Activities for teaching positive psychology: a guide for instructors

Conceptual explorations: courage ; humility ; strengths ; eudaimonia ; work ; culture and identity ; purpose ; spirituality

Experiments: positive emotion ; positive health ; relationships ; empathy ; culture and subjective well-being ; wealth and subjective well-being ; mindfulness ; forgiveness ; flow

Self-reflections: gratitude ; curiosity ; happiness promotion ; hope ; materialism ; savoring ; motivation ; engagement.

I. Conceptual Explorations

Courage

What Makes an Action Courageous? / Cynthia L.S. Pury

Humility

Humility, the Modest Strength / Robert A. Emmons

Strengths

Using a Strengths Approach to Build Perspective-Taking Capacity / Michelle C. Louis

Eudaimonia

Contrasting Two Conceptions of Happiness : Hedonia and Eudaimonia / Alan S. Waterman

Work

The Value(s) of Work / Christopher Michaelson

Culture and Identity

Integrating an Understanding of Cultural Context Into a Discussion of Positive Traits / Jennifer Teramoto Pedrotti

Purpose

Understanding Purpose Through Interviews / Timothy S. Reilly and William Damon

Spirituality

Spiritual Struggles as a Fork in the Road to the Sacred / Maria R. Gear Haugen and Kenneth I. Pargament

II. Experiments

Positive Emotion

How Positive Emotions Broaden and Build / Bethany E. Kok and Barbara L. Fredrickson

Positive Health

Heart Rate Variation With Positive Psychology Exercises / Sarah D. Pressman and Tara L. Kraft

Relationships

Capitalizing on Positive Events / Shelly L. Gable

Empathy

Perspective Taking and Prosocial Behavior : Caring for Others Like We Care for the Self / Michael W. Myers and Sara D. Hodges

Culture and Subjective Well-Being

Culture Influences the Ingredients of a Good Life and Conceptualizations of Happiness / Christie Napa Scollon, Derrick Wirtz, and Xuan-yi Wei

Wealth and Subjective Well-Being

Spending Money on Others Leads to Higher Happiness Than Spending on Yourself / Lara B. Aknin and Elizabeth W. Dunn

Mindfulness

Cultivating Mindfulness Through Listening / Shauna L. Shapiro and Timothy R. Mariels

Forgiveness

Teaching Forgiveness in Positive Psychology / Everett L. Worthington Jr., Aubrey L. Gartner, David J. Jennings II, and Don E. Davis

Flow

Flow and Optimal Learning Environments / David J. Shernoff and Brett Anderson

III. Self-Reflections

Gratitude

Taking Care of Business With Gratitude / Philip C. Watkins, Amy Sparrow, and Amy C. Webber

Curiosity

Curiosity as a Social Lubricant : Transforming Conversations to Be Interesting, Engaging, and Meaningful / Todd B. Kashdan and Paul J. Silvia

Happiness Promotion

Using Mindful Photography to Increase Positive Emotion and Appreciation / Jaime L. Kurtz and Sonja Lyubomirsky

Hope

Hope Projects to One's Future Self / Jeana L. Magyar-Moe

Materialism

A Teaching Tool for Disengaging From Materialism : The Commercial Media Fast / Yuna L. Ferguson and Tim Kasser

Savoring

The Savoring Expedition : An Exercise to Cultivate Savoring / Patrick R. Harrison, Jennifer L. Smith, and Fred B. Bryant

Motivation

Internalized Motivation in the Classroom / Kennon M. Sheldon

Engagement

Civic Engagement / Constance Flanagan and Brian D. Christens.