Course Syllabus

 

Course Description

What is loneliness, and what causes it? Is it the nature of our human condition? Is it a feeling or a thought? Does age, personality, or status matter? Topics to be considered: The causes and consequences of loneliness from a psychological perspective and the impact of modern society; sources of resilience and vulnerabilities; implications of loneliness vs. aloneness/solitude; interventions for alleviating loneliness. What part does loneliness play in the normal development of people during a life span? Some special challenges and pathologies involving loneliness will be explored, as well as cultural implications and the Scandinavian perspective.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, you'll gain insights into the following learning objectives among many other soft skills:

• Explore the construct of loneliness and contributing variables based on psychological theory and research.
• Understand loneliness and its relationship to psychological health throughout the lifespan
• Compare interventions for the assessment, prevention, and treatment of loneliness.
• Apply concepts learned in class to real-world and culturally situated events.

 

Faculty

Morgan Frost-Karlsson, PhD. Morgan's primary research interests are in social development and the development of the 'self', how they are affected by early caregiver interactions, and how they are disturbed in neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions. She has a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from Boston University with a focus on developmental neurobiology. Her master's thesis with the Gillberg Centre in Gothenburg focused on visual social perception in neurodivergent adolescents. Her PhD project at the Center for Social & Affective Neuroscience at Linköping University explored how affective touch influences the distinction between 'self' and 'others' and how this may look different in conditions with an altered sense of ‘self’, using adult clinical populations with anorexia, autism, and ADHD. With DIS since 2025.

Teaching Approach

In a rapidly evolving world, providing students with both knowledge and active skills is important. This class is not designed according to a traditional classroom, and students should expect a balanced mix of engaging lectures and dynamic activities. From team presentations to journal clubs, this class will be a space for not only learning but also building essential soft skills for current and future development, both at the personal and team levels. 

• Passive Learning: Passive learning involves receiving information from the instructor or guest lecturers without actively engaging with the knowledge. It's a more traditional form of education where students are listeners and observers rather than active participants. Examples of passive learning include attending lectures, watching educational videos, or reading textbooks. While passive learning can provide foundational knowledge, it often requires additional effort for students to understand and retain information fully.

• Active Learning: Active learning is a dynamic and participatory approach in which students are directly involved in the learning process. This method requires students to engage with the material through discussions, problem-solving, team projects, and hands-on experiences. Active learning promotes critical thinking, collaboration, and a deeper understanding of the subject. It encourages students to apply knowledge in practical situations, fostering a more comprehensive and lasting grasp of the concepts.

Classes will typically consist of a lecture, followed by a news article about a current event or cultural aspect in Sweden, which students will read, reflect on, and discuss as a group, directly applying the concepts learned in class to real-world and culturally situated issues. Assignments aim to further these connections, with journal entries connecting the course material to personal reflections and observations, a team project encouraging students to research topics on their own and creatively teach them to others, and a final exam in which students will find real-world examples of class concepts around the city of Stockholm. The overarching goal of this class setup is not only to learn the psychology of loneliness but to be able to actively apply classroom knowledge to students' everyday lives and real-world situations.

Class Topics

Some of the topics we will cover include:

1. Definitions and Measurements of Loneliness

2. Loneliness vs Solitude

3. Evolving Social Brains

4. Health Effects: From the cognitive to the physical

5. Infancy and Childhood: Wired to be social

6. Loneliness in Adolescence and Adulthood

7. Loneliness in the Elderly

8. Strategies for Coping and Connecting People

9. Yoga and Meditation

10. Community Building

11. Technology and the 'Digital Self'

12. Therapeutic Techniques for Treating Loneliness

Additionally, each group will choose a topic not on this list, for a total of three more topics (see below for more). 

Field Studies

Kungliga Djurgården: Adventures in Solitude

We will remove ourselves from technology and immerse ourselves in nature, observing and reflecting on the contrast between positive solitude and loneliness. 

Yoga & Meditation Workshop

We will learn about the psychology of meditation & yoga and their effects on loneliness and emotion regulation, and we will participate in a guided yoga and meditation session.

Kulturkvarter Snösätra

Kulturkvarter Snösätra is a community where artists come together to paint and graffiti murals on outdoor walls. Since 2014, they have transformed what once was an abandoned industrial storage park into Stockholm's largest urban art center. During our field study, we will receive a guided walking tour followed by a workshop in which we will learn graffiti techniques and graffiti our own mural on the walls of Snösätra. We will also have the chance to explore the surroundings of Snösätra, which include a nature reserve and community gardens, giving us a great opportunity to compare and reflect on different community-building strategies.

Guest Lecturers 

Erika Augustsson, PhD is a postdoctoral researcher in social gerontology at the Aging Research Center. Her research focuses on older adults’ social relationships, loneliness, and wellbeing, with a particular focus on the role of friendships and how different types of relationships serve distinct emotional and practical functions in later life.

Rosanna Pettersen, PhD is a Schema therapist and clinical psychologist who works with both individuals and couples. Her PhD at Karolinska Institut was focused on suicide and bereavement, and her current research explores loneliness prevention and treatment in expats and immigrants using a "portable self". 

Annelies van't Westeinde, PhD started practicing yoga and meditation during her undergraduate studies and has completed a Raja yoga teacher training in France, a Heartfulness yoga teacher training in India, and a Heartfulness meditation teacher training in India. She works as a postdoctoral researcher at Karolinska Institute, investigating brain health in patients with rare endocrine and metabolic disorders. Her interests include the impact of hormones on brain and behaviour, and the effects of yoga and meditation on the brain.

Evaluation

The course consists of lectures, discussions, and assignments at home and in class for individuals and teams, as well as field studies. Students’ attendance at classes and field studies, and active participation in discussions, are mandatory and taken into account in the evaluation. In discussions and assignments, students are required to demonstrate that they have read and understood the required literature. They should be able to integrate their knowledge to discuss in-depth research questions and topics. Showing independent and critical thinking is expected.

 

Assignment	Grade	Percent
Active Class Participation	Individual	20%
Observations and Reflections	Individual	20%
BINGO (final exam)	Individual	15%
Team Project	Team	45%

 Detailed assignment descriptions and rubrics are available via Canvas and in class.  

Here is the outline of the course assessment. It is holistic, incorporating both individual and team-based components. Each assignment description and its requirements are presented in the assignment sections.

1. Active Class Participation (Individual) - 20% of the total grade: 

   Your participation grade reflects the importance of being active in this course, which relies heavily on in-class reflections, discussions, and exercises. Students are expected to come prepared with relevant questions for discussion, as well as contribute with analytical insights and critical evaluations.

   However, engagement in this course is more than simply raising your hand or speaking in front of the whole class. It also includes:

   • Listening actively and being present when others are speaking
   • Contributing thoughtfully to small group discussions
   • Participating when presenting group work
   • Attending class consistently, arriving on time, and being prepared
   • Completing any additional assignments for missed classes
   • Taking initiative to ask questions, continue discussions, or seek clarification outside of class sessions

   This grade is not based solely on your ability or comfort level in speaking in large groups; it is about your overall engagement, curiosity, and willingness to contribute to the learning environment in a way that works for you.

2. Observations and Reflections (Individual) - 20% of the total grade: You will be given a journal, in which you will write an entry on each day of class. You will be given prompts for these entries, which will consist of a combination of observations and personal reflections relating the course material from that day to real-world experiences and contexts.  
3. BINGO (Individual) - 15% of the total grade: My version of a "final exam". You will be given a Bingo card containing 16 terms we will learn throughout the course. You will explore Stockholm, looking for real-life examples of these terms, and write explanations for the psychology behind them based on what you have learned in class.
4. Team Project (Group) - 45% of the total grade: Over the course of the semester, each team will become experts in one topic of the psychology of loneliness. Each team has a total of 90-100 minutes throughout the term for their topic to be presented in two separate sessions: Journal Club and Interactive Session. Teams should determine a specific topic based on the topics that are not covered in "Lecture Topics", that is in-depth enough to warrant an entire class session and lead to a productive discussion while avoiding topics that are too general or broad. Topics will be chosen in the first week of class with the help of the instructor, and teams will work together for the duration of the semester. Teams will also be asked to critically evaluate another team's work, taking on different roles depending on the session. 

• Journal Club (10%): Teams will select three articles related to their topic. The instructor will choose one of the three options. The selected team will present the final article to the class and facilitate a dynamic discussion.
• Research Presentation (25%): Each team is assigned an entire session to present their topic, fostering interactive discussion and learning among their peers in the classroom. Teams are expected to facilitate the class session using a mixture of passive and active learning methods to clearly communicate their topic and its relevance to the course. 
• Peer review (10%): Each team is assigned a different team to critically evaluate. During the journal club session, team members will assume the role of an expert review panel, asking questions and evaluating the content of the presenting team's presentation. During the interactive session, reviewing team members will assume the role of students, engaging with the class and filling out a 'course evaluation' afterward. Students will also be asked to reflect on and evaluate their team members' contributions to the project as well as their own. 

Class Policies

• Late papers/assignments will be accepted for up to 3 days after the deadline, but the grade for the assignment will be reduced by 10% (one letter grade) for each day that it is late. Please note that some assignments cannot be submitted late because they require presentation during class time.
• Students who are repeatedly late for class will receive a lower participation grade.

• Use of electronic devices is not allowed during class (including field studies).
  • If your use of technology is due to a learning accommodation required for you to succeed in class, please discuss it with Academic Support or the instructor directly.

Readings

Required readings will be listed for each individual class, so please check the calendar to identify what you should read before class. 

Recommended Textbook: 

Cacioppo, John T.; Patrick, William. (2008) Loneliness—Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection. New York:  W. W. Norton & Company.

Further Readings:

Blossom, P., Apsche, J. (2013). Effects of Loneliness on Human Development. International Journal of Behavioral Consultation and Therapy, 7(4), 28-29.

Creswell, J.D. (2012). Mindfulness-based stress reduction training reduces loneliness and pro-inflammatory gene expression in older adults: a small randomized controlled trial. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 26, 1095-1101.

Dahlberg, L., McKee, K. J., Lennartsson, C., & Rehnberg, J. (2022). A social exclusion perspective on loneliness in older adults in the Nordic countries. European Journal of Ageing, 19, 175-188.

Foster, C. E., Horwitz, A., Thomas, A., Opperman, K., Gipson, P., Burnside, A., King, C. A. (2017). Connectedness to family, school, peers, and community in socially vulnerable adolescents. Children and Youth Services Review, 81, 321-331. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezp.sub.su.se/10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.08.011

Kelly, K., R. (2015). Insecure attachment representations and child personal narrative structure: implications for delayed discourse in preschool-age children. Attachment & Human Development, 17(5), 448-471.

Lykes, V., A., Kemmelmeier, M. (2014). What Predicts Loneliness? Cultural Difference between individualistic and collectivistic Societies in Europe. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 45, 468-490.

Matthews, T., Danese, A., Wertz, J., Odgers, C.L., Ambler, A., Moffitt, T. E., Arseneault, L. (2016). Social isolation, loneliness and depression in young adulthood: a behavioral genetic analysis. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol, 51, 399-348. DOI 10.1007/s00127-016-1178-7.

Pearl, A. & Dykstra, P., A. (2009). Older Adult Loneliness: Myths and Realities. Eur J Ageing. 6(2), 91–100.

Peng, J., Chen, Y., Xia, Y., & Ran, Y. (2017). Workplace loneliness, leader-member exchange, and creativity: The cross-level moderating role of leader compassion. Personality and Individual Differences, 104, 510-515. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezp.sub.su.se/10.1016/j.paid.2016.09.020

Pittman, M. & Reich, B. (2016). Social media and loneliness: Why an Instagram picture may be worth more than a thousand Twitter words. Computers in Human Behavior. 62, 155-167.

Rokach, A. (2001). Strategies of coping with loneliness throughout the Lifespan. Current Psychology: A Journal for Diverse Perspectives on Diverse Psychological Issues, 20(1), 3-18.

Russell, D., W., Cutrona, C., Mcrae, C. & Gomez, M. (2012). Is loneliness the same as being alone? The Journal of Psychology, 146(1-2), 7-22.

Tiilikainen, E., & Seppänen, M. (2016). Lost and unfulfilled relationships behind emotional loneliness in old age. Ageing and Society, 1-21.

Wilson R.S., Krueger K.R., Arnold S.E., Schneider J.A., Kelly J.F., Barnes L.L.,. (2007).
Loneliness and risk of Alzheimer's disease. Archives of General Psychiatry, 64,
234–240.