Public Lecture at Maitland City Library
What is happiness anyway? A psychological and personal perspective.
Associate
Professor Ross Wilkinson, PhD MAPS MCCLP
Date: 21st
March 2017
Time: 6:00pm
Venue:
Maitland City Library
Overview:
What it is
to be happy has been a topic of philosophical debate for over 2500 years. In
this talk I will briefly outline the history of this debate and then focus on
the recent contributions of psychology to this question. With the upsurge of
interest in ‘positive’ psychology, research attention has turned to happiness and
the factors that influence it. I will present an overview of the psychological
approach to happiness as ‘wellbeing’ and show how subjective happiness varies
around the world. The major factors that research has identified as
contributing to both current happiness and a deeper and longer-lasting well-being
will be discussed. Evidence-informed, practical strategies for increasing your own
happiness and that of others will be presented.
Biography:
Associate
Professor Ross Wilkinson is an academic and clinical psychologist based in the
School of Psychology at the University of Newcastle where he is the Head of the
Health and Clinical Psychology Research Group. He has over 25 years’ experience
in both research and practice in psychology and has a long-standing interest in
positive psychology. He has a research program focussed on the link between
relationships and mental health and runs the Relationships and Psychological
Health Laboratory (RaphLab). His other research interests include attachment, mindfulness,
and perinatal mental health.
