Learner Reviews & Feedback for The Science of Well-Being by Yale University

I enjoyed the taught content and was particularly impressed by the integration of real life experiential stuff and habit change. The scope of wellbeing practices was pretty broad, though could have been broader.

This course gives is a good balance of scientific information and also the ability to use the skills given to better improve your everyday well being.

Great sections on the misconceptions we all have about wellbeing, strategies for improving wellbeing and helping to build better habits.

Science showed that we can build habits to improve our well-being. It just takes practice and persistence.

Very helpful!

Good

I'm extremely upset right now. This class was originally free, but my husband was told if we paid for it I would receive credits. I would never have spent the amount of time I did on this class or the money had I known I would not receive any credits for this class. I am extremely upset. I have tried to find a phone number and I have looked for an email, but I have not located one yet.

Was good. There were a lot of points I already knew from basic youtube videos but there were also some new points about well being and positive psychology. The course doesn't go super in depth but I would say it's worth getting into especially if you're completely new to the concept of positive psychology.

Good insights, the professor keeps skipping things she told she would talk about, and she keeps changing one subject to another that makes it hard to grasp the concepts clearly!

interesting course, good "life work" to help you build positive habits of mind. Would have preferred more guided online conversations amongst participants.

The course should be based on a global culture, more generic and not so close to American culture and American authors.

In my opinion the teacher kept the same pace and voice, which made the course a little boring.

Content pretty boring and only somewhat helpful

Nothing new as far as the educational approach. A nice compilation of data. Peer Review Assignment at the end left a lot to be desired. No quality feedback, real one on one with the educator due to the sheer volume/magnitude of the course. Guest videos were almost like salesmen with their published data.

I found a lot of it to be common knowledge and not the sort of wellbeing I was hoping for. I'm glad I've completed it but I didn't enjoy the lectures. I found them too clinical in terms of research and I found the lecturer too casual in her approach.

oh esta en ingles

I am dropping this course. For starters, it's shocking to see such a high level of disengagement with the Yale students who are attending the course live. The professor is constantly 'pulling teeth' to get them to answer simple interactive questions.

But my bigger issue is this: the video is constantly being interrupted with a prompt to encourage me to purchase a certificate. There's no way to opt out of this happening throughout the video; therefore, I have to stop and start the course continuously. I took an Edx course several years ago called the Science of Happiness that was far more engaging, seamlessly interactive.

If this is the level of Yale professors - we are in trouble. Using filler word "like" non-stop. What this "scientist" preaches: refuse materialistic goals, reject this and that - is in absolute disagreement with the human nature. Better listen to Milton Friedman - I am not sure if she even heard of him. Or read Jonathan Haidt. This professor tries to do what communists tried to do in the Soviet Union - to create a new human. Fails every time. But colleges are hard at work in destroying the US.

I can't do some stuff from my cellphone and my password won't let me log in from my computer. Even when I reset from my phone it still won't let me reset. It just takes me back to the course.

It's stupid to allow others to determine my grade based on the information I put in. This has got to be, hands down, the worst grading system they could ever implement in a course.

This course was simply not for me. I never finished because it wasn't engaging.

Esta todo en ingles, no puedo ver los videos traducidos al Español

I have completed the course but why don’t I get the certificate?

For a long time, I have been struggling in the whirlpool of negative thoughts. It is basically a negative idea when I encounter something uncomfortable, so that I am very afraid of being leisure, I feel that life has been pushed forward, rarely feeling in control of life. Maybe I am too sensitive? I feel that I must hold the railing when I walk down the stairs, worrying that I might step on the ground and fall.Over the years, I have tried various methods to ease negative thinking, which is somewhat effective, but it is good and bad. Now I can only be at home due to COIVD-19, maybe this is God's Intervention, then I can have more time to face the depths of my soul. I just saw this course on the website after spending a few days in isolation at home. Experience of years have enabled me to understand that practice and action are far more important than knowing the theory, despite facing inertia and laziness from time to time.Looking at my own records of rewirement for around two months, Basically, all rewirements--savoring, dailygratitude journal, random acts of kindness, social connection, exercise, sleep, meditation, and gratitude letter/visit-- have continued to do now. I found that the best performing is savoring, the worst is random acts of kindness. What has formed a habit is exercise.What needs to be improved is social connection and daily gratitude.

There was no clear execution plan at the beginning. It was not until two weeks ago that I saw the theory of individual development plan(IDP) which I realized that I still continued the arbitrariness of the past. Fortunately, I have a habit of recording slowly. At the same time, recording will also promote my own reflection and progress, so I stumbled on and persevered. Generally, every Monday, there is a goal to be achieved in a week and the corresponding plan. I will look at the records to detect the deficiencies in the process. This somehow makes up for my shortcomings of arbitrariness and inertia.

Through the record, I realized that if the plan was completed and it was calculated by ten points, I probably reached about seven points. Fortunately, when I am at home, I have enough time. If I have been busy in the past, I’m afraid my best is half of it. Comparing the scores of the questionnaire at the beginning and the present, and the slowly-perceived changes in mood in daily life, this course brings many good effects, specially savoring pleasures at present moment, doing meditation often. I have less anxiety. To quote the following, encourage those who are interested in Well-Being to move forward together.

Savor pleasures and live in the present moment

Make physical activity a habit

Are deeply committed to meaningful goals

Are often the first to help others

Nurture and enjoy social relationships

Are comfortable expressing gratitude

Practice optimism about future

We can take deliberate control of how we act and think through intentional activity.

From: Lyubomirsky(2001); Diener et al.(1999); Myers(2000), Diener & Lucas(1999); Argyle(1999).

Hi Laura!

Am Suryakumari, halfway through the Course, The Science of Well Being, that you are handling so well. Being a fellow Prof, I can gauge each and every aspect that has been painstakingly included to make the Course heavy on content and yet seemingly light. Your presentation with the accompanying smile in the videos is the charmer! Keep Smiling!!

I would like to share the way am doing the Rewirements. Presently am on Week 3.

Am a 55 year old, a Life Skills Coach in addition to being an Economics Prof. These rewirements are an everyday process, not bragging..hope you can understand what am saying.. given my profession and age:)

My only problem, I am unable to categorize and do only one act of rewiring week-wise as prescribed.

In order to keep track and make note, I created an excel with categories (as Kindness, Savoring, Gratitude and Social Connection) and dates. Am describing the act in the table and made an extra column called 'Happiness Meter' and giving it a scale of 1-5. Lockdown started for me from Mar 15th, hence I made another sheet for that month calling it 'Lockdown Rewirements' although I started this Course only from Apr 12th.

Unable to attach the template here..can mail it if you let me know how. I have shared it in the Discussion Forum for others to use, if they like it.

All I need is to make a journal entry and categorize. I found this more interesting than marking circles on the given worksheet. Am sure this will be fun to maintain after the course completion, and will serve as a wake up call to be good, do good and feel good all through, not just during the Course. It will be nice to read this later as my Rewirements Diary!!

With nudges provided in the lectures, started a 'Recollections Project' with my 84 year old mom, who is a cancer survivor and has restricted mobility at home due to osteoarthritis. She's regaling us with childhood stories of her 13 siblings!!! Phase 2 will be us, her children:)

Thank you for the great Course you are conducting. All the Best. Stay safe, be Happy!!

The above was written much earlier. Now I have completed the Course. I did extremely great on bringing down Loneliness factor pre to post course scores. That shows how connected I felt with everyone ib the Course. Gonna miss this! This was my stress buster, really.

P.S: It would be a full circle if you can include the role of relationships in well being. Irrespective of the n number of rewirements one does, if there is the presence of a bully, dominant or abusive person in one's life, be it a parent, sibling, partner or colleague/boss at work, it affects well being and self esteem very badly. Moving out of the relationship may not always be possible. Hope you consider this aspect. Thank you.