happiness research

Overview: All of our final class material discusses happiness–what makes people happy, what does not, and what do people think makes them happy but really doesn’t? I want you to consider the following for this paper: some scholars think happiness can be learned/improved/increased based on the beliefs and practices of an individual. In other words, someone who is unhappy can learn happiness and become happy if they know how. However, other scholars think that happiness is fixed based upon genetics, mental health, upbringing, or environmental factors. Write a paper which argues one side of this debate.
NOTE: This paper is not a personal essay like paper 1 was. In fact, personal opinion, stories, and experiences should not appear in the body of this paper at all. This paper and all of its arguments need to be driven by RESEARCH in the form of quotes, sources, facts, and data.
Prompt: Write an argumentative paper which does three clear things for the audience. Your paper, thesis, outline, and essay structure must cover all three of these mandatory elements: First, it must clearly define exactly what happiness is (this is not a personal essay this time, so you’re talking about all of humanity here, not just yourself). Second, it must identify the things/events/thought processes/biology/genetics/beliefs that can lead to happiness in most people. Third, it must argue whether or not happiness levels can be changed by the actions of people. In other words, can we learn or improve happiness by things we do, or is it outside forces that drive our happiness level?
For this paper, you will need to do the following three things:
1) In the body of the paper, spend some paragraphs defining what happiness is. This definition is based on outside scholarship, quotes, evidence, sources, and psychology, not just what makes you personally happy. Don’t just quote a dictionary here: you need a nuanced and thorough definition that cites experts in the field.
2) Using outside sources, discuss different elements, behaviors, genetics, thoughts, activities, neurochemistry, etc. that add or take away from your definition of happiness. This must include the movie Happy as well as The Psychology of Happiness. These should be things like physical activity, social relationships, leisure, work, genetics, humor, etc.
3) Convince the reader that happiness can be learned or improved upon using different techniques, or convince the reader that happiness is based upon things we cannot control.
NOTE: Happy and The Psychology of Happiness are mandatory sources for this paper and must both be included as major sources in your paper. Any paper not citing both of these sources will not get a passing grade.
Thesis: Your thesis will need to be sophisticated and include all three elements of the prompt. I’ll give you feedback on your thesis as the paper evolves week by week, but keep all of the parts of the paper prompt in mind as you research, outline, and draft.
**Paper Requirements**
*) Your final paper will be 7-10 pages long with exactly one inch margins and only 12 point Times New Roman font. This page count does not include the outline, works cited page, or any additional material—it counts only the paper itself.
*) Your final paper will cite the following EIGHT sources
Happy
The Psychology of Happiness
Three scholarly books not used in class (you must find three new books to prove you’ve mastered research. The Art of Happiness and The Happiness Project can be used in your paper, but they won’t count as one of these three new sources you must find).
Three scholarly periodical articles
*) Your final paper will follow MLA format and include a Works Cited page and outline. The outline will be the first several pages of the final paper document, and then the paper itself will start on the first full page after the outline is due. Remember: the outline does NOT count toward the page total.
*) Your final paper will follow all conventional, mechanical rules of grammar and punctuation.
*) Your final paper will be well organized and have a strong, argumentative thesis which the body proves.
*) Your scholarly paper will be in a scholarly/academic tone. This means you will not use “I”, “me”, “mine”, etc. in the paper. There is no place for personal beliefs or experiences in an empirical, argumentative research paper.
*) Your final paper will be written by you and will be read by others in your class.
*) Your final paper must be submitted to Turnitin.com, or Professor Moton will not grade the paper, and it will result in a score of zero.
*) Your final paper will be submitted to Professor Moton at the due date/time, or it will not be graded.
*) Your paper will not cite a website or non-scholarly journal unless it is cleared through me personally, and even then, it does not count as one of your mandatory sources.

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