Friday, July 31, 2009

A new iPhone application offers to help you understand how happy you are

A new iPhone application offers to help you understand how happy you are, and what makes you happy, by tracking what factors are associated with your personal happiness.

The TrackYourHappiness application is actually part of psychology research being performed by Matt Killinsgworth at Harvard. The site identifies the mission of the project as a

“new scientific research project that aims to use modern technology to help answer this age-old question. Using this site in conjunction with your iPhone, you can systematically track your happiness and find out what factors for you personally - are associated with greater happiness.”

Upon signing up for the program, you report a slew of personal information to give the software (and researchers) an idea of who you are; how satisfied you report being with your life, income, marital status, political leanings, etc. Your iPhone periodically reminds you throughout the day to answer a short one-minute survey, asking how happy you are and what you’re doing. 50 complete survey answers later, you receive a Happiness Report, which will help you understand what factors most affect your levels of happiness.

Via Noah Briar

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