Life Satisfaction Essay

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Educational Psychology 5063/6063-090
Enhancing Happiness and Life Satisfaction
Course Syllabus

Instructor Information
J. Goodman Farr
Department of Educational Psychology
University of Utah
Email: j.farr@msn.com
Phone: 801-424-3283
Office Hours: Call for appointment
Nature of the Course
Martin Seligman, a past APA president, launched the positive psychology movement in 1998.
According to Seligman, the “topic of positive psychology was happiness… the gold standard for measuring happiness was life satisfaction, and… the goal of positive psychology was to increase life satisfaction” (2011). Seligman recently introduced a theory of well-being and now asserts that “the topic of positive psychology is well-being… the gold standard for measuring well-being is flourishing, and… the goal of positive psychology is to increase flourishing” (2011). The new
“well-being theory” has five elements: “positive emotion, engagement [also known as flow], meaning, positive relationships, and accomplishments” (Seligman, 2011, pg. 16).
One goal of this course is to practice journal activities and teach an adult how to use the activities to enhance well-being. Another goal is to apply Frisch’s Quality of Life Therapy &
Coaching exercises to high-priority areas of your life and teach two adults how to practice
QOLT activities from the Toolbox CD to increase life satisfaction. According to Ed Diener, only 15% of our sense of well-being is influenced by genetics (or “heritability”) and the other
85% is a combination of learning new things, feeling emotionally supported by a social network, using your strengths and favorite skills, sensing that you are respected, and having your basic needs fulfilled (2011).
Positive psychology has focused “increasing attention to the ‘sweetest emotions’ [namely] happiness, joy, love, curiosity, hope, and gratitude” (Emmons &
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