Sample Course Syllabus

I teach courses on happiness for both undergraduate and graduate students and would be happy to share my syllabi. Below is a sample syllabus for those of you who are interested in using both my books (The Myths of Happiness and The How of Happiness) for teaching or as part of a discussion group, as well as for those who simply wish to learn more about positive psychology. (Note: A separate syllabus, based on The How of Happiness only, can be found here.)

CLASS 1  | Introduction to Positive Psychology
Reading

 Peterson, C. (2006). A primer in positive psychology. New York: Oxford University Press. Chapter 1 (‘What is positive psychology?’; pp. 3-24).

CLASS 2  | What Is Happiness and How Is It Measured?
Readings

 Diener, E., Oishi, S.& Lucas, R. E. (in press). Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and life satisfaction. In C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology (2nd edition). New York: Oxford University Press.
Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). The how of happiness. New York: Penguin Press. Chapter 2 (“How happy are you, and why?”; pp. 27-38 only).
 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.

Assignment for Next Week

Students track their positive and negative moods three times a day over the course of six days. They graph the results and write a response paper about the patterns they observe and their experience doing this exercise.

CLASS 3  | Why Are Some People Happier Than Others?
Readings

 Myers, D. G. (2000). The funds, friends, and faith of happy people. American Psychologist, 55, 56-67.
Lyubomirsky, S. (2013). The myths of happiness. New York: Penguin Press. Chapter 6 (“I can’t be happy when…I’m broke”; pp. 145-148 only); Chapter 1 (“I’ll be happy when…I’m married to the right person”; pp. 18-34 only); Chapter 5 (“I’ll be happy when…I find the right job”; pp. 131-135 only).

CLASS 4  | The Benefits of Happiness
Readings

Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). The how of happiness. New York: Penguin Press. Chapter 1 (“Why be happy?”; pp. 24-26 only).
Jacobs Bao, K., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2012). The rewards of happiness. In I. Boniwell & S. David (Eds.), Oxford handbook of happiness (pp. 119-133). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Assignment for Next Three Weeks

Students spend three weeks practicing one of three happiness activities ‘ writing gratitude letters, writing forgiveness letters, or visualizing their best possible selves ‘ and writing a response paper about their experience.

CLASS 5 | Is It Possible to Increase Happiness and If So, How?
Readings

Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). The how of happiness. New York: Penguin Press. Foreword (pp. 1-9), Chapter 1 (“Is it possible to become happier?”; pp. 13-26); Chapter 2 (“How happy are you, and why?”; pp. 27-68); Chapter 3 (“How to find happiness activities that fit your interests, your values, and your needs”; pp. 69-79), and Chapter 10 (“The five hows behind sustainable happiness”; pp. 257-281).
Layous, K., & Lyubomirsky, S. (in press). The how, who, what, when, and why of happiness: Mechanisms underlying the success of positive interventions. In J. Gruber & J. Moscowitz (Eds.), The light and dark side of positive emotions. New York: Oxford University Press.

CLASS 6 | Introduction to Emotions and Their Measurement
Reading

Gilovich, T., Keltner, D., Chen, S., & Nisbett, R. E. Keltner, D. (in press). Social psychology. New York: W.W. Norton. Chapter 6 (“Emotion”; only pp. 195-200 are required).

CLASS 7 | Positive Emotions
Readings

Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). The how of happiness. New York: Penguin Press. Chapter 10 (Review “The first how: positive emotion: pp. 257-266.
Lyubomirsky, S. (2013). The myths of happiness. New York: Penguin Press. Chapter 2 (“I can’t be happy when…My relationship has fallen apart”; pp. 52-59 only).
Fredrickson, B. L., & Cohn, M. A. (2008). Positive emotions. In Lewis, M., Haviland-Jones, J. M., & Barrett, L. F. (Eds.), Handbook of emotions (3^rd ed., pp. 777-796). New York: Guilford Press.

CLASS 8  | Flow
Readings

Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). The how of happiness. New York: Penguin Press. Chapter 7 (“Living in the present”; pp. 180-204).
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1999). If we are so rich, why aren’t we happy? American Psychologist, 54, 821-827.

Assignment for Next Week

Students complete the VIA Inventory (a measure of their signature strengths) and write about what they have learned about themselves.

CLASS 9 | What Are Strengths and Virtues?
Reading

Peterson, C. (2006). A primer in positive psychology. New York: Oxford University Press. Chapter 6 (“Character strengths”; pp. 137-164).

CLASS 10 | Strengths and Virtues–Optimism
Readings

Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). The how of happiness. New York: Penguin Press. Chapter 4 (“Cultivating optimism”; pp. 101-111).
Peterson, C. (2006). A primer in positive psychology. New York: Oxford University Press. Chapter 5 (“Positive thinking”; only pp. 107-112 and 119-124 are required).

Assignment for Next Week

Students spend one week either practicing one of their signature strengths or developing a ‘low’ strength and writing a response paper about their experience.

CLASS 11 |  Strengths and Virtues–Love
Readings

Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). The how of happiness. New York: Penguin Press. Chapter 5 (“Nurturing social relationships”; pp. 138-149).
Lyubomirsky, S. (2013). The myths of happiness. New York: Penguin Press. Chapter 1 (“I’ll be happy when…I’m married to the right person”; pp. 40-48 only).
Peterson, C. (2006). A primer in positive psychology. New York: Oxford University Press. Chapter 10 (“Positive interpersonal relationships”; pp. 249-274).

CLASS 12 | Strengths and Virtues–Altruism
Readings

Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). The how of happiness. New York: Penguin Press. Chapter 5 (“Practicing acts of kindness”; pp. 125-138).
Batson, C. D., Ahmad, N., & Lishner, D. A. (2009). Empathy and altruism. In C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology (2^nd ed.; only pp. 417-419 are required). New York: Oxford University Press.

CLASS 13 | Strengths and Virtues–Forgiveness
Readings

Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). The how of happiness. New York: Penguin Press. Chapter 6 (“Learning to forgive”; pp. 169-179).
Lyubomirsky, S. (2013). The myths of happiness. New York: Penguin Press. Chapter 2 (“I can’t be happy when…My relationship has fallen apart”; pp. 67-71 only). Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). The how of happiness. New York: Penguin Press. Chapter 6 (“Learning to forgive”; pp. 169-179).
McCullough, M. E. (2001). Forgiveness: Who does it and how do they do it? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 10, 194-197.

CLASS 14 | Strengths and Virtues–Gratitude

Readings

Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). The how of happiness. New York: Penguin Press. Chapter 4 (“Expressing gratitude”; pp. 88-101).
Emmons, R. A. (2008). Gratitude, subjective well-being, and the brain. In M. Eid & R. J. Larsen (Eds.), The science of subjective well-being (pp. 469-489). New York: Guilford Press.