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Take Positive Psychology Classes Online Today!  

Article by Natasha Bright

You might not be able to buy happiness, but there’s a good chance you can learn more about it on a college or university campus. A 2008 article in Business Week likened positive psychology courses to self-help books that have become so popular among people in search of personal growth and fulfillment.

An Intro to Psychology course offered by Ivy League university, located in Connecticut, provides students with an overview of positive psychology in much the same way that it does disorders such as clinical depression and anxiety. As the Business Week article tells it, the course was also the institution’s most popular.

When it comes to happiness, people who are happiest surround themselves with family and friends, show forgiveness and gratitude, measure themselves according to their own standards, seek out intimacy and make use of their strengths, a USA Today article from 2002 notes.

The Connecticut institution’s Intro to Psychology course is a free online course that includes a happiness lecture in digital video format. In “The Good Life: Happiness,” the Intro to Psychology instructor relays to students the story of a Biblical king whose many possessions couldn’t bring him happiness. By contrast, the instructor notes, there are theories that propose focusing on family, friends and projects that are long term might bring about happiness.

SIn a November 2010 Huffington Post article, radio host, author and Chopra Center for Well-Being co-founder, Deepak Chopra wrote about positive psychology. According to him, people who envision happiness might as a result become happier. Chopra also suggests that depression, anxiety and poor self-image might cause people to make choices that end up restricting their happiness.

Positive psychology also has been associated with tolerance, civility, leadership, productivity and more. Still, the idea of positive psychology hasn’t gone without criticism.

A report in the October edition of Psychology Today addresses some of the critiques. The writer refers to an October Harper’s article entitled, “The War on Unhappiness: Goodbye Freud, Hello Positive Thinking” and the book, “Bright-Sided: How The Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America.”

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Students might learn, that genetics affect happiness levels to a certain extent as well. Through free online education and clinical psychology courses, students might also learn what they can do to enhance that happiness. Test Drive College Online to find out if this is right for you!