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

4.9
stars
37,278 ratings

About the Course

NEW TEEN VERSION AVAILABLE HERE: https://www.coursera.org/learn/the-science-of-well-being-for-teens 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. THE SCIENCE OF WELL BEING WAS PRODUCED IN PART DUE TO THE GENEROUS FUNDING OF THE DAVID F. SWENSEN FUND FOR INNOVATION IN TEACHING....

Top reviews

RK

Jun 26, 2023

Great content! Well paced. Videos and readings are helpful. The class concludes with a 4 week challenge designed to make a lasting impact, which I found very insightful. I highly recommend this class.

DM

Jan 8, 2021

This course has the power enough to change the course of your life. It can be a journey from misery to well being, if you follow the instructions given in this program. A must must must attend course.

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426 - 450 of 10,000 Reviews for The Science of Well-Being

By Amlesh R

Apr 30, 2020

So very grateful to Prof. Laurie for navigating such a meaningful and life-enhancing course in such a lucid and convincing way. Her candid confessions of her own deficiencies in some aspects of happiness, was so disarming. I have learned so much about the fundamentals of well being and happiness and how and why our mind is often the biggest hurdle in our quest for happiness. Be it knowing, what really makes us happy and understanding why we keep making wrong choices for our happiness, in every aspect, this course is spot on. Not a surprise that The Science of Well-being course by Prof Laurie is the best ever at Yale. Hope, this course is done by many. many more across the world in every age group. I am ensuring that my wife

By Homa F

Jun 8, 2018

This was my first course on coursera and I enjoyed every bit of it. I have learnt so much by putting the knowledge into practice, with positive results. I didn't expect the course to take as much time as it did, but that could be due to my time schedule and not how much the course demanded. I paid for the course so I would take it seriously which helped me in being more disciplined and of course to also get a certificate. I would recommend this course if you are trying to lear how to rewire your mind and having a better understanding of 'Misconceptions about Happiness' - 'Why our expectations are so bad' -'What stuff really increases happiness' - 'Strategies to reset you expectations' and 'Putting strategies into practice'.

By Yazdan S

Jan 9, 2021

While there seem to be some elements and research in the course discussed that may need to be revisited and re-evaluated, the vast majority of the content and the way that it was presented was fantastic, particularly for a course that can be taken for free. Big thank you to Laurie Santos, Yale University and the students sharing their questions and experiences in the lectures, and my fellow learners in the course. I learned a lot from this course, had tangible benefits (my well-being scores went up after taking the course), and I will carry the science and the research from this course with me and apply it in my life as best as I can. Really grateful that a course like this exists and is so accessible. Highly recommended!

By Heather P

Jun 9, 2020

After completing this course, I am equipped with new skills to continue living a fuller, happier life. I appreciate the studies Dr. Santos shared with us throughout the course to support various theories, such as Miswanting, Flow, and Hedonistic Adaptation.

The weekly challenges helped me tune into myself further. The challenges helped guide my focus for what elements I wanted to truly implement for the Rewirement Challenge.

Because of my experience, I not only incorporated new healthy habits into my daily life, but their culmination helped me with a major life decision. I feel great about my decision and am grateful for this course and the guidance of Dr. Santos.

I wish success to all as we continue our Rewirement journeys.

By Kethaka S A

Jul 17, 2022

This is super valuable and interesting course. Professor Laurie Santos was very friendly and specially followed a more interactive teaching method. So it feels more natural and I like that. This course is more practical manner. I had learnt "Introduction to Psychology" course by Dr.Bloom from Yale before this. That course was more theoritical. So if this is your first step to psychology I suggest you to do that first and join this to second. It can give more meaning and sense what you'll learn here. But you can just start here first. No any big theories here.Just how to apply psychology to your day today life and how to be happy with the stuff which actually make us happy, not the things we think will make us happy. :)

By Amanda M

May 17, 2020

Dr. Santos does an excellent job to teach us the science behind well-being and seeking happiness. The timing of the class was fantastic as I needed the refocus on happiness and gratitude during the Covid-19 quarantine. Dr. Santos was intelligent and easy to understand. Her examples and lectures were interesting and helpful. I am very grateful that I took this online class as I was able to choose a rewirement that has made me more happy and is helping my well being. The videos and transcriptions were excellent to use on a laptop. The online class was not as user friendly on a cell phone. The quizzes were easy if you paid attention. The peer reviews and forums were amazing to learn from people from all over the world!

By Michael D

Aug 28, 2019

I have been lucky enough to have a couple of months of downtime as I consider a significant transition in my life. Serendipitously, I stumbled upon this course and engaged out of curiosity. It was the right medicine at the right time. I learnt a lot and was given the language and logic to articulate several matters of personal significance . Before the course, I was feeling relatively content. Upon completion of the course, I am in a very good place. I found the content well presented, engaging and fascinating. I enjoyed the intellectual stimulation of reading around the topic but I particularly enjoyed the experiential nature of the course. Undertaking this course has been time very well spent on a number of levels.

By Romona J W

Jul 10, 2019

The instructor for the course was exceptional. She made taking the course delightful. Her approach to teaching put me at ease and caused me to be open to learning things from a different perspective. I would recommend this course to anyone who wants to help other's by being an example themselves and that doesn't mean that they should be perfect, but conscious enough that they soon can recover from any setback or mistake and move forward. We need more models such as this. Models that lead through relations with holding themselves accountable too. The instructor, presented herself as authentic and shared with us some of her vulnerabilities too. I am now developing new skills and I am the wiser. Thank you, Coursera.

By Stephanie B

Aug 11, 2020

LOVE this course... made me sit back and view myself honestly with my character strengths and well-being. I finished 3 months ago and I am still practicing my virtues daily to strengthen my character. I am can practice and apply what I have learned in my personal life as well as with my learners. I recommend this course to anyone wanting to develop their well-being. I am planning to pursue more courses in Positive Psychology now that I have my Well-Being 'turned on'. This is an asset for everyone to have in their life... When we look within ourselves and can identify with our Well-Being, we, as mentors, can then help those that are lost to achieve theirs. I am enjoying this learning Journey. Thank you!

By Heather R

Jul 22, 2020

Love this course. So much excellent, evidence-based content. Packed with specific examples that one can choose to incorporate in their own life toward positive change and a fuller, happier life. After the first lesson in the course, I told both of my grown children that if they finish the course, I will pay for their certificate. This is how important I believe the happiness mindset is in life. My life motto has always been love God, love people, and use stuff. I think when people are not happy with themselves, they flip it and tend to use people and love stuff. That is not a road that will lead to happiness. This course uses science to back up the idea that stuff (beyond basic needs) doesn't lead to happiness.

By Linda M

Jul 18, 2020

There is nothing better than having legitimate, tried and true strategies to add to our bag of tricks, so to speak to get through what life throws in our path. This course has been an enlightenment to what I'm sure we all suspected about how qualified we are to know the games our, hearts, mind, and brain plays in our happiness on a minute to minute bases. We are all better equipped to take on the challenges of, the mis-wanting , the rethinking we must do, being aware of annoying features, thwarting Hedonic adaptions and becoming more aware of the many character strengths that we all have to learn to develop in order to find that ever elusive thing called HAPPINESS we seek. I except your help with gratitude.

By Andrea L H

Jul 9, 2020

Great information and then practical ways to start implementing tools to increase your happiness and well-being in my own life. I especially appreciate how honest and transparent the professor was while explaining the "why" and "how" and then how even she fails and is human. So many good pieces. Not a lot of new information (although there was research and data to back up what I already "knew" and "felt" to be true. More than just a class...it is a jump-start to creating a better, happier life! I would highly recommend this course to anyone interested in improving their lives. I especially appreciate that it is offered for free! Especially during this pandemic (I've been unemployed for almost 4 months now!)!

By Sandra G

May 27, 2020

The course gave me a broader perspective of how to gain happiness. Extremely helpful and I'm really happy I took it. I now find myself thinking of many of the lessons daily. And it can help my mood or my approach to something I’m dealing with. Being aware of how the rewirements also help you physically is a good motivator. It’s difficult at times to not revert back to certain negative feelings, but now I have a way to deal with those times, or a way to replace them with helpful thoughts and behaviors. This is an excellent course…very enlightening, interesting, and informative. Also, very helpful. Actually, I think it would be great if all Americans would take this course. The whole world, actually.

By Jan M

Jun 27, 2019

This was a great course. I honestly lived this course every day, and it worked. It was good fun too, and not too taxing. The professor was fun, and if you want this certificate, you'll get it. It was fun, not challenging, but the strategies rubbed off. It is a perfect course for a beginner, or someone who has been doing the more difficult courses on Coursera, and needs a light-hearted break, for a few weeks. Real life strategies, ppl, real life strategies! There is a mass of references in this course, so if you want to get into psychology, and you want access to primo readings, I recommend. I didn't think it could be possible but Laurie is the coolest professor out. Loved the course!!! Go and do it, ppl!!!

By Chairman M

Oct 9, 2020

To start with the lecturer is just one of the best ; Dr Laurie Santos knows how to powerfully and effectively involve her students at Yale as well as the audience on coursera ,thank you soo much for taking your time to make sure we understand the many concepts very properly in this course. This has been such a great course that has taught me on how things that we do daily like experiences and time affluence highly bring happiness to our lives .It has also taught me that things like having more pay ,better grades ,relationships amongst others may not necessarily give us make us more happy . i highly advice anyone keen on understanding about their life and why some things happen to take this great course .

By Ewelina M

Feb 21, 2021

So far, as an adult professional, I've attended many courses both privately, as well as thanks to my employers. This course was/is the best experience I've had as its impact is so positive on me and my life. Maybe I am mature enough to really make it work, and continue developing myself, however there are special components of this course that really motivated me. The content is amazing and with all additional books, reference materials I can easily spend months/even years :) digging more about what is interesting for me, and the practice part was so important for me. Thank you Professor Laurie Santos for your passion, wisdom, credibility, and for being yourself during the entire journey. Kind regards!

By DiAnne P

Jun 12, 2020

Excellent class. I believe I have a much better understanding of well-being as a result of taking this class. I really appreciated the manner in which concepts were introduced and supported by relevant research. As a result of taking this course, I have (a) learned a number of strategies to enhance inner peace and well-being, (b) gained an awareness of many myths regarding what brings happiness, and (c) developed a deep appreciation for the importance of approaching life with a growth mindset. My greatest take away from the course is that when I live in a manner that is consistent with my character strengths, I feel that I am "in the flow," living joyfully, and my sense of well-being is at its best!

By Pamela C P

Jun 2, 2020

The course was divided into short segments that made it easy to complete amidst a busy schedule and provided time to ‘digest’ the information.

The lectures were entertaining and easy to follow. Links to articles, TED talks and books relevant to the course material were very valuable. I used many of them to expand my studies in particular areas of interest.

The course content was enlightening and the focus on helping students actually implement changes to improve their happiness was invaluable.

I have a bachelors degree, two masters degrees and a medical degree. Out of all of my classes in all of those years of school, this has been by far one of the most enjoyable! I give it my highest recommendation!

By Denise B

Jul 19, 2020

I have learned that a good deal more of `my happiness `is under `my own direct control` than I had previously thought. This course has provided me with research data on `What makes humans happy` and has taught me specific strategies to create new habits in my life which in turn increase my happiness levels . I am now using a growth mindset in place of my long held `fixed mindset` . I am delighted to be exploring the new theory that Happiness grows with focus and willingness to practice new habits . I love the experiential aspect of this course where I actually experienced the results of my own practice for 4 weeks and proved the theories for myself. Thank you for this wonderful course.

By Khalisah S

Jun 28, 2020

I love the casual and personal vibe Dr. Laurie Santos created around this learning experience. This is a really helpful course, especially when you're in quarantine and struggling to feel happy with your circumstances. This course set me on a path of gratitude and self-awareness. I thought I knew most of the concepts this course covered, but the way it's structured made it more compelling, and I did end up learning and practicing a lot of new things too. A bit of a slow burn if you're used to mindlessly scrolling through Social Media as a habit to numb your sadness, but if you put those collective social media hours into this course, you'll have completed it in no time and come out a lot happier!

By Jeanine P

Sep 17, 2020

I loved the flexibility of this online course. I ended up taking a break midway thru due to work obligations and I appreciated the email follow up on my status. That email prompted me to jump back in! Laurie's presentations were easy to listen to and I liked the occasional pop up questions. The resources provided enabled me to dig deeper into topics that I wanted to explore more on. The final rewirement was easy to commit to and easy to assess. I must admit I was afraid the requirement would be to write an essay or "term" paper! The prompts were great and I enjoyed doing the peer reviews as well. My overall happiness scores went up and I find I use some of the strategies in my personal and work

By Kay B

Jun 2, 2020

Dr. Santos is a wonderful instructor. She is intelligent, calm and honest. She expresses how some of these things are hard to incorporate into her life, too, even though she knows and teaches the science. Her manner is welcoming and nonjudgmental. She introduced many knowledgeable lecturers, who added dimension to the course. I enjoyed this course. There are many different items/theories to learn. She presented in a thoughtful and logical manner. She is engaging and empathetic

Sometimes, it was a bit difficult to navigate the technology of the course. It took a while to understand how to respond to the final project and other items. Clearer instructions and navigation would be helpful

By Fabiola R

Jun 10, 2020

Realmente este curso me ha ayudado a ver las cosas desde otra perspectiva. Al comienzo de este, me sentía un poco deprimida, perdida y aunque hay mucho camino por recorrer aun debo admitir que mi estado de ánimo y autoestima han mejorado significativamente. Cree un plan e implemente la mayoría de los temas discutidos en clase y debo admitir que hubo gran cambio. Exhorto a que todos tengan la oportunidad de inscribirse en este curso para que abran nuevos caminos de conocimientos que realmente van a poder aplicar en su vida cotidiana. Este curso fue de mucha ayuda, además, ya que en la situación mundial que enfrentamos del coronavirus me hizo olvidar todos esos problemas por un rato. Excelente.

By Joe M

May 31, 2020

This class was extremely hard not so much the learning aspect but the work you need to put in. To find out in oneself that you are ungrateful was a big reality check for me,yes it hurt but truth does. Finding kindness for me mended,fixed,and rewired my heart which made me a better person. I enjoyed all the classmates, their real input made it much easier to go through a struggle or obstacle you can't seem to get the answer for yourself. Professor Santos was amazing and brilliant, she always came from a different side of things making you use your creative mindset. I never had Teacher/Professor so unique. Great course, mindful thinking has greatly improved my well being. Thank You to everyone.

By Vivek C

Nov 17, 2020

This is an excellent course that I found well worth my time. The professor, Laurie Santos, has designed a thoughtful program that (1) examines our preconceptions about happiness, (2) lays out the science behind what actually has an impact on our well-being (in an accessible way), and (3) sets you up with useful tools for actual behavioral modification. This way, you are not just absorbing information, but also making real-life changes in a way that is both effective and on your own terms. Dr. Santos is a charming, lively, and engaging speaker. The course is done with the participation of a dozen or so undergrad students, so you it almost feels like you're really in a classroom at Yale.