Mar 28, 2024  
2016-2017 Academic Catalog 
    
2016-2017 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

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MPSY 601 - Character Strengths and Virtues


(3 cr)
(Prerequisite: MPSY 501 )
This course will provide an introduction to “Positive Psychology,” the empirical study of what permits humans to flourish or, as described by Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000), “[the] science of positive subjective experience, positive traits, and positive institutions.” Students will concentrate on studying positive traits or virtues but will also touch on research on positive subjective experience and positive institutions. Students will begin with an overview of the agenda of this new movement in psychology and discussion of a framework for studying virtues. Students will next sample philosophical and religious approaches to cultivating virtues so that they will be able to compare these approaches to scientific approaches. The next section of the course will be a survey of scientific studies of several different virtues, including a two-week section on optimism so that students have an in-depth exposure to at least one program of research in this area. Students will end by studying the application of positive psychology to several important areas such as health and youth development.



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