In this course you will engage in a series of challenges designed to increase your own happiness and build more productive habits. As preparation for these tasks, Professor Laurie Santos reveals misconceptions about happiness, annoying features of the mind that lead us to think the way we do, and the research that can help us change. You will ultimately be prepared to successfully incorporate a specific wellness activity into your life.
Offered By
The Science of Well-Being
Yale UniversityAbout this Course
Learner Career Outcomes
14%
18%
Skills you will gain
- Gratitude
- Happiness
- Meditation
- Savoring
Learner Career Outcomes
14%
18%
Offered by

Yale University
For more than 300 years, Yale University has inspired the minds that inspire the world. Based in New Haven, Connecticut, Yale brings people and ideas together for positive impact around the globe. A research university that focuses on students and encourages learning as an essential way of life, Yale is a place for connection, creativity, and innovation among cultures and across disciplines.
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Introduction
Why take this course?
Misconceptions About Happiness
What do we think will make us happy?
Why Our Expectations are so Bad
Why do we mispredict what makes us happy?
How Can We Overcome Our Biases
How we counteract our annoying features of the mind?
Reviews
- 5 stars92.20%
- 4 stars6.68%
- 3 stars0.61%
- 2 stars0.16%
- 1 star0.33%
TOP REVIEWS FROM THE SCIENCE OF WELL-BEING
Fabulous course. I learned a lot of does and doesn't make us happy, and learned valuable tools for introducing and integrating new habits into my life that will definitely contribute to my well-being.
This course really helped me a lot, I am grateful with Laurie Santos and her team, the people involved into this great project. The oriented me into understanding valuable states of being and actions.
Loved every bit of this course and highly recommend it. Laurie is engaging, committed, passionate. The course content is soundly based in scientific evidence, and is well structured and enlightening.
Thanks for this course. It helped me to create some desired habits. I have also figured out some things which I didn 't know about myself. Particularly, I appreciated the test for personal strengths.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
What will I get if I purchase the Certificate?
Is financial aid available?
More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.