I thought you may find this article interesting: Can happiness be found online? Story Highlights: The ‘Virtual Happiness Project’ in the Netherlands looked at the relationship between Web 2.0 and happiness The findings suggest that blogs and social networks give people a strong sense of belonging, which can be part of happiness It warns, however,… Continue reading Web 2.0 and Happiness
Category: Happiness research
Don’t Dally, Be Happy
Look alive! A new study has found that thinking fast can improve your mood. Princeton and Harvard researchers conducted six experiments requiring participants to briskly whisk through activities such as brainstorming, reading ideas on screen or watching a fast-forwarded film clip. Thinking fast brought participants creativity, elation and, to a lesser extent, a sense of… Continue reading Don’t Dally, Be Happy
Dan Gilbert: Exploring the frontiers of happiness
Dan Gilbert: Exploring the frontiers of happiness About this talk From the TED site: Dan Gilbert presents research and data from his exploration of happiness — sharing some surprising tests and experiments that you can also try on yourself. Watch through to the end for a sparkling Q&A with some familiar TED faces. The take-away… Continue reading Dan Gilbert: Exploring the frontiers of happiness
Does happiness have a price tag?
Benjamin Wallace: Does happiness have a price tag? About this talk From the TED site: Can happiness be bought? To find out, author Benjamin Wallace sampled the world’s most expensive products, including a bottle of 1947 Chateau Cheval Blanc, 8 ounces of Kobe beef and the fabled (notorious) Kopi Luwak coffee. His critique may surprise… Continue reading Does happiness have a price tag?
Born happy? The link between happiness, personality and genes
A new British study has shed more light on the genes/personality contribution to happiness. Genes may contribute up to 50% of the variance in happiness, and the new research suggests this genetic influence on happiness is essentially conveyed via personality. Researchers using a representative sample of 973 twin pairs found that the heritable differences in… Continue reading Born happy? The link between happiness, personality and genes
Happiness and exercise
Following last week’s bad news about anti-depressants I wanted to bring you some good news too. A research study at Duke University found that a 30-minute brisk walk or jog 3 times a week worked as well as antidepressant drugs in beating depression. OK, so now we know these drugs may be no better than… Continue reading Happiness and exercise
What makes a happy kid?
What makes kids happy? A new iPod? The Wiggles? An industrial-sized pack of M&Ms? A new study by Mark Holder at the University of British Columbia has checked in to the question of childhood happiness. And the findings might not be what you expect. At the bottom of the contributing factors are money, the… Continue reading What makes a happy kid?
Is that Prozac in your pocket or do you just THINK you’re happy to see me?
‘Has the Prozac bubble finally burst?’ asks this week’s New Scientist mag. The article reports findings that antidepressants seem to offer no more than a placebo effect, except in the most severely depressed people. And those severely depressed people respond less to placebos, not more to the drugs. Reports of subjects’ happiness have been greatly… Continue reading Is that Prozac in your pocket or do you just THINK you’re happy to see me?
Happiness Life Strategy: Know your personality
No matter what your personality make-up, you can make choices that bring you greater happiness. You just have to understand the pros and cons of your personality traits. In Happiness Strategy 12: Make peace with your personality we learned the ‘Big-Five’ dimensions of personality are extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness and neuroticism and we saw that… Continue reading Happiness Life Strategy: Know your personality
Happiness Life Strategy: Enjoy your stories, make friends & influence people
Relationships are important to happiness, so nurturing your social skills would seem a pretty wise happiness strategy. Now, is that something you can get from a book? Well, yes and no – it depends on the book. It may surprise you that research shows people panache is more polished in readers of Pride and Prejudice… Continue reading Happiness Life Strategy: Enjoy your stories, make friends & influence people