Positive Psychology: Creative Thinking & Exploration Seminar

Independent Study section to accompany L33 367: Spring 2018

Time: Wednesdays, 1:00pm - 2:00pm


Location: Psychology Building Room 215A
Instructor: Tim Bono, Ph.D. (tjbono@wustl.edu)
Facilitators: Joachim Vaturi (jvaturi@wustl.edu), Ben Eisenberg (ben.eisenberg@wustl.edu)

Description: In this 1-unit pass/fail, multidisciplinary subsection, students will explore their
passions through the lens of Positive Psychology and form research questions to identify what
connects their interests to the content taught in the course lectures, along with strategies that
could help people develop and adopt relevant behaviors into their lives. For example, everyone
knows that sleep and exercise are important, but many young adults still do not get enough of
either. Why is that? What are the barriers to implementing these behaviors and how can we
circumvent them and get more people on the road toward psychological health and well-being?

Ultimately, this class functions as a think tank aimed at developing real-world applications of the
material taught in Positive Psychology and in doing so, helping people improve their day-to-day
lives. Students will define a semester-long project that will be refined through several rounds of
presentations and feedback from peers, through which they will improve their creative thinking
skills. Students have great flexibility in choosing a project that aligns with their personal
interests, but all projects must be related to improving psychological health and well-being.
Students will also explore avenues that may allow them to test out their ideas throughout the
semester.

Students are especially encouraged to incorporate various academic perspectives and university
resources (e.g., student groups, administrative support offices, etc.) in order to holistically
understand the relation between a student’s chosen interest and applications of positive
psychology. Enrollment is limited to 12, and students must apply to be considered. Students must
be simultaneously enrolled in L33 367. A student who withdraws from the course will also have
to withdraw from this course.

Grading. The grade for this course is based entirely on attendance, active engagement during
class meetings, and appropriate preparation for class presentations. All who come to class and
carry out these expectations will pass.
Course Calendar

Week 1: January 17
 Introduction to the Course
o Students will share the topics they identified as part of the application process to
enroll in the course with one another to gain familiarity with their classmates.
There also will be class discussion about the expectations of the class.
 What do you hope to accomplish in this course that you wouldn’t be able
to in other courses?
 How can we best utilize our multidisciplinary environment?

Week 2: January 24
 Discussion on assigned reading relevant to the mental health crisis
o This discussion will set the stage for the rest of the semester, and how students’
projects can tie into addressing this.
o The last 10 minutes of class will be allocated for students to sign up for times to
present their initial brainstorms during the subsequent two class meetings.

Weeks 3 and 4: January 31 and February 7

 Collaborative brainstorm for research question
o Each student will have 6-8 minutes to share the topic they wish to pursue,
including feedback from the class. The topic can be anything within or outside of
academia, as long as it is related to improving psychological health and well-
being. It could be a subject matter presented in another class, of which they did
not have the opportunity to explore in further depth.
o Students are expected to have given thought on how to connect their research
interest with positive psych, but are not expected to have a concrete proposal as
yet. The goal of this class session is for classmates to give each other suggestions
for potential directions of their projects. Students may enter the day with a topic
in mind but with little idea of how to connect their subject to positive psychology.
Although the students are in the infancy of positive psychology, they should be
familiar with the topics that will be covered later on in the semester that may offer
direction. Dr. Bono will offer guidance as to which directions could suit the
students.

Weeks 5-7: February 14, 21, and 28

 First round of presentations
o Four students will give the first round of their presentations during each class
meeting over these three weeks
o Each student will present for 5 minutes and have 5-10 minutes of class feedback
o Class is encouraged to think about:
 Where would you like to see the project head?
 Which resources would be helpful for the presenter? (e.g., professors,
studies, people to contact)
 What are potential project ideas stemming from this research question?
(i.e. photography project exhibiting happy behavior, action plan for
students at Wash U to overcome barriers to positive behavior,
designing a curriculum to promote positive attention to homework)
Friday, March 2, 5:00 PM:
All students will submit a 1-2 page report summarizing the plan for their project,
incorporating feedback from students in the class, along with a rank order of other
students in the class with whom they’d like to workshop their ideas.

Week 8: March 7
 Discussions in groups of 2-3
o Students are expected to have synthesized thoughts from the feedback they
received in their first round of presentations. They will further discuss their
projects with a class member of interest. Groups will discuss:
 How can I shift my research question into an actionable project?
 Briefly outline with the group the goals of your project. What do you
hope to accomplish with your final project? What impact do you want
your project to have on the surrounding community, if any?
 Communicate any concerns about the project and the class’ process

Week 9: March 14—Spring Break, no class

Week 10: March 21: Class Discussion TBD

Weeks 11-12: March 28, April 4

Round two presentations
o 6-8 minutes of presentation including feedback
o Feedback is essential going into the final leg of the project. Presenters should
have a firm outline on how to carry out their actionable project. Class will give
feedback on how they would effectively envision the final project.

Week 13: April 11

 Reflection from Dr. Bono
 Class reflection on work process
o How was the ambiguity of the project affected your work process?
o How has the multidisciplinary nature of the class enabled you to think creatively
and form your final project?
o How are you struggling to put together a final project? Classmates give advice to
each other on how to compose the final presentation in relation to their specific
projects. Everyone should be quite familiar with each project by this point, and
able to give constructive advice on how to proceed.

Weeks 14-15: April 18-25

 Final presentations from students in the class
o Each student will have 6-8 minutes to share the topic they pursued and provide an
update on how the project took shape this semester and potential directions it
could take in the future.

This syllabus is subject to change. Bear in mind that as we go along the class format and
structure will be adapted to the specific students enrolled to maximize their goals and interests.