Please note this is an offsite event taking place at the University of Queensland.
Summary:
This interactive workshop combines live musical performance with scientific research and practical insights from the field of positive psychology to explore the dynamics of all types of human relationships. Led by James Pawelski, co-author of Happy Together: Using the Science of Positive Psychology to Build Love That Lasts, and the Viney-Grinberg Duo, the workshop is structured as a metaphorical “three-movement” composition in classical music. Each movement features a piano duet paired with scientific research and interactive engagement so participants can apply the learning to their own relationships (whether in the context of romance, family, friendship, or work). The workshop focuses on the themes of new beginnings, relationship challenges, and strengths integration.
This workshop is intended for anyone who has relationships with other human beings. It is designed to be of benefit to all attendees, whether classical music novices or aficionados, positive psychology beginners or experts, or relationship rookies or veterans. This workshop integrates the arts, science, and personal experience to optimize the benefits of reflecting on various stages of relationships. Attendees will walk away with an inspiring musical experience, helpful information on relationships from scientific research, and interactive practice on how to apply these insights to strengthen their relationships. The workshop is intended to demonstrate the value of interdisciplinary approaches to relationship renewal, as well as the power of the integration of the arts with science for positive interventions in general.
First Movement: Scherzo – The Pitter-Patter of New Beginnings
This section focuses on the early stages of relationships, characterized by playfulness, curiosity, and the excitement of building initial connections.
- Musical Performance: The Viney-Grinberg Duo will perform a lively, playful duet from their repertoire. The performance will highlight the light-hearted, mercurial interaction between the musicians, symbolising the early stages of a relationship, where both individuals explore and respond to each other.
- Scientific Discussion: Pawelski will introduce positive psychology research about the beginning phases of relationships. Drawing from scientific work on positive emotions (Barbara Fredrickson), high-quality connections (Jane Dutton), passion (Robert Vallerand), and savoring (Fred Bryant and Joseph Veroff), he will discuss how these empirical perspectives can shed light on how relationships form and grow.
- Interactive Application: Participants will be invited to engage in exercises, inspired by the music and informed by the science, to help them create high-quality connections in the present and to benefit from savoring high-quality connections from the past. These activities will mirror the dynamics of building early connections, both personally and professionally, and participants will reflect on how curiosity and other features of positive interactions help provide the foundations for strong relationships.
Second Movement: Largo – Facing Challenges in Relationships
This movement addresses the inevitable challenges and conflicts that arise in relationships, including tensions, miscommunication, and moments when relationships are tested.
- Musical Performance: The Viney-Grinberg Duo will perform a slower, more contemplative piece. The performance will reflect the heaviness and emotional depth of challenging moments in relationships, emphasising a slower, more deliberate interaction between the musicians.
- Scientific Discussion: Pawelski will share insights on how relationships encounter and navigate challenges. Drawing from empirical research on topics such as self-sacrifice, acquiescence, emotional expression, and humor, he will suggest ways science might help us navigate conflict more effectively.
- Interactive Application: Participants will be invited to share with each other professional, personal, or romantic relationship challenges they have observed or experienced. They will be asked to discuss how the tension they identified mirrors the musical performance, and they will work together to determine the character strengths that are in conflict in the situation. Getting clear about the underlying character strengths involved can be an important step in understanding the causes of the conflict and thus in finding ways to manage it – or even resolve it.
Third Movement: Fugue – Integration and Flourishing in Relationships
This final movement focuses on the potential for integration, cooperation, and fulfilment within relationships as individuals become deeply connected while retaining their own identities.
- Musical Performance: The Viney-Grinberg Duo will perform a complex, intertwined duet. The performance will represent the process of integration in relationships, where both partners harmonize and cooperate, yet maintain their individuality. The interweaving lines in the piece symbolize the complexity of two lives merging into a cohesive, flourishing relationship.
- Scientific Discussion: Pawelski will introduce the idea of flourishing relationships, drawing from the Interaction Model and the related notion of giving and receiving strengths he and his wife, Suzie Pileggi Pawelski, have developed. This will pave the way for a discussion of how a focus on the interaction of character strengths can help relationships move beyond mere conflict resolution to deeper fulfilment through positive relational interdependence, where each partner supports the other’s growth while retaining their own strengths and individuality.
- Interactive Application: Participants will be invited to reflect on how strengths complementarity and interactivity can help their relationships move beyond conflict to integration and mutual support, just as the musical themes in a fugue interweave and support each other. This exercise will reinforce the idea that cooperation and mutual support – even across differences – can lead to relationship renewal and foster greater fulfilment and collective flourishing.
Closing Reflection and Performance
To conclude the workshop, Pawelski will lead a short debriefing session, encouraging participants to consider how the musical performances provided a reflective space to ponder psychological principles that can be immediately applied to their personal and professional lives. He will draw connections between the musical metaphors and real-life relationships, emphasising how music can serve as a metaphor for working toward harmony, flexibility, and creativity in relationships.
The workshop will end with a short celebratory performance, an encore that reflects the power and potential of flourishing relationships.
