Living the Good Life: The Psychology of Happiness PSYC 289D University of Maryland – Fall 2016 Section 0101: TuTh 2:00pm – 3:15pm BPS 1250 Instructor:

COURSE OVERVIEW What are the secrets to living a happy life? As depression and suicide rates soar, how can happiness be attained? Can happiness be found within the context of war, a depressed economy, violence and other major stressors? Are some people simply born happier than others? This course will introduce students to contemporary scientific approaches to studying these enduring questions.

Contact:

Dylan Selterman, Ph.D. Office hours: Tuesday 3:15 – 4:15pm and Wednesday 4:00 – 5:00pm (or by appointment as necessary) in BPS 1147-K

Please use [email protected] for all course related questions (your TAs will have access to this email as well). Address emails to the appropriate person.

If happiness is something that you crave, then Graduate Gabriela Pulido psychological science has some clues to attaining it. Teaching Office Hours: TBA Assistants: Psychology is the scientific study of people’s thoughts, feelings and behavior. Some psychologists try to understand the processes that predict feelings of happiness. This is more difficult than it sounds because we each have our own subjective intuitions and experiences (what scientists call “lay theories”), and our beliefs are influenced by the cultures we grow up in. In many cases those assumptions turn out to be wrong, and in other cases the scientific research helps us more fully understand keys to a happy life. There is a tremendous reason to study psychology… the more we understand about ourselves and those around us the more effective we can be at achieving our own personal goals (e.g., having healthy relationships, improving your academic/job performance) and advancing society (e.g., increasing public health, facilitating cooperation between groups). This course will teach you the scientific process that psychologists use to study happiness (and related emotional variables), and give you the opportunity to practice applying that process in a number of ways. You will learn how we (a) gather and critically evaluate research findings in the existing literature, (b) integrate those findings into coherent and testable theories, (c) design and conduct valid scientific research that tests those theories and extends our knowledge, and (d) effectively communicate our theories and findings

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to a wide range of audiences. The result of the process is a more accurate and objective (rather than intuitive) understanding happiness - and that is what prepares you to apply your scientific understanding to explain and influence a wide range of outcomes.

REQUIRED TEXTS 1) Diener, E., & Diener, R. (2008). Happiness: Unlocking the Mysteries of Psychological Wealth. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN-10: 1405146613 ISBN-13: 978-1405146616 2) Haidt, J. (2006). The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom. Basic Books. ISBN-10: 0465028020 ISBN-13: 978-0465028023 3) A Turning Technologies clicker such as Response Card: RCRF-LCD ISBN# 978-1-9-3493140-0 NOTE: You may need to buy a license (even if you have one) but you can get a full rebate through UMD. Please consult the PDFs one ELMS that will help you get your clicker registered. 4) Other readings will be made available electronically through Canvas/ELMS. Additional (optional) further reading/viewing: • Achor, S. (2010). The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work. Crown Business. ISBN-10: 0307591549 ISBN-13: 978-0307591548 • Gilbert, D. (2007). Stumbling on Happiness. Vintage. ISBN-10: 1400077427 ISBN-13: 978-1400077427 • Seligman, M. E. P. (2006). Learned Optimism. Random House. ISBN# 978-1400078394 • Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish. Free Press. ISBN# 978-1439190760 • Bryant, F. B. & Veroff, J. (2006). Savoring: A New Model of Positive Experience. Psychology Press. ISBN13: 978-0805851205 ISBN-10: 0805851208 • •

http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-814228.html http://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/

COURSE FORMAT, GUIDELINES, AND REQUIREMENTS The learning objectives for this course are based on the Department of Psychology’s learning outcomes, and the University’s I-Series objectives. 1) Course material & Participation. It is imperative that you attend class regularly in order to learn the material. Periodically, we will have participation checks in the form of in-class free writing exercises or clicker questions. Note: these participation checks will NOT be individually graded, they will simply be checked as done or not done. Your participation grade will be determined holistically, based on a consistent pattern of participation throughout the course. If you participate during most classes, you will receive full credit. Your participation grade will be 10% of the overall course grade. You are responsible to have a working clicker for all lecture/discussion classes. Even though you will not receive a numerical or letter grade, I will use these checks as a gauge for who regularly attends (or does not attend) class, as well as engagement with the material. I will also use this information to prioritize assisting students who show consistent attendance throughout the semester. You do not need to contact me or the TAs if you are absent from lecture. Participation checks

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cannot be made up at a later time. If you miss class, there is nothing you need to do other than to get caught up on the material via classmates’ notes or posted lectures online. You are responsible for any and all course material covered in class, announcements, and/or handouts if you are not present. Be sure to exchange contact information with at least one or two classmates. If you are unable to come to class because of an illness or another extenuating circumstance, please be aware that I will not be providing or distributing lecture notes. You will be expected to contact another student(s) in the class to receive notes/information. If you were present in class and would like to go over specific material from lecture, you are more than welcome to visit me (or the TAs) and we will gladly assist you. It is your responsibility to contact me and/or the TA for extra help as necessary. Please remember to use the course email address ([email protected]) for any correspondence about the course (with the exception of private/personal matters that only I should see, in which case you should contact me at [email protected]). When you send an email, please include your section number and group letter (e.g., “Group A, 2pm section”) in the subject line of the email. Please do not contact us through the ELMS messaging system, as we do not check for new messages there. Also, email is best for quick questions, but more in-depth questions should be handled in person during office hours. **Also note: while some people may tolerate “trolling” (in other words, intentionally and willfully attempting to cause discord or friction through hateful or rude speech), those behaviors will not be tolerated in my course. You are expected to treat each other with respect. Disruptive behavior of any kind will not be tolerated. Students who are unable to demonstrate civility with one another, the teaching assistants, or me will be subject to referral to the Office of Student Conduct or to the University Campus Police. You are expected to adhere to the Code of Student Conduct. However, I will also add that a key element of the scientific method is the ability for individuals to be provocative and to challenge conventional wisdom. Do not assume that the textbook authors or I are the absolute final word on the field of psychology, and do not hesitate to question previous research findings. In addition, do not assume that your teachers or fellow classmates cannot benefit directly from your ideas, even if you strongly disagree. The ideal environment for scientific growth is one in which we can be critical while being constructive, provocative while being respectful, professional while being easy-going. Do not be afraid to challenge authority—in this case, academic scientists, including me! Furthermore, do not hesitate to place crude and/or offensive behaviors under the scientific microscope. Psychology is the study of human life, and human life is X-rated. To approach a full understanding of what people feel, think, and do, it will inevitably include addressing some aspects of human nature that are uncomfortable. Political correctness and selfcensorship are the enemies of science. 2) Happiness Plan & Activities. Many people want to be happier. This may include you, and others outside the class. Part of the course will involve your self-directed goals to be a happier person, and to make someone else happier as well. In addition to yourself, you will choose 1 other person outside of class (this can be anyone, including a friend, partner, fellow group member, etc.). You will reflect upon the happiness research that we have discussed and come up with exercises for you (and your activity partner) to do. This can include activities such as savoring, meditation, gratitude, volunteering, etc. You will keep a diary of your activities and submit a (1/2 page – 1 page) reflection each week describing your activities. This will be worth 15% of your overall course grade. For a bit of extra credit, you can extend your focus to not only one other person, but also a small group of people. This may be advantageous if you are part of a club/organization (or just a closely knit group of Page 3 of 10

friends) and you want to have a positive impact on all of them. This will include more work for you, because it will involve monitoring several people’s activities and happiness levels over time, but potentially more rewarding as well. Time during class on Thursdays will be devoted to reflecting on your activities and goals, getting feedback from other students in the class, assessing whether your goals were met, and planning for the following week. 3) Exams. There will be 2 midterm exams, each worth 15% of your final grade. They will include multiple choice and (possibly) other format questions (e.g., matching, fill in the blank) and will cover material discussed in class and in the readings. Midterms are not cumulative, however, some concepts may fit into more than one unit, and thus may appear on an exam more than once. If that is the case, I will usually mention it again during lecture. Alternatively, it may appear a second time in the readings. There will not be long essay questions on exams. There will also be a final exam (worth 20% of your final grade), which will be cumulative and contain a higher number of questions, although it will focus more on the material covered since the 2nd midterm. There will be some extra-credit questions built into the exams. Please note: • You will not be permitted to use the bathroom during exams. • No student will be allowed to start an exam once the first student finished has turned in his or her exam and exited the room. • You are required to bring a pen and pencil to the exam. • I encourage you to go over your exams with the TAs, especially if your grade does not match your performance goals. For any given exam, you have until 1 week before the next exam is given to review it with the TAs. In other words, you have until 1 week before the date exam #2 is given to review exam #1 with the TAs or with me. Students will not be able to review their exams during the last week of classes or finals week. 4) Fact-Checking Happiness Claims Paper. This is the biggest and most rigorously evaluated assignment of the course. Your task is to find a book excerpt, blog post, TV show, film, etc. about happiness and evaluate its scientific accuracy. The impetus for this assignment comes from the mission statement at ScienceOfRelationships.com (paraphrased for clarity): “We know that increasing knowledge is a key way to help people improve their lives. But all information isn’t created equal. The important things in life deserve data. As scientists and educators we believe that if you really want to know the truth about something, you need research. When we say "research" we simply mean that the best information comes from careful observations and measurements, systematic collection of information from lots of people, and carefully drawn conclusions based on the available evidence. It’s a labor-intensive process, but relationships are too important to take shortcuts; we don't make statements about how relationships work based on conjecture, hunches, folklore, or idiosyncratic personal experiences. At ScienceOfRelationships.com we base every article in the ever-growing scientific literature on relationships. There's so much bad information out there, and the key is getting high quality information out to the broadest possible audience in an interesting and useful way.” For this assignment, you will critique an existing (non-scientific) commentary on happiness. A good place to start looking for such commentaries is the internet. For example, you could search for “how do I find happiness?” and see what comes up. You could also go to the self-help section at your local library or

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bookstore. You can also find a TV show or film on the topic. But the task remains the same—to critically evaluate the claims made in terms of their scientific accuracy and how much they are supported by scientific research. In this paper, you will need to summarize existing research studies in the psychology of happiness, including identifying key variables and effects. Your paper should be approximately 5-6 pages in length (excluding references) and will be due on Wednesday December 7th at 5pm. It does not need to be in APA format, except for citations and references, which do need to be in APA format. This will be evaluated for content (accuracy) and writing quality, and will be worth 25% of your course grade. To give you a few examples of fact-checking in psychology, check out these articles I’ve written in the past. But please note: your papers will need to be written in a different format, which is more similar to a lab report. Details on writing format TBA separately. • http://ter.ps/c3w • http://ter.ps/c3x • http://ter.ps/c3y • http://ter.ps/c3z You are welcome (and encouraged) to work with classmates on this assignment, though your submission must represent only your own writing. Students who do not have much experience with academic writing are strongly encouraged to take advantage of the resources available on campus. The Writing Center offers individual appointments to help you draft, proof and complete writing assignments. Even experienced writers can benefit! To schedule an appointment, and to see the other resources availabl to you, visit http://www.english.umd.edu/academics/writingcenter. ALL assignments must be submitted online (no hard copies), and please upload them in a .pdf format. DO NOT use .pages or any other file format. Also note: if we cannot read or access your submission for any reason (e.g., if the file is corrupt), or if you accidentally uploaded the wrong document (e.g., uploading the assignment directions rather than your paper), then your paper cannot receive a grade. Please double-check to make sure that your file was submitted correctly, otherwise you will receive a 0. I recommend downloading your submission from ELMS after submitting it, to ensure that it was uploaded correctly.

RESEARCH PARTICIPATION Students may earn extra credit by participating in up to 5 credits of experimental research as participants in the psychology department’s subject pool. If you have never done this before, you can learn about research participation here: https://psyc.umd.edu/undergraduate/participating-research. Each credit of experimental participation is equal to 1 point of extra credit on your final course average (ex: 2 SONA credits brings you from 89 to 91). This will be taken into account after all other grades and credits are factored in. You may then sign up for any study for which you qualify. Please note: the psychology department’s policies for SONA have changed, and it is your responsibility to keep up with information about SONA policies (e.g., deadlines, alternative assignments, how many online credits you can complete, what penalties exist for missed studies, what to do if you’re under 18 years old). For all SONA-related questions, please contact Steve Young, who is the SONA administrator in the psychology department main office. The contact email is [email protected].

UNIVERSITY & DEPARTMENT POLICIES

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As a member of this campus community I expect that you are aware of, and will adhere to, all relevant policies that relate to this course. University policies can be found at www.president.umd.edu/policies and at http://www.ugst.umd.edu/courserelatedpolicies.html. For policies on academic integrity, accommodations for disabilities, excused absences, copyright laws and grade appeals please visit http://ter.ps/psycsyllabi. You are personally responsible for reviewing these policies, and I expect you to know the details within them. MUTUALLY-DERIVED EXPECTATIONS If you are experiencing a problem with the course or if you foresee a problem, PLEASE talk to me before it gets any worse. We will be much more sympathetic if the problem is small and if we have forewarning. I believe it is essential that we, as members of a learning community, agree upon what is expected of each other and ourselves. My role is a teacher, not a babysitter. I will not be providing constant reminders about course assignments/material. YOU are responsible (as an adult) to manage your work effectively. As a course instructor, my role is to design and manage a learning environment that is rigorous, engaging, and focused on evidenced-based teaching practices. As a student, your role is to take personal responsibility for your learning and actively engage in all aspects of the course. What you see here comes directly from working with students in previous semesters, and we’ll discuss these in class so that we can add or clarify anything that I’ve missed. YOU, AS A STUDENT, HAVE THE RIGHT TO EXPECT THAT: > All work is evaluated by reasonable, objective and transparent criteria intended to assess learning > All students are treated with equality, professionalism and respect > I will be prepared and on-time for every class meeting and scheduled appointment > I will maintain a classroom conducive to active learning, discussion and critical thinking > I will, when possible, integrate contemporary examples, videos and activities to reinforce learning > I will be available to assist with coursework and offer referrals to campus resources upon request > I will read and respond to your emails within 48 hours on weekdays > I will do my best to answer any questions you have, and if I don’t know the answer, I’ll do my best to work with you so we can find it (in other words, I won’t just make stuff up). I, AS AN INSTRUCTOR, HAVE THE RIGHT TO EXPECT YOU WILL: Semester Out-of-Class > Devote the necessary time and energy to master the course material. Length Hours/Week According to Department of Psychology guidelines you should budget 16 weeks 6-9 an average of 2-3 out-of-class hours per week for every hour in-class. If 6 weeks 15-22 your schedule does not currently permit you to satisfy these 3 weeks 30-45 requirements I advise you take the course at another time. > Be prepared and on-time for every class meeting, having completed the assigned work > Save newspapers, word & math puzzles, texting, IM, email, Facebook, etc. for outside of class > Sleep in your bed, in someone else’s bed, in the hall, or under a tree… but not in class > Take responsibility for getting anything you might have missed from a fellow classmate > Monitor your email and Canvas announcements at least once every 24 hours > Adhere to all course and university policies, deadlines, requirements and grading criteria > Seek assistance when you need it and see that your questions are answered to your satisfaction COURSE EVALUATIONS

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You will have several formal opportunities to evaluate the effectiveness of this course, though I first want to encourage you to schedule a meeting with me if you have any questions, concerns or suggestions for how I can help support your learning and engagement. I will post an anonymous survey on Canvas part way through the semester to help us identify ways that we can work together to further enhance our cooperative approach to learning. In addition, the University will ask you to evaluate all of your courses through the online system (www.courseevalum.umd.edu) towards the end of the semester. As members of this learning community your feedback is crucial to the success of our program, and therefore to the value of your degree. All I ask is that in evaluating of all your courses you approach it the same way you expect instructors to evaluate your performance… be open, honest and objective. GRADES GRADES ARE NOT GIVEN, BUT EARNED. Your grade is determined by your performance on the various learning assessments in the course and is assigned individually (not curved). If earning a particular grade is important to you, please speak with me at the beginning of the semester so that I can offer some helpful suggestions for achieving your goal. I am happy to discuss any of your grades with you. Any formal grade disputes must be submitted in writing within 1 week (7 calendar days) of receiving the grade. If you request a re-grade, I will handle it (not the TAs) and my re-grade is final. Your grade may go up, it may go down, or it may stay the same. You must submit a ½ page explanation of why you feel your assignment/paper was unfairly graded and why you deserve a regrade. Note: A re-grade is different than an error in scoring/grading. If eligible to be turned in late, work will be penalized 1 letter grade per 24 hours after the time it was due. I highly recommend utilizing a network-based drive to ensure that you do not risk losing your work should a computer die, get lost or be stolen. There are many free options available…including Google Drive and Dropbox https://db.tt/90AoMKHM. You could also use the UMD Box software. Tip: it works best if you download and install the free software because then you can just save things to the folder on your computer like you already do and it will automatically save a copy on the network that you can access from anywhere. If even stores previous versions of the file in case you edit or delete it. Participation = 10% Happiness Plan = 15% 2 Midterm Exams (15% each) = 30% 1 Final Exam = 20% Fact-Checking Happiness Claims Paper = 25% Total = 100% Please note: Your grade in this class is weighted according to the relative percentage weights for each assignment/exam; it is not the accumulation of a raw total number of points. If you have questions about how grades are calculated, come see me and/or the TAs for clarification—you may also use the grade calculator, but keep in mind that this will give you an estimate based on limited information. Your final letter grade will be based on the following grading scale:

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Final Grade Cutoffs + 97.00% + 87.00% + 77.00% + 67.00% A 94.00% B 84.00% C 74.00% D 64.00% F