Yale’s Most Popular Course Ever耶鲁大学史上 最受欢迎的课程

On Jan. 12， 2018， three days after registration opened at Yale for Psychology and the Good Life， roughly 300 people had signed up. After three more days， about 1200 students， or nearly one-fourth of Yale undergraduates， were enrolled.

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

“Students want to change， to be happier themselves， and to change the culture here on campus，” 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 and increasing social connections， were actually seeding change in the schools culture.”

Santos speculated that Yale students are interested in the class because， in high school， they had to deprioritize their happiness as they worked to gain admission to the school， adopting harmful life habits that have led to what she called “the mental-health crises were 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 at the school.

“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.”

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 Santos proposal for the class.

Administrators like Ahn expected significant enrollment for the class， but none anticipated it to be quite so large. Psychology and the Good Life， with 1182 undergraduates currently enrolled， stands as the most popular course in Yales 316-year history. The previous record-holder—Psychology and the Law—was offered in 1992 and had about 1050 students， according to Marvin Chun， dean of the Yale College. Most large lectures at Yale dont exceed 600.

2018年1月12日，在耶魯大学的“心理学与美好生活”课程开放注册三天后，注册人数达到300人左右；又过了三天，约有1200名学生，也就是近四分之一的耶鲁本科生报名选修这门课。

这门课程由42岁的心理学教授、耶鲁大学一所寄宿学院的院长劳里·桑托斯讲授。该课程试图通过每周两次的课程，教导学生如何拥有更快乐、更满意的生活。

“学生们想要改变，让自己变得更快乐，并改变这里的校園文化。”桑托斯在接受采访时说，“既然耶鲁四分之一的学生选修这门课，如果能看到学生的良好习惯，看到他们表现出更多的感恩、更少的拖延、更丰富的社会交往，那么我们就确实在为改变学校的文化播下种子。”

桑托斯推测，耶鲁学生对这门课感兴趣是因为在高中阶段，他们为升学而不得不忽略自己的幸福快乐，养成了有害的生活习惯，导致了她所说的“在耶鲁这样的地方，我们正在目睹精神健康危机”。耶鲁学院理事会2013年的一份报告显示，逾半数耶鲁本科生在校期间寻求过心理治疗。

“事实上，我们很多人都焦虑、紧张、不开心、麻木。”选修这门课程的19岁大一新生阿兰娜·梅尼兹说，“这样的课程引起学生这么大的兴趣，说明学生非常厌倦麻木自己的情绪——无论是积极的还是消极的——学生麻木自己的情绪是为了把注意力放在学业上，放在下一个任务上，放在下一个成就上。”

本科生心理研究主任安宇晶表示，长期以来，学生要求耶鲁开设一门正能量心理学课程。她说，桑托斯提议开设这门课程时，她“特别高兴”。

安宇晶等管理人员预计会有很多学生选修这门课程，但谁也没预料到会有这么多。“心理学与美好生活”这门课程目前有1182名本科生报名选修，成为耶鲁建校316年来最受欢迎的课程。耶鲁学院的马文·纯主任表示，此前这项纪录的保持者是1992年开设的“心理学和法律”课程，当时有约1050名学生选修。耶鲁大多数“大课”的选修学生不会超过600人。

enroll /?n'r??l/ v. 注册；登记

It took three days to enroll the new students.

gratitude /'ɡr?t?tju?d/ n. 感激之情

Tears of gratitude filled her eyes.

speculate /'spekjule?t/ v. 推测；猜测

No one can speculate on what hes thinking about.

emotion /?'m???n/ n. 感情；情绪

proposal /pr?'p??zl/ n. 建议；提议

The committee put forward a proposal to reduce the time limit.

anticipate /?n't?s?pe?t/ v. 预期；预料

A good speaker is able to anticipate an audiences needs and concerns.

exceed /?k'si?d/ v. 超过；超出

Working hours must not exceed 42 hours a week.