In a meta-analysis of the literature with adults, Lyubormski, King, and Diener (2005) found that happier individuals lived longer, earned more money and were more productive at work, and reported more satisfying interpersonal relationships. Regardless of the environmental use of positive psychology, the importance of happiness is apparent in numerous life domains for college students. Additionally, although there is limited research regarding predominantly college students, research with adolescences establishes the importance of happiness in school as well as in the home and community. Notably, it is school, home and community, which are three key building blocks that compose a college campus.
Students who reported greater happiness
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Likewise, Noddings provides additional suggestions focused with empirical support. To quote Noddings, “The best schools should resemble the best homes…. The best homes provide continuity of caring relations, attend to and continuously evaluate both inferred and expressed needs, protect from harm without deliberately inflicting pain, communicate so as to develop common and individual interests, work together cooperatively, promote joy in genuine learning, guide moral and spiritual development…. and educate for both self-understanding and group understanding” (p. 260).
Furthermore, if wellbeing is synergistic to better learning an increase in wellbeing is likely to produce an increase in learning. Positive moods also produce broader attention, more creative thinking, and more holistic thinking. That is when compared to negative moods, which produce narrower attention, more critical thinking, and more analytic thinking (Seligman&Ernest, 2009). If college students could use their positive mood and positive thinking to enhance their learning and experience on campus, why doesn’t our education system promote such skills for happiness? Between the high rates of depression among young people, and the interaction between learning and positive emotion, skills for happiness should be taught in school. However, how should school professionals go about doing this?
Huebner and
From the perspective of positive psychology, there is a well-being formula invested by Martin Seligman to achieve a higher well-being. Martin Seligman (2010) defined as happiness: H (to maintain the length of happiness) = S (happy range breadth) + V (you can control the factors) + C (your living environment). Happy length: the distinction between "temporary" happy and "persistent" happy. Temporary happiness can be achieved by food, comedy, bunch of flowers. While the persistence of happiness is mainly affected by genetic, and this genetic trait can be changed. The breadth of happiness: psychologists think that we are born with a happy constant point, like a thermometer. If there is a happier thing, even if we are upset, it will be dedicated
As a result of society’s pursuit of extrinsic happiness, society is left feeling unfulfilled and lacking intrinsic happiness; Jones argues that because of our everyday routine we are not taking the time to properly think about the impact we are having on our intrinsic happiness while Kohn argues that students’ preoccupation with preparation for their post-secondary education is not allowing them time to reflect on their intrinsic happiness. In the pursuit of extrinsic motivators, society often ignores what gives them intrinsic fulfillment; it may be because of one’s school schedule - and their obsession with preparing for life - or society’s busy work schedule that contributes to this. In How not to get into college, Kohn explains that students are “ignoring- or perhaps, by now, even forgetting- what they enjoyed doing” (Kohn 7), while this is happening Jones states that their parents are ”Killing the overtime ‘cause the dream is [their] life, refusing to take holidays or go home to [their] spouse”(53-54). Jones and Kohn argue that society is ignoring their intrinsic happiness
All three illustrations are about happiness revealing a deeper meaning and understanding about why intrinsic happiness matters more than extrinsic happiness. In “How not to get into College”, Alfie Kohn has a legitimate concern about how students–particularly high-school students–let grades control their lives and that they overlook the true experience, or meaning of learning. Alfie Kohn’s line reflects the various problems faced by many
Jennifer Senior discusses her research concerning positive psychology and whether or not happiness is teachable and highlights some of the darker sides of happiness. To start the article, Senior reveals her score on her test from the Authentic Happiness Inventory. The test designed by Chris Peterson of the positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania. This test is intended to numerically score ones level of happiness. In a scale of 1 to 5, Jennifer got a grade of 2.88. This indicated she was below average for most rankings such as “age, education level, gender and occupation” (422). Senior states she is at the 50 percent mark for her given zip code. She stated that liking her
Some people argue that happiness helps make good decisions because happy people strive for the best result. David states, “[Positive emotions] help build vital social, physical, and cognitive resources that lead to positive outcomes and affiliations” (124). David points out that with the right amount of positivity, people make good judgments. The author acknowledges that happiness can have benefits, but she states that too much happiness could hurt human development because the mind does not consider the consequences of an action. Julie Norem, a psychology professor, points out, “’If you’re a pessimist who really thinks through in detail what might go wrong, that’s a strategy that’s likely to work very well for you’” (qtd. in Wallis). She explains
In the article, Determinants of Happiness in Undergraduate University Students, it says, “Researchers such as Cummins et al. (2009) go as far as to suggest that individuals are happier when whole society’s functions better” (Flynn and MacLeod 452). This shows that without happiness, people could not work well together. It is why so many people work together, and keeping the economy well. In the article Determinants of Happiness in Undergraduate University Students, it says, “It is well known in the positive psychology literature that increased happiness is related to multiple benefits including better mental and physical health, (see Lyubomirsky et al. 2005)” (Flynn and MacLeod 452). This is why people that are happier have a better life in their jobs and schools. It also shows that people have better eating habits if they are happy. In the article Determinants of Happiness in Undergraduate University Students, it says that, “The individual benefits can pale in comparison to the potential societal gains of having a population comprised of such happy and therefore “successful” individuals” (Flynn and MacLeod 453). This is why people who like their job are better at their job. People that are fortunate are ones who usually like their job. People are happier if what they are doing is what they like, and it helps them to be happier than they
Achor utilizes a meta-analysis, or the combination of different findings, of over 200 scientific studies to prove his overall theory that happiness leads to success in almost every aspect of life from family to friends to careers and businesses. He does not rely solely on the data or information from a few relevant case studies, but instead relies upon experimental research to support his claim. He utilizes his findings to create “The Seven Principles”, which are “patterns that predict success and achievement” (Achor, 17), which is headed by “The Happiness Advantage.” He utilizes the concept of positive psychology and neurological activity to showcase the point that we can “retrain our brains to
Happiness is one of the most significant dimensions of human experience. Many people can argue that happiness is a meaningful and desirable entity. Studies indicate that everyone pursues happiness in various aspects of their life. Our four fathers saw happiness as a need, so they made the pursuit of happiness as one of the three unalienable rights branded in the Declaration of Independence. There is a sense of complexity behind the meaning of happiness; its definition is not definite. Think of happiness as a rope; there are many thin fiber strands bonded together to become the strength of the rope. Like the analogy of the rope, there are numerous factors that can contribute to an individual’s overall happiness in life. This study is going to
Thesis: Homeschooling environment is an effective approach in education due to evidence of higher achievement on placement tests, success through college, engaged socially with activities outside homes, and students becoming active members of society.
College represents a form of higher learning. For many, it is also a time for personal growth as we transition into adulthood. This in itself is a stressful situation as one must make drastic adjustments to a new role, environment, and demands. Stress is a major contributor to the development of mental and emotional issues (Rodgers, L., Tennison, L. 2009). Research has been done to determine the impact of depression and anxiety on university students. It has been
The school is testing ground for the brain. I believe that the student should be exposed to new ideas, experiences, techniques and methods so as to further develop their own capacities to adapt, change, learn, and grow as people. One of the most important goals of the school, if not the most significant, is to develop literate and productive members of society, who are able to converse with a variety of issues using varied methods of communication and media. All students should be encouraged to make thoughtful contributions to society, no matter how large or small they may be. Also, the school is not confined to a
School should be a community that is warm, respectful, and open. Students spend approximately 30 hours a week in the classroom and it is imperative they are able to
We began this course with the question “What is happiness? and Can we all achieve authentic Happiness? In our life we are taught many things, but we are not taught how to achieve our own happiness. Over the last five weeks we truly learned what happiness is and I believe we all can achieve authentic happiness in our life. In Authentic Happiness, Martin Seligman uses happiness and well being as the terms to describe the goals of Positive Psychology. The desired outcome of Positive Psychology is happiness and well being. We learned from this course how to embrace both our positive feelings and activities to achieve authentic Happiness.
Most people might think college is a cause of unhappiness and depression but its the contrary. In
In an unofficial poll of students at State University, I found that of the fifty-eight students and one professor, males and females of several ethnic backgrounds and age groups, that I asked the question "What is happiness to you?", all of them had very different physical, intellectual, or emotional motivator for their happiness. Only the