LEARNING TO LEARN FROM POSITIVE EXPERIENCES 1 Learning to Learn from Positive Experiences Rick Hanson, Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley, USA Shauna Shapiro, Ph.D. Santa Clara University, CA, USA Emma Hutton-Thamm, M.A. Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom, San Rafael, CA, USA Michael R. Hagerty, Ph.D. University of California, Davis, USA Corresponding Author Rick Hanson:
[email protected] Acknowledgments This study was supported with a grant from the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom. LEARNING TO LEARN FROM POSITIVE EXPERIENCES 2 Abstract People draw on psychological resources such as grit and compassion to cope with adversity, pursue aims, and maintain well-being. Previous research has identified environmental, physiological, behavioral, and mental factors that can aid the acquisition – the learning – of these resources. Mental factors that directly engage experiences of psychological resources (e.g., focusing on their personal relevance) have particular advantages, such as being applicable to a variety of settings and experiences, and subject to volitional control. Such mental factors have the potential to increase the development of psychological resources, yet to date there has been no formal training in their systematic use. Consequently, the Taking in the Good Course was developed and investigated in a randomized waitlist-controlled study. Results both post-course and at 2-month follow-up indicated that training in the systematic use of mental factors of learning has the possibility of increasing gains from positive experiences, with implications for both formal interventions and everyday life. Keywords: learning, memory, emotional intelligence, mindfulness, positive psychology Declarations Funding: This study was supported with a grant from the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom.