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PSY 251 · Fall 2026 · Capstone

Greater Good in Action — the practices

Fifteen standardized practices (choose at least three), plus two bonus practices for extra credit. Every session is 15 minutes of practice and 5 minutes of handwritten, dated journaling — follow these handouts, not the website's timings.

How the project runs. Practice Plan (5%) due Mon Nov 2 · three 2-week windows (Nov 2–15, Nov 16–29, Nov 30–Dec 13), at least 4 sessions per window · Weekly Drops (45%) every Sunday 11:59 PM (Nov 8 → Dec 13), lowest dropped · your own peer-reviewed article on one practice (10%) due Sun Dec 6 · a polished, memorized 5–7-minute presentation (40%) with image-only slides on Dec 14 or Dec 21 — take photos as you go. Full rules on Canvas. Not allowed this term: Awe Walk and Noticing Nature (no walks), Gift of Time.

Gratitude

01 · Three Good Things
Write down three things that went well today — and why they happened.
15 + 5 min · PDF: three-good-things.pdf02 · Three Funny Things
Write down the three funniest things from your day — and why they were funny.
15 + 5 min · PDF: three-funny-things.pdf03 · Gratitude Journal
List up to five things you're grateful for today — then say why, and who was behind them.
15 + 5 min · PDF: gratitude-journal.pdf04 · Mental Subtraction of Positive Events
Imagine a good thing in your life never happened — then appreciate that it did.
15 + 5 min · PDF: mental-subtraction.pdf05 · Gratitude Letter
Write a letter to someone you never properly thanked — and, if you can, read it to them.
15 + 5 min · PDF: gratitude-letter.pdf

Compassion

06 · Loving-Kindness Meditation
Fifteen minutes of silently wishing well — to yourself, a loved one, a stranger, a difficult person, and everyone.
15 + 5 min · PDF: loving-kindness-meditation.pdf07 · Compassion Meditation
Breathe, picture the golden light, and wish suffering away — for a loved one, yourself, a stranger, and someone difficult.
15 + 5 min · PDF: compassion-meditation.pdf08 · How Would You Treat a Friend?
Compare how you talk to a struggling friend with how you talk to yourself — then close the gap.
15 + 5 min · PDF: how-would-you-treat-a-friend.pdf09 · Letting Go of Anger Through Compassion
Replace a grudge, for fifteen minutes, with a deliberate wish that the person who hurt you heals.
15 + 5 min · PDF: letting-go-of-anger.pdf

Happiness

10 · Finding Silver Linings
Describe something that went wrong — then find three honest ways it wasn't all bad.
15 + 5 min · PDF: finding-silver-linings.pdf11 · Best Possible Self
Write, nonstop, about a future in which your life has gone as well as it possibly could.
15 + 5 min · PDF: best-possible-self.pdf12 · Expressive Writing
Four consecutive days of writing your deepest thoughts and feelings about something hard.
15 + 5 min · PDF: expressive-writing.pdf13 · Meaningful Photos
Photograph what makes your life feel meaningful — then write about why.
15 + 5 min · PDF: meaningful-photos.pdf14 · Random Acts of Kindness
Plan five varied acts of kindness and pull off as many as you can — all in one day.
15 + 5 min · PDF: random-acts-of-kindness.pdf15 · Small Talk
Start a real conversation with a stranger — commute, line, waiting room — and see what actually happens.
15 + 5 min · PDF: small-talk.pdf

Connection · Bonus

B1 · Active Listening
One real conversation where your only job is to make the other person feel completely heard.
Bonus · extra credit · PDF: active-listening.pdfB2 · 36 Questions for Increasing Closeness
Forty-five minutes of reciprocal self-disclosure with someone you'd like to feel closer to.
Bonus · extra credit · PDF: 36-questions.pdf
Adapted for PSY 251 from Greater Good in Action (Greater Good Science Center, UC Berkeley). Prof. Michael W. Magee, St. Joseph's University, New York.