Time: Tuesday 16:00 – 18:00 (4:00 – 6:00 p.m.) Room: KL 23/140
Instructor: James E. Maddux, Professor, Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA (jemaddux@aol.com)
Overview: The purpose of this course is to provide an overview of theory and research on the psychology of happiness and subjective well-being. Among the questions to be addressed are: What is happiness ? What are the major ways of defining and thinking about happiness? What are the various ways of measuring happiness? What does research suggest about the major correlates and causes of happiness? What are the differences between happy and unhappy people? Can happiness be learned? Are some societies and nations happier than others? If so, why?
Expectations: As with any course, what you get from this course will depend largely on how much time and effort you invest. Research on happiness indicates that people are usually happier when they are actively working on an important goal and when they “lose themselves” in action toward that goal. So I encourage you to come to class, read the assigned material beforehand, and be an active participant in class.
I will rarely lecture. I am more interested in getting you to read, think, and talk—not just to me but to each other. We usually learn more by listening than by talking, and often we learn the most from the people who disagree with us. Because most of class time will be devoted to discussion rather than lecture, it is very important that you read the assigned material.
How to earn a schein: To earn a schein, you must
1. Make a half-hour presentation in class on a topic related to the course and
write a 5-6 page essay based on your presentation. Your topic can be taken from
one of the topics below, or you can choose a topic not on the list as long as
it is related to the topic of this course.
2. Attend at least 75% of the classes. I will not take attendance, so you will
be on your honor to keep track of your own attendance.
3. Notify me by April 30 that you want to earn a schein. I need to know by this
time so I can plan the schedule for the rest of the semester..
Schedule of Topics and Readings (Subject to change as we go)
Week 1 (April 13): What is happiness? Exploring personal definitions.
Week 2 (April 20): More exploration of personal definitions.
Week 3: (April 27): Overview of theory and research on happiness.
Myers, D. G. (2000). The funds, friends, and faith of happy people. American
Psychologist, 55, 56-67.
Diener, E., Lucas, R. E., & Oishi, S. (2002). Subjective well-being: The
science of happiness and life satisfaction. In C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez
(Eds.). Handbook of positive psychology (pp. 63-73).
Weeks 5-14: What we do next depends on how many people want to earn a schein and what topics they choose. Possible topics and readings are below. Everyone will be expected to read the article below. The presenter can choose additional readings to use to prepare his or her presentation; these will not be required reading for the entire class. This list is flexible, so we can change our minds if we want to along the way. Topics from this list that are not chose by schein-earners will still be covered in class. Finally, if you choose a topic not on the list, you must select a reading assignment for the class.
Topics
Definitions of happiness:
Waterman, A. S. (1993). Two conceptions of happiness: Contrasts of personal
expressiveness (eudaimonia) and hedonic enjoyment. Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 64, 678-691.
Inside the minds of happy and unhappy people.
Lyubomirsky, S. (2001). Why are some people happier than others? The role of
cognitive and motivational processes in well-being. American Psychologist, 56,239-249
Happiness and flow: East meets West
Nakamara, J., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2002). The concept of flow. In, C.
R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.). Handbook of positive psychology. New York:
Oxford University Press.
The biology of happiness: An evolutionary perspective.
Buss, D. M. (2000). The evolution of happiness. American Psychologist, 55, 15-23
The role of emotions in happiness.
Frederickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology:
The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56,
218-226.
Happiness and personality: Optimism
Peterson, C. (2001). The future of optimism. American Psychologist, 55, 44-55.
Happiness and culture:
Oishi, S., Diener, E. F., Lucas, R. E., & Suh, E. M. (1999). Cross-cultural
variations in predictors of life satisfaction: Perspectives from needs and values.
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25, 980-990.
Oishi, S., & Diener, E. (2001). Goals, culture, and subjective well-being.
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 1674-1682.
Happiness and money:
Kasser, T., & Ryan, R. M. (1993). A dark side of the American dream: Correlates
of financial success as a central life aspiration. Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 65, 410-422
Carver, C. S., & Baird, E. (1998). The American dream revisited: Is it what
you want or why you want it that matters? Psychological Science, 9, 289-292)
Srivastava, A, Locke, E. A., & Bartol, K. M. (2001). Money and subjective
well-being: It’s not the money, it’s the motives. Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology, 80, 959-971.
Happiness and aging.
Carstensen, L. L., Isaacowitz, & Charles, S. T. (1999). Taking time seriously:
A theory of socioemotional selectivity. American Psychologist, 54, 165-181.
Charles, S. T., Reynolds, C. A., & Gatz, M. (2001). Age-related differences
and change in positive and negative affect over 23 years. Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology, 80, 136-151.
Happiness and “What might have been”:
Gilovich, T. & Medvec, V. H. (1994). Temporal patterns to the experience
of regret. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 357-365.