耶魯史上很受歡迎課程：快樂(lè)

NEW HAVEN — On Jan. 12, a few days after registration opened at Yale for Psyc 157, Psychology and the Good Life, roughly 300 people had signed up. Within three days, the figure had more than doubled. After three more days, about 1,200 students, or nearly one-fourth of Yale undergraduates, were enrolled.

紐黑文——1月12日，在耶魯大學(xué)(Yale)的Psyc 157課程——全稱(chēng)為心理學(xué)與美好生活(Psychology and the Good Life)——開(kāi)放注冊(cè)幾天后，注冊(cè)人數(shù)達(dá)到了300人左右。三天之內(nèi)，這個(gè)數(shù)字翻了一番多。又過(guò)了三天，約有1200名學(xué)生，也就是近四分之一的耶魯本科生選了這門(mén)課。

The course, taught by Laurie Santos, 42, a psychology professor and the head of one of Yale’s residential colleges, tries to teach students how to lead a happier, more satisfying life in twice-weekly lectures.

這門(mén)課程由42歲的心理學(xué)教授、耶魯大學(xué)一所寄宿學(xué)院的院長(zhǎng)勞麗·桑托斯(Laurie Santos)教授。該課程試圖通過(guò)每周兩次的課程指導(dǎo)學(xué)生們?nèi)绾芜^(guò)上更快樂(lè)、更滿意的生活。

“Students want to change, to be happier themselves, and to change the culture here on campus,” Dr. Santos said in an interview. “With one in four students at Yale taking it, if we see good habits, things like students showing more gratitude, procrastinating less, increasing social connections, we’re actually seeding change in the school’s culture.”

“學(xué)生們想要改變，想讓自己更快樂(lè)，想改變校園文化，”桑托斯博士在接受采訪時(shí)說(shuō)。“因?yàn)橛兴姆种坏囊攲W(xué)生選了這門(mén)課，如果學(xué)生們能因此養(yǎng)成好習(xí)慣，比如更懂得感恩、減少拖延、增加社交聯(lián)系，那么我們實(shí)際上是在為改變校園文化播下希望的種子。”

Dr. Santos speculated that Yale students are interested in the class because, in high school, they had to deprioritize their happiness to gain admission to the school, adopting harmful life habits that have led to what she called “the mental health crises we’re seeing at places like Yale.” A 2013 report by the Yale College Council found that more than half of undergraduates sought mental health care from the university during their time there.

桑托斯博士推測(cè)，耶魯學(xué)子對(duì)這門(mén)課感興趣是因?yàn)椋麄冊(cè)诟咧袝r(shí)必須把快樂(lè)放在次要地位，一門(mén)心思只想拿到這所大學(xué)的錄取通知書(shū)，并養(yǎng)成了有害的生活習(xí)慣，導(dǎo)致了她所說(shuō)的“我們?cè)谝斶@樣的地方經(jīng)?？吹降木窠】滴C(jī)”。耶魯大學(xué)理事會(huì)(Yale College Council)在2013年的一份報(bào)告中發(fā)現(xiàn)，超過(guò)半數(shù)的本科生在大學(xué)期間尋求過(guò)精神健康支持。

“In reality, a lot of us are anxious, stressed, unhappy, numb,” said Alannah Maynez, 19, a freshman taking the course. “The fact that a class like this has such large interest speaks to how tired students are of numbing their emotions — both positive and negative — so they can focus on their work, the next step, the next accomplishment.”

“事實(shí)上，我們很多人都焦慮、緊張、不開(kāi)心、麻木，”選修這門(mén)課程的19歲大一新生阿蘭娜·梅尼茲(Alannah Maynez)說(shuō)。“這樣的課程引起了學(xué)生們這么大的興趣，說(shuō)明學(xué)生們非常厭倦為了把注意力放在學(xué)業(yè)上、放在下一個(gè)任務(wù)和下一個(gè)成就上而麻木自己的情緒——無(wú)論是積極的還是消極的。”

Students have long requested that Yale offer a course on positive psychology, according to Woo-Kyoung Ahn, director of undergraduate studies in psychology, who said she was “blown away” by Dr. Santos’s proposal for the class.

本科生心理研究主任安宇晶(Woo-Kyoung Ahn，音)表示，長(zhǎng)期以來(lái)，學(xué)生們一直要求耶魯開(kāi)設(shè)一門(mén)積極心理學(xué)課程。她說(shuō)，桑托斯博士提出開(kāi)設(shè)這門(mén)課程時(shí)，她“特別高興”。

Administrators like Dr. Ahn expected significant enrollment for the class, but none anticipated it to be quite so large. Psychology and the Good Life, with 1,182 undergraduates currently enrolled, stands as the most popular course in Yale’s 316-year history. The previous record-holder — Psychology and the Law — was offered in 1992 and had about 1,050 students, according to Marvin Chun, the Yale College dean. Most large lectures at Yale don’t exceed 600.

安博士等管理人員預(yù)計(jì)這門(mén)課的選修人數(shù)會(huì)很多，但誰(shuí)也沒(méi)預(yù)料到會(huì)這么多。“心理學(xué)與美好生活”這門(mén)課目前有1182名本科生選修，成為耶魯大學(xué)316年歷史上最受歡迎的課程。耶魯學(xué)院的院長(zhǎng)馬文·全(Marvin Chun)表示，此前的紀(jì)錄保持者是1992年推出的“心理學(xué)和法律”(Psychology and the Law)課程，約有1050名學(xué)生選修。耶魯?shù)拇蠖鄶?shù)大型課程的選修人數(shù)都不超過(guò)600人。

Offering such a large class has come with challenges, from assembling lecture halls to hiring the 24 teaching fellows required. Because the psychology department lacked the resources to staff it fully, the fellows had to be drawn from places like Yale’s School of Public Health and law school. And with so many undergraduates enrolled in a single lecture, Yale’s hundreds of other classes — particularly those that conflict with Dr. Santos’s — may have seen decreased enrollment.

管理如此龐大的班級(jí)帶來(lái)了挑戰(zhàn)，包括安排授課大廳和聘請(qǐng)24名助教等。由于心理學(xué)系無(wú)法提供所有的師資，所以不得不從耶魯大學(xué)公共衛(wèi)生學(xué)院和法學(xué)院等處借調(diào)助教。由于這么多本科生選修了這門(mén)課，所以耶魯?shù)钠渌麛?shù)百門(mén)課程——尤其是那些與桑托斯博士的課程時(shí)間沖突的課程——選修人數(shù)可能會(huì)減少。

At the start of the semester the class was divided between a live lecture in the 844-seat Battell Chapel, a historic place of worship on campus, converted to a lecture hall, and one or two smaller auditoriums where several hundred more students watched a live stream of Dr. Santos. After several weeks, the decision was made to move the lectures to Woolsey Hall, usually the site of events like symphony performances, which can accommodate the entire class.

學(xué)期開(kāi)始時(shí)，這個(gè)班級(jí)被分成了幾個(gè)部分：一部分學(xué)生在可容納844人的巴特爾教堂(Battell Chapel)聽(tīng)現(xiàn)場(chǎng)演講——該教堂曾是耶魯校園里的一個(gè)歷史悠久的禮拜場(chǎng)所，后來(lái)被改造成了一個(gè)演講廳——其他數(shù)百名學(xué)生在另外的一個(gè)或兩個(gè)較小的禮堂里觀看桑托斯博士的現(xiàn)場(chǎng)直播。幾周后，校方?jīng)Q定將講座搬到可容納整個(gè)班級(jí)的伍爾西音樂(lè)廳(Woolsey Hall)，它通常是舉行交響音樂(lè)會(huì)等活動(dòng)的場(chǎng)地。

The course focuses both on positive psychology — the characteristics that allow humans to flourish, according to Dr. Santos — and behavioral change, or how to live by those lessons in real life. Students must take quizzes, complete a midterm exam and, as their final assessment, conduct what Dr. Santos calls a “Hack Yo’Self Project,” a personal self-improvement project.

這門(mén)課程既關(guān)注積極心理學(xué)——據(jù)桑托斯博士稱(chēng)，它指的是能讓人蓬勃發(fā)展的特征——也關(guān)注行為改變，也就是如何在現(xiàn)實(shí)生活中應(yīng)用這門(mén)課的知識(shí)。學(xué)生們必須參加小測(cè)驗(yàn)，完成期中考試，以及最終的自我改善評(píng)估項(xiàng)目，桑托斯博士稱(chēng)之為“Hack Yo’self Project”(自我改進(jìn)項(xiàng)目)。

Some students admit that they see the course as an opportunity to take a relaxed lecture with few requirements.

一些學(xué)生承認(rèn)，他們認(rèn)為這是一個(gè)機(jī)會(huì)，可以上一門(mén)幾乎沒(méi)什么要求的輕松課程。

“I wouldn’t have known about the course if not for word of mouth, but it’s low-pressure, and maybe I’ll learn a few tricks to having a less stressful life,” said Riley Richmond, 22, a senior who enrolled in the class with several of his friends.

“如果不是口口相傳，我都不知道這門(mén)課，但它壓力小，并且我也許會(huì)學(xué)到一些技巧，讓生活壓力不那么大，”22歲的畢業(yè)班學(xué)生賴(lài)?yán)?middot;里士滿(Riley Richmond)說(shuō)。他和幾個(gè)朋友一起報(bào)名學(xué)習(xí)這門(mén)課。

Charlotte Emerson, 18, a freshman in the course, says she worries some students will take advantage of the lack of accountability that comes with a lecture of this size. For example, Dr. Santos is not monitoring whether students complete weekly “rewirement” assignments, like performing acts of kindness and forming new social connections, Ms. Emerson said. 18歲的大一新生夏洛特·埃默森(Charlotte Emerson)也選了這門(mén)課。她擔(dān)心一些學(xué)生會(huì)利用這種規(guī)模的課程缺乏問(wèn)責(zé)制這一點(diǎn)。比如，埃默森說(shuō)，桑托斯不監(jiān)督學(xué)生是否完成了每周的“更換”作業(yè)，如做出友善的行為和建立新的社交關(guān)系。

But while others might see easy credits, Dr. Santos refers to her course as the “hardest class at Yale”: To see real change in their life habits, students have to hold themselves accountable each day, she said.

盡管其他人可能認(rèn)為這門(mén)課學(xué)分好拿，但桑托斯博士稱(chēng)它是“耶魯最難的課”。她說(shuō)，要想看到生活習(xí)慣發(fā)生真正的改變，學(xué)生必須每天都要對(duì)自己負(fù)責(zé)。

She hopes that the social pressures associated with taking a lecture with friends will push students to work hard without provoking anxiety about grades. Dr. Santos has encouraged all students to enroll in the course on a pass-fail basis, tying into her argument that the things Yale undergraduates often connect with life satisfaction — a high grade, a prestigious internship, a good-paying job — do not increase happiness at all.

她希望，和朋友一起上課帶來(lái)的社交壓力會(huì)促使學(xué)生努力學(xué)習(xí)，又不會(huì)引起對(duì)成績(jī)的焦慮。桑托斯鼓勵(lì)所有學(xué)生上這門(mén)成績(jī)只分及格和不及格的課程，并大力宣傳自己的觀點(diǎn)，即耶魯本科生往往把高分、寶貴的實(shí)習(xí)機(jī)會(huì)和高薪工作與生活滿意度聯(lián)系在一起，但它們根本不會(huì)增加幸福。

“Scientists didn’t realize this in the same way 10 or so years ago, that our intuitions about what will make us happy, like winning the lottery and getting a good grade — are totally wrong,” Dr. Santos said.

“大約10年前，科學(xué)家并沒(méi)有意識(shí)到，我們以為可以讓自己感到快樂(lè)的那些個(gè)直覺(jué)，比如彩票中獎(jiǎng)和獲得好成績(jī)，其實(shí)是大錯(cuò)特錯(cuò)，”桑托斯說(shuō)。

College courses on positive psychology have a track record of attracting scores of students. At Harvard, about 900 students enrolled in a lecture titled Positive Psychology in 2006. What distinguishes Dr. Santos’s course from the one at Harvard in 2006, she said, is that it also focuses on behavioral change.

大學(xué)里的積極心理學(xué)課程向來(lái)會(huì)吸引大量學(xué)生。2006年，哈佛大約900名學(xué)生報(bào)名學(xué)習(xí)一門(mén)名為積極心理學(xué)的課程。桑托斯說(shuō)，有別于哈佛2006年開(kāi)設(shè)的那門(mén)課的是，她這門(mén)課還重視行為改變。

Still, Dr. Santos says she does not plan to offer the course again. Dr. Ahn, of the psychology department, said, “Large courses can be amazing every once in a while, but it wouldn’t be fair to other courses and departments to take all of their students away.”

但桑托斯說(shuō)，她不打算再開(kāi)這門(mén)課了。心理學(xué)院的阿恩說(shuō)，“偶爾出現(xiàn)一門(mén)大課挺不錯(cuò)的，但這對(duì)其他課程和院系不公平，它們的學(xué)生都流失了。”

She added, “It causes conflict, and we can’t afford to offer this every year in terms of teaching fellows and resources.”

她接著說(shuō)，“這會(huì)造成沖突，并且就助教和資源而言我們也做不到年年都開(kāi)設(shè)這門(mén)課。”

Dr. Santos said a multipart seminar-style series on the course material — filmed last year in her home and titled the Science of Well-Being — will soon be available for free on Coursera, an online education platform. For now, she is eager to see whether her teachings alter campus life.

桑托斯說(shuō)，去年她按照課程教材在家中拍攝了一個(gè)研討班風(fēng)格的課程系列，名為《幸福的科學(xué)》(Science of Well-Being)”。該系列由幾個(gè)部分組成，很快就可在網(wǎng)絡(luò)教育平臺(tái)Coursera上免費(fèi)觀看?，F(xiàn)在，她迫切地想知道自己的教導(dǎo)是否改變了校園生活。

“We have this moment where we can make a difference in Yale’s culture, where students feel like they are part of a movement and fighting the good fight,” she said.

“我們迎來(lái)了可能會(huì)改變耶魯文化的這一刻，學(xué)生們覺(jué)得自己是一場(chǎng)運(yùn)動(dòng)的一部分，正在為正義而戰(zhàn)。”