THE PSYCHOLOGY OF HAPPINESS D A Y 1

AGENDA Introductions What the Class is about (in General) What is Positive Psychology Know They Self: What we can learn from PP Syllabus Review The Unconscious Mind & Roots of Unhappiness What the Class is about (more Specifically)

INTRODUCTIONS Roll Grounding Exercise Introductions: 1. Name 2. Major/Program 3. What compelled you to enroll in the course? 4. Can you share a particular question/topic you are hoping we explore through our course?

WHAT IS THIS CLASS ABOUT? (IN GENERAL) The Psychology of Happiness Psychology (basic meaning): Psyche mind Logos study of Psychology (modern definition): The scientific study of behavior and mental processes. Happiness? A little harder to define, though we think we know it when we have it and lack it.

WHAT IS THIS CLASS ABOUT? (IN GENERAL) Positive Psychology Research Learning and reflecting upon psychological research related to happiness, particularly from the new field of positive psychology. Engage in Practices Engaging in practices and activities that have been shown to increase a person s long-term level of happiness. Personal Reflection How to use the information and experiences in the class to promote one s on well-being or help clients (and others) improve their own.

GROUP ACTIVITY Happiness List Take one piece of paper and draw a line down the middle. Think back to the past few days, weeks What has made you happy? What has made you unhappy? For a long time this wasn t really studied.

WHAT IS POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY? NEGATIVE VERSUS POSITIVE TOPICS IN PSYCHOLOGY JOURNAL ARTICLES 1887 TO 2003 93,381 on depression 23,790 on fear 242,134 on treatment 4,247 on happiness 933 on courage 38,349 on prevention Since 1998, an explosion of research.

WHAT IS POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY? Be as concerned with strength as with weakness Late 1990 s Martin Seligman Be as interested in building the best things in life as in repairing the worst Be as concerned with making the lives of normal people fulfilling as with healing pathology Develop Interventions to increase well being, not just to decrease misery

GROUP ACTIVITY Happiness List Take one piece of paper and draw a line down the middle. Think back to the past few days, weeks What has made you happy? What has made you unhappy? Let s reflect on these two lists.

TYPICAL RESPONSES Happiness Honest spouse Money Shopping Beer A raise or promotion at work Sunset Getting a new car My child s smile Good weather Good tacos! Good food in general My favorite sports team winning My friends Nice teachers Unhappiness Bills Bad drivers Rude people Not getting the job I wanted My kid crying or throwing a tantrum Homework/quizzes Cheating boyfriends/girlfriends My favorite team losing Cell phone or computer freezing When my boss yells at me Broken nails Dirty dishes Mean teachers

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS Everyday Decisions Reflect on people s everyday behaviors and the choices they make. What do they believe will make them happy?

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY: KNOW THY SELF What do all of these beliefs have in common? Something they get. Something they accomplish. The behavior of other people. Changing something outside of themselves. In general: changing the condition of our lives.

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY: KNOW THY SELF Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky, Dr. David Schkade, Dr. Kennon M. Sheldon H = S + C + V S = genetic set point C = circumstances/conditions of living V = voluntary activity 50% 10% 40% Your thoughts. Your choices and actions. Premise for our class.

SYLLABUS

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY: KNOW THY SELF Psychologist Martin Seligman, Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky H = S + C + V S = genetic set point C = circumstances/conditions of living V = voluntary activity 50% 10% 40% Your thoughts. Your choices and actions.

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY: KNOW THY SELF The Influence of C (Conditions of Living) Famous study of lottery winners. Happiness Fulfillment of desires only give shortterm happiness. Story of Ruth from Hyde Park neighborhood in Chicago How do we explain this? Circumstances (external) changed, but the mind (internal) did not experience long lasting change. Time

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY: KNOW THY SELF The Influence of C (Conditions of Living) Have you noticed? We have a Happiness Thermostat! Example: Paraplegic Study 1 week 1 year

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY: KNOW THY SELF The Influence of C (Conditions of Living) Still don t believe C is only 10%? Example # 1: Native/Indigenous People, Rural Areas Many are as happy if not more so. Why? How? Results of Sapolsky s (neuroscientist) stress measurements of African Bushmen

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY: KNOW THY SELF The Influence of C (Conditions of Living) Still don t believe C is only 10%? Example # 2: Victor Frankl, Jewish Psychiatrist, who wrote Man s Search for Meaning How did he survive?

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY: KNOW THY SELF The Influence of C (Conditions of Living) Still don t believe C is only 10%? Example # 2: Victor Frankl Jewish Psychiatrist Man s Search for Meaning Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms to choose one s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one s own way.

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY: KNOW THY SELF What about V? V = voluntary activity (thoughts and actions) Why do some of us think and act in ways that are detrimental to our happiness?

ROOTS OF UNHAPPINESS: V ISN T SO VOLUNTARY Freud s Unconscious Psychologist (1856-1939) How does this explain behavior? 1. Unmet Needs / Desires 2. Lead to Tension/Impulses 3. Behaviors

ROOTS OF UNHAPPINESS: V ISN T SO VOLUNTARY (need reduction) Need Goal Target Of Motivations Model of Motivational Activities Response Action(s) Drive Energized motivation al state: hunger, thirst

ROOTS OF UNHAPPINESS: V ISN T SO VOLUNTARY Contemporary Views of the Unconscious Some debate on Freud s specific view of the unconscious. Not much debate about the following: Conditioned by experience, environment, culture. Genetically programmed. Habits from repetition.

ROOTS OF UNHAPPINESS: V ISN T SO VOLUNTARY Contemporary View of the Unconscious Can you think of anything you ve done within the last 24 hrs that you did without much conscious thought? Sometimes this is necessary: reduce cognitive load. Examples? Sometimes this gets us into trouble. Examples?

ANDERSON COOPER AND RACE BIAS STUDY (KENNETH CLARK DOLL EXPERIMENT ) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsdky2q6pey

ROOTS OF UNHAPPINESS: V ISN T SO VOLUNTARY What does this imply?

HOW UNCONSCIOUS ARE WE?

THE ROOTS OF UNHAPPINESS: V ISN T SO VOLUNTARY Contemporary View of the Unconscious The Big Idea: A vast majority of our behaviors (both overt and covert) are driven by unconscious forces that we are unaware of. We may even believe we know why we do something when we actually do not.

THE ROOTS OF UNHAPPINESS: V ISN T SO VOLUNTARY The Power of the Unconscious Mind Most of our thoughts and behaviors are governed by unconscious processes. Programs of suffering 1. Inherited Brain Built for Survival, Not Necessarily Happiness Negativity Bias 2. Poorly Conditioned (by Culture & Past Experience) Consumer society Achievement Oriented Society Many expectations (appearance, lifestyle, occupation, etc.) Individualistic Culture My issues, my fault! Various experiences leading to hyper critical, pessimistic, fearbased, etc., programming. What does this imply about our pursuit of happiness?

THE ROOTS OF UNHAPPINESS: V ISN T SO VOLUNTARY Daniel Gilbert Harvard Psychology Professor (1957 - ) According to Gilbert s research, we are not good at predicting our future emotional states.

PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

IF HAPPINESS ISN T GETTING WHAT YOU WANT, WHAT IS IT?

WHAT IS HAPPINESS? What the survey say Experience a lack of unpleasant emotions and a surplus of pleasant emotions Experience satisfaction through their activities Having a sense of purpose and meaning

WHAT THE CLASS IS ABOUT: HAPPINESS? Understanding/Cultivating V 1. The Pleasurable Life Happiness related to the quality of one s emotions. 2. The Good Life Happiness related to the quality of one s engagement with the world; satisfaction. 3. The Meaningful Life Happiness related to human flourishing and one s sense of purposeful living.

HW Do one of the following four exercises as a daily practice for this week. Summarize your experience with the practice in a 1-2 page reflective paper to be turned in on Saturday.

GRATITUDE DIARY EXERCISES # 1 Three Blessings: Review the events of the past 24 hrs. Then write down three things that have gone well for you and/or that you are grateful occurred. These can be small or large events. Next, write down why you think they went well. Explain it in any way that makes sense to you. # 2 Three Blessings in Disguise: Review the events of the past 24 hrs. Then write down three things that did not go well for you and/or that you wish did not occur. These can be small or large events. Then for each, ask yourself, How might this be a blessing in disguise? What can I learn from this experience?

SAVORING DIARY EXERCISE As you go through your day, attempt to find one small conveniences or pleasure and mindfully spend extra time savoring the experience. It may help to imagine what life would be like without them. Every night, attempt to simply describe the experience, allowing yourself to savor them again while reminiscing.

DEVELOPING RESILIENCY DIARY As you go through your week, try to catch yourself during those moments when unpleasant events occur. Then, see if you can t bring more awareness to your experience: What are your first thoughts and emotional responses? What judgments do you make about the circumstances of the experience? What type of judgments do you make about yourself? What type of unpleasant feelings arise within you? As you begin to become more aware of your responses, can you choose more positive or neutral ones? How difficult is it to choose happiness?