Project:

The final project is an integrative assignment that is done in place of a final exam (therefore it is very important and should reflect a good sample of what you have learned over the semester). The grading rubric I will use to grade the project will follow the description.

Positive Psychology in Action Project

This project will require you to come up with a plan to put positive psychology into action. You should select one or more positive psychology constructs (e.g., altruism, gratitude, forgiveness, mindfulness) or theories (e.g., broaden and build theory of positive emotions) and develop a plan to bring these constructs to life over the course of the semester, preferably having the effect of positively affecting the lives of others. At the end of the semester, write a summary about your positive psychology in action project, incorporating material from the text and other sources. Length requirement: 5-7 pages, double-spaced, personal reflection. You must use at least two references citations within text.

Written Report

All papers should include:

A title page with the name of the project and other information (your name, course)

A table of contents

A section including the definition and a description of the positive psychology construct(s) and/or theories that you have attempted to put into action in your project

A section describing the design, goals, and implementation of the project (i.e., what is the goal, what is the plan to achieve the goal, who will be affected by the project, what are the desired outcomes) and a rationale for why you think this plan will have the desired outcomes

A section describing how the project actually worked out - were the goals achieved? How did others respond to your work? What were the effects on you? Any unintended effects?

An analysis section in which you critique your own work - if there were problems or if the goals weren't achieved, why do you think this was the case and what could you do to improve this project if you were to try it again in the future? If the goals were achieved, why do you think this was the case and is there anything you would do different to make the project even better if you were to try it again in the future?

In a separate section, or combined with the above section, choose five articles or videos from the syllabus that are most relevant to your Positive Psychology in Action Project and provide the following:

One picture (graphic format is not important) that best captures the relevance of the concepts presented in the article or video

Two websites with 2-3 sentences that describe the web site for article or video

One article (at least two pages in length) for each article or video, with a brief summary of the article (similar to what you would do for an annotated bibliography)

Three to five paragraphs describing why you chose the picture, web sites, and articles.

A strong conclusion of at least five pages (no more than eight), double spaced, reflecting on how you interpret and understand the material, integrating your "project" with the material. Include any thoughts on how you perceive you can use the information learned from the chapter and from your project. Also, how might the information be used on a broader level (e.g. in applied psychology, schools, etc.).

A list of references.