February 12, 2015 at 9:27 am

Here’s a link to a free course on Positive Psychology that consists of video lectures, readings and exercises.

https://www.coursera.org/course/positivepsych

From course description:

“These are exciting times. The science of positive psychology now clearly offers evidence-based approaches to help people live full and meaningful lives. We can now confidently steer ourselves and our communities towards health and flourishing.

This course not only showcases the visionary scientific work of Barbara Fredrickson and her colleagues in the field of positive psychology, it also features practical applications of this science that you can put to use immediately.

Together we will “lift the hood” of positive psychology to discover the tiny engines that drive it:  Positive emotions. Often subtle and always fleeting, positive emotions are remarkably consequential – psychologically, socially, and physically.  Topics of study include creativity and resilience, love and connection, flourishing and physical health.”

February 21, 2015 at 10:18 pm

Awesome. Coursera is a great resource! And positive psychology is cool. Many of the courses I’ve taken rely of pathologizing certain behaviors, so this course would probably help add some needed balance.

July 15, 2015 at 2:38 pm

Clark: I agree, it definitely seems like people often focus more on negative emotions and negative behaviors (what psychologists call the “bad is stronger than good” effect), so we need positive psychology to balance things out 🙂

There’s really interesting research suggesting that positive emotions help us to be more creative and to build relationships, so I am sure this will be a great class!