British People Really Like Coffee and Parks

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.

Britain Starts Their Happiness Survey

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.

Germany Apparently Wants to Copy Rest of World, Measure Happiness

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.

Hey, France Is Also Measuring Happiness

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.

Most British People Think Money is the Number One Cause of Unhappiness

British people:  "Mmm, money money money!"
From Webshots.

A new survey by BBC Radio 3 says that 65% of Brits consider money to cause the most unhappiness. This is much larger than the 32% who responded with "family problems," the 27% for "health," and the 21% for "welfare of their children" (!!!). The survey was done to kick off Radio 3's Free Thinking Festival, which has the theme "The Pursuit of Happiness" this year.

The actual effect of money on happiness is somewhat debatable, but most researchers seem to agree that after you have enough money to live a middle-class existence, more money won't significantly affect your happiness. On the other hand, Daniel Gilbert just recently authored a study that says money DOES affect happiness past the middle class--it's just that most people don't know how to spend it effectively.

You should head over to BBC's article because it lists a whole lot of other statistics from the results. It also goes into the generational divide, with younger people putting much more stock in loneliness and anxiety as causes of unhappiness. I'm kind of shocked that "welfare of their children" ranks among the bottom, but that just shows how much I know!

Is Britain Losing Happiness?

How could this make anyone unhappy? From Stippy.

Yes, according to a new survey by the Legatum Institute. They are also dropping in wealth and prosperity. The survey covered around 90% of the world's population in 110 countries. Britain may be falling behind because of decreased trust in financial institutions, anxiety over jobs, and lagging healthcare and education systems. As usual with lists such as these, Scandanavian countries like Denmark and Norway came in on top, while the U.S. came in tenth and Britain came in 13th.

This is the Legatum Institute's fourth annual survey of prosperity and wellbeing. Their goal is to provide a "holistic understanding of Prosperity," which sounds similar to Bhutan's concept of Gross National Happiness, but with economic factors included.

Artists Create a 3D Happiness Map of Leeds, England

From the BBC.

The BBC reports that Invisible Flock, a group of interactive artists, is embarking on the two-month "Bring the Happy" project to collect happiness data and turn it into a 3D happiness map. Invisible Flock--composed of Ben Eaton, Victoria Pratt, and Richard Warburton--are holding their giant map installation in an empty Leeds shopping unit. Visitors to the installation can remember happy memories, rate those memories on a scale of one to ten, and point out where those memories occurred. The 3D effect comes from the use of glass rods, with "ten" memories using the longest rods and "one" memories using the shortest.

Invisible Flock member Richard Warburton says, "There have been about 100 memories added to the map so far and we've already got some hot spots. Elland Road and St Jimmy's are already populated with happy memories." The group plans to stage "happiness intervention" in areas that seem to be lacking in happiness, so you may want to avoid those areas if you're not into that sort of thing. A graphical version of the map will come online once the project is complete.

This is an interesting idea that could produce a beautiful work of art. However, some happiness researchers, like Daniel Gilbert of Stumbling on Happiness fame, think memories of past happiness are inaccurate. Even so, I can't wait to see the finished map!

Boarding School with Classes in Positive Psychology Now Teaching Parents

From The Telegraph

Alastair Jamieson of The Telegraph reports that Wellington College, a boarding school with happiness classes for its students, is now offering those classes to parents. Wellington began teaching happiness and wellbeing classes in 2006. Anthony Sheldon, the teacher who introduced the classes, says that that they have been enormously successful, as evidenced by the creation of similar programs at other schools.

I've never heard of this school before, so I don't have much to add, other than these classes would probably be a good idea in American public schools as well, but with so many educational budget problems, they may not make the cut. It's an easier argument to make in college, where positive psychology classes overflow with students. Taxpayers may be harder to convince!