Review of General Psychology, 9, 111-131.
MacKerron, G., & Mourato, S. (2013). Happiness is greater in natural environments. Global Environmental Change, 23(5), 992-1000.
Mancini, A., & Bonanno, G. (2011). Loss and grief: The role of individual differences. In S. Southwick, B. Litz, D. Charney, & M. Friedman (Eds.), Resilience and Mental Health: Challenges Across the Lifespan (pp. 189-199). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Niemiec, C., Ryan, R., & Deci, E. (2009). The path taken: Consequences of attaining intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations in post-college life. Journal of Research in Personality, 43(3), 291-306.
Oades, L., & Mossman, L. (2017). The Science of Wellbeing and Positive Psychology. In M. Slade, L. Oades, & A. Jarden (Eds.), Wellbeing, Recovery and Mental Health (pp. 7-23). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781316339275.003
Seligman, M. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55, 5-14.
Whillans, A. V., Dunn, E. W., Smeets, P., Bekkers, R., & Norton, M. I. (2017). Buying time promotes happiness. Proceedings from the National Academy of
Sciences, 114. 8523--8527.
van Zyl, L. E., Gaffaney, J., van der Vaart, L., Dik, B. J., & Donaldson, S. I. (2023). The critiques and criticisms of positive psychology: a systematic review. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 19(2), 206–235.
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