Temperance and Flourishing | Seminar

This seminar explores temperance as a stabilising virtue within the VIA Character Strengths framework, comprising self-regulation, prudence, humility, and forgiveness (Niemiec, 2018). Rather than equating temperance with suppression or rigidity, the session positions it as a psychological capacity for balanced response under pressure.

In higher-education contexts, students regularly encounter academic stress, interpersonal tension, performance feedback, and decision-making under uncertainty. Evidence suggests that temperance-related strengths are associated with improved emotional regulation, adaptive coping, sustained effort, relational repair, and long-term wellbeing (Harzer & Ruch, 2015; Duckworth et al., 2019). When used optimally, these strengths enable students to pause before reacting, consider future consequences, remain open to feedback, and release resentment without abandoning accountability.

The seminar differentiates between underuse, optimal use, and overuse of temperance strengths, emphasising balance rather than maximisation. Through applied examples and structured reflection, participants examine how steadiness, boundaries, and deliberate choice contribute to sustainable academic engagement and responsible leadership.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this session, participants should be able to:

• Define temperance as a character-based capacity for balanced regulation rather than emotional suppression

• Identify the four temperance strengths — self-regulation, prudence, humility, and forgiveness — and recognise how they operate in academic and leadership contexts

• Distinguish between underuse, optimal use, and overuse of temperance strengths in student life

• Recognise moments of reactivity (e.g., conflict, feedback, fatigue, impulse) and identify how temperance could shift response

• Apply temperance principles to decision-making, relational repair, and sustained effort under pressure

• Reflect on personal regulation patterns and identify one practical adjustment to strengthen steadiness and long-term alignment