the bulletin
Bringing the Science of Happiness Home “Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be.”
—ABRAHAM LINCOLN
IF BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE of the beholder,
then happiness might just be in your head. At least that’s what’s on the minds of counselors Jen Hamilton and Rick Wilson, who are teaching the first happiness class at Nobles. The class, “Psychology and the Good Life,” is a semester science elective borrowing heavily from the work of Yale professor Laurie Santos, whose course, “Science
assembly highlights Year of Building Community In the opening assembly under
5 Nobles WINTER 2020
the “Tent of Miracles,” Cathy Hall explained that this year at Nobles is about
of Well-Being,” and research have been featured in The Atlantic, The New York Times and other media. Hamilton, who is director of psychology and counseling, and Wilson, who served as a consulting psychologist at Nobles before joining the team full time in 2018, both took Santos’ free online class at Coursera. Impressed by the wisdom and impact that the class held for her and Wilson, Hamilton approached Santos, who shared her syllabus. At the beginning of the semester, students took an “authentic happiness”
assessment. Later, they completed the VIA, a character strengths assessment from the Institute on Character, and looked at other quantitative measures of well-being. They read selections from experts including Carol Dweck, whose work focuses on the usefulness of a growth mindset and journal, and other readings from many in the field of positive psychology, including its champion, Martin Seligman, who used the scientific method to support the theories of positive psychology. One day in November, class began
building community: “We’re going to slow way, way down. Let’s make this year awesome.”
college. One day, the teacher asked the class what success meant to them, and Spence confidently answered, “happiness.”
What Is Success? Dean of Students Mark Spence told a story about a class that he took with a legendary teacher during
To Spence’s surprise, the teacher responded by saying, “I don’t think you really mean that. It’s about ‘we,’ not ‘me.’ It’s about