College of Health Sciences

Winter-2020/2021: Major assignment No. 2

Student Name Mahmoud D.M. Shurrab

Student ID No. 1074694
Course Code and Title PBH110 Introduction to Happiness and Positive Psych.
Course Section 51 Female AD / 1 Male AD
Course Instructor Pernille Kloeverpris

Total: _____________
30

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 This major assignment is divided into three sections and their directions are given
accordingly.

SECTION 1

Multiple choice questions 1 to 10 each carries 0.5 marks for the right answer (total
of 5 marks).

Directions: Mark the letter of the choice that best completes each statement.

1. In the research study “Very Happy People” by Dr. Ed Diener and Dr. Martin
Seligman, every person in the top 10 percent of high happiness is __________?
a) extremely wealthy
b) involved in a job with low stress levels and high decision latitude
c) currently involved in a romantic relationship
d) disease free and mobile and without significant medical disability

2. How do peoples’ individual personalities or life circumstances affect the potential

impact of happiness activities?
a) There is no “one fits all” guarantee when it comes to happiness
activities
b) Happiness activities produce similar happiness benefits for everyone
regardless
c) For happiness activities to work at all, people need to change their
personality

3. Which method is used to measure and compare Happiness across the globe in UN’s
World Happiness report?
a) Qualitative method
b) Quantitative method

4. What is/are the benefit of practicing mindfulness?

a) Helps coping with adversity
b) Reduces ruminating thoughts
c) Changes your mindset to become more flexible
d) All of the above
5. Case: Daniel has been diagnosed with cancer, and in spite of radiation and
chemotherapy, the cancer is still spreading. His doctors and almost everyone else
had given up hope. State correct explanatory style for Daniel.

a) Optimistic
b) Pessimistic

6. Case: You are planning for a risky and uncertain future as a professional sports
athlete after graduating from university. State correct explanatory style for yourself.

a) Optimistic
b) Pessimistic

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7. Your set-point level of happiness is partly inherited by approximately __________?
a) 10%
b) 40%
c) 50%

8. Which area(s) of the PERMA model can achieving a goal enhance?

a) Feelings of positive emotions
b) Feelings of accomplishment
c) Feelings of engagement
d) All of the above
9. Your explanatory style is about __________?
a) specific and universal explanations
b) time & space
c) blaming yourself
d) all of the above
10. The Positive Psychology of close personal inter personal relationships is concerned
with?
a) Making a solid relationship even better
b) Repairing damage to distressed romantic relationships on the bring of
destruction
c) Making peace with and accept undesirable elements of your partner
d) Preventing arguments about money

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SECTION 2

Short text questions 1 to 5 each carries 2 marks (total of 10 marks).

Directions: State short answers for the questions below – a minimum of 5 sentences
per question.

1. What are some of the benefits of active listening? (State 3 different benefits)
Explain which character strength is being cultivated while practicing skills of active
listening.
 Active listening helps the listener remain focused and recall what he or she
hears in the conversation.
 It helps to find problems and fix them. Active listening means not only
listening, but also asking questions about any concerns, so that there is no
communication breakdown.
 crucial or helps creating the confidence of others. It boosts their trust and
esteem once they feel important.
 Practices: paraphrasing, don’t interrupt , show some interest by asking
questions , nodding.

2. Explain why self-regulation the most important character strengths is when it comes
to high expertise and achievement. What would happen if one doesn’t apply self-
regulation in process of achievement?
 The capacity to regulate one's own impulses, actions, thoughts to reach a
higher purpose is self-regulation. It means controlling destructive,
impulsive emotional responses to circumstances. It is essentially thought
before acting, which helps a person to avoid making impulsive decisions.
It's a very important skill that an individual needs to have in order to
achieve their objectives. A person that is impulsive and does not make
deliberate choices is going to get into a dilemma and put their goals at risk.
People lack self-confidence, esteem and are uncertain, and little things can
make them violent and impulsive. Consequently, under all conditions, a
person with elevated self-regulation is optimistic, compassionate and
relaxed. They have the opportunity to stand back after failure because
alternate ideas can come up instead of styling over failure.
3. Define Meaning according to Dr. Martin Seligman and explain the relation between
meaning in life and physical health?
 Martin Seligman describes meaningful life as "using your signature strengths
and virtues in the service of something much larger than you are." He notes that
"as a preface to meaningful life," True Happiness is said.
 Giving a greater sense of life's meaning results in better physical health. Studies
show that there is a hidden connection between meaning of life and physical
health. In order to achieve those goals, a person who knows the meaning of their
life will strive and work hard, both physically and mentally.

4. State the definition of “goal” and elaborate on the difference between intrinsic and
extrinsic goals.

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  A goal is a concept of the future or desired outcome that is imagined, prepared, and
committed by a person or a group of individuals. People aim to accomplish goals by
setting deadlines within a limited time.
 Intrinsic goals are those that are intrinsically satisfying because they are likely to
satisfy inherent psychological needs for autonomy, connectedness, competence, and
growth. examples of intrinsic goals: self-acceptance, community feeling,
affiliation and physical fitness.

 Normally, extrinsic objectives represent a sense of insecurity about oneself, which may
also lead one to participate in more stressful, ego-involved, and regulated conduct that
does not meet one's needs. Extrinsic targets are based on winning incentives and
judging others favorably. Examples of extrinsic goals: financial success, image\
attractiveness, popularity, conformity

5. What is the purpose of positive emotions?

 According to Martin Seligman, Positive psychology's mission is to recognize
and encourage the factors that allow people, communities, and societies to
flourish. Good thoughts act as indicators of prosperity, or optimum well-being.
Certainly, moments in the lives of people distinguished by experiences of
positive feelings, such as joy, curiosity, contentment, affection, and the like, are
moments in which negative emotions, such as fear, sorrow, rage, and despair, do
not torment them.
 Not only can positive emotions make us feel better: they are good for
relationships, can contribute to success, and develop better resilience. Think on
what brings feelings of passion, pleasure, and contentment to you.
 Positive emotions can lead to a better lifestyle ( clear beautiful mind ), gratitude,
kindness, and forgiveness are factors for human well-being satisfactory, since
writing down gratitude letters can express good feelings and thoughts and being
thankful for someone\group for being in your life or for contributing in
something helpful in our community\societies’, forgiveness has its own
spirituality rituals since it reliefs the person from overthinking and creates
stronger and meaningful relationships. Finally, kindness is free and requires zero
effort to make others or strangers feel happy \ by doing nice thing to them.

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SECTION 3

Each case carry 5 Marks each (Total of 15 marks)

Directions: Answer questions – minimum ½ page per question.

Directions: Answer questions stated in the bullet points below based on your knowledge
about positive psychology and wellbeing theory (PERMA model plus character strengths
classification system).

Case 1 – Failure and the road towards success

 Elaborate on how failure can lead to personal growth and explain the reason why
so many people at your age are afraid of failing.
YOU WILL NEVER REPEAT THE SAME MISTAKE
Through your greatest mistakes, you will learn a great deal. You will have a
strong mental resource base until you have had an opportunity to look back and
focus on what went wrong. Later, you will be able to recognize similar
circumstances quickly. You will be able to make choices that lead to successful
results in a more emotionally intelligent way. The actual experience of failing at a
job, or in a personal relationship, will provide you with perspective that no other
way is possible. You can be more optimistic about what you cannot do, and what
you can do differently, because failure can leave a very strong impact.

GRATITUDE INSTILLS FAILURE

Failure will shed a powerful light on all the good things about your life that
happen. For the little things, you'll feel a deeper gratitude. You might appreciate
your colleagues more, knowing how they help you run your business. for the good
people you have around, you may be more grateful. You would enjoy life more
with more appreciation and be in a better state of mind, making you a better
leader.

2. It is difficult to face disappointment for most individuals with atychiphobia

. They feel that there is no point in even trying to do it if there is a risk of failing at
anything. Although this mentality is not an intrinsic attribute. For several reasons,
fear of failure may develop, ranging from growing up with critical parents to
bullying or a traumatic event. These feelings could have remained in them long
past the original occurrence if you have ever failed at something and ended up
feeling embarrassed or angry. If left unchecked self-doubt, your aspirations will
grow into a force that hurts.

Case 2 – Changing Explanatory style

Case: Asma is hired to do cold calls for an insurance company; she is calling private
persons in the evenings to sell life insurances. After one week in the office she is
struggling – here is an example of her inner conversation:

Adversity: “I made forty calls tonight and got no appointments.”

Belief: “I’m not getting anywhere. This is stupid. I’m not getting any results. It’s a total
waste of time and effort.”

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Consequences: I feel frustrated and angry about having spend my time doing this.

Disputation: ‘’ its not my mistake if I did not get any appointment, as human beings it’s
a normal thing to be tired and fatigued at the end of the day to have the ability to think
with a clear mind. Perhaps that is the only reason I did not get any appointments this
night.

Energization: “I should give it a try again tomorrow during the day when people are
going to be more responsive or receptive. Just because I did not get any appointments
lately that does not mean I will not get any appointments once again. I will basically be
going to try my hardest till I get an appointment. Thanks to my time and efforts now I
almost know 40 people who do not demand or need insurance, what is important now is
just to cover the remaining individuals and do my duty.’’

 Dispute Asma’s pessimistic explanatory style (D) and describe how she feels
afterwards (E). Be very detailed and realistic when writing your suggestion for the
disputation.
 We're going to have to teach her that the struggles of not having an appointment
do not determine her full life and future. The adversities are external in nature and
will arise by themselves, just as we cannot control or influence someone else's
reception of our call. Likewise, the effects of our convictions are often direct
reactions followed by our emotions towards such adversities. Now, the aspect that
we will have to govern, change and contest is the belief. By making her realize
that it might be that she is not getting an appointment at present, we may have to
refute the belief, but that does not mean that in the near future she will not get any
appointment. We can't see the future, but it's easier to hope for the best and keep
moving instead of feeling like it's all going to be terrible. She's going to be made
to know that a temporary inability to get appointments doesn't mean that he's not
going anywhere or it's all a waste of time. she must look at the long term
possibilities rather than just looking at the short-term failures.

Case 3 – SMART goal

George is passionate about cooking. His biggest dream is to become a professional
influencer and live from his passion. George has started his journey towards this goal by
setting up a website where he shares tips, ideas, and cooking videos.

George’s next sub-goal is to increase the number of email subscribers for his website.

 State how George can break his sub-goal down and make it into a SMART goal.
What is the importance of being realistic in this process? (Keep in mind the video
shared with Daniel Goleman and his take on boredom, flow, and frazzle).

 A smart goal is a goal that is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time.
George must consciously set a clear goal.

SPECIFIC

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 Georg’s long-term goal is to be an influencer. However, he needs to improve his
knowledge and skills in bringing more attention or attract people into his content,
its essential to know what people looking for attract their interests in you,
therefore get more subscribers. Basically, he must grow his knowledge in that
specified area in order to get attention from others.

MEASURABLE
 His goal is increasing the number of email subscribers of his website. He would
easily surpass this goal if he thrived enough to work hard on his weaknesses and
improve them simultaneously. But by taking necessary courses or refer to
someone who has knowledge in this area and let that person guides on how to gain
more subscribers, perhaps refer or reach out a social media influencer that can
provide some tips and tricks on how to obtain more subscribe and therefore reach
his desired goal.

ATTAINABLE
 This goal is for sure attainable despite of his weakness in attracting more
followers or subscribers. George must take a step and try to refer to an actual
successful influencer who can lead and guide him on how to attract more people
into his website and what are some tricks and tips to reach that desired goal. By
striving and diligence he can attain this goal easily with asking help from the right
side and by conducting research and studies to grow his knowledge.
Looking into successful stories would also help to get an overall idea how to start
to get more attention from people therefore get the required subscribers for the
website.
RELEVANT
 This goal is highly relevant for achieving his aspiration. He can become a
successful influencer only if he has a strong thinking and content variety.

TIMED
 This goal is also timed perfectly or effectively. The daily practice and repeating
what you have learned to grow a big community in your website at least for 2-3
hours. Spending hours on researching and do readings will enhance the skills or
abilities to organize a perfect website and therefore attract more subscribers.
He has to set times for researching, listening to influencers stories which helps to
grow his base knowledge , set a 1 hour time to have a meeting with an influencer
and start interrogate them regarding their early life and benefit from how they
started from stage 0 to where they are now.