Open AccessSouth Korean college freshmen students' perceptions of happiness during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020
Author(s) -
SangHee Lee,
Song Yi Lee,
Jae-Hwan Jung
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
social behavior and personality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.362
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1179-6391
pISSN - 0301-2212
DOI - 10.2224/sbp.10772
Subject(s) - happiness , psychology , covid-19 , perception , pandemic , curriculum , social psychology , medical education , pedagogy , medicine , disease , pathology , virology , neuroscience , outbreak , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Happiness is an important factor influencing academic performance, and many college freshmen have experienced adjustment difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic. We applied Q methodology to explore South Korean freshmen students' perceptions of happiness in 2020. Participants were divided into three groups according to perceptions of happiness: (a) those who considered relationships as vital for happiness, (b) those who considered freedom to have new experiences as vital for happiness, and (c) those who considered setting and achieving goals as vital for happiness. These findings can serve as basic data for the development of curricula and programs to help college freshmen adapt to college life.