Giving Thanks by Mental Subtraction - Learning English and Psychology at the Same Time :)
Today I want to share a lesson that is supposed to make your students think not only about grammar and spelling but also about what makes life worth living :) This lesson works best with adult students and is suitable for intermediate level.
Get the printable version by clicking HERE.
Giving Thanks By Mental Subtraction – (Article taken from Psychology Today)
This strategy is called mental subtraction, and studies show that instructions to imagine the absence of a good event produce more positive emotions than the simpler strategy of just thinking about its presence.
Why does mental subtraction have beneficial effects? The researchers proposed that mental subtraction works against the human tendency to adapt to the good things in our lives and to take them for granted. In support of this explanation were further findings. Research participants who did mental subtraction rated the good event in question as more surprising than those who simply thought about the good event. "This wonderful thing - my job, my partner, my good health - did not have to happen!"
Mental subtraction keeps the magic alive in ways that counting one's blessings may not. A positive psychology technique is suggested by generalizing this demonstration. Once a day, individuals can be asked to write down three things for which they are grateful. They should be reminded to consider good things that they ordinarily take for granted, like clean water or air conditioning, things that are thought of as comforts as opposed to pleasures - that is, usually notable only when they disappear. Then individuals can be asked to imagine that these good things were absent from their lives. How might this have happened? What would life be like in the absence of these good things?
Like all positive psychology techniques, mental subtraction will only have a long-term effect on our lives if it is practiced regularly and becomes part of one's daily routine.
Discuss:
1. What is 'mental subtraction'?
2. Do you believe that this technique of positive psychology can be more effective than simply thinking about the blessings we receive?
3. If you had to imagine your life without 3 positive things/people in your life, what would they be and how would their absence change your life?
Giving Thanks by Mental Subtraction – Vocabulary Practice
Match the words with their French equivalents:
1. a subtraction a. contre
2. beneficial b. apprécier, classer, considérer
3. against c. confort, bien-être
4. to take sth for granted d. autre
5. further e. plaisir
6. a research f. reconnaissant
7. a pleasure g. soustraction
8. to rate h. rappeler qqch à qn
9. a blessing i. recherches
10. grateful j. considerer comme allant de soi
11. to remind k. bénéfique
12. a comfort l. benediction
Fill the gaps with some of the vocabulary items translated above:
1. A stay in the country will be ......................... to his health.
2. Could you ........................ Paul about dinner on Saturday?
3. His visits gave his grandparents such .....................
4. "What do you think of her as a singer?" "I don't really ..................... her (= I do not think that she is very good)."
5. It was a ...................... that no one was killed in the accident
6. They are doing some fascinating ..................... on the language of dolphins.
7. The test involves simple calculations, such as addition and .........................
8. I'm so .......................... (to you) for all that you've done.
Use the words given below to make sentences of your own:
BLESSING GRATEFUL RESEARCH RATE BENEFICIAL TAKE FOR GRANTED
1. ......................................................................................................................................................
2. ......................................................................................................................................................
3. ......................................................................................................................................................
4. ......................................................................................................................................................
5. ......................................................................................................................................................
6. ......................................................................................................................................................
Get the printable version by clicking HERE.
Giving Thanks By Mental Subtraction – (Article taken from Psychology Today)
This strategy is called mental subtraction, and studies show that instructions to imagine the absence of a good event produce more positive emotions than the simpler strategy of just thinking about its presence.
Why does mental subtraction have beneficial effects? The researchers proposed that mental subtraction works against the human tendency to adapt to the good things in our lives and to take them for granted. In support of this explanation were further findings. Research participants who did mental subtraction rated the good event in question as more surprising than those who simply thought about the good event. "This wonderful thing - my job, my partner, my good health - did not have to happen!"
Mental subtraction keeps the magic alive in ways that counting one's blessings may not. A positive psychology technique is suggested by generalizing this demonstration. Once a day, individuals can be asked to write down three things for which they are grateful. They should be reminded to consider good things that they ordinarily take for granted, like clean water or air conditioning, things that are thought of as comforts as opposed to pleasures - that is, usually notable only when they disappear. Then individuals can be asked to imagine that these good things were absent from their lives. How might this have happened? What would life be like in the absence of these good things?
Like all positive psychology techniques, mental subtraction will only have a long-term effect on our lives if it is practiced regularly and becomes part of one's daily routine.
Discuss:
1. What is 'mental subtraction'?
2. Do you believe that this technique of positive psychology can be more effective than simply thinking about the blessings we receive?
3. If you had to imagine your life without 3 positive things/people in your life, what would they be and how would their absence change your life?
Giving Thanks by Mental Subtraction – Vocabulary Practice
Match the words with their French equivalents:
1. a subtraction a. contre
2. beneficial b. apprécier, classer, considérer
3. against c. confort, bien-être
4. to take sth for granted d. autre
5. further e. plaisir
6. a research f. reconnaissant
7. a pleasure g. soustraction
8. to rate h. rappeler qqch à qn
9. a blessing i. recherches
10. grateful j. considerer comme allant de soi
11. to remind k. bénéfique
12. a comfort l. benediction
Fill the gaps with some of the vocabulary items translated above:
1. A stay in the country will be ......................... to his health.
2. Could you ........................ Paul about dinner on Saturday?
3. His visits gave his grandparents such .....................
4. "What do you think of her as a singer?" "I don't really ..................... her (= I do not think that she is very good)."
5. It was a ...................... that no one was killed in the accident
6. They are doing some fascinating ..................... on the language of dolphins.
7. The test involves simple calculations, such as addition and .........................
8. I'm so .......................... (to you) for all that you've done.
Use the words given below to make sentences of your own:
BLESSING GRATEFUL RESEARCH RATE BENEFICIAL TAKE FOR GRANTED
1. ......................................................................................................................................................
2. ......................................................................................................................................................
3. ......................................................................................................................................................
4. ......................................................................................................................................................
5. ......................................................................................................................................................
6. ......................................................................................................................................................
