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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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26 - 50 of 10,000 Reviews for The Science of Well-Being

By Gavin N

Jun 14, 2018

Exceptional course to understand the empirical science behind real well-being. Prof Santos' conversational teaching style is easy to follow - just great. I have recommended the course to others.

By ALEJANDRO A

Jan 13, 2021

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.

By Dr.Y. V H

Jan 9, 2021

presenter is very good .

i love her.

the content which i learned here in this course is actually intuitive and i have heard and read from different sources , but here its different.

thank you

By Douglas F

Mar 28, 2020

Great course. I've recommended it to my friends and family.

By Dushyant M M

Jan 9, 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.

By 215 S P

Aug 20, 2020

This is an outstanding course! I was able to change into a more positive and productive mindset as taught in this course. I highly recommend it to everyone regardless of your profession or background.

By Melissa M G P

Mar 30, 2020

Perfect way to spend a stressful COVID quarantine!

By James [ M

May 18, 2019

Combination of video, readings and 'rewirements' along with all the research studies makes this a great course.

By Melinda M G

Mar 31, 2020

After finding out this coarse wasn't nothing but a money investment for the company, Im pretty upset. Taking the time to complete something and having a certificate say I didn't earn any continuing education credit; not academic. Made me feel I just was used. This website has no place to contact people at a easy click. They make It hidden.

By Britta M

Jun 4, 2019

Great topic, lots of very interesting data. Some information was repetitive, which was likely due to it being actually taught in-class, and some of the students looked like they needed prompting to get engaged (ie: classic teenage bored looks!). I do wish the instructor would spend less time criticizing other learning institutions, it got pretty weary to hear how great Yale was, and how awful being at places like Harvard would be. I think that's just natural loyalty coming out, but it did border on annoying sometimes. Overall, a worthwhile effort, and I am pleased with the results. Thank you.

By Deleted A

Apr 29, 2020

Honestly, everything presented seemed painfully obvious to me. I confess to being more than a little shocked that the results of many of the studies are presented as if they are a new revelation and not something humans have already known for millennia. Virtually all philosophers/religions have taught the same truths and I think my grandparents (who lived through WWI, the depression, and WWII) would be shocked to know that people alive now have to be these basic truths about happiness.

By Aswani R S

May 13, 2020

When I started this course, my PERMA score was at 8.3 and I always consider myself as a very happy and contented person. I absolutely loved this course- the techniques, the strategies for well being. Thank you so much for this beautiful course. You deserve a five star :)

But I feel that a bunch of losers are taking this program just pull other happy people down. I had submitted two assignments for my peer reviews and they were genuine attempts at creating a happy- well meaning place for myself. However, the peer review tool has been used without grace/ or empathy/ or compassion and I had been consistently given "zero" points, thereby completely discounting my attempt at creating my happy space. How can someone learning to be happy do that to another person, also learning to be happy? I do not understand that- really!

And mind it- it is a very subjective topic. There is no right or wrong answers. There should never be also.

So, please stop giving your happiness at other unhappy people's hands. I hope this course will understand such un-empathetic behaviors and check it.

By Michelle M

Apr 10, 2020

This course has a very confusing layout! The "rewirements" are sometimes presented before the course material is presented, so when you try to do them, they reference things you haven't learned yet. Also, you are often asked to skip forward to videos for future weeks, but so much time at the beginning of those videos is spent on recap (again, recap of things you haven't learned yet!) that it's hard to weed through to get to whatever is supposed to be relevant. There are good ideas here for sure, and good science, but seems like they are less confusingly and more entertainingly presented in TED talks that I've watched. I have only done two weeks of this class, but I'm not going to finish for these reasons.

By Christine C

Mar 30, 2020

I'm sorry, I couldn't get past the GI Joe Fallacy. Knowing is half the battle. That is the point, knowing is not enough, and it seems this professor doesn't respect this message from the show. I will unsubscribe, as I'm now doubtful this course is worth my time.

By Azelma T

Jun 8, 2020

Less happy at the end than I was at the start. Learned absolutely nothing - very very basic stuff, and not sure the lecturer understands what "half the battle" means.

By Ashit S J

Apr 18, 2019

The course is interesting and amazingly descriptive. I understand that there was a lot of information to be shared, however if the faculty could somehow manage to reduce the Rate of Speech, it would be amazing.

thanks for everything.

By BeckyR

Oct 25, 2020

Self help, pop psych, motivational stuff. The instructor is engaging but the material is unclear, not 'science' despite the class title (and some has been debunked.) The further I go in the course the more I suspect I am being played. The instructor could begin by learning the difference between correlation and causation.

By Sarah J A

Mar 27, 2020

This was an exceptionally personal course for me. It revealed areas in which I need improvement and recognized strengths which were a positive influence in my decision making process. I became aware of the Negative Nudges which caused me to have bad feelings about my ability to achieve or to fit into a group.

Professor Santos was very knowledgeable and involved with her class, as evidenced by looking at the students and friendly interaction during the question and answer sessions. She was believable and her attitude helped me to make the necessary mind changes which resulted in my test scores rising.

I had a bit of difficulty in understanding her speaking "student language" versus the standard "lecture" style. By the end of the class I was comfortable with her happy, giving style. However, to get the best out of the class, I printed all the lectures and highlighted important points. This was very helpful in reviewing the chapter, and suggested readings.

With a double Major in Music Performance and Psychology, I would love to Mentor this class, as we had very little interaction with mentors (some questions have been waiting to be answered for over 2 years. My final score was 100 and I am committed to helping others by posting on the forum and grading 350 + tests. I have much to learn and will continue with WOOP

Thank you for offering this excellent class. Sarah J. Anthony

By laurence c

May 18, 2019

This course is fascinating. It helps to think differently and to make great changes in my life. Laurie Santos, the teacher is very nice and encouraging. I'm almost sad that it's finished! Fortunately, no I can practise and improve my daily hapiness.

Thank you very much for this tremendous work. thank you for sharing on Coursera.

Laurence.

By Lim Q

Mar 25, 2019

I like that there were many studies shared to help individuals understand the concepts. It would have been better if more strategies to change habits were shared. Overall, it is a wonderful course!

By Laura C

Mar 27, 2020

PLEASE STOP ASKING ME IF I WANT TO BUY THE CERTIFICATE.

I'm only in part 1 of this course and it's enough to make me drop it.

I'm only choosing 2 stars now bc it won't let me proceed without picking an amount. I'll know more at the end how it really goes.

By Angela J

Apr 24, 2020

Admin: This review is not intended to be viewed by community. I was unable to find an alternative place, my apologizes.

Being a Trainer myself, it is difficult to watch the content expert stare at and read her PowerPoint. Online learning or in the classroom eye contact is essential to connection. There is low interaction/exercises for the students; merely recapping her references and findings, this leaves little chance for the student to have true experience in learning and implement what they have learned in their lives. The course is on The Science of Wellness. It makes me unhappy to think about taking time to do it. She is wonderful person I am sure of this. In my early years I took a class on how adults learn. I feel something like this would be very beneficial to any educator and their students.

By Daniel L

May 29, 2020

I think there is too much hype over the course and the delivery was really just normal. Perhaps is the current global situation that drives the demand of enrollment.

It serves as a good reminder on what really matters in life.

By Zander P

May 18, 2020

the course just added fancy words to information I already knew, the course didn’t challenge or surprise me and therefore receives one star

By Laura D

Mar 21, 2021

Class is valuable to high school/young college student & should be a HS grad requirement, since not everyone goes on to college, much less Yale

Teaches importance of thinkI,ng about others - feelings - not just the material.

Most emotionally stable adults will have learned everything in class through life and experiences. This class being the most popular in Yale history is a sad commentary on the fretful lives of adults. Also why self help books make best seller lists and certain religious leaders get rich by selling hope. Downside is the instructor's over use of the word stuff.

A serious downside is the importance of a peer review which chances are isn't going to be written by somebody who is actually a peer.

The class can be an invasion of privacy, a not so serious situation if everyone is a teenager who tend to blab about everything. However, you have to be cautious about what you post, because later on your words can be taken out of context and come back to haunt you. The peer review , in some cases, can be an exercise in superiority and getting a kick out of passing judgement and trashing another. Also taking assignments too literally.

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