HIGH MARKS IN Happiess
A few years ago, the concept of an Ivy League university offering a course in contentment would have been laughable; finding happiness has long been perceived as the pursuit of hippies and hedonists rather than the stuff of scientific enquiry. But in January last year, Laurie Santos, a professor of psychology and cognitive science at Yale University, established just that, and her groundbreaking course—the Science of Well-Being—is now the most popular class in Yale’s history.
“Undergraduate students are way more unhappy, stressed out and worried about the future than people often realise,” says Santos. “Particularly at Yale, I think undergrads are really anxious about their own life choices and interested in finding answers to the big questions: what sort of choices will make me happy? What sort of job should I get? How can I lead a fulfilling life? What does it mean to be successful? What does it mean to be a good person? I think that the science of psychology can provide important hints about
