how to be happy, yale course, laurie santos

What is Yale’s most popular class on happiness?

Jan 06, 2021 · This week, Professor Santos teaches each student how to harness the power of mind control and meditation to increase happiness. The lesson material will conclude with a practice known to have a...

Should Yale offer a class on positive psychology?

Jan 23, 2022 · Some of the professor’s “happiness” assignments include deleting social media accounts, daily meditation, keeping a gratitude journal, and investing time in …

Who is taking ‘psychology and the Good Life’ at Yale?

Mar 30, 2021 · Professor Laurie Santos' advice on how to feel happier: Ask yourself how a particular activity really feels as you're doing it. Think about mental health as a diet — some activities are harmless...

What is it like to study at Yale University?

Feb 01, 2021 · Dr. Santos is a professor of psychology and head of Silliman College at Yale University. She’s an expert on human cognition and the cognitive biases that impede better choices, and her course ...

What is the course Psychology and the Good Life?

Searching for love in the time of coronavirus. So she created a course called “Psychology and the Good Life,” which starts by offering students insights from psychology and neuroscience about what drives happiness. In its second half, the course challenges students in behavior change exercises to help rewire the brain.

Where is Catie Henderson?

Catie Henderson, a 29-year-old living in Atlanta, Georgia, took the course online last year. She told CNN she had studied philosophy in college and as she has been progressing in her career, she’s been looking for more ways to continue her “learning and development.”

Who is Laurie Santos?

Yale psychology professor Laurie Santos, whose class on the science of happiness is the most popular in the university’s history. Enrollment for the free online version has skyrocketed since COVID, as people search for ways to be happy amid tragedy. Marsland Michael. Faced with these awful statistics, I wanted to do something to help.

Is the new year a time of looking backwards?

The new year is naturally a time of looking backwarDs anD forwards. But that's not the only time our minds tend to move away from the present moment. One study by a team of Harvard psychologists found that we spent more than 40 percent of the time mind-wandering—not paying attention to the here and now. Which is bad news for our happiness levels, because a growing body of research shows that focusing on the here and now makes us feel better.

What is Yale University?

A research university that focuses on students and encourages learning as an essential way of life, Yale is a place for connection, creativity, and innovation among cultures and across disciplines. go to previous testimonial.

Can you see lectures in audit mode?

Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit.

Can you see your course materials in audit mode?

If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option: The course may not offer an audit option.

Who is Laurie Santos?

Two years ago, Dr. Laurie Santos, who has taught psychology at Yale for 17 years, began teaching a class on happiness—Psychology & the Good Life—that quickly became the university’s most popular class ever. She gave NIH’ers a crash course at a Feb. 6 Deputy Director for Management Seminar, speaking to an enthusiastic, ...

Is happiness genetic?

If you think happiness is genetic, you may be half right, or half wrong, depending on your outlook. While research shows that some genetic factors contribute to happiness, even if you’re a genetically predisposed grump, there’s plenty you can do to find and cultivate happiness, and perhaps spread a little joy to others too.

Does genetics affect happiness?

While research shows that some genetic factors contribute to happiness, even if you’re a genetically predisposed grump, there’s plenty you can do to find and cultivate happiness, and perhaps spread a little joy to others too. Two years ago, Dr. Laurie Santos, who has taught psychology at Yale for 17 years, began teaching a class on ...

How to improve your well being?

Jotting down a few things you’re grateful for daily can dramatically improve well-being as does expressing it to others. For homework, she assigns the gratitude visit. Write a letter of gratitude and deliver it in person. It’s a note the recipient will cherish and the act can boost your own happiness for months.

Who is Laurie Santos?

Dr. Laurie Santos, the professor behind Yale's insanely popular "Psychology and the Good Life" course, talks about why we're so bad at figuring out what we actually want. If college is supposed to be a carefree, jolly, hedonistic four-year romp, someone forgot to tell the students at Yale. (Which isn't really surprising, since they got ...

What do happy people do?

The data really suggests that happy people do certain things: they have really tight social ties, they make time for those social ties, they take time to experience gratitude, they're mindful in the moment. They sleep, they exercise, and they try to make time for themselves. It's not this deep mystery of human nature.

Is it easy to get complacent?

It could be very easy to get complacent. What we talk about a lot in the class is that it's fine to be ambitious if you're ambitious about the right things. It's one thing to kill yourself for something that is gonna make you happy. It's a completely different thing to kill yourself for something that's not.

What does evolution want us to do?

In a sense, what evolution wants us to do is to get as many resources as we can. It doesn't want us to rest on our laurels. It wants us to be vigilant and try to get more resources. Evolution doesn't have to have mechanisms to really pat ourselves on our back when we're doing okay.

Is depression a mental health issue?

These things are really contributing to mental health issues. In terms of depression, in terms of anxiety, the increased social comparison, they're just generally really not good. When I had a bad day in the 1980s I might hang out with a friend and complain, take a bath, or do some exercise.