A personal journey of studying positive psychology: reflections of undergraduate students in the United Arab Emirates

Article


Shrivastava, A., Azhar, H. and Hyland, L. 2022. A personal journey of studying positive psychology: reflections of undergraduate students in the United Arab Emirates. Teaching of Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1177/00986283221106689
TypeArticle
TitleA personal journey of studying positive psychology: reflections of undergraduate students in the United Arab Emirates
AuthorsShrivastava, A., Azhar, H. and Hyland, L.
Abstract

Background: An increasing number of undergraduate positive psychology courses offer students a holistic view of the broader discipline of psychology. Even short-term participation in positive psychology activities as part of a taught course may improve psychological well-being and lower stress. However, there is a dearth of qualitative evidence on how students experience this learning process.
Objective: This study aimed to explore UAE-based undergraduate students’ reflections on their experiences of an elective positive psychology course and their participation in various positive psychology interventions (PPIs).
Method: This qualitative study explored 21 UAE-based undergraduate students’ reflections on taking a semester-long positive psychology course, in which they participated in PPIs. The rich data from semi-structured interviews were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis.
Results: Three main themes emerged, namely rethinking positive psychology, changes in perspective on happiness and search for positivity, and enhanced relationships.
Conclusion and Teaching Implications: The study suggests that positive psychology may reach past the time and space of the taught course and have at least a short-term positive impact on students' mental and social lives. Findings from this study imply the potential of positive psychology in higher education and point towards further integration of such courses in undergraduate programs in the UAE and beyond.

Keywordspositive psychology; student reflections; changed perspective; positive psychology interventions; relationships
PublisherSAGE Publications
JournalTeaching of Psychology
ISSN1532-8023
Publication dates
Online01 Jun 2022
Publication process dates
Deposited10 Jun 2022
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Copyright Statement

© The Author(s) 2022
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1177/00986283221106689
Scopus EID2-s2.0-85131579546
Web of Science identifierWOS:000806333600001
LanguageEnglish
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