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Happiness: The Hottest College Course
By Richard Nantel | April 16, 2008
My colleague, Gary Woodill, thinks I’m getting all Oprah-like by reading books about happiness. I’ve been trying to convince him that positive psychology, the study of happiness, is just as legitimate as the study schizophrenia, depression, and other psychological ailments. So far, Gary’s unconvinced.
What should help convince my doubting colleague is that students in more than 100 respected universities are enrolling in positive psychology classes in very large numbers. How big? In his book “Happier,” Tal Ben-Shahar mentioned that the first year he taught a course on happiness at Harvard, a handful of students signed up. The second year, more than 300 enrolled. By the third year, more than 850 students had registered, making it the most popular undergraduate class offered at this prestigious university.
Adding even greater legitimacy, some universities now provide graduate level courses in positive psychology. The University of Pennsylvania has taken this even further by offering the first Master of Applied Positive Psychology Program in the world.
A key component of Tal Ben-Shahar’s class at Harvard and other courses on positive psychology is the notion that happiness can be taught. Although research indicates that individuals commonly have a set range in their level of happiness, their average level of happiness can be raised. Based on the number of people enrolling in these classes, this is certainly a promise that resonates with students today.
Dr. Martin Seligman is often referred to as the father of positive psychology. Realizing that psychology has, for more than 100 years, largely focused on mental illness, Dr. Seligman turned his attention in 1998 to the study of human happiness. Since then, studies into happiness have been producing interesting findings.
In his book, “Authentic Happiness,” Dr. Seligman reports that:
- A systematic study of 22 people who won major lotteries found that they reverted to their baseline levels of happiness over time, winding up no happier than 22 matched controls.”
- “Within a few years, [paraplegics] wind up only slightly less happy on average than individuals who are not paralyzed.”
- “In wealthier nations … increases in wealth have negligible effects on personal happiness.”
Studies also indicate that happiness has a significant impact on health and longevity:
“In the largest study to date, 2,282 Mexican-Americans from the Southwest United States aged 65 and older were given a battery of demographic and emotional tests, then tracked for two years. Positive emotion strongly predicted who lived and who died, as well as disability. (p40 “Authentic Happiness,” Martin Seligman)
Happiness also significantly impacts productivity. One study of 272 employees showed that happier people went on to get better evaluations from supervisors and higher pay. In addition, happier people have been shown to select bigger goals, persist longer, and perform better on a number of laboratory tasks.
As interest in positive psychology spills from academia into the workplace, it probably won’t be long before we start seeing happiness courses added to workplace training programs.
Topics: Learning, Positive psychology |
April 16th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
It seems happiness is as rich a topic to study as learning since neither can be defined.
This sounds a lot like practicing the law of attraction. I’m a huge believer. It’ll be nice if we see more.
On a side note a fellow student at Syracuse is a Buddhist studying the effect of mediation on grades. Very cool. I wonder if we’ll eventually see more stress-reducing activities like mediation in schools and at work.
April 17th, 2008 at 8:50 am
Thanks for your comments, Janet.
I think stress reduction and happiness training will become more common in the workplace. Some progressive companies have been doing this for years.
Before joining Brandon Hall Research, I worked for a firm called The Mentor Group (Le Groupe Mentor). The company’s offices contained a peaceful meditation room that featured a couple of couches and cushioned chairs, dim lighting, etc. It was a little oasis.
The company also paid for the cost of meditation classes for any employees. Employees who opted out of meditation classes were given the option of a gym membership instead.
The resulting culture at this company was relaxed yet productive.
Let’s set up a meditation room here at Brandon Hall Research! Let’s use that lounge area between the gym and the restaurant.
May 1st, 2008 at 12:14 am
Ever since I started looking into the psychology of happiness, it seems that I find everyone discussing it. I just have to mention the word happiness and everyone has their own version.
Martin Selignam has very aptly differentiated between pleasure and gratification and these being the underlying causes of happiness.
Maybe your colleague Gary would eventually come around accepting positive psychology as a perfectly legitimate field . Yes it is all touchy feely, think positive and law of attraction etc all under one umbrella , but isn’t happiness the underlying need for all humans.
I will be attending a seminar in Sydney coming week on happiness and its causes, hopefully will get to meet Martin Selignam , Tal, Ben Shahar and many others.
Will post on it once I come back.
May 9th, 2008 at 8:25 am
Hi Ricahrd, just attended the most amazing workshop in Sydney. Met with Marty Selignam and Tal ben Shahar. It was the most wonderful 3 days. Believe me, this positive psychology is the way of the future.
The sooner we accept it at a real science, the sooner we can get more people involved. Its too
good a field to ignore!!!!
May 9th, 2008 at 8:26 am
Hi Ricahrd, just attended the most amazing workshop in Sydney. Met with Marty Selignam and Tal ben Shahar. It was the most wonderful 3 days. Believe me, this positive psychology is the way of the future.
The sooner we accept it as a real science, the sooner we can get more people involved. Its too
good a field to ignore!!!!
June 23rd, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Happiness is an interesting topic. I just wonder if someone really knows the meaning of true happiness, if there is a thing as such…