This assignment started off by watching two TED talks about the science behind happiness, including true happiness versus fabricated happiness. Following this, to get ready for our chat, each chat group member had to prepare two YouTubes or websites that have brought them happiness or joy, two reasons they’re grateful to be in this class, two reasons they’re grateful to be in this Chat Group, and two positive things that have happened to them in the past 24 hours. After this, we had to chat with our chat group, and discuss all of these things we prepared. Following the chat, as usual, we had to post a summary, a transcript, and details about the chat, in the discussion board.
The first TED talk talked about how we can synthesize happiness. After discussing multiple experiments, he explains that synthesized happiness is not inferior to natural happiness, and that it is valuable for us to experience in life. The second TED talk discusses positive psychology, and how changing our lens can change our happiness and our productivity.
Moving on to the chat, we began by me talking about two YouTubes or websites that have brought us happiness or joy. For me, my 2 were both from YouTube. They were a Green Bay Packers “Run the Table” football highlight video, and America’s Got Talent audition video of last year’s winner, Shin Lim. Weiyan’s first was a Facebook page called “UW Memes for Milk-Chugging Teens”, and her second was an Instagram account that posts pictures of a cute pig named Hank.
We then moved on to talk about two reasons we are grateful to be in this class. I said that this class allows me to work on my time management skills, and it also gives a lot of flexibility. Weiyan said that she likes how she doesn’t have to attend lectures so she can do her work in her cozy room and that there are no exams.
Next, we discussed two reasons we are grateful to be in this Chat Group. I listed that Weiyan is a very nice person and is flexible with my schedule and that the chat room involves discussing course content, which facilitates my understanding of the material. Weiyan said she was thankful that I am a supportive group mate and that we only have 2 people so we can be flexible on time.
Finally, we talked about two positive things that have happened to us in the past 24 hours. I described that I got to see 3 of my best friends from home and that I was on a retreat that I really enjoyed. Weiyan said that she got 8 hours of sleep and that her work yesterday was enjoyable.
Reflecting on this assignment, the TED talks were super interesting, and I learned a lot. I think the topic of happiness is already very fascinating, and this taught me many things I did not previously know. I did not know much about synthetic happiness, or about how much of happiness is controlled by internal versus external factors, but now I know! I will definitely use what I know in a positive way moving forward.
Additionally, sharing all of this information with one another allowed us to spread positive emotional contagion! Hearing so many positive things from myself and from Weiyan allowed me to experience positive emotions. This was enjoyable, and made the chat more fun and worthwhile, in my opinion.
While I enjoyed that chat, and the topic was happy, it was kind of sad because it was our final chat with our old chat groups. All of my previous chats with Weiyan had gone well, and she was very kind to me throughout all these weeks. It will be weird to move on to a new chat group, but I am thankful for the time I had with my old chat group.
This assignment was also cool because it required us to address personal information, rather than just referencing information from articles. Discussing things that make us happy or thankful was awesome, as it allowed me to get to know my chat group on a more personal level than I was able to before. It was still related to the main topic of emotional contagion, but gave us the freedom to talk about ourselves. I look forward to seeing who is in my next group, and getting to know them throughout the rest of the semester!
Nicky's Blog 