Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

The Effects of a Character Strength Focused Positive Psychology Course on Undergraduate Happiness and Well-Being

  • Research Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Happiness Studies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of a character strength focused positive psychology course on student well-being. The Values in Action character strengths were each presented as ways to increase both individual and community well-being. There were 112 undergraduate students in the positive psychology course and a comparison group of 176 undergraduates who took other psychology courses. They all completed the PERMA-Profiler (Butler and Kern in Int J Wellbeing 6:1–48, 2016) during the first and last week of the semester. This questionnaire assessed the five elements of positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, accomplishment (PERMA) plus happiness, health, loneliness, and negative emotion. The hypotheses were that (1) the positive psychology students would have significant improvements in each of the measures during the semester and (2) these changes would be significantly greater in the desired direction than the changes for the students in other psychology courses. The first hypothesis was supported in that the positive psychology students had significant improvements in all of the measures, including the total PERMA score. The second hypothesis was also strongly supported in that these improvements were significantly greater relative to the students taking other psychology courses. The effect sizes for the difference between the groups were large for the total PERMA score (d = .846) and the element of meaning; medium-to-large for positive emotion and relationships; medium for happiness, accomplishment, and negative emotion (decrease); and small-to-medium for engagement, health, and loneliness (decrease).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ascenso, S., Perkins, R., & Williamon, A. (2018). Resounding meaning: A PERMA wellbeing profile of classical musicians. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barker, E. T., Howard, A. L., Villemaire-Krajden, R., & Galambos, N. L. (2018). The rise and fall of depressive symptoms and academic stress in two samples of university students. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 47, 1252–1266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baumeister, R. F., Vohs, K. D., Aaker, J. L., & Garbinsky, E. N. (2012). Some key differences between a happy life and a meaningful life. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 8, 505–516.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Birch, H., McGann, D., & Riby, L. (2019). Perfectionism and PERMA: The benefits of other-oriented perfectionism. International Journal of Well-Being, 9, 20–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bolier, L., Haverman, M., Westerhof, G. J., Riper, H., Smith, F., & Bohlmeijer, E. (2013). Positive psychology interventions: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies. BMC Public Health, 13, 119–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bridges, K. R., Harnish, R. J., & Sillman, D. (2012). Teaching undergraduate positive psychology: An active learning approach using student blogs. Psychology Learning and Teaching, 11, 228–237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Butler, A. C., Chapman, J. E., Forman, E. M., & Beck, A. T. (2006). The empirical status of cognitive-behavioral therapy: A review of meta-analyses. Clinical Psychology Review, 26, 17–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Butler, J., & Kern, M. L. (2016). The PERMA-Profiler: A brief multidimensional measure of flourishing. International Journal of Wellbeing, 6, 1–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, J. (2004). Pathways to bliss: Mythology and personal transformation. Novato, CA: New World Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1998). Finding flow: The psychology of engagement with everyday life. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, T. (2018). The best happiness apps of 2018. Psychology Today. Retrieved August 9, 2019, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/click-herehappiness/201801/the-best-happiness-apps-2018.

  • Goodmon, L. B., Middleditch, A. M., Childs, B., & Pietrasiuk, S. E. (2016). Positive psychology course and its relationship to well-being, depression, and stress. Teaching of Psychology, 43, 232–237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grant, A. M., & Gino, F. (2010). A little thanks goes a long way: Explaining why gratitude expressions motivate prosocial behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98, 946–955.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hofmann, S. G., Asnaani, A., Vonk, I. J. J., Sawyer, A. T., & Fang, A. (2012). The efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy: A review of meta-analyses. Cognitive Therapy Research, 36, 427–440.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kern, M. L., Waters, L. E., Adler, A., & White, M. A. (2015). A multidimensional approach to measuring well-being in students: Application of the PERMA framework. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 10, 262–271.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, L. A. (2001). The health benefits of writing about goals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 798–807.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lambert, L., Passmore, H. A., & Joshanloo, M. (2019). A positive psychology intervention program in a culturally-diverse university: Boosting happiness and reducing fear. Journal of Happiness Studies, 20, 1141–1162.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Layous, K., Nelson, S. K., Kurtz, J. L., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2017). What triggers prosocial effort? A positive feedback loop between positive activities, kindness, and well-being. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 12, 385–398.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lefevor, G. T., Jensen, D. R., Jones, P. J., Janis, R. A., & Hsieh, C. H. (2018). An undergraduate positive psychology course as prevention and outreach. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/r52wg. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329439129_An_Undergraduate_Positive_Psychology_Course_as_Prevention_and_Outreach

  • Lyubomirsky, S. (2007). The how of happiness: A scientific approach to getting the life you want. New York: Penguin Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maybury, K. K. (2013). The influence of a positive psychology course on student well-being. Teaching of Psychology, 50, 62–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, J., Stanimirovic, R., Klein, B., & Vella-Brodrick, D. (2009). A randomized controlled trial of a self-guided internet intervention promoting well-being. Computers in Human Behavior, 25, 749–760.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Niemiec, R. M. (2017). Character strengths interventions: A field guide for practitioners. Boston, MA: Hogrefe.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Oades, L. G., Robinson, P., Green, S., & Spence, G. B. (2011). Towards a positive university. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 6, 432–439.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook of classification. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramachandram, V. (2016). Positive education and higher achieves role of positive psychology. Indian Journal of Health and Well-Being, 7, 848–850.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rashid, T. (2015). Positive psychotherapy: A strength-based approach. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 10, 25–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Russo-Netzer, P., & Ben-Shahar, T. (2011). Learning from success’: A close look at a popular positive psychology course. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 6, 468–476.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schueller, S. M. (2009). Promoting wellness: Integrating community and positive psychology. Journal of Community Psychology, 37, 922–937.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, B. (2014). Our loss of wisdom [Video file]. Retrieved August 9, 2019, from https://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_on_our_loss_of_wisdom.

  • Seldon, A. (2006). Lessons in life: Why I’m teaching happiness. Education and Health, 24, 19–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55, 5–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seligman, M. E. P., Ernst, R. M., Gillham, J., Reivich, K., & Linkins, M. (2009). Positive education: Positive psychology and classroom interventions. Oxford Review of Education, 35, 293–311.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seligman, M. E. P., Steen, T. A., Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2005). Positive psychology progress: Empirical validation of interventions. American Psychologist, 60, 410–421.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shimer, D. (2018). Yale’s most popular class ever: Happiness. New York Times. Retrieved August 9, 2019, from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/26/nyregion/atyale-class-on-happiness-draws-huge-crowd-laurie-santos.html.

  • Sin, N. L., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2009). Enhancing well-being and alleviating depressive symptoms with positive psychology interventions: A practice friendly meta-analysis. Journal of Clinical Psychology: In Session, 65, 467–487.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, B. W. (2018). Positive psychology for your hero’s journey: Discovering true and lasting happiness. Seattle, WA: Kindle Direct Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Suissa, J. (2008). Lesson from a new science? On teaching happiness in schools. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 42, 575–590.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tansey, T. N., Smedema, S., Umucu, E., Iwanage, K., Wu, J. R., da Silva Cardoso, E., et al. (2018). Assessing college life adjustment of students with disabilities: Application of the PERMA framework. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 61, 131–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verdugo, V. C. (2012). The positive psychology of sustainability. Environmental Development and Sustainability, 14, 651–666.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wagner, L., Gander, F., Proyer, R. T., & Ruch, W. (2019). Character strengths and PERMA: Investigating the relationships of character strengths with a multidimensional framework of well-being. Applied Research in Quality of Life. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-018-9695-z.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White, M. A., & Waters, L. E. (2015). A case study of “The Good School:” Examples of the use of Peterson’s strengths-based approach with students. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 10, 69–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilding, L., & Griffey, S. (2015). The strength-based approach to educational psychology practice: A critique from social constructionist and systemic perspectives. Educational Psychology in Practice, 31, 43–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bruce W. Smith.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Weekly Assignments for the Positive Psychology Course

  1. 1.

    Life Goals Answer 12 key questions to help you identify what might make you happy and what you want most out of your life.

  2. 2.

    Personal Strengths Complete the Values in Action questionnaire online and write about examples of when you used your top strengths.

  3. 3.

    Strengths and Goals Identify several goals and write about how you can use your top strengths to make progress in achieving them in the next month.

  4. 4.

    Creativity with Strengths Identify new ways to use your top strengths and use them on at least 3 days during the week.

  5. 5.

    Finding Flow Make a list of things you can do that may put you in a flow state and do at least two different things on different days and write about the experience.

  6. 6.

    Seeing the Good Pay attention to what happens during the day and write down three good things that happen every day for a week.

  7. 7.

    Creating the Good Write down good things and write about how you think you can make at least one of them happen more often in the future.

  8. 8.

    Savoring Make a list of at least ten things that you can savor and savor at least one of them on three different days.

  9. 9.

    Best Love and Kindness Write about one of the best acts of love or kindness you have experienced, how it affected you, and how you can honor it.

  10. 10.

    Gratitude Expression Write a gratitude letter to someone who you haven’t fully or properly thanked and share it with that person in as personal way as you can.

  11. 11.

    Sharing Strengths Having a friend take the VIA survey, share you strengths, and talk about how you can support each other in using your strengths.

  12. 12.

    Creative Kindness Make a list of the new and different kind acts you can perform and do different acts of kindness on three different days during a week.

  13. 13.

    Best Possible Life Write about the best possible life you can imagine in 5–10 years including who you would be with, what you would be doing, and how you could give back.

  14. 14.

    The Hero’s Path Identify the most important things that you have learned in class and write about how you can use them to achieve your best possible life.

Appendix 2: Top-Rated Video Resources for Teaching Positive Psychology

The following are our “top ten” lists of videos that have been used in the positive psychology course to illustrate the character strengths and have consistently been rated as highly beneficial by students.

  1. A.

    YouTube Videos These have typically been shown during class.

  2. 1.

    Wisdom Little girl talks to mother—www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsvQ7SsEFdQ.

  3. 2.

    Creativity Life is beautiful scene—https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nk3eVTNFmek.

  4. 3.

    Perseverance Heather Dornidan race—www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqnqLrakxY8.

  5. 4.

    Love Love liberates by Maya Angelou—www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbecKv2xR14.

  6. 5.

    Fairness Monkey fairness experiment www.youtube.com/watch?v=meiU6TxysCg.

  7. 6.

    Self-control Marshmallow test—(funny) www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc4EF3ijVJ8.

  8. 7.

    Forgiveness The power of forgiveness—www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2BITY-3Mp4.

  9. 8.

    Appreciation of Beauty Shawshank scene—www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzuM2XTnpSA.

  10. 9.

    Gratitude Lily’s Disneyland surprise—www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOpOhlGiRTM.

  11. 10.

    Meaning What’s makes a hero? www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hhk4N9A0oCA.

    1. B.

      TED Talks These have typically been shown before class.

  12. 1.

    Wisdom Our loss of wisdom by Barry Schwartz.

  13. 2.

    Creativity Do schools kill creativity? by Ken Robinson.

  14. 3.

    Courage Coming out of your closet by Ash Beckham.

  15. 4.

    Authenticity The power of vulnerability by Brené Brown.

  16. 5.

    Social Intelligence The social brain and its superpowers by Matt Lieberman.

  17. 6.

    Kindness The power of kindness by Johann Berlin.

  18. 7.

    Self-control Self control by Dan Ariely.

  19. 8.

    Forgiveness The power of forgiveness—by Sammie Rangel.

  20. 9.

    Gratitude Gratitude by Louis Schwartzberg.

  21. 10.

    Hope Prescribing hope by Allan Hamilton.

    1. C.

      Movies These have typically been recommended to illustrate VIA strengths.

  22. 1.

    Amelie (2001) Kindness, humor, creativity, love.

  23. 2.

    Freedom Writers (2007) Love of learning, hope, perseverance,

  24. 3.

    Good Will Hunting (1997) Hope, love, authenticity.

  25. 4.

    Happy (2011) Curiosity, love of learning, social intelligence.

  26. 5.

    Hidden Figures (2016) Courage, open-mindedness, fairness.

  27. 6.

    Invictus (2009) Forgiveness, leadership, wisdom.

  28. 7.

    Life is Beautiful (1997) Creativity, humor, vitality.

  29. 8.

    Nicky’s Family (2011) Gratitude, courage, humility.

  30. 9.

    The King’s Speech (2010) Creativity, humor, courage.

  31. 10.

    To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) Fairness, integrity, open-mindedness.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Smith, B.W., Ford, C.G., Erickson, K. et al. The Effects of a Character Strength Focused Positive Psychology Course on Undergraduate Happiness and Well-Being. J Happiness Stud 22, 343–362 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-020-00233-9

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-020-00233-9

Keywords

Navigation