The impact of attendance at a single positive psychology session on psychological wellbeing over time

Purpose:
This paper presents findings on the impact of attendance at a single positive psychology session on psychological wellbeing over time and proposes how such an intervention, at the beginning of each academic year, could benefit a broad range of students in HE.

Background:
Evidence suggests that wellbeing and learning are positively correlated in the short and long-term regardless of sex and parents’ educational level. It is therefore not surprising to find wellbeing high on the agenda of many education establishments. Despite the evidence resource and other constraints mean that it is unusual for positive psychology to be included in many curricula, other than Psychology, in Higher Education (HE).

Methods:
Ethical approval was obtained. Undergraduate and graduate students at a UK university were invited to complete (i) questionnaires on current achievement, engagement and satisfaction levels and (ii) the ‘Positive Wellbeing Umbrella - Younger Adult (developed as part of UCL Museum Wellbeing Measures Toolkit) before attending a session on positive psychology (character strengths and mindset). Questionnaires were redistributed after 1 week, 1 month and 3 months to establish the duration of the impact over time.

Conclusions:
Positive psychology interventions have shown promise in enhancing performance in primary and secondary education. This paper sought to answer the question: can attendance at a single session on positive psychology have lasting impact on students in HE? A positive answer could be a step towards proposing the inclusion of a single session on positive psychology across the board in HE.