happy.

New Zealand Does Its Own Happiness Study

2011-05-26T09:58:00.000-07:00

A sheep on a quest to Mordor. From Wicked Campers.

Continuing the theme from yesterday, the New Zealand Herald reports that New Zealand has published its own national happiness study. The 18-month study, entitled "Working Towards Higher Living Standards for New Zealanders," says, "Treasury's role as a central agency with oversight over all significant policy issues across the state sector has also led it to acknowledge that living standards are broader than income alone, and are determined by a wide range of material and non-material factors."

Ross McDonald, a senior lecturer at the University of Auckland Business School, says that he hopes the study will provide good advice to politicians. For instance, the study could lessen the move toward increasing work hours. "We've got to get out of the mindset that sees growing economies as our ultimate purpose in life," he says.

The news story doesn't go into detail about how New Zealand conducted this study, but if it's anything like other Gross National Happiness measures, they probably sent out thousands of questionnaires to citizens, asking them about their life satisfaction. As always, click on my Gross National Happiness tag to see all the other countries that are into this sort of thing, and which ones are holding out.

The OECD Throws Its Hat into the Happiness Measuring Ring

2011-05-25T10:51:00.000-07:00

You'll never guess who this logo belongs to!
From Supply Chain Management Review.

The Guardian reports that the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (or OECD) has started including "life satisfaction" with its economic measures. As part of the OECD's 50th anniversary, The Better Life Index uses these 11 separate dimensions of measurement for each of the OECD's 34 member countries: housing, income, jobs, community, education, environment, governance, health, life satisfaction, safety, and work-life balance. This should provide a more useful view of progress than the measurement of GDP alone.

OECD secretary-general Angel Gurría says, "This index encapsulates the OECD at 50, pushing the boundaries of knowledge and understanding in a pioneering and innovative manner. People around the world have wanted to go beyond GDP for some time. This index is designed for them. It has extraordinary potential to help us deliver better policies for better lives."

This effort to look beyond GDP is part of a recent trend. It started in Bhutan in the 70s, but within the past year Britain, Germany, Canada, one or two U.S. cities, and more have all started measuring their own happiness. Look at my Gross National Happiness tag for more info.

If YOU want to participate in the OECD's measurements, go to their Better Life website, where you can view stats for each country and take the survey yourself.

Men Who Like Culture Are Happier

2011-05-24T10:34:00.000-07:00

The Louvre. From Brock's Renaissance Art.

Hey gang. Today's story is again brought to you by Julia of The Thank You Project. It seems whenever I have trouble finding new stories, there she is with a good one. Any help is always welcome!

As for the story itself, LiveScience reports that men who enjoy cultural outings, like visits to art museums or the ballet, tend to be happier with their lives than those who don't. The researchers call this "receptive culture," which is separate from "creative culture," wherein a person actually takes a hands-on approach by painting, singing, or writing.

Study author Koenraad Cuypers and his colleagues looked at data on the activities, life satisfaction, perceived health, anxiety, and depression of 50,797 adult residents of Nord-Trondelag County in central Norway. Even after controlling for income and education, participating in receptive culture has a positive effect on the wellbeing of both genders, but the effect is not equal. Cuypers says, "Men seemed to get more of a percieved health benefit from being involved in different receptive cultural activities than women did."

Since this study did not examine people's happiness over time, it can make no assertions on whether receptive culture causes happiness or if the two just happen to go together. Cuypers wants to expand the research to answer that question, and also to find out if the correlation is true in European countries other than Norway.

You can read the actual study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Martin Seligman Wants to Apply Positive Psychology to Games, the Army

2011-05-19T10:08:00.000-07:00

Martin Seligman. From Princeton.

Martin Seligman, considered to be the father of positive psychology, is still pushing the science in new and interesting directions, according to Gamasutra. His recipe for happiness is PERMA, or positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and achievement. Seligman is now assisting the U.S. Army in teaching PERMA to soldiers in an attempt to alleviate common problems that soldiers have, like post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, drug abuse, and divorce.

The Army will ship drill sergeants to the University of Pennsylvania, where Seligman teaches. The effectiveness of PERMA techniques will then be measured on one million soldiers over their entire careers. The whole program will cost $150 million.

On the topic of games, Seligman mentions a lot of untapped potential. Though he hasn't seen any games that relate to positive psychology thus far, he says, "I believe that PERMA's future...might be that gaming will be the great, exponential amplifier. Teaching emotional literacy to young people throughout the entire world [through gaming]." He also mentions a lack of research on this topic, but that there is some evidence of Bridge's positive effect in preventing dementia.

For more on positive gaming, you might check out Reality is Broken by Jane McGonigal. I haven't read it, but I'd really like to. You can also click on my Martin Seligman tag.

Another Study Shows the Benefits of Kindness

2011-05-18T10:10:00.000-07:00

Kindness. From On the Fence with Jesus.

Longtime readers probably know that acts of kindness can improve your mood over the long term, but here's another study to heap on the pile of evidence. The Globe and Mail reports on a York University study that monitored 700 people as they performed small acts of kindness over the course of a week. Participants helped other people for 5-15 minutes a day, and still felt the positive mood effects six months later compared to a control group.

The researchers first evaluated participants' levels of depression, happiness, and self-esteem, then evaluated them again four more times over the six-month period. Lead author Myriam Mongrain says, "What’s amazing is that the time investment required for these changes to occur is so small. We’re talking about mere minutes a day."

Mongrain theorizes that compassion boosts our mood because it gives us meaning and self esteem. "If you make a conscious decision to not be so hard on others," she says, "it becomes easier to not be so hard on yourself. Furthermore, providing support to others often means that we will get support back. That is why caring for and helping others may be the best possible thing we can do for ourselves. On a less selfish level, there is something intrinsically satisfying about helping others and witnessing their gratitude."

You can read the actual study in a forthcoming issue of The Journal of Happiness Studies. Read more about this general topic in my blog post here.

When the Pursuit of Happiness Backfires

2011-05-17T10:01:00.000-07:00

Maybe Will Smith isn't always for you. From Gregg Hawkins.

Today the Times of India reports that the pursuit of happiness actually makes some people depressed. This information comes from a study by June Gruber of Yale, Iris Mauss of the University of Denver, and Maya Tamir of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

These three say that problems arise when you set too many expectations for your own happiness. Gruber says, "But when you're doing it with the motivation or expectation that these things ought to make you happy, that can lead to disappointment and decreased happiness." The authors also outline some problems that happen when you really are too happy, like decreased creativity and unnecessary risk taking.

So if you read this blog or others like it and you feel disappointed when some of the suggestions don't work out for you, it may be a good idea to cut back for awhile! There's no shame in it, and you may be doing yourself a favor.

Read more about this study in Perspectives on Psychological Science.

Neuroscientists Attempt to Identify Leadership in the Brain

2011-05-17T09:39:00.000-07:00

Here is you and everything you know. From IBT.

Nothing much is going on with "happiness" per se, but some interesting news has come in regarding another aspect of positive psychology: the flourishing of human skills. International Business Times reports that researchers at the W. P. Carey School of Business are using brain imaging and neurofeedback techniques to identify and improve the leadership areas of the brain.

Professor Pierre Balthazard and his team have collected EEG data on around 350 senior executives at various businesses. They then correlated this data with performance data to see which areas of the brain help create inspiring leadership. Balthazard says, "The concept has been proven. Now we have to go beyond the proof of concept into operationalization. Then, we will move into the delivery of products and services."

This process will probably involve neurofeedback, wherein scientists will reinforce certain areas of subjects' brains to help steer neuroplasticity in the right direction. The mental health implications of these techniques sound rather exciting to me, but I could also see how some people might be freaked out by the possibility of "mind control." As long as the scientists understand ethical boundaries with what their doing (and it sounds like Balthazard does) these techniques could be a great help to a lot of people!

Big Government is Best for Happiness?

2011-05-16T11:03:00.000-07:00

From Visiting DC.

Today's story is brought to you by Julia over at the Thank You Project. It's always great receiving story submissions from people, so be sure to check out her blog. It's all about the power of gratitude, which should interest a lot of you.

Anyway, in a post that will probably be controversial, LiveScience reports that citizens of bigger governments tend to be happier than those of smaller governments. The actual study, published in the April issue of Politics & Policy, says that the United States ranks 10th out of 15 industrialized nations in life satisfaction. The countries with more social welfare programs rank higher on the list.

Patrick Flavin of Baylor University conducted the study by looking at data from the 2005 to 2008 World Values Survey, which asks citizens of various countries how satisfied they are with their lives. The researchers then measured the size of their governments by looking at tax revenue, gross domestic product (GDP), government consumption, average unemployment benefits, and social welfare expenditures.

After controlling for health, age, individualism, and other factors, government size proved to be the biggest influence on average happiness. Flavin says, "The jump in happiness in going from a country that's low on the government intervention scale to one that is high on the government intervention scale is about the same as the effect of getting married."

Suffice it to say, not everyone agrees with the study's conclusions. Critics point out that the study's sample of 15 countries is not big enough, while the researchers say they limited their sample size to draw more reliable comparisons between similar countries. The story itself goes into much more detail than I could summarize here, so read that if you want to learn more.

Bhutan Makes Bid for Olympics

2011-05-10T11:03:00.000-07:00

The prince doing archery, Bhutan's national sport.
From Bhutan-360.

Today Xinhuanet reports that Gross National Happiness pioneer Bhutan is now interested in hosting the Olympics. Prince Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck, the 26-year-old heir to the throne of Bhutan, is also president of Bhutan's Olympic committee.

With 60% of the country's population aged between 10 and 29 years old, the prince says that sports play an important role in alleviating social problems. He explains, "With increasing migration to the city, there are more social problems, and sports can play an important role in decreasing youth criminal rate."

Since Bhutan focuses on citizen wellbeing rather than money, its sporting industry is not as developed as those of other countries. Now the Olympic committee has members from departments of finance, agriculture, and statistics to help Bhutan compete on an international level.

Scientists Identify Happiness Gene

2011-05-05T11:06:00.000-07:00

What your whole life looks like under a microscope.
From KQED.

TGDaily reports that researchers have found a gene that controls the flow of serotonin to the brain, which in turn affects overall life satisfaction. Jan-Emmanuel De Neve of the London School of Economics and Political Science conducted the study, wherein he examined genetic data from 2,500 participants of the US National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. De Neve specifically looked for variations of the 5-HTT gene.

This gene can have long or short variations, with the long forms being more efficient and therefore able to create more serotonin transporters in cell membranes. When De Neve's team looked at how satisfied participants were with their lives on a five-point scale (very satisfied, satisfied, dissatisfied, very dissatisfied, or none of the above), they found that a whopping 70% of those with the efficient 5-HTT gene variation (long-long) were either very satisfied or satisfied, compared with just 19% of those with the inefficient version (short-short). Possessing even one long version of the gene allele can increase one's likelihood of being "very satisfied" by 8.5%.

Happiness has long been known to have a genetic component (such as in the work of Sonja Lyubomirsky, who says that happiness is 50% genetic), but this may be the first study to show a clear link between one single gene and life satisfaction. De Neve explains, "It has long been suspected that this gene plays a role in mental health but this is the first study to show that it is instrumental in shaping our individual happiness levels." While other genes may also have a role in happiness, De Neve says, "This finding helps to explain why we each have a unique baseline level of happiness and why some people tend to be naturally happier than others."

Not Every Culture Sees Positive Emotions the Same Way

2011-05-04T11:15:00.000-07:00

From Free Fish Care Tips.

Time reports that the concept of "positivity" may be more culturally subjective than previously thought. This comes from a University of the Washington study that shows some cultures get no benefit from individual positive emotions--sometimes even seeing them as suspicious or dangerous.

The study's authors surveyed around 600 students from three different cultures: European-Americans, Asian-American citizens, and Asian immigrants. The Asians tended to associate positive feelings with social harmony, while Americans associated those feelings with personal achievement.

Asians' emphasis on social harmony may not be very surprising, but the study also found that the Americans felt more stress relief from positive emotions than the Asian immigrants. Emotions like "happy," "joyful," "proud," and "strong" all reduced stress and depressive symptoms in Americans, but not Asian immigrants, with mixed results among Asian-Americans.

It would be interesting to see a more generalized study on this topic. From what I can tell, this study only looked at university students, which is already a self-selected sample (meaning participants are probably middle-to-upper class with somewhat high goals in life, simply because they are at a university). Surveying lower class people might give completely different results, as might looking at Asians within their native culture instead of Asian immigrants living in America. And there are more cultures in the world than just "European-American" and "Asian"!

Looking Back on Positive Memories Keeps You Feeling Happy

2011-05-03T11:00:00.000-07:00

"The Persistence of Memory" (1931) by Salvador Dali.
From VirtualDali.

As more peaceful news starts to break through again, The Times of India reports that people who remember positive experiences are happier than those who focus on negative experiences. This information is based on a study that looked at correlations between "Big Five" personality traits and happiness.

As Ryan Howell of San Francisco State University explains, "We found that highly extraverted people are happier with their lives because they tend to hold a positive, nostalgic view of the past and are less likely to have negative thoughts and regrets. This is good news because although it may be difficult to change your personality, you may be able to alter your view of time and boost your happiness."

If you've got $31.50 burning a hole in your pocket, you can pay to read the actual study in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, which is good because the news article is very light on details. How was this study conducted? How many participants were there? How were cultural differences in memory controlled for?

Who knows, but at least it's kind of normal news again, right!?

World Reacts to Osama bin Laden's Death

2011-05-02T11:08:00.000-07:00

From The Daily Mail.

With literally 27,796 news sources reporting on the same thing (and that number climbing by the second), there is really only one story I could post today. It's a bit surreal to watch Americans celebrate someone's death, but in this case it seems entirely justified and understandable, and I admit to being swept up by the jubilation (at least over Twitter, since no celebrations happened near me).

With all this going on at home, it's interesting to see how the rest of the world is reacting. There are too many stories to sort through right now, but you can read reactions from many leaders around the world at Al Jazeera. They kind of say what you'd expect--western countries say it's a great victory, Hamas says bin Laden was a martyr, yadda yadda--but as time goes on and people have had time to think, they will become more enlightening to read.

There's no question that terrorism will continue, but this killing has huge symbolic weight, and it's been wonderful to shed our differences and experience a sense of togetherness with other Americans, even if it only lasts a few days or so.

Vicarious Happiness from Royal Wedding May Not Be So Bad

2011-04-28T10:05:00.000-07:00

Who wouldn't want to be Mr. and Mrs. Plate and Mug?
From The Telegraph.

In recent weeks I've had the curious problem of not being able to find enough news to cover. All the news is old news! Apparently broadcast media in general is going through a similar dry spell, so they have turned themselves over to 24/7 coverage of a wedding between a figurehead monarch and a fashion photographer. This may have some unintended positive consequences, however, as The Boston Globe reports.

Boston College psychologist Joseph Tecce says that people watching the happiness of others often feel happiness themselves. He explains, "There's a Freudian theory called identification that says whenever we identify with someone of a higher social standing than we are, we feel good about it." This identification often relieves the stresses of everyday life.

On the other hand, Ronald Siegel of Harvard Medical School warns us that too much identification may be a bad thing. "If you think the only people who matter are those who are famous," he says, "then the wedding may remind you of how much you don't matter, and that will get you down." You should also be careful about dwelling on all the divorces the royals have gone through over the years, especially if you have had a bitter marriage yourself.

But all in all, it may not be so bad if you mark your calendars for a wedding between two people you've never met. Tomorrow, April 29, Prince William weds Kate Middleton! Be there or be slightly less able to enjoy vicarious thrills!

Botox May Keep You From Reading Other People's Emotions

2011-04-26T11:03:00.000-07:00

Gah, needle to the face! From Beauty Resurgence.

You may know that Botox makes smiling difficult, but WebMD reports that it also dampens one's ability to read the emotions of others. Researchers in Los Angeles took 31 women who had received either Botox or Restylane--a treatment similar to Botox, but without the muscle paralyzing effects. Researchers also looked at 56 women and 39 men who used a cream that augmented signals from facial muscles. All participants were then asked to look at faces on a computer screen and identify the displayed emotion. Researchers found that the women who used Botox were less likely to name the correct emotion than their Restylane counterparts, but people who used the facial cream were best of all.

David R. Neal of the University of California, one of the authors of the study, says, "If you have a poker face because your facial muscles are paralyzed, you can’t read others emotions as well." This happens because our faces subtly mimic the emotions we see in others, giving the brain multiple ways to process emotional information. But since Botox paralyzes facial muscles, that avenue is closed to users.

Dr. Neal points out, however, that this deadening effect is subtle, and probably only affects heavy Botoxers. "People are not becoming automatons," he says. "It’s just a matter of weighing whether the aesthetic and self-esteem boost outweighs any subtle impact on your ability to perceive others emotions."

Gallup Releases Latest National Wellbeing Poll Results

2011-04-25T11:07:00.000-07:00

Gallup's deserted front desk. Apparently everyone
was out doing surveys. From The Woodlands Texas.

The Atlantic reports that Gallup, one of the world's leading statistical organizations, has released its 2010 list of countries ranked by wellbeing. Here are the top five, along with how many of its citizens are "thriving" by their own admission:

Denmark: 72% thriving
Sweden: 69% thriving
Canada: 69% thriving
Australia: 65% thriving
Finland: 64% thriving

Some other interesting factoids: the U.S. ranks 12th with 59%, which is between Panama and Austria. Also, the United Kingdom ranks 17th with 54%, which is just ahead of Qatar, but just below the United Arab Emirates. It'll be interesting to see if the U.K.'s rank improves once its Gross National Happiness measures kick into gear. As far as I know, none of the countries in the top five has official measures like that (except possibly Canada in the future).

Like the gap between the rich and the poor, there is also a huge gap in wellbeing. In 19 countries, the majority of citizens consider themselves to be thriving, yet in a whopping 67 countries, that percentage falls below 25. Russia is one of these, with 24% of its population thriving. So is China with 12%, which is even lower than Iraq, Libya, and Tunisia. The Chinese government apparently has a long way to go if they're serious about focusing on happiness (which they probably aren't).

The African nation of Chad comes in at the bottom of the list with only 1% of its population thriving. Of course, there may be worse countries out there, but those aren't even well enough to report statistics.

The Happiest Places Also Have The Highest Suicide Rates

2011-04-21T11:02:00.000-07:00

By Vincent Van Gogh. From 0rchid Thief.

Some troubling news today, as Eurasia Review reports on new research that compares the happiness, both of cities and of countries, to suicide rates. It's all part of a research paper entitled "Dark Contrasts: The Paradox of High Rates of Suicide in Happy Places" from University of Warwick, Hamilton College in New York and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

Researchers have previously suspected a link between national happiness data and suicide rates when it comes to Denmark, but this new study shows a similar link in Canada, the United States, Iceland, Ireland, and Switzerland. Since different cultures have different standards on reporting suicide rates, so the paper also goes into detail on happiness and suicide rates within a single geographic region--namely the United States.

Using a happiness sample of 1.3 million Americans and data on 1 million "suicide decisions," the researchers found happy states are also high in number of suicides. For instance, Utah was ranked first in life satisfaction, but showed the 9th highest suicide rate, while New York was ranked 45th in life satisfaction, yet had the lowest suicide rate in the country. Hawaii, sometimes considered the happiest state, was second on their life satisfaction list, yet had the fifth highest suicide rate.

The researchers theorize that this link happens because humans always compare themselves to those around them. In other words, living in a happy place could make unhappy people even MORE unhappy because they feel disconnected from the happy people around them. As Professor Andrew Oswald of the University of Warwick says, “Those dark contrasts may in turn increase the risk of suicide. If humans are subject to mood swings, the lows of life may thus be most tolerable in an environment in which other humans are unhappy.”

Happiness Apparently Makes You Eat Candy

2011-04-20T10:10:00.000-07:00

From A Basket Case.

The Times of India reports that happy people tend to eat candy, while "hopeful" people eat fruit and vegetables. This comes from a series of studies by Karen Page Winterich of Pennsylvania State University and Kelly L. Haws of Texas A&M University. They got their results by having participants either thinking about the past, present, or future, then seeing whether they picked candy or fruit.

In the first study, hopeful participants ate less M&Ms than those thinking of present happiness. In the second, participants thinking of the past ate even more unhealthy snacks. In the third study, participants thought of positive emotions in the past and the future. The "future" people chose healthier food.

The study authors conclude, "So the next time you're feeling well, don't focus too much on all the good things in the past. Instead, keep that positive glow and focus on your future, especially all the good things you imagine to come. Your waistline will thank you!"

Overall, this sounds like a rather unconventional series of studies with a lot going on. The article doesn't go into much detail, but it sounds like different snacks were used in each study (M&Ms in one, unspecified candy bars in another, etc.), which could make the conclusions suspicious because of all the variables. I also hope the authors kept strict definitions of "hope," "pride," and "happiness," as these are somewhat airy concepts that participants could have defined however they wanted.

Apparently Working Long Hours Makes Americans Happier?

2011-04-19T10:40:00.000-07:00

From Static.

Yeah, this one's just crazy enough that it might be true. The Daily Mail reports that Americans who work long hours are happier than those who don't, while in Europe, that trend is reversed. This information comes from a study at the University of Texas at Dallas. The study's authors could not conclude whether work actually CAUSES happiness in America, but they speculate that the results have more to do with worker expectations and the pursuit of income than with their actions.

American and European survey respondents were asked to rate themselves as "Very Happy," "Pretty Happy," or "Not too Happy." Results showed that "Very Happy" Europeans dropped from around 28% to 23% as work hours increased from under 17 a week to more than 60. American happiness, on the other hand, stayed the same as work hours increased, while their sense of "bliss" increased. This holds true despite other factors, such as age, marital status, and income.

Economics professor Richard Easterlin, who was not involved in the study, but comments on it anyway, theorizes that Americans believe more in the rewards of hard work. "It's not really that hard work brings more success in the U.S. than in Europe; it's what people believe in," he says.

You can read the actual study in the April issue of the Journal of Happiness Studies.

The Dalai Lama Visits Ireland to Promote Action for Happiness

2011-04-14T10:41:00.000-07:00

From NewsWhip.

Today NewsWhip reports on the Dalai Lama's trip to Ireland. He is visiting the economically depressed country to promote Action for Happiness, a British nonprofit organization that encourages people to value their emotional wellbeing over material consumption.

The Dalai Lama discussed wealth with a Kildare church, saying "The ultimate source of happiness, peace of mind, cannot be produced by money. Billionaires, they are, I notice, very unhappy people. Very powerful; but deep inside, too much anxiety, too much stress."

Even though His Holiness wakes up at 3:30 a.m. every day, he always gets eight or nine hours of sleep, which he attributes to the peace of mind afforded by meditation. He has previously written about happiness in his excellent book The Art of Happiness (which celebrated its tenth anniversary a few years ago), a fact which puts Action for Happiness right in his wheelhouse.

(Read more about what Action for Happiness is doing by clicking my Action for Happiness tag.)

Shawn Achor Finds Great Return on Investment for Employee Happiness Training

2011-04-13T10:46:00.000-07:00

"Yay, let's all go to a corporately mandated class!"
(At least that's what they'd be saying if they went to
Shawn Achor's class.) From Training Seminars
and Workshops.

We've long known that employee happiness affects a company's bottom line, but now PR Web reports that training in positive psychology may be even better than traditional employee training. Shawn Achor, author of The Happiness Advantage, conducted a study wherein a group of 77 managers was given a single class in positive psychology. Their moods were then compared four months later, showing that the managers had higher energy, life satisfaction, and stress management compared to a control group.

The study began in December 2008 with a 10-minute survey that looked at 14 different metrics, including stress, social support, and optimism. Then Shawn Achor conducted a single three-hour class entitled "Positive Psychology: the Science of Happiness and Potential". In April 2009, the managers in the class and the control group took another survey, which found that even after four months, the class produced significant increases in life satisfaction. This is important for companies because previous studies have shown that life satisfaction is one of the most important factors in employee performance and profitability.

Shawn Achor says, "By testing employees over many months we can determine if there is a long term ROI (return on investment). This sets a new standard for trainings."

To read more about what various companies are doing to improve employee happiness, remember to click on my employee happiness tag.

Action for Happiness Says British People Don't Trust Each Other

2011-04-12T10:32:00.000-07:00

From The Telegraph.

As Britain tries to start its Gross National Happiness campaign off on the right foot, The Telegraph reports that the initial results are not looking good. Action for Happiness, a nonprofit organization, says that the country may be heading for increased rates of depression and suicide due to the culture's desire for money instead of social connection and intrinsic value.

The organization bases many of these predictions on a new study that shows British people don't trust each other any more. Only around 30% of them trust most of their peers, compared to around 60% a half century ago. Since trust is a major component of social relationships, a lack of it may spell doom for the country's wellbeing.

Anthony Seldon, one of the group's members and headmaster of Wellington College, says that children need to be taught better values to prevent this sort of thing from taking root. He says, "If we don’t act now, in the future we are likely to see increased levels of adolescent suicide and mental illness, and a culture in which taking anti-depressant drugs is the norm."

Unfortunately, the article doesn't go into much detail about the actual study that found this 30% trust figure (and Action for Happiness's website is overwhelmed at the moment), but other recent studies of Britain have been more optimistic. I guess we'll have to wait for the full results.

People Who Change Jobs Are Happier

2011-04-11T10:54:00.000-07:00

A completely undoctored photo of Sydney.
From Sydney-Australia.biz.

Today the Sydney Morning Herald reports on an Australian study that shows most people change jobs not to seek out more pay, but to seek out more satisfaction--and they usually find it. Around 17% of Australian workers (or 1.2 people) changed jobs in 2008, mostly for reasons of job security and job satisfaction. The National Centre for Vocational Education Research conducted the study.

Dr. Ian Watson, author of the study, says that most changes in jobs do not lead to an increase in pay or job security. "On the other hand," he says, "job changing does lead on average to greater levels of job satisfaction.'' This may occur because workers in new jobs get to learn and use new skills. The study also includes other interesting results, like how extroverts are more likely to change jobs than introverts.

Happy Voters More Likely to Vote

2011-04-07T11:06:00.000-07:00

Hmm, yes, this picture confirms the research!
From NY Daily News.

Today The Montreal Gazette reports that people who are happy are more likely to vote. This information comes from research to be published in a forthcoming issue of The Journal of Happiness Studies. The researchers compared American survey respondents' voting habits and political participation (displaying a yard sign or working for a campaign, etc.) with their overall happiness. They found a positive correlation, even when controlling for income, sex, race, education, and interest in government.

According to study authors Patrick Flavin and Michael J. Keane, these results ran counter to their original hypothesis. "We went in with the theory that people who were satisfied with their lives would be less likely to participate; they're doing fine, so there's less reason to get involved in politics or to change the status quo," says Flavin. "But we found that people who (said) that they were very satisfied, as compared to not very satisfied, were about seven percentage points more likely to vote."

This perhaps means that once a country reaches a certain level of stability and prosperity, happy citizens can vote on things they didn't have time to care about previously--like the environment--so they come to the polls in greater numbers. The researchers add that that the results do not work the other way around; in other words, there is no evidence that voting increases happiness.

It seems kind of backward, since you would think that unhappy people would want to vote for change, but that's apparently the way it is! (You can read the actual 30-page study in PDF format here.)

Kansas University Does Easter Egg Hunt to Study Happiness

2011-04-06T11:02:00.000-07:00

This place was all full of eggs yesterday. From KU.

The University Daily Kansan reports on a Kansas University Easter egg hunt that took place yesterday. But this was no regular hunt, as the eggs contained messages along with chocolates. The messages told students to give one of the chocolates to a friend, then take a five-question online survey to rate their feelings upon receiving the chocolate and upon giving it away. Survey respondents will be entered into a drawing to receive a prize, which will probably be a gift card.

This whole experiment was created by associate professor Sarah Pressman for a positive psychology class. Out of 500 hidden eggs, the class has received 40 survey responses so far. After Thursday, students will tabulate all the responses and use them in a research paper.

It's certainly an interesting idea, and it could lead to some interesting results, as well as (hopefully) showing people how great generosity can feel!

American City Also Getting into the Happiness Measurement Game

2011-04-05T10:52:00.000-07:00

A look at Somerville. From CNN.

Yes, America may not be interested in measuring Gross National Happiness right now, but that doesn't stop cities from trying it on their own. The Christian Science Monitor reports that Somerville, Massachusetts included a life satisfaction survey with its annual census. The ten-question survey went out to 80,000 citizens in February.

Some households will also receive more detailed phone interviews. After the results are tabulated, they will be presented at town hall meetings, where citizens can decide how to use them. City officials hope to create a happiness index after a few more years of data.

Mayor Joseph Curtatone started the initiative to learn what factors influence people to live in certain areas. He says, "I don't rely just on the financial numbers. [That] doesn't tell you why your family decides to stay here."

One other U.S. city that has tried happiness initiatives is Seattle, but that survey was conducted by a non-profit organization, not the government. As always, you can stay up to date about all the multitude of governments that are trying out Bhutan-like happiness measures by clicking on my Gross National Happiness tag.

The Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education

2011-04-04T11:02:00.000-07:00

From Stanford.

You may have noticed a lack of updates lately, but that's only because all the news seems to be old news that I've already covered. Today will be a little different, in that I'm not really covering news at all but an interesting organization. It's the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (C.C.A.R.E.), which is a Stanford organization that aims to provide research into compassion. They especially focus on compassion's neurological causes and effects.

Their website is full of interesting videos on the subject, with plenty of information on current research projects as well. Even though the graphics show a heavy Tibetan Buddhist influence, all of the organization's research is secular, with some assistance from religious figures.

Anyway, I had never heard of them before, but their outlook is intriguing, so check out their website. It looks like the next news cycle is picking up, so I think I'll have more to post tomorrow!

Beautiful People Are Apparently Happier Than the Rest of Us

2011-03-30T10:35:00.000-07:00

The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli. From Painting Here.

In news that may be disheartening to most of the population, the University of Texas at Austin reports that beautiful people are generally happier than their plain-looking or ugly counterparts, no matter what their gender or culture. This information comes from a new paper entitled "'Beauty Is the Promise of Happiness?'" by Daniel Hamermesh and Jason Abrevaya.

The authors analyzed data from five surveys conducted in America, Canada, Germany, and Britain. These surveys asked more than 25,000 participants about their levels of happiness while an interviewer either rated their attractiveness in person or by photograph. The results of this analysis showed that people in the upper 15% of beauty ratings were over 10% happier than people ranked in the bottom 10%.

Hamermesh says, "Personal beauty raises happiness. The majority of beauty's effect on happiness works through its impact on economic outcomes." His previous research showed that beautiful people make more money. The economic impact of beauty may account for around half of the happiness boost shown in his current research.

The actual paper goes into much more detail, using charts and graphs over its 47 pages. You can read it for free in PDF format by clicking here.

British People Really Like Coffee and Parks

2011-03-29T10:25:00.000-07:00

From Coffee Ratings.

Yes, according to this story from The Telegraph, Britain has just released some preliminary results of the Gross National Happiness survey, and the results show that coffee and walks in the park are among the responses to how British people define happiness. This information comes as a result of focus groups trying to define happiness before the British government begins the main survey phase of its happiness plan.

When asked how they define happiness, the people in the focus groups showed a diversity of responses, from big ideas to little details. Some of the responses included:

“Having access to open, green space within walking distance of my home.”
“Access to low-cost facilities that enrich life - e.g. libraries, parks, swimming pools.”
“Opportunity to laugh, ability to trust, opportunities to recharge my batteries and restore my mental health.”

Some people responded negatively, saying that what really matters is contentment, freedom, health, or money.

In case you don't know what all this is about, last year British Prime Minister David Cameron began a campaign to put wellbeing statistics alongside Britain's economic indicators. You can join an online version of the happiness focus groups by going to the Office for National Statistics website here.

You Probably Won't Reach Full Happiness Until You Are 85 Years Old

2011-03-28T11:11:00.000-07:00

From The Telegraph.

We've long suspected that people tend to get happier as they age, but now that theory has a number: 85. The Telegraph reports on a survey of 341,000 people conducted by the American National Academy of Sciences. The results showed that most people feel less life satisfaction in their 20s and 30s, then begin an upward trend in their late 40s that peaks at 85.

Lewis Wolpert of the University College London explains the findings in his new book, You're Looking Very Well. He says that young adults are busy trying to start families and careers; paths which don't provide benefits until later in life. Andrew Steptoe, also of the University College London, adds that elderly people now enjoy much better health and opportunities than at any other time in history, making this longevity and happiness possible. A further explanation may be that people tend to use their time more selectively as they age, focusing their days on meaningful activities that bring them true joy and cutting out those that don't.

Unfortunately, the article doesn't mention some relevant details about the survey respondents, like how nursing homes affect happiness. But still, these results might make you think more positively about growing older. You can read more news about this topic by clicking on my "age" tag.

Study Shows Correlation Between Diet and Mental Disorders in Women

2011-03-24T10:53:00.000-07:00

Mmm, depression! From Science Daily.

Today the Sydney Morning Herald reports on a new Australian study that shows eating certain foods increase the likelihood of developing depression and anxiety disorders. Lead by Deakin University research fellow Dr. Felice Jacka, the study examined around 1,000 Australian women from all stratas of society. Participants who followed the national dietary guidelines were less likely to have depression.

This correlation happened regardless of the women's socioeconomic status, education, frequency of exercise, whether they smoked or not, and even physical problems like obesity. Dr. Jacka also says, "And conversely, women who mostly ate junk and processed foods were more likely to have depression and exhibit increased psychological symptoms." The study ultimately aims to help prevent depression before it starts.

So this pretty much confirms what a lot of you probably expected anyway. Unfortunately, the news story doesn't go into much detail about how this study was carried out (by listing control groups and the like), so not much else can be inferred from it. For more on how food affects mood, remember to click on my food tag, and especially this list of good foods to eat if you want to be happy.

Bhutan Starts Marketing Its Brand of Happiness

2011-03-23T11:18:00.000-07:00

A look at the new brand. From The Independent.

Today The Independent reports that positive psychology paradise Bhutan is opening up its marketing floodgates. Having convinced many other countries that happiness is worth measuring (as evidenced by the recent spate of nations adopting Gross National Happiness measures), Bhutan now wants to convince tourists. The Tourism Council of Bhutan hopes to do this with their new branding slogan: "Bhutan, happiness is a place."

According to the story, Bhutanese tourism started in 1974, only two years after King Jigme Singye Wangchuck started this whole Gross National Happiness thing. Tourism has grown in recent years, but Bhutan wants visitors who don't impact the environment or culture, preferring low-key visits with larger financial contributions. The government calls these visitors "high-end" tourists.

Last year, Bhutan received 40,873 of these high-end tourists, well over its goal of 35,000. By 2013, the country is hopes to receive at least 100,000 annually. They hope that this marketing campaign attracts people who respect tradition and the environment.

So if you're filthy rich but not filthy, think of Bhutan for your next vacation!

New Mobile Phone App for Journaling Happy Thoughts

2011-03-22T10:21:00.000-07:00

A look at the app. From
Shawn Achor.

Do you like journaling with your mobile phone, but need some help keeping things positive? Then maybe this app is for you! Business Wire reports on a free new iPhone and Android app called "I Journal" that prompts you to journal about things you are grateful for. It also lets you record voice memos and take photos relating to your daily experiences with meditation and acts of kindness.

The app comes from a partnership between positive psychologist Shawn Achor and software developer Catch.com. Shawn Achor says, "When you write down a list of three good things that happen per day, your brain will be forced to scan the last 24 hours for positives, boosting your happiness. Now, instead of dusting off an old journal, I am thrilled to team up with the experts at Catch.com to bring this proven practice into the new millennium. For the next twenty-one days, record three things you’re grateful for on your mobile device in I Journal. If you try to make at least one of them work-related, you’ll be training your brain to become more skilled at letting go of daily hassles and noticing the good things about your job."

Of course, you could probably do all of those things without a new app, but having them all in one package makes it that much easier to do them regularly. I don't have an Android phone or iPhone, but this app sounds pretty interesting, and the price is certainly right!

Happiness Course in Ireland Thrives

2011-03-21T10:48:00.000-07:00

Dr. Deirdre MacIntyre. From Independent.ie.

Today Independent.ie reports on an Irish happiness class that is receiving offers for international expansion around the world. The class was originally offered only for teachers in Maynooth, but in February of this year, it opened its doors to everyone.

Dr. Deirdre MacIntyre, who runs the course, is the director of the Institute of Child Education & Psychology Europe, Maynooth. She started the course in May 2010 because of pervasive negative attitudes, saying, "We did an online survey of about 400 teachers and parents in May 2010 and discovered that more than 75% of respondents reported that children and young people were anxious about the recession. We decided to look for an antidote to this depression, helplessness, and pessimism."

The course lasts eight weeks, during which participants learn various techniques to improve their psychological wellbeing. Dr. MacIntyre focuses on the positive psychology theory that humans need a 3:1 ratio of positivity to negativity to thrive, and a 5:1 ratio to really flourish.

Dr. MacIntyre partnered with Action for Happiness to offer many scholarships to the €99 course.

Daily Mail Reporter Tests Her Own Blood for Happiness

2011-03-17T10:26:00.000-07:00

Suzanne Taylor doing research. From the Daily Mail.

Can a blood test determine someone's happiness? I don't know, but that's what Suzanne Taylor of the Daily Mail tried to find out. She let researchers sample her blood and examine its oxytocin levels. Oxytocin--sometimes called the "love hormone"--is released into the blood when someone touches another human being. The chemical helps create feelings of trust, security, and possibly sexual arousal in the brain, with more oxytocin creating more positive feelings.

So what actions release the most oxytocin? That's what Suzanne Taylor wanted to find out, so in a rather unscientific test, she did four different activities on four separate days and had blood tests after each one. She went on a date, spent time with her daughter, went shopping, and spent time with a female friend.

Here are the results, in descending order of the amount of oxytocin from each activity (the theory is that the higher the number, the more actual happiness she felt):

Time with daughter: 115 picograms of oxytocin per mL of blood.
Time with female friend: 94 picograms/mL.
Shopping: 88 picograms/mL.
Date: 62 picograms/mL.

So there it is. No real surprises, except maybe that shopping scored higher than actual contact with a human being (the date, even though it apparently went well). Of course these results mean very little, seeing as this is an uncontrolled test with too many variables (maybe the date scored lowest because it was the first day tested, and she wasn't used to the needle yet). Also, everyone's oxytocin levels are probably different, making these results almost meaningless for other people.

This is an interesting course of study, however, so if anyone could do a similar test with a control group and a large sample size, the results would probably be quite helpful to everyone. Of course, you would need to find a lot of test subjects willing to be pricked by needles every day, or at least find a better way to check oxytocin.

Twitter Users Tend to Stay in Groups with the Same Mood as Them

2011-03-16T11:08:00.000-07:00

From HIMSHILP.

Sorry for the lack of an update yesterday, folks, but I actually couldn't find a new story to cover. It was all old news, except for continuing coverage of the tragic events following the tsunami in Japan, which are outside my ability to handle. For more up-to-date information on relief efforts and the disaster itself, visit Google's excellent crisis center here.

As for what's going on in the world of positive psychology, Online Social Media reports that Twitter users group themselves together by mood. This information comes from a new study published in New Scientist, probably timed to coincide with Twitter's upcoming fifth anniversary.

This Cornell University study examined around 102,000 Twitter users over six months, totaling around 129 million tweets. The researchers analyzed words in the tweets to determine users' subjective wellbeing. They found that users of happy words tend to stick with other happy tweeters, and "unhappy" tweeters stay in their own groups.

Johann Bollen, main author of the study, says, "Beyond demographic features such as age, sex, and race, even psychological states such as 'loneliness' can be assortative in a social network." The research doesn't cover why this might be, but it seems that the old adage of "misery loves company" holds true, even in a massive, wide-open, semi-anonymous social network like Twitter.

Zappos CEO to Start New Company to Teach Happiness Principles

2011-03-14T10:59:00.000-07:00

Tony Hsieh. From Fast Company.

Today Fast Company reports that Tony Hsieh, billionaire CEO of Zappos, plans to start a new company based on the principles in his book Delivering Happiness. The new start-up, also called Delivering Happiness, will advise businesses on value-based management and design a line of "motivational apparel." Hsieh (pronounced "Shay") says that his company’s root principles are to inspire, connect, educate, and experience. He suggests that companies adhere to their principles, even when they impact the bottom line.

In the future, Hsieh also wants to expand beyond helping businesses. He and his business partner Jenn Lim hope to publish educational literature for college students and provide "experience packages"--which include things like helicopter pilot lessons and foreign trips. Whether these packages will help longterm happiness or just create short-term pleasure is anyone's guess, but Zappos has an incredibly low employee turnover rate, even in its call center, so Hsieh probably knows what he's doing.

(You can read about Tony Hsieh at the Global Happiness Summit here, or see a video of a speech he made to Google here.)

Casual Friday: A Trip to the Art Museum

2011-03-11T11:11:00.000-08:00

As Aristotle was fond of saying, "There comes a time in one's life when one has no idea what to post on one's blog." For me, that time is now, so I'm just going to post a bunch of paintings that I like, because art is a great method of transmitting meaning and joy. I don't know if anyone else will like them and I don't know if most of these would even be classified as "happy" art, but they do all have a positive feeling to them. (You can click each one for the full-sized version.)

"First Steps (after Millet)" by Vincent Van Gogh. He painted this in 1890 while he was a voluntary insane asylum patient at Saint-Remy, where he also did some his most famous work (like "Starry Night").

"The Botanist" by Louis Wain. Louis Wain is one of my favorite painters, even though he's not really considered serious or deep by the art world (because he mostly painted cats with funny anthropomorphic features). He is also famous for becoming schizophrenic, with his cat paintings often looking completely abstract and psychedelic before psychedelic was even a word. You can check out other Wain paintings at Catland.

"Every Girl Should Have a Unicorn" by Dr. Seuss. Many people don't know this, but the famous children's author and artist Dr. Seuss also made paintings for adults--he just didn't release them usually. Well, his "adult" paintings are just as colorful and imaginative as the ones in his children's books, if not more so. You can see them in the excellent book The Secret Art of Dr. Seuss.

Hopefully these are some paintings you haven't seen before. I'm keeping it short so YOU feel free to post any paintings you like in the comments!

Happiness From Romantic Relationships May Dissipate After Three Years

2011-03-10T10:57:00.000-08:00

From Uber Review.

Tracy Clark-Flory of Salon reports on new research that shows the happiness and passion of marriages and other romantic relationships tend to fizzle out after three years. Part of this information comes from a new study suspiciously funded by Warner Brothers, but to avoid the icky feeling of corporate research, the article focuses on a 2007 study that found similar results.

In this 2007 study, researchers interviewed each participant twice with six years between interviews. Some participants were single at the time of the first interview, then found a longterm relationship by the second, while some were already in a relationship, then got married by the second interview, and some were married during both interviews. Results showed that, on average, married people were happier, but that this happiness boost declined after three years. Researchers call this short-term boost the "honeymoon effect."

Kelly Musick, sociologist and one of the researchers on the study, says the decline after the honeymoon effect may be caused by shattered expectations of longterm romance. In other words, after three years, couples learn that marriage is more about doing laundry and other chores than constant romance. Musick is quick to point out, however, that these results are averages, so some couples even improve their happiness and passion over many years.

Gallup Finds "Happiest Man in America" in Hawaii

2011-03-09T10:38:00.000-08:00

That's Alvin on the right. From the Daily Record.

Like Big Foot or the Loch Ness Monster, a "happiest person" in any given country might seem like a mythical creature whose only evidence is some sham photographs or an odd sighting by unreliable sources. Well, according to this story from the Los Angeles Times, Gallup has apparently done the unthinkable (or maybe unnecessary?) and found the happiest man in America: 69-year-old Alvin Wong of Hawaii.

Gallup accomplished this by first assembling data on what traits and situations make people the happiest. They found that happy Americans tend to be one or more of the following things: tall, Asian American, Jewish, 65 or older, married with children, living in Hawaii, and running their own business with a household income of more than $120,000 a year. So a theoretical "happiest person in America" would be all of these things put together, right?

Well, Gallup found that this collection of traits is not just theoretical, but that one real person in America actually meets all of them, and his name is Alvin Wong. Alvin is a Chinese-American convert to Judaism who is 5ft 10in tall, has children, owns his own business, and all the rest. The Daily Record reports that Alvin says his life philosophy is "if you can't laugh at yourself, life is going to be pretty terrible for you." He also says, of the study itself, "This is a practical joke, right?"

Who can blame him, really? Congrats, Alvin, on apparently winning at life! Your new title carries with it a lot of expectation, but you seem like the kind of guy who can take the pressure!

Children Apparently DO Make Parents Happier, Just Later in Life

2011-03-08T10:50:00.000-08:00

Look on the bright side: someone else will
probably deal with messes like this after you're 40.
From the Missourian.

In spite of the common wisdom that children bring happiness to their parents, psychologists have long known that parents' happiness scores actually drop the more children they have. Now, however, Medical News Daily reports that this trend reverses after age 40. Once parents reach that age, they become happier with up to three children, and after age 50, they become happier no matter how many children they have, all independent of sex, income, or partnership status.

This information comes from a survey by the University of Pennsylvania and the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR). The survey covered around 200,000 men and women in 86 countries from 1981 to 2005.

MPIDR demographer Mikko Myrskylä theorizes that the change in happiness has to do with life stages of the parents, saying, "Seeing the age trend of happiness independent of sex, income, partnership status and even fertility rates shows that one has to explain it from the perspective of the stage of parents' life." The negative aspects of early childhood--like messes, troublemaking, and safety concerns--often overshadow the positive aspects, but as children mature, parents can rest easy and enjoy the benefits. Researchers also believe that the financial burdens of early childhood weigh on young parents, because countries with better-developed welfare systems show less difference in happiness between people with children and those without.

People's decision to have children is usually independent of what science shows, but in case it does affect your decision, this stuff is good to know anyway!

Racial Identity May Be Part of Happiness

2011-03-07T10:39:00.000-08:00

A strange old chart of racial classification.
From Associated Content.

The Michigan State University website reports on a new study that shows African Americans who identify more strongly with their race tend to be happier. The study, published in Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, surveyed black adults in Michigan.

Stevie C.Y. Yap, lead researcher on the study and MSU doctoral candidate, says, "This is the first empirical study we know of that shows a relationship between racial identity and happiness," even though previous studies have made a connection between racial identity and self esteem.

Yap hypothesizes that this link may have something to do with a sense of belongingness. Do these results apply to other racial groups as well? We don't know yet, but further research might find out.

Britain Preps Study of 90,000 Children

2011-03-03T11:05:00.000-08:00

Prime examples of British children. "Charlie Bit Me"
screenshot from cityrag.

Today parentdish reports on Britain's next phase of its national happiness program: a study of 90,000 British children. Both children and parents will be surveyed, hopefully giving more insight into the roles that different social, economic, biological, environmental, and health factors play in the lives of children than previous studies. This phase will begin in 2012 and will cost around £33.5 million.

British Science Minister David Willetts says, "Birth cohort studies provide a unique insight into all the factors affecting people's lives and are central to our understanding of child development. They produce powerful evidence that informs government policy on a wide range of issues, including social mobility, inequality, education, and public health. This in turn has positive economic impacts through changes in the delivery of public services, earlier diagnosis of diseases, and improvements in quality of life."

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg supports the program, adding, "This government is committed to the long term - to making decisions today that will promote a better future: a more prosperous economy, and a fairer society."

China's Prime Minister Orders Officials to Make People Happy

2011-03-02T10:54:00.000-08:00

Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. From The Telegraph.

Continuing last week's China coverage, today The Telegraph reports that Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao plans to judge officials on how effectively they make people happy. He says that citizen happiness in each official's province is more important than "how many high-rise buildings and projects [the official] had been involved in." These statements are a prelude to China's version of parliament, the National People's Congress, which convenes this weekend.

However, before you start thinking that China is sincere in turning a new leaf with Bhutan-like Gross National Happiness measures, consider that this new "focus on happiness" is largely a cynical reaction to the current protests in the Middle East; a tactic meant to stop the protests from spreading. In fact, China has actually ramped up its online censorship and harassment of the foreign press, recently arresting around 100 protesters.

But that doesn't stop Chinese officials from ACTING like they care. As one official put it, "It's all about making people happy these days. Happy, happy, happy, that's the only word that counts at the moment." Communist newspaper The People's Daily also gets in on the act, writing, "Let happiness take off among the masses." The Communist Party has repeated "happiness" so often that it has replaced their previous favorite buzzword, "harmony."

So we'll have to keep an eye on China and see whether these new policies have any effect. Chinese citizens can usually see through propaganda campaigns, so Chinese officials may want to start delivering on their promises.

Happy Adolescence Leads to Happy Adulthood...and Divorce

2011-03-01T11:25:00.000-08:00

So now when I look at pics like this, I know around 20%
of these excited kids will be divorced. Thanks science!
From English Subject Centre.

Apparently in keeping with this week's divorce theme, the Vancouver Sun reports that a happy adolescence increases the likelihood of a happy adulthood, but also increases the likelihood of divorce. This information comes from a study in the The Journal of Positive Psychology that analyzed data on 2,776 British citizens born in 1946. The data concerned teacher evaluations of students aged 13 to 15, rating them on their popularity, ease of making friends, energy levels, and overall happiness.

This interesting rating method revealed that around 20% of the kids who scored highly in multiple areas were divorced by age 53, compared to around 16% of the kids who scored poorly, even with no change in the likelihood of marriage. The difference of four percent appears small, but is significant enough to warrant further investigation. (For comparison, the divorce rate in the United States is somewhere around 43%, increasing to around 75% the more marriages a person has.)

The study, carried out by Felicia Huppert of the University of Cambridge and Marcus Richards of Britain's Medical Research Council, says, "The explanation for this is not immediately obvious and warrants further investigation. One possible factor might be that positive children have higher self-esteem or self-efficacy than their peers and are therefore more willing to leave a marriage if it is not meeting their needs."

HOWEVER, before you try to protect teenagers by making them sad, the study goes on to say that the benefits of a happy adolescence outweigh the downsides. Happy teenagers go on to become adults who are more satisfied with their jobs, more social, and 60% less likely to develop mental disorders. Whew!

Divorce or Separation May Be Worse for Child Happiness Than Poverty

2011-02-28T12:06:00.000-08:00

Ingmar Bergman's Scenes from a Marriage.
From An opinion on film.

Today The Daily Mail reports on something that you may already suspect: divorce or separation of parents has a more negative effect on children's life satisfaction than poverty. This information comes from a new survey by the Understanding Society, a British government-funded organization.

Initial findings show that British children rank lower in overall life satisfaction than children in other developed countries. Parental happiness plays a big role in how happy they feel. They also experience a higher prevalence of bullying than children in the United States.

The researchers interviewed 34,500 people, including 2,000 children between 10 and 15 years old. The organization hopes to survey around 100,000 people every year to gain a deeper understanding of issues such as health, crime, finances, and work.

Professor Nick Buck, the director of Understanding Society, says, "We are collecting a much richer set of data than the national census, for instance, and I think this is going to lead to a major change in the way social research is performed, to understand how individual wellbeing and happiness is developed, and how behavior impacts on later outcomes."

SPECIAL REPORT: Downtown Independent Screening

2011-02-25T11:01:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I've done one of these, partly because they always seem to go well, so it gets repetitive, but also because I haven't been to one in awhile. Also, theaters are dark places, so my pictures don't turn out as often as I'd hope, except when I take pictures of hallways for some reason.

Anyway, as usual The HAPPY Movie had a SOLD OUT screening, this time at the fantastic Downtown Independent theater. I've never been there before, but I may start going regularly because they have an excellent facility, an incredible staff, and great taste in movies. This screening also featured special guests Darlene Mininni, author of The Emotional Toolkit, and Mark Adler, composer for the film.

We'd also like to give a HUGE thanks to Project Fresh for making it all happen! Couldn't have done it without you!

I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking (click for bigger versions):

The stage.

Roko introducing the movie in front of an outdated ad of Carlos for some reason. (Carlos is excellent, by the way. You should see it, but the long version is five hours long.)

Roko doing the Q&A with Mark and Darlene after the movie.

The packed audience. Some people sat on the stairs.

Mark Adler talking about his composing methods.

The lobby area reception after the Q&A.

A view from the roof of the theater. Looking at the interesting parking garage across the street.

And now some artsy shots of lights and hallways and stuff. Hopefully they'll expand your mind or something:

Britain Starts Their Happiness Survey

2011-02-24T10:14:00.000-08:00

Prime Minister David Cameron and an anonymous dog.
From Green Consultancy.

Yes, as reported back in November, Britain plans to focus on the wellbeing of its citizens. Well, now The Telegraph reports that the nation's first official happiness survey is afoot. This first batch will cover 200,000 people over the age of 16, asking them to rate themselves on the following questions on a scale of 0 to 10:

Overall, how satisfied are you with your life nowadays?
Overall, how happy did you feel yesterday?
Overall, how anxious did you feel yesterday?
Overall, to what extent do you feel the things you do in your life are worthwhile?

Future questions will probably focus on more specific areas, such as the state of their marriage, friendships, and health. Paul Allin, head of the wellbeing project, expects the large sample size to rule out most dishonest answers, saying, "We essentially trust people to give us the answers they give us and we will work what they say."

The whole initiative comes from Prime Minister David Cameron's belief that governments play a role in helping their citizens "feel better." It is run by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and has a current budget of £2 million a year. Previous surveys show that Britain's life satisfaction has failed to keep up with its GDP over the last 40 years.

Lifestyle Changes May Treat Depression as Effectively as Drugs and Counseling

2011-02-23T11:16:00.000-08:00

From Layout Sparks wallpapers.

According to this story from Medical News Today, simple lifestyle additions like exercise, nature walks, and generosity may be just as effective as drugs and therapy for treating some mental illnesses. This information comes from a paper in the January issue of American Psychologist, the American Psychological Association's (APA) flagship journal.

The paper, authored by Dr. Roger Walsh of the University of California Irvine, reviews previous research on what he calls "therapeutic lifestyle changes" (or TLCs). Examples of TLCs include exercise, nutrition, social connection, recreation, relaxation, spiritual involvement, spending time in nature, and service to others. He says, "Lifestyle changes can offer significant therapeutic advantages for patients, therapists, and societies, yet are insufficiently appreciated, taught or utilized. In the 21st century, therapeutic lifestyles may need to be a central focus of mental, medical and public health."

Some highlights from Dr. Walsh's findings (which you may have already heard about in other contexts) include:

Exercise helps reduce anxiety and depression, yet also improves kids' school grades, reduces age-related memory loss, and increases neurogenesis.
Eating fruits, vegetables, and fish may reduce the symptoms of affective and schizophrenic disorders.
Altruism can give you a "helper's high" (or "giver's high") that carries numerous physical and mental benefits.

There are a lot more, so read the actual story to see them all. A lot of this stuff may be common sense, but it's nice to have it in one place. So if you or someone you know is going through depression or a similar mental illness, try some of these lifestyle changes before spending too much money on drugs or counseling. You'll always have those more conventional methods to fall back on, and it doesn't hurt to try!

Fake Smiles Can Apparently Make You Depressed

2011-02-22T10:41:00.000-08:00

BBC's "Spot the Fake Smile" test. From Greg Hughes.

Do you often try to smile, even when you're not happy? According to this story from The New York Times, you may actually be worsening your mood. This information comes from a study in the Academy of Management Journal, wherein researchers examined a group of bus drivers for two weeks. Why bus drivers? Because they often smile whenever a passenger gets on their bus, which theoretically gave researchers a large data set.

The study found a difference between "surface acting," or fake smiling, and "deep acting," which is a technique of using positive thoughts or memories to bring out real smiles (similar to method acting, I guess). The researchers had the bus drivers alternate between surface acting and deep acting on different days. On days when the drivers surface acted, they tended to become depressed and withdrawn from work. On days when they deep acted, their moods became more positive and their productivity increased.

These differences in technique affected women more than they did men. Dr. Brent Scott, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan and co-author of the study, suspects that cultural norms are to blame. He says that women are socialized to be more emotionally expressive, so hiding their emotions may strain them more.

So the lesson here might be to avoid smiling when you're not feeling it. Instead, try to recall enough positive feelings that your smile comes naturally.

By the way, want to know which of your friends are genuinely happy and which ones are secretly wallowing in an existential morass of boredom and contempt, hidden only by a plastered-on contraction of facial muscles and teeth that they think will dull the pain, but in fact only pulls them deeper down the gaping hole of self-pity that they call life? Then head over to BBC's Spot the Fake Smile test! It only takes a minute or two, and you may not be as good as you think. I scored 16 out of 20! See if you can beat that!

China May Start Caring About Happiness

2011-02-21T11:18:00.000-08:00

Well, that was easy! Everyone in China is already happy,
if this 100%-accurate portrait is any indication.
From Cultural Revolution Artifacts.

Here in America, today is Presidents Day, but for our Chinese friends on the other side of the world, it is the start of a new five-year plan. According to this story from China.org.cn, Chinese leaders may start prioritizing the happiness of its citizens. However, before you start thinking this will turn into a Bhutan-like Gross National Happiness program, it seems that the Chinese system will be much more focused on economic measures.

For instance, instead of emphasizing the measurement of happiness, Beijing plans to lower its GDP by one percent and raise income for its residents by two percent. Other cities will go through similar adjustments, and social security programs will also be revamped. Shanxi Province in northern China plans to add freelance, migrant workers, and farmers to its social security network, and Shandong Province will aid disadvantaged residents when prices rise. Other provinces also want to improve their social services while lowering GDP.

These policies act as a response to survey results that show citizens believe economic issues to be most important. Out of 11,519 respondents, around 30% believe "economic status," "quality of life," and "public services" are the three primary factors in their happiness.

(Remember to click my Gross National Happiness tag to read what other countries are doing with regards to happiness.)

Casual Friday: The Blog Turns 100! And SPECIAL REPORT on the Roxie

2011-02-18T12:12:00.000-08:00

Here's a photo of the blog today. From Trustar Vibrations.

Yay! Today the blog turns 100! Well, not 100 YEARS old, but 100 POSTS. Yes, this is my 100th post here, and I intend to use it in the laziest way possible.

If you don't want to be as lazy as me, go to San Francisco tomorrow. Why? Because you can see a "sneak-preview" screening of the documentary HAPPY at the Roxie Theater at 7:00 pm. Director Roko Belic will be there, and so will Melissa Moody, one of the people featured in the movie. They will hold a Q&A session after the film.

Tickets are $10, or $6 for seniors. You can order online or see more info at the Roxie website. You can also pay at the box office. As this is a non-profit, fully independent film, proceeds go toward a proper theatrical release (expensive costs borne by a movie studio or distributor on most films).

Remember: Tomorrow, February 19, 7 pm, at this address:

Roxie Theater
3117 16th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 863-1087

Hope you can make it!

Marketers Teach Happiness to Sell Products

2011-02-17T11:08:00.000-08:00

One of the most well-known campaigns to sell "happiness."
From 2010 and High Heels.

Today I read this interesting Fast Company article about a consultant who specializes in teaching corporations how to market happiness. Her name is Jennifer Aaker, and she teaches a Stanford graduate marketing class entitled "Designing Happiness". She also consults with AOL, Facebook, Adobe, and other corporations.

According to Aaker, "The idea of brands enabling happiness and providing greater meaning in the world is powerful. People have an aversion to anything that feels overly manufactured." The article also mentions John Kenny of the ad agency DraftFCB saying that nostalgia and other "safe emotions" can create happiness in an ad campaign, making happiness into a commodity used to sell products.

Students in Aaker's class create a photo project by taking pictures of happy moments for a month, then rating those moments on a scale of one to ten, thereby allowing themselves to discover moments that they didn't realize could make them happy. They apply the happiness principals they learn to a fictional company.

How do YOU feel about this corporatized streak in happiness research? We've seen before that when corporations take employee happiness seriously, they increase productivity and stock price, so everyone benefits. Happiness classes can also be a great experience for students, and Jennifer Aaker sounds like a great teacher.

HOWEVER, I sort of feel like using those principles to sell products steps over the line into creepiness. Does Coca Cola actually make people happy? No, it doesn't--at least in the longterm, after the sugar and caffeine leave your system. Coke is flavored high fructose corn syrup that will harm your body and actually ruin your smile if you drink too much, so why pretend that it causes happiness? It's the same thing with these other companies. I'm sure marketers love creating emotional links in consumers, but in the real world their products invite no emotion whatsoever. Now they seem to be explicitly using happiness as just another cynical tool used to manipulate consumers instead of a worthy goal in itself.

Maybe people will know the difference between the short-term pleasure that comes from a newly-bought item and the longterm happiness that comes from meaningful social connection and personal action. Hopefully?

The Vast Majority of British Couples Are Happy

2011-02-16T11:01:00.000-08:00

Here's what every British wedding should
look like. From the BBC.

Continuing this week's Valentine's theme, this story from United Press International says that almost all British couples are happy, but married couples are even happier. In fact, around 90% of married women and around 93% of married men are happy in their relationship, compared to around 88% cohabiting women and 92% cohabiting men.

This information comes from Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex. Researchers surveyed couples (both members individually) on a 1-to-7 happiness scale, with 1 meaning extremely unhappy and 7 meaning perfect. The survey also found that the happiest couples have been together less than five years, have no children, have an employed man, and both members hold a college degree.

It would be interesting to view similar data--possibly including gay couples--for other countries to see if Britain is unique in this regard. I found this article, which I can't view fully, but which seems to suggest that other countries have similar marriage happiness correlations, especially developed nations. That's good news if you're not British!

Yale Photography Exhibition Showcases Happiness

2011-02-15T10:31:00.000-08:00

From Yale Daily News.

Today Yale Daily News reports on a new photo exhibition that aims to show the contagious nature of happiness. The exhibition, entitled "Happiness Around the World," is sponsored by the International Student Organization and "HappyHap @ Yale," a student group focused on happiness.

Sunnie Tölle, co-founder of HappyHap, says, "One of the exhibition’s goals is to showcase in an artistic way that happiness is contagious and can inspire, empower and unite people across countries and cultures. Happiness can be expressed in infinitely many ways."

The photographs also entered a competition. Wanwan Lu, the first-place winner with a photo of a Cambodian child in a rice field, says, "I was travelling in Cambodia and saw this little girl playing around in the mud and she looked happy. We all need some positive energy in life."

You can see "Happiness Around the World" in the Davenport Art Gallery until February 19. Donations to the exhibition go to support SmileTrain, a charity that helps children with cleft lips.

Diminished Spending May Help Build Romance

2011-02-14T11:00:00.000-08:00

Try not to eat them all at once. From NewsFuze.

Today is Valentine's Day, a day when we give chocolates and roses to each other to commemorate one or more Christian priests/bishops/missionaries who may or may not have performed wedding ceremonies/built a basilica/died anonymously. But before you spend too much on gifts, consider this article from The Sacramento Bee. Apparently a lot of couples find that NOT spending money keeps their relationship strong.

The University of Virginia's National Marriage Project found that around 52% of married Americans (in a "Very Happy Marriage") believe that the Great Recession has deepened their commitment to marriage. Not only that, but around 38% of couples who had been considering divorce have recommitted to marriage because of the lack of money. These results come from a survey of 1,167 married Americans 18 to 45 years old.

So those of you who forgot to buy a Valentine's Day gift, don't worry: your absent-mindedness will only strengthen your relationship. (That's how this works, right? I hope?) For an especially romantic evening, you can read the actual study, "The Great Recession and Marriage," in PDF format.

Casual Friday: Foods That Make You Happier

2011-02-11T10:28:00.000-08:00

You are what you eat! Don't you want to look
like this? Portrait by Giuseppe Arcimboldo.
From Wikipedia.

Today I thought it would be nice to highlight diet tips that can improve your mood, using this article by Elsa Jones from Herald.ie and this article by Mary Bourgeois from Top Wire XS as guidance. As most of you probably know, food can have a big effect on levels of your serotonin, also known as the "happiness hormone" (even though it's a neurotransmitter, not a hormone). But what kind of diet is best? Let's find out!

Eat folate-rich foods. A study by the University of York and the Hull York Medical School showed that low folate levels can lead to depression, so eat foods like peas, bananas, oranges, broccoli, and others like them.
Eat protein with every meal. Protein-rich food keeps blood sugar balanced and contains tryptophan, which is necessary for serotonin production. Some good foods in this category are turkey, cottage cheese, and bananas.
Eat B vitamins, especially B6. B vitamins help with serotonin production, but B6 also helps in the metabolism of red blood cells. B-vitamin foods include oats, leafy green vegetables, and eggs.
Eat omega-3 foods, like fish. A study by the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry showed that eating fish capsules three times a day improved bipolar and depression patients' moods after eight weeks. This makes sense because omega-3 helps create dopamine (another neurotransmitter related to happiness) and slows the breakdown of serotonin.
Eat vitamin D. Most of us don't get enough vitamin D from sunlight, especially in the winter, which can cause problems because this vitamin is a mood booster. Some good vitamin-D foods are oily fish, leafy green vegetables, and eggs.

So there you have it. Give some of these tips a try. You'll probably be glad you did!

Patriotism Makes for Happier People

2011-02-10T10:27:00.000-08:00

Captain America: happy man, or happiest man?
(Probably not, except if he's poor.)
Portrait by Alex Ross. From Fox News.

Today LiveScience reports on a new 128-country study that shows the more patriotic a population is, the happier they feel in general. This especially applies to poor and non-Western nations. The survey, conducted by Gallup, asked people about their income, job satisfaction, and opinions about their country.

This month's Psychological Science journal published the analysis of the data by Mike Morrison and Ed Diener. As Morrison says, "You can hear politicians in any country declare, 'We live in the best country in the world!' and people cheer." The researchers hypothesize that people with low income find patriotism to be consoling in rough times, while wealthier and Western respondents attribute their happiness to the individual factors of health, job satisfaction, and standard of living.

The study implies that societal characteristics may influence happiness more than people realize. Ed Diener says, "What is more, societal characteristics become even more important to happiness when one's life is not going well. This might explain why nationalism, the loyalty of sports fans, and religiosity can be very strong in the toughest of times."

Facebook Users May Overestimate Their Friends' Happiness

2011-02-09T11:09:00.000-08:00

None of these people are having as much fun as you think.
From The Huffington Post.

Good news for jealous people who use Facebook: The Times of India reports that most users overestimate the positive feelings that their friends post on their profiles. These results come from Stanford University, which surveyed students about their moods and what they thought their friends were feeling. When the researchers compared the friends' actual moods, they found that students underestimate their friends' negative feelings and overestimate the positive, which in turn made respondents unhappy because they felt less normal.

As lead researcher Alex Jordan says, "People think, 'Why am I alone on a Saturday night' or, 'Why I am not in a relationship?' When people overestimate the happiness of friends, they felt more negatively about their own lives." The study revealed that the misattribution of friends' feelings happened even between people who knew each other very well.

The more students underestimated the negative emotions of their friends, the more their feelings of loneliness increased--a trend that Catalina Toma of the University of Wisconsin says can be emotionally harmful to passive Facebook users. She writes, "People naturally compare themselves to those around them, a process known as social comparison. If you perceive yourself to be doing better than your friends in an area that is important for you the social comparison will make you feel good. However, if you think your friends surpass you in an area that's important to your self-concept, you will likely feel dejected as a result of the comparison."

You can read the actual study, "Misery Has More Company Than People Think: Underestimating the Prevalence of Others’ Negative Emotions," in the January 2011 issue of Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (if you're willing to pay for it or you have a SAGE Journals Online account).

Young Indians Are Actually Pretty Happy

2011-02-08T10:56:00.000-08:00

From dot-EDU.

Today CNN-IBN and Hindustan Times report that youth living in Indian cities are happier than expected. Around 74.6% of people 25 years old or younger feel happy with their lives, while around 20.7% feel neutral, leaving only around 5% feeling unhappy. This may come as a surprise, especially as India's urban sprawl seems to have little to no effect on respondents' answers.

Unfortunately, the news story doesn't go into detail about how the survey was conducted, but it does have some interesting figures on which cities are happiest. Jaipur comes out on top with 91% of respondents saying they are very happy, with Mumbai (where this slum pic was taken) coming in second at 89.5% very happy. Guwahati is the unhappiest city, with around 43.5% happiness.

It would be interesting to see the methodology of this survey, or a breakdown of responses from slum residents compared to those living in better neighborhoods, but for now, the news story itself has some informative and easy-to-read graphs that you should see.

New "International Journal of Wellbeing" Offers Articles on Happiness

2011-02-07T10:10:00.000-08:00

From the International Journal of Wellbeing.

Ahh, doesn't the Super Bowl put you in the mood to curl up and read a new scientific journal? Well, you may be in luck. Today the Wellington.Scoop reports on the launch of a new online research journal that specializes in positive psychology. The journal--founded by Dan Weijers of the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand--is called the International Journal of Wellbeing.

Aaron Jarden, co-founder of the journal and president of the New Zealand Association of Positive Psychology, says the IJW is a natural extension of the International Wellbeing Study, which is being conducted by around 70 researchers worldwide. The journal's editorial board consists of around 50 top researchers on four continents.

The founders hope to affect positive change around the world, especially with the recent crop of Gross National Happiness laws. As Weijers says, "...policymakers are increasingly being asked to take various aspects of wellbeing into account when making new policies. Since the journal is open access and accessibly written, policymakers from all over the world will be able to gain deeper insight into what promotes wellbeing so that society is able to flourish."

The journal already boasts papers from "father of positive psychology" Martin Seligman and Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman. All articles are free to view and download, so check it out!

Casual Friday: Loneliness

2011-02-04T11:04:00.000-08:00

From Wine Press of Words.

Today is Friday, a day when many people try to put away their stress and go out with friends, so it seems as good a time as any to discuss the importance of social interaction. I'll be using the excellent book loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection by John T. Cacioppo and William Patrick for most of my information, so read that if you want to look deeper.

Most of you probably realize that habitual social isolation affects health negatively, but you may not know to what extent. According to a study done by epidemiologist Lisa Berkman, people with few social ties are two to three times more likely to die of ischemic heart disease, circulatory disease, cancer, respiratory failure, gastrointestinal failure, and all other causes of death. This makes extreme loneliness just about as dangerous as obesity, lack of exercise, or smoke inhalation.

Many researchers were skeptical of such harsh results, but studies since then have supported them. One of the most extensive studies of loneliness was conducted by the authors (Cacioppo and Patrick) themselves. At Ohio State University, they gave volunteer test subjects a battery of tests, including not only daily surveys of their subjective wellbeing, but also objective physiological measurements like blood tests, salivary gland tests, and even sleep tests. The results show that lonely people (especially older people) experience chronic stress at a 25% higher rate, and this stress compounds over a lifetime. On brain scans they are even less happy than normal when they DO finally experience social connection.

Okay, so now that (I hope) I've convinced you that loneliness is a serious health problem, what counts as loneliness? The authors define it as a lack of meaningful social interaction. The interaction has to be meaningful because people standing in a crowded mall can be just as lonely as someone alone in a basement, if not more so. If you feel better with a small group of friends than a large one, that's okay. It's the quality of the interaction that counts, not the quantity.

As for how to get out of a lonely slump, that's a difficult question. You might start by looking for people with similar interests as you. I recommend the website Meetup, which allows you to find groups and clubs in your area, then meet them in person. The important thing is to keep trying, even if it doesn't seem to go well at first (loneliness can amplify negative feelings of yourself, even when you have no cause for concern).

This post is already rather long, so might as well go read the book at this point. Just remember that everyone goes through these feelings at some point, so even if you're lonely, you're not alone.

Loving-Kindness Meditation Shown to Produce Longterm Results

2011-02-03T10:17:00.000-08:00

Just find a sittin' rock in the middle of a lake
and you're good to go! From Meditations Online.

A somewhat-new Journal of Positive Psychology study that may have slipped through the cracks shows that loving-kindness meditation produces longterm benefits, even when the subject stops meditating regularly. The study comes from Michael A. Cohn at the University of California San Francisco and Barbara L. Fredrickson at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While the short-term benefits of meditation are well documented, this may be the first time beginning meditation students were followed up on over the long term (as far as I know).

Cohn and Fredrickson conducted their initial loving-kindness meditation experiment on 202 beginning meditators over two months in 2008. Then, after 15 months without communication, the researchers contacted the subjects again and had them fill out a survey of their current emotional state.

The results show that people who continued regular meditation after the initial study felt the most positive emotions during the follow up. However, even those who stopped meditating felt more positive than the control group, who never started meditating in the first place. This is significant because while feelings of happiness from certain events (buying a new car, getting a job promotion, etc.) dissipate rather quickly, feelings of happiness from meditation apparently endure.

The actual paper goes into much more detail, so you should read that if you're interested.

Brazilian Lawmakers Consider "Happiness Bill"

2011-02-02T09:53:00.000-08:00

The bill will force everyone to look like this.
From The Telegraph.

Today The Telegraph reports that Brazil may soon pass a "Gross National Happiness"-type of happiness bill, possibly in time for Carnival. The bill is currently in the Senate, which reconvened this week after Dilma Rousseff--the first woman president in Brazil's history--was inaugurated on New Year's Day.

A non-government group called the "Happier Movement" was largely responsible for getting the bill this far. Mauro Motoryn, director of the Happier Movement, says "Happiness isn’t a game, people confuse it with something that is superfluous and it isn’t. We need quality health care, which we don’t have. We need quality education, which we don’t have."

Unfortunately, the news story doesn't go into detail about what's actually in the bill, but if it's similar to other Gross National Happiness bills, it probably contains provisions for conducting a national survey of the nation's wellbeing. Remember to click here to read news about other countries who are adopting Gross National Happiness laws, because there are so many that it's honestly difficult to keep a running tally!

Puppet Show Teaches Pakistani Children about Peace and Happiness

2011-01-31T11:47:00.000-08:00

From TheSpec.

Today TheSpec reports on a new puppet/storytelling/art show that aims to teach the children of Pakistan about peace and happiness, states of mind that children in especially war-torn regions may have never experienced.

As Jahan Zeb, the project leader, says, "When we were growing up, there was peace. There was happiness in those villages … towns and cities. Now our children, our (second and third) generations, they don’t know. Was there happiness? Was there some hope? They don’t believe. They don’t know what is hope."

Zeb became motivated to start a peace project when the Taliban took over the Swat region of Pakistan, where his wife's family lived. He created the Art and Peace Education Exchange (or APEX) with Journey of Peace.

The project itself is a 16-part series of stories told through puppets. The stories deal with a displaced Afghan family and have been included in the school curricula of Afghanistan provinces Kandahar, Kabul, and Samangan since 2007. In Pakistan, the stories will be translated and adapted from dealing with landmines, which are prevalent in Afghanistan, to dealing with terrorism and suicide bombing.

The project just had their first show in Canada at The Pearl Company.

Casual Friday: "Happiness Tips for the Unemployed"

2011-01-28T10:38:00.000-08:00

Thankfully the streets don't look like this
just yet. From The Omaha Project.

It's been awhile since I've read any new books relating to happiness, so again I turn to the Internet for guidance. Today I found this interesting article by Aaron Jacobsen and Michelle Santos of Tiny Buddha. It's a list of five tips to help you avoid despair if you are unemployed (which you very well might be, according to the latest figures).

Some of these tips may be common sense, but even if they are, hearing/reading them from an outside source can help. Again, you should read the actual article for explanations, but here is a summary of the list:

Identify your emotions. When you think about what you're feeling and give it a label you can act accordingly instead of reacting impulsively.
Keep going to social activities. Negative emotions tend to amplify in isolation.
Try to think positively. This may be hard to believe, but studies show that positive thinkers actually have a more accurate view of the obstacles in their life, while too many negative thoughts can give you tunnel vision.
Stay open to different career paths. You'll find more opportunities if you're willing to change from a banker to a nurse (for example) than if you always try to stick to one career.
Take advantage of your free time. This may sound a bit callous, but losing your job DOES give you more free time. Since you're not on the job from 9 to 5 anymore, you might as well take advantage of your free time by doing any hobbies that make you happy or by developing any of your lesser-used skills.

Anyway, these are just some tips to keep in mind. Just remember that getting back on your feet may be difficult, but it doesn't have to be impossible!

Sleep Important for Happiness

2011-01-27T09:52:00.000-08:00

By Mui-Joo Wee. From Fine Art America.

Here's a story that might be obvious, but it's good to know anyway: according to this news item from WebMD, people with sleep deficiencies are as much as three times more likely to experience poor mood during the day. This comes from a new Mental Health Foundation report entitled "Sleep Matters". The foundation sees poor sleep as a public health concern and is using the new report as a starting point to raise awareness of the importance of sleep.

As Dr. Andrew McCulloch, Chief Executive of the foundation, says, “Whilst great emphasis is rightly placed on the importance of diet and exercise, sleep has for too long been neglected as a major influence on the physical and mental health of the nation. Up to a third of the population currently suffers from insomnia, and with stress and longer working hours on the rise in the current economic climate, it is crucial that we now treat the issue of sleep problems as the major public health concern it is.”

The study is based on data from the "Great British Sleep Survey," which gathered responses from 5,328 people (1,376 men and 3,952 women). Compared to those with normal sleep patterns, respondents with insomnia were four times as likely to experience relationship problems and three times more likely to have trouble getting work done. Since insomnia is often caused by stress in the first place, having these symptoms can create a downward spiral where stress leads to insomnia, which leads to more stress, which leads to more insomnia, etc. etc.

If YOU have trouble sleeping, head over to The Mental Health Foundation's "How Did You Sleep?" website, where you can take their one question survey and read free sleep tips. You'll be happy you did!

Google Hosts Art Competition for Students to Draw Happiness

2011-01-26T12:37:00.000-08:00

From the Doodle 4 Google website.

Today in Irish news: according to this story from The Anglo-Celt, Google is running its third annual Doodle 4 Google competition, in which K-12 students submit artwork relating to a theme. This year's theme is "To me, happiness is..."

As an example of the process, the Loreto College in Ireland received 80 submissions. The student council then picked six entries to go on to the regional competition, during which four made it to the national competition. Now a round of online voting will decide the next finalists. You should vote on your favorite doodle on the website by January 31. The winner gets their art on the main Google page for 24 hours, a laptop, and a €10,000 technology grant for their school.

Google is also doing this competition in other countries, but each one has a different theme and deadline. This seems like a pretty great contest, so remember to vote!

New British Charity Aims to Spread Happiness

2011-01-25T10:39:00.000-08:00

Mark Williamson, director of the
charity. From The Young Foundation.

Hot on the heels of yesterday's story comes this one from the BBC. A charity called Action for Happiness will be spreading happiness tips to anyone within ear- or Internet-shot. They have a PDF workbook called the Happiness Challenge that you can download here. You can also watch the former Buddhist monk Andy Puddicombe give an introductory mindfulness lesson in the news story itself.

From their website, Action for Happiness already looks quite well-connected through Facebook and Twitter. We'll keep an eye on them to see what effect they have, but for now there's not much more to report. Britain and a lot of other countries could certainly use the help, though!

One in Four British Workers Unhappy with Their Job

2011-01-24T10:04:00.000-08:00

From Marc's Leadership Lessons.

Today the Press Association reports on a new survey that shows around 25% of British employees are unhappy with their job, while around 30.5% are merely "ambivalent," with employees in finance and law being the unhappiest. These results come from the recruitment firm Badenoch & Clark, who surveyed around 1,000 office workers.

Heidi Waddington, associate director of Badenoch & Clark, says, "Economic uncertainty over the past year has put tremendous pressure on employees. This trend is particularly evident in professional services, which has resulted in heightened intensity in the workplace and increasingly poor morale."

I would be interested in seeing figures like this for lower class workers (not in an office), but we may have to wait until Britain completes its happiness study. I'd also be interested in results for America and other countries. You can read more stories about employee happiness by clicking here. Corporations may especially want to pay attention to this one, which shows a correlation between higher employee happiness and higher stock value.

Casual Friday: "9 Easy Ways to Be Happier"

2011-01-21T10:15:00.000-08:00

From Real Simple.

In my quest to do as little work as possible, sometimes it's nice to have a helping hand. Today I can get away with even less work than usual because Julia at The Thank You Project tipped me off to this article by Marcia Menter from Real Simple. It's a look at nine easy ways to be happier.

You should go to the actual article to look at the pretty pictures and read the explanations, but here's a summary of the list:

Cool yourself off. Cool temperatures apparently produce better moods than hotter temperatures (could have fooled me).
Remember happy times in your past. Nostalgia can be a great mood booster.
Don't obsess over past failures. This goes hand-in-hand with the previous tip.
Give away money. As I've said before, generosity toward others makes YOU feel happier.
Eat a snack around 2 p.m. This is the time of day when serotonin levels dip, and a snack can help.
Exercise. It boosts mood and helps your brain.
Limit your choices. This may be counterintuitive, but too many options at once can produce unnecessary stress.
Learn a new skill. This gives you variety and sense of accomplishment.
Make your bed. Eh? Well apparently doing little tasks like this can make you more satisfied throughout your day.

Anyway, it's a good, easy list with some stuff I've never read before. Also, I love getting tipped off because it means I don't have to scrounge around for something to post! If you'd like to make my job easier, go ahead and tip me off to interesting articles, books, or videos in the comments section or through email. See ya!

Reaching Age 50 May Make You Happier Than Ever Before

2011-01-20T09:54:00.000-08:00

From She Knows.

Are you over the age of 50, yet feel happier than at any other period of your life? According to this story from The Times of India, you're not alone. These results come from an Engage Mutual survey of 1,500 people aged 50 or older. Forty percent of the respondents said they are happier than ever before, and 66% said they are more confident.

So why might middle-aged and older people be happier? Respondents theorized that it may be because they have paid off their mortgages, achieved some success in their careers, and felt the satisfaction of watching their children grow up and settle into adult life.

"It is heartening that so many are finding that being in your fifties can be the most rewarding time of your life," a spokesman for Engage Mutual says. "With increased life expectancy, being 50 is considered to be relatively young these days."

So what do YOU think about all of this? I find the results encouraging because they give me something to look forward to. However, according to some researchers (most notably Daniel Gilbert), people are utterly terrible at remembering past emotional states, which means these survey results may be invalid. A more accurate method that doesn't rely on memory would be to do a multi-decade study, surveying people's present emotional state over the course of many years.

This study from October, which basically came to the same conclusions with better methods, is more what I'm talking about. But the more approaches the better, I guess!

Seattle's Happiness About to Be Measured, Too

2011-01-19T10:39:00.000-08:00

From Queen Ann View.

Okay, this is getting repetitive. Now Seattle is getting in on the happiness measures, according to this story from Queen Ann View. The effort comes from a group called Sustainable Seattle in what they are calling the Seattle Area Happiness Initiative.

In an approach inspired by (what else?) the Gross National Happiness indicator of Bhutan, Sustainable Seattle is asking the community to take their online survey, which measures happiness based on the "nine domains of happiness". I haven't tried the survey yet, but if you do, be advised that it takes 20 to 30 minutes to complete, and can't be saved for later once you start. You're in it for the long haul with this survey, but at the end you'll be rewarded with a readout of your scores in each category, so you'll easily see how you might improve your life.

Members of Seattle's government apparently support the effort. Seattle Councilman Mike O'Brien says, "You get what you measure. For too long we’ve measured the wrong things—Gross Domestic Product doesn’t tell us whether we have a good quality of life or a sustainable society. This survey, which includes nine domains of well-being, not just income, is a good way to start measuring the important things we care about, so we can actually achieve them."

Again, click on my Gross National Happiness tag to read other news stories about groups/countries measuring happiness. Expect to see a lot of repetition. At this point it might make more sense to list countries NOT measuring happiness because it's getting hard to keep up!

Germany Apparently Wants to Copy Rest of World, Measure Happiness

2011-01-17T11:43:00.000-08:00

A view from Munich. From Geographic Guide.

According to this story from The Swedish Wire, Germany may join fellow bandwagon members Britain, France, and Canada in measuring Gross National Happiness. Speaker of parliament Norbert Lammert led the happiness committee, which will give its recommendations two-and-a-half years from now. They are considering a method that would survey quality of life along with GDP.

As many of you probably know by now, Bhutan has been the trend setter when it comes to happiness measures. They've measured Gross National Happiness since 1972, an unorthodox choice for a developing country. In the past few months, we've seen a flurry of countries start to think about national happiness measures for some reason. Why are they starting now? I have no idea, but maybe the economic depression has something to do with it.

Take a look at my Gross National Happiness tag for the most recent happenings on this topic.

Casual Friday: Eiji on CNN Asia

2011-01-14T10:08:00.000-08:00

From CNNGo.

Today we have a very interesting story that many of you already know, but it's cool to see in the media anyway. Our friend and producer Eiji Han Shimizu was featured on CNNGo, CNN's Asian division. Eiji is known for creating BioGraphic Novels, his line of graphic novels about real life heros like Gandhi and Mother Teresa. Also featured is Tom Shadyac, one of the most successful comedy directors ever and our executive producer.

Anyway, the story is pretty good, and features pictures that even I haven't seen, so give it a read!

Experts Figure Out that Cats and Dogs Make People Happy

2011-01-13T09:53:00.000-08:00

Is it possible to feel sad after looking
at this picture? From DesktopNexus.

Who could have seen this coming? Tarumanagara University in Jakarta, that's who. According to an AsiaOneNews report, researchers are finding more and more links between pet ownership and happiness. Monty P. Satiadarma, a psychologist at the Indonesian University, says, "Having a pet allows a person to learn to take care of something and elevates the sense of caring, which positively supports the development of well-being." Satiadarma recently oversaw research on the benefits of pet companionship to the elderly.

In some cases, pets can be even better sympathizers than humans. For instance, a dog's powerful sense of smell can pick up on pheromones secreted by humans in times of emotional distress--signals that other people may not notice.

The benefits are not only emotional, but physical. According to an Australian study, pet owners have lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, and lower triglyceride levels. They also have a reduced likelihood of heart disease than those without pets. These results apply even though pet owners consume above-average amounts of meat and fast food for some reason.

So what's the deal with pets? Do you like them or not? Unfortunately, the article doesn't settle the question of which animal is superior--dogs or cats--but feel free to post your opinions on the matter in the comments.

Return of the HAPPY Blog

2011-01-12T11:14:00.000-08:00

From The Evanstonian

Yes, apparently it's time to come back. I had a wonderful vacation that consisted of me packing hundreds of DVDs into individual envelopes and then driving to the post office almost every day. Needless to say, The HAPPY Movie has sold extremely well. The money we made will be put toward getting the film a proper theatrical and DVD release (since this is a truly non-profit independent film, we don't have a studio to shoulder those costs, which are greater than you might realize).

If any of you have had problems receiving your order, either post a comment here or email info@thehappymovie.com and we'll take care of it. We have tracking numbers for almost all domestic orders, so we should be able to figure out what happened to any lost packages. International orders have been trickier, as we don't have tracking numbers for them and we can't prevent customs from holding them up.

Anyway, happiness news is still a bit slow this early in the year (as I said before my disappearance), but I should be able to start doing my regular updates again. See ya around!

Money Creates Happiness When You Give it Away

2010-12-14T10:55:00.000-08:00

From The Money Student.

As Christmas season descends upon us like a swarm chattering reindeer, news becomes scarcer and scarcer. Universities close up shop until the new year, so researchers have fewer and fewer studies to release. I've had to scrounge extra hard to find the news today, and I suspect that this trend will continue over the next few weeks. I may have to take a break, simply because I have nothing to post!

That's why today's news is a little bit on the stale side, but what the heck, let's post it anyway: the Marblehead Reporter reports on a 2008 study by Harvard and the University of British Columbia that shows people are happier when giving money away. This effect happens across all income levels.

The Marblehead goes on to say that, on average, Republicans give more than Democrats, women give more than men, and the Bible belt gives more than other parts of America.

Hmm, that's about it for today's news. I told you it would be skimpy! Maybe in the next few days I can figure out something to post when there's no news. Until then, you can check out my more comprehensive post on the link between generosity and happiness.

SPECIAL REPORT: Underground Screening of HAPPY in Kansas

2010-12-13T10:45:00.000-08:00

Mmm, what a great place to watch a movie! From the Lope.

Do you live in a cave? Do you also live in Kansas? Perhaps you're a vampire or ghost? If so, then this is the screening for you! Our friend and colleague Omid Heidari will be presenting the movie in the Kansas Underground Salt Museum on Wednesday, December 15 at 7 p.m. Tickets are FREE, but you have to click here to reserve them now! Director Roko Belic will probably not be attending, but we may be able to work out some kind of video conference.

Children of the night, this is your time to shine!

SPECIAL REPORT: Paradise Cove Screening

2010-12-11T10:11:00.001-08:00

WAAHH, another screening in the same week!?!?@(*!$& Yes, but this time it was a much more private affair for people in the neighborhood. Again it went pretty great! I might as well just copy and paste at this point! I also got a lot of good video footage of the Q & A. I wish I could post it right now, but video needs editing, so I can't just dump it all and walk away--like this:

An artsy shot of the screening room. Foggy day outside.

The fire pit.

Another artsy shot during setup.

Roko hanging the movie screen. We ended up using a screen plus a bed sheet.

The audience sitting down.

Roko introducing the movie.

A shot of the screen.

Religious Happiness Comes from Community Feeling

2010-12-09T10:02:00.000-08:00

Here's a church, just in case you've never
seen one before. From the National Center.

Such a busy week! I've barely had time to think, let alone read the news. All right, let me check my calendar. Any more screenings? No. Any big Hollywood meetings? No. Ho hum, I guess it's just a regular old day then. Good! I needed one of those.

Okay, let's see if I still remember how to do the news: the USA Today reports on a new study that links religious happiness to feelings of community. Researchers have long known that religious people tend to be happier, but whether that happiness comes from the sense of community that places of worship encourage or from the spiritual experience itself was a mystery. This study seems to point to the first option.

Chaeyoon Lim of the University of Wisconsin-Madison studied data taken from the 2006-2007 Faith Matters Study. When comparing people who attend church at similar intervals, yet have different levels of friendship within the church, he found that people with more friends have almost double the happiness as those without any friends within the church. In face, "90% of the correlation between church attendance and life satisfaction can be explained if you have these close interactions," says Lim.

You can read the article for a breakdown of the different friendship groups and their happiness levels. This study gathered data from all major Christian and Jewish denominations, but not other religions because of a small sample size.

SPECIAL REPORT: Sony

2010-12-08T10:12:00.000-08:00

Wow, that went pretty well! If I sound like I'm repeating myself, it's because the Sony screening was just as much of a success as the Vallejo one. And like Vallejo, you'll have to wait for video to see the good stuff.

Highlights include a live Q & A with the pregnant (!!!) Sonja Lyubomirsky and motivational speaker Michael Pritchard. Also, the picture quality was absolutely gorgeous, which I would hope for in a projection system tied directly to Sony's computer production. The film played just as well to the movie industry crowd as to the Vallejo crowd, with much laughter and standing ovation a-plenty.

And we sold out of DVDs again!

Kevin and Adrian setting up a video camera

Alex and Roko setting up a water pump

Setting up food tables for the reception

Adrian eating everything and ruining the party. No, I kid, I kid!

SPECIAL REPORT: The Vallejo Screening

2010-12-06T12:51:00.000-08:00

Wow, that went pretty well! HAPPY played like gangbusters in yesterday's nearly sold-out screening. The Empress Theatre is a beautiful place to show a movie and has a wonderful staff. Unfortunately, it is rather low light, being a movie theater and all, so I didn't get as many great pictures as I would have liked. I also missed the entire Q & A because I was setting up our DVD and T-shirt store in the lobby, but video is forthcoming!

ALL of these DVDs, plus one or two more boxes full, were sold by the end of the screening!

At the theater. From right: Roko Belic, Richard Freedman (the man responsible for setting up and publicizing the screening), and Adrian Belic

One of the projectors

Roko doing brightness and contrast adjustments before the show

People lining up outside the theater

Next up, Sony Studios!

SPECIAL REPORT: Screening of HAPPY in Vallejo, California!

2010-12-03T10:52:00.000-08:00

The Empress Theatre. From the California State Library.

Yo, wanna see a movie with Roko Belic and me? Then come to Vallejo, California on Sunday! We'll be at the Empress Theatre at 1 p.m. to show HAPPY. Tickets cost $10, plus a $2 preservation fee for the theatre itself, for a total of $12. We prefer that you buy tickets online, so go here to do that.

Roko will answer questions at the screening, or just sit around and talk if you want. We'd like to thank our friend Richard Freedman at the Times-Herald for setting up this whole event. You can read his article about Roko and the movie here.

Don't know where the theatre is? Look at this map:

330 Virginia Street
Vallejo, CA 94590
(707) 552-2400

This looks to be even better than our screening in San Francisco! See you there!

Luxembourg Conducts Its Own Tiny Happiness Survey

2010-12-02T11:43:00.000-08:00

From Wikipedia.

Yes, according to 352 Lux Mag, one of the smallest countries in the world now has happiness data. The survey was performed by statisticians CEPS/INSTEAD and focused on the effects of health and money on happiness.

The article is unclear on the details of the study, but apparently 33% of Luxembourgians living in houses without proper facilities are unhappy. Unemployment is also a source of unhappiness, with 25% of the jobless reporting a score of "miserable." The happiest people were those in families with two or more children, reporting 97% happiness, though I don't know if that refers to the parents or the children. Single parents are apparently a dour lot, with only 15% happiness.

These statistics are rather suspect, but maybe the study itself does a better job of explaining them. If you know French, you can read it here. Maybe Luxembourgians just really like kids? I don't know, but I have a hard time believing that 97% of families with two or more children are happy. Most research shows that children DECREASE happiness (though to what degree is in some dispute).

The parts about money seem better founded, though. Most researchers agree that money in an important part of happiness for the impoverished, but in the middle class and beyond, money's effect on longterm happiness decreases significantly (but maybe even that is incorrect). You can read more about positive psychology's on-again, off-again relationship with money in these fabulous blog entries.

Canada May Also Jump On Gross National Happiness Train

2010-12-01T11:12:00.000-08:00

Here is the royal Canadian coat of arms,
in case you care about things like coats of arms.
From The Canadian Design Resource.

Tired of Canadian news yet? Good, here's some more: according to The Globe and Mail, a group of experts in Ottawa has convened to discuss whether Canada should join Britain, France, and trend-setter Bhutan in measuring Gross National Happiness.

Mel Cappe, head of the Institute for Research on Public Policy, says he would welcome Gross National Happiness metrics because GDP numbers reward the production of stuff, which just leads to high volumes of garbage. The idea could still use some tweaking, but British Prime Minister David Cameron's endorsement of GNH has meant a lot. "The fact that Cameron said what he said is really a sea change," says Cappe.

Not everyone is on board, however. Don Drummond, another member of the convention, says that measurement of GDP does not necessarily mean that governments only pursue money. For him, voter happiness is already built into the election process itself, so there's no need for another metric.

These are all interesting points, but we'll have to wait and see what happens. Canadians, it's up to you!

Marriage Links Happiness Levels Between Spouses

2010-11-30T12:39:00.000-08:00

You'd better like how your fiancée feels, because they'll be
your emotions soon enough! From Public Records Search.

Are you often in the same mood as your spouse? You're not alone. According to the Calgary Herald, married couples share happiness levels as long as they're together. The University of British Columbia's Christiane Hoppmann led the study of existing self-reported mood data from Seattle, Washington. The data came from 178 married couples between 1956 and 1991.

Compared to data of random pairs of men and women, married couples show a closer link in happiness. Hoppmann says, "Not only did spouses report similar levels of happiness when they entered the study, but when there were changes in happiness in one spouse, that did have an effect on the other spouse as well." These effects may take place because spouses share many of the same experiences and same stressors.

The study does leave room for speculation, however, because it did not look at same-sex marriages or long-term unmarried couples, though Hoppmann theorizes that the results would likely be the same.

Toronto is Canada's Least Happy City

2010-11-29T12:15:00.000-08:00

Feeling sad yet? From wallpaperbase.

Hey everyone, guess what: holiday's over. We'll have to wait an ENTIRE month for the next one, so get back to work!

As you're shuffling to your jobs, be happy. Why? Because you don't live in Toronto. According to this story from The Star, Torontonians are the least happy citizens in Canada. These results come from a study called Does Money Matter?: Determining the Happiness of Canadians.

The researchers theorize that Toronto's low happiness scores come from its long commute times (sometimes reaching two hours), high stress levels, and lack of community feeling due to sky-scraper living. It is also Canada's "immigrant capitol," which effects happiness because immigrants often have difficulty finding jobs.

If you DO live in Toronto, take heart: Canada is still an excellent place to live. It often ranks among the five happiest countries in the world, and is the happiest member of G7. If the big city is REALLY getting you down, however, you might think about moving to the North Shore of Vancouver.

So how was everyone's Thanksgiving? I didn't really do much, since I'm half the country away from my family, but I'd still like to hear about everyone else. Then it'll be like YOU are my family! AWWW!

HAPPY Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T10:22:00.000-08:00

From Netstate.

Yes, today is Thanksgiving, the American celebration of eating and awkward family moments. Remember to give thanks for what you have, even if you don't tell anyone, because gratitude increases happiness, whether you you make it public or not.

I'll probably take the next few days off, just so you know. See you on the next non-holiday!

SPECIAL REPORT: Happy Movie Pre-Order!!

2010-11-24T12:15:00.000-08:00

Buy buy BUY!!

Yes, I'm selling something, but hopefully that's okay because you'll like it. We at the Happy movie are selling a pre-release DVD for $19.99. Order now and get it in time for Christmas!

This is Oscar-nominated filmmaker Roko Belic's latest documentary feature. It is a journey across 14 countries on 5 continents featuring interviews with extraordinary everyday people, as well as positive psychology superstars Ed Diener, Richard Davidson, Sonja Lyubomirsky, the people and leaders of Bhutan, and many more. Also features appearances by Daniel Gilbert and the Dalai Lama.

So head over to our buy page for more info. You can get special deals on three- and ten-packs if you have a lot of Christmas shopping to do. You can also try our "Award Winner" pack, which includes Happy, the Oscar-nominated Genghis Blues, and the multi-award-winning Indestructible, an inspiring documentary about an ALS patient who travels the world one last time. If you like T-shirts, you can also get those in children's or adult sizes.

And that's not all! Roko Belic, the man himself, will personally sign all pre-order DVDs of Happy! We won't stop until his signin' hand falls off! He has worked very hard on this film for four years, and now it's ready for release.

I have seen the film many times (I even transcribed it word-for-word) and I can attest to both its emotional power and its educational value for people learning about happiness science. It never loses its ability to move, especially when seeing it with a crowd (like I did in San Francisco).

So give it a try. This limited edition pre-order will end December 31. After that, you'll have to wait until the official release.

Man Attempts to Live an Entire Year Without Unhappiness

2010-11-23T11:09:00.000-08:00

From Twitter.

Today the Wall Street Journal reports on a man named Cathal Morrow who is trying to live an entire year without feeling unhappy. According to his website, he started this project because of his belief that happiness is a permanent state underpinning all other feelings, so if we can remind ourselves to be happy, we will be. He uses techniques like jumping up and down to stave off unhappiness.

This project comes hot on the heels of his last one: living a whole year without lying. Morrow's honesty experiment was sponsored by Ten Large Capital, a private equity firm, and he will probably release a book about it. He is currently looking for someone to sponsor his happiness project. Unfortunately, his website apparently hasn't been updated since July, so we can't check in on his progress, but he still tweets regularly.

What do YOU think about projects like this? Would you be able to chase away unhappiness for a whole year? Is that even desirable? Drop us a line in the comments section.

Costco Tops Employee Happiness List

2010-11-22T11:17:00.000-08:00

Who would have thought that spending
all day here could make you happy?
From TCMnet.

Just in time for the holidays comes this story from The Globe and Mail. According to a new survey from CareerBliss, Costco has the happiest employees among retail chain stores. Rounding out the top three are Nordstrom and Old Navy.

CareerBliss's Happiest Holiday Retailer list combines data from almost 100,000 independent reviews submitted to their website. The reviews rate each company on a scale of one to five in these eight categories: growth opportunity, compensation, benefits, work-life balance, career advancement, senior management, job security, and employee recommendation of the job. Costco has the best salary and benefits on the list, which contribute to its high happiness rating, but other companies made the list because of work-life balance--even with lower salary than the companies below them.

It's an interesting list because I never thought working in a mega-store could make ANYONE happy. Also, Wal Mart, the biggest corporation in the world, doesn't even make CareerBliss's top ten. All is mystery when it comes to employee happiness! Go to the news story for the full list.

Weekend Viewing: Matthieu Ricard

2010-11-20T10:16:00.000-08:00

Wow, another TED Talk!? How original! Yes, TED is basically my go-to place for videos, but the collections are usually so interesting that I feel no shame in doing so.

Today's video is courtesy of Matthieu Ricard, a French Buddhist monk with an education in molecular genetics. He completed his doctoral thesis in 1972, but left the Institut Pasteur to move to the Himalayas. You may also recognize him from his work with Richard Davidson studying the neurological effects of meditation. He has also received the French Order of Merit for humanitarianism in the East.

Matthieu talks about desire, meditation, neuroplasticity, Richard Davidson, and more, so give it a look-see!

Casual Friday: Run!

2010-11-19T11:01:00.000-08:00

From Barefoot Ted, one of the
people in the book.

Today I'll talk about Christopher McDougall's excellent Born to Run. It's very popular, so you may have read it already, but it's so good I have to bring it up again. It's a non-fiction book about modern ultramarathoners running a race against the Tarahumara, a Mexican tribe with (apparently) superhuman running abilities. The "plot" is set up like any great sports movie, so it's exciting to read as well as educational.

Christopher's general thesis is that we humans are literally born to run, in that running possesses the secrets to our evolutionary survival and lifelong wellbeing. Not to get all cosmic on you, but running may be the reason that we exist at all. The book goes into the evolutionary divergence between Homo sapiens (us) and the Neanderthals. Spoiler alert: we survived and they didn't, probably because our bodies are made for running, allowing us to develop our intelligence instead of physical strength.

I've written before about the emotional and neurological benefits of exercise. Running carries the most benefits, but you have to do it right so you don't get injured. Basically, everything you think you know about shoes is wrong. According to the book, high-end running shoes make you 123% MORE prone to injury. So what can you do?

Run barefoot!

Yes, apparently the natural musculature of the human foot is the best running shoe there is. Professional running shoes, with all their padding and rubber, block your feet from doing their job. Tiny scrapes on your feet are minor compared to the knee and bone injuries that you could suffer if you run with too much shoe padding. People may look at you funny, but your legs will thank you. Just make sure you run on grass in the beginning! Also, don't pay too much attention to your timer. Running should be a joy, not homework. Interestingly, running for no reason will probably make you faster anyway, and will certainly make you more likely to continue running over time. Like the Tarahumara, you can live longer, and continue running marathons well into your sixties!

So why are you still at your computer? Run!

Hey, France Is Also Measuring Happiness

2010-11-18T09:25:00.000-08:00

The river kinda looks happy already. From cooltownstudios.

Because why not, right? According to this story from the Guardian, France will probably start measuring its national happiness as well, joining the ranks of England and Bhutan. Last year, Nicolas Sarkozy commissioned a happiness report from Nobel-winning economists Joseph Stiglitz and Amartya Sen. More recently Insee, the French national statistics office, included a new chapter in its annual Social Portrait of France. The chapter details how any future happiness studies should take place.

Interestingly, the report focuses more on unhappiness than happiness. Stéfan Lollivier, director of social studies at Insee, explains:

"You can't measure happiness, it's impossible, people don't have the same preferences for what makes them happy. But you can measure the fraction of people who are dissatisfied, who think they are unhappy, and the proportion of people who are missing out on happiness or feel excluded from it."

Current French statistics show that single parents are the most dissatisfied, and around one fifth of the French populace has gone through times of poverty--either emotional or financial.

Most researchers would disagree with Mr. Lollivier, by the way. Positive psychologists measure happiness all the time. Read just about any story on this blog for evidence! Still, this French method of surveying unhappiness should be just as valid, and could yield interesting results.

iPhone App Tracks Happiness, Finds Out Sex is Number 1!

2010-11-17T10:39:00.000-08:00

From cnet.

Today in obvious news: cnet reports on results from the iPhone app Track Your Happiness. It turns out that people are happiest during sex and moments of intense focus. Both rated 90 out of 100 on the app's happiness scale...BUT there's no indication of when people gave their ratings (i.e.: if they waited or if they interrupted their activity to fiddle with the app).

This app comes from Harvard researchers Daniel Gilbert and Matthew Killingsworth. You may have heard about it recently because of its implications to mind wandering, but the other results are new. The app features a basic happiness survey like the ones used by many positive psychology researchers. The study gathered around 250,000 happiness responses from 2,200 people.

These iPhone happiness apps are a somewhat-new phenomenon. You can sign up for Track Your Happiness here. If you're in the UK, you can also try Mappiness, which maps the location and time of your happiness ratings. If you have an iPhone (and you don't mind being interrupted throughout the day), give 'em a try!

Utah Professor Researches Holiday Happiness

2010-11-16T11:08:00.000-08:00

Happy holidays from the bottom of a stampede! From Dim Bulb.

Are holidays a happy time, or are you so stressed out that you just want them to be over? According to this story from The Daily Utah Chronicle, University of Utah professor Trish Henry is looking into this question--and hosting a seminar for those in the latter category. Seeing as a recent American Psychological Association (APA) survey found that 61% of Americans feel a lack of money will stress them out during the holidays, a seminar like this could be helpful. An additional 42% are apparently stressed out by gift-giving in general.

Stress can also come from the prospect of family gatherings. Even when family members have been away from each other a long time, we all know that old conflicts can suddenly bubble up again, making people dread family reunions in general.

All is not lost, though. Professor of educational psychology J.G. Farr says, "If you can find meaning, and it doesn't have to be all about money, then it tends to make you have a happier holiday season." This may bode well for Americans because, as I've written previously, happiness tops the list of holiday wishes, not commercial products.

What about all of you? Are you feeling the stress of the holiday season coming on or are you looking forward to it?