More Activities for Teaching Positive Psychology: A Guide for Instructors

More Activities for Teaching Positive Psychology features brand new expert-informed resources for teachers and coaches.

No two positive psychology courses are the same, nor is there one best way to teach the content that is critical to this rapidly growing course. This practical, flexible workbook for instructors and coaches teaching positive psychology features 30 activities divided into conceptual explorations, experiments, and self-reflections.

This new volume, a follow-up to Activities for Teaching Positive Psychology, includes all new material, including exercises for important classic key topics in positive psychology such as improving well-being, meaning making, gratitude, self-compassion, kindness, resilience, positive emotion, purpose, and strengths. This book also includes emerging topics like the interactions between positive psychology and facial expressions and the effects of technology and nature on happiness. Concise and well-organized, this is a perfect teaching resource for class activities and course preparation.

Sarah D. Pressman, PhD, is a professor of psychological science at the University of California, Irvine. She received her BSc from Mount Allison University in biopsychology, her MS and PhD from Carnegie Mellon University in social, personality and health psychology, and she completed postdoctoral training in cardiovascular behavioral medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Dr. Pressman’s expertise is on the interrelations between positive psychological factors, stress and health, and she has received numerous awards (e.g., from the American Psychological Association Division 38 and the American Psychosomatic Society) for her contributions in these areas. Her work on positive psychology relevant topics has been cited over 6000 times (h-index 24) and has been widely featured in popular outlets like the Wall Street Journal, CNN, NPR, and The New York Times. She was a contributor to the first book and used various activities from the initial book extensively in her own positive psychology courses. Beyond that, she is considered a world expert on the importance of positive emotions for physical well-being and has been invited to speak and dozens of national and international meetings for this purpose. Finally, Dr. Pressman is an award-winning and well-rated instructor with experience teaching thousands of students about positive psychology and related courses over the last dozen years.

Acacia Parks, PhD, received her BA in psychology from Reed College, and her PhD in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, where she received training in psychological assessment as well as cognitive-behavioral therapy for mood and anxiety disorders. Her research and practice focuses on self-help methods for increasing well-being via digital technology and books, with an emphasis on self-reported emotional outcomes, but also objective and observable outcomes, such as changes in workplace behavior, physiological indicators, etc. Her research has helped build the foundations for how to translate scientific well-being interventions to the general public, and her expertise in this area is affirmed by over 4,500 citations of her articles in scientific journals (h-index 23), three edited books, and associate editorship at the Journal of Positive Psychology. She is currently chief science office for tech startup Happify, which brings cutting-edge research-based well-being interventions to consumers, large employers, and health plans. Dr. Parks is one of the best-known names in the field.