Positive Psychology Level 4 course

Last session's (2016) course

The group coursework: collected handouts

Last words on the coursework

• The deadline is the end of Friday 19 Feb 2016.
• Please upload BOTH a .docx and a .pdf version of your coursework into Moodle, but "set the main file" to the PDF version, so it is the one seen when clicked on. (This is because, especially in future when considering its use next year, I may want to clean up the file in various ways.)
• Please make sure you state the division of work within your group, as discussed in the handouts, by posting to the "private group forum" in the course moodle,
• No need to send a copy, printed or digital, to me: it is meant to be an electronic submission. (However do keep a digital copy in case I make an error and have to ask you for a copy which I've accidentally deleted.)
• No need for URKUND with this coursework. That doesn't mean I will ignore plagiarism if I see it.

Using GoogleDocs as the technology for your group coursework

• See also the DemoDoc i.e. an example GoogleDoc for coursework (PDF version), which demonstrates and describes the main features / techniques.

Session 1: Intro, Gratitude, ABCDE technique

Session 2: Flow, Burden of Choice

Session 3: mHealth, Strengths

Session 4: Various topics

Session 5: Mindfulness. Exam prep.

Other links

• How to be happy: Gretchen Rubin's guide to everyday contentment
• The best medicine: The power of laughter
• The politics of positivity: Why is the Government measuring our happiness levels?
• Is Bhutan the happiest place in the world?

• Pennebaker's papers (on writing as therapy; and how writing on bad events is at least as positive as writing on good events).
  
• Practical instructions on doing expressive (therapeutic) writing yourself
• Wolfe, Kristin Roenschenthaler (2014) Blogging -- How Our Private Thoughts Went Public [Lib: Level 6 Sociology A296 ROE ] [Journalling. Writing for well-being]

• Link to publisher's page on the book
• Link to a blog by Rohan on deciding to do the book.

Six books on how technology can be bad for well-being, recommended by Rohan

• Mind Change Susan Greenfield (2014)
• Addiction by Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas Natalie Dow Schull (2012) (Princeton University Press) [Lib: Level 6 Sociology X2195.N2 SCHUL]
• Reclaiming Conversation Sherry Turkle (2015) (Penguin Press) review / interview
• The shallows : how the Internet is changing the way we think, read and remember Nicholas G. Carr (2010) [Lib: Level 5 Psychology P800.C66 CAR]
• Modern Romance Aziz Anzari (2015) (Penguin Press). A book and a study on how the internet affects finding romance.
• Untangling the Web: what the internet is doing to you Aleks Krotoski (2013) [Lib: Level 6 Sociology A435.I6 KRO]

• Transformative Technology,
• Headspace Online meditation.

Is happiness infectious? i.e. a collective (social) phenomenon

• Fowler,J.H. & Christakis,N.A. (2008) "Dynamic spread of happiness in a large social network: longitudinal analysis over 20 years in the Framingham Heart Study" BMJ vol.337:a2338 doi:10.1136/bmj.a2338
  [It shows that happiness spreads in social networks quite markedly. It uses positive affect as its measure of happiness; and scoring low on depression measures. It says the effect is strong for friends, family, neighbours; but not for co-workers.]

• Young,E. (2016) "How sharing other people's feelings can make you sick" or "I feel your pain" New Scientist 14 May. https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23030732-900-how-sharing-other-peoples-feelings-can-make-you-sick/ [This discusses research on how empathy is bad for you. But it looks as if there is no agreement about terms as used in the psych lit. and in the media. ]
  • "Empathy with" used here to mean feeling what another feels, and reacting in the same way e.g. by stress, irritability, etc. As in infants setting each other off and all crying at the same time.
  • "Loving kindness meditation": good.
  • "Compassion for" same-ish thing. Feeling for and not with the other.
    See also:
  • Klimecki,O.M., Leiberg,S., Ricard,M. and Singer,T. (2013) "Differential pattern of functional brain plasticity after compassion and empathy training" Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience vol.9, p.873 Singer's group on empathy vs. compassion training
  • Buffone, A. E. K., & Poulin, M. J. (2014) "Empathy, target distress, and neurohormone genes interact to predict aggression for others: Even without provocation" Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin vol.40 no.11 pp.1406-1422 doi:10.1177/0146167214549320
  • Keysers,C. & Gazzola,V. (2014) "Dissociating the ability and propensity for empathy" Trends Cogn Sci. 2014 Apr;18(4):163-6. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2013.12.011. [Psychopaths can turn empathy on when asked: they just don't have it on automatically (and dysfunctionally) like some others.]

Some ref.s on volunteering

• Clary,E.G. & Snyder,M. Clary, E. Gil; Snyder, Mark; Ridge, Robert D.; Copeland, John; Stukas, Arthur A.; Haugen, Julie; Miene, Pete (1998) "Understanding and Assessing the Motivations of Volunteers: A Functional Approach" Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Vol.74 No.6 pp.1516-1530 doi:10.1037/0022-3514.74.6.1516

• Clary,E.G. & Snyder,M. (1999) "The Motivations to Volunteer Theoretical and Practical Considerations" Current Directions in Psychological Science vol.8 no.5 pp.156-159 doi:10.1111/1467-8721.00037

• Shye,S. (2010) "The Motivation to Volunteer: A Systemic Quality of Life Theory" Soc Indic Res vol.98 no.2 pp.183-200 doi:10.1007/s11205-009-9545-3

• Wilson, J. (2012) "Volunteerism Research: A Review Essay" Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly vol.41 no.2 (April) pp.176-212 doi:10.1177/0899764011434558

Some refs: temporary home for cmcc lecture refs

Some posPsy journals