The Science of Human Flourishing and Optimal Functioning

Course Description

The science of human flourishing and optimal functioning builds off last year’s iteration offering an educational experience that dives into fields of psychology concerned with how individuals can work towards optimal mental health, well-being, and performance in their daily lives.

Our first topic is positive psychology, which is a fascinating research movement in psychology to emphasizes well-being over pathology. As such, we talk about optimal well-being as more than just the presence of positive emotion, being a life filled with achievement, positive relationships, engagement/flow, and meaning. We discuss how people find purpose and meaning in life pursuits and cultivate stronger relationships, such as through developing character strengths like gratitude, curiosity, and forgiveness. To facilitate a life of meaning and accomplishment, we discuss the different types of motivation, and how to optimally set and pursue goals, in addition to developing good self-control.

As it was a topic of great interest last year, this year the course will have a stronger focus on the science of emotions and emotion regulation, teaching students healthy ways to regulate their mood and what unhealthy strategies to avoid. Finally, we touch on sport and performance psychology. We discuss how concepts such as good self-talk and mental imagery can be applied in all performance settings including sport, music, academics, and broader life. We will also talk about emotions and performance, looking at how people manage stress and anxiety in optimal ways. Students will learn stress reduction strategies such as mindfulness.

The course will look like small bursts of lecturing, then small group activities and discussions. The goal of this course is to be highly practical. Indeed, students will be introduced to psychology as a field of study and what it means to conduct scientific research, but with an emphasis on leveraging this fascinating field of scientific study in a way that gives them practical knowledge they can apply in their own lives.

To teach this course, I draw on my master’s degree in applied positive and coaching psychology from the University of East London, my current MA studies at Carleton where I conduct research on emotion regulation, goal pursuit, and self-determination theory, and my practical experience as a behaviour change coach where I created and facilitated evidence-based workshops for adults. I also draw on my experience teaching this EMCP course last year. I felt the course was successful and I learned a lot about how to teach this age group. I have taken feedback from my class last year and have improved the course to be more hands-on and engaging.