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FAQs

What is the Happiness Indicator?
The Happiness Indicator is basically a self-help website, meant to facilitate your search for a more satisfying way of life. The website involves several tools: using the Happiness Comparer you can assess whether greater happiness is realistically possible in your situation and the Happiness Diary helps to identify a more rewarding way of life. Using your Happiness History you can see whether you are on the right track.

What is the theory behind this method?
Research has shown that our emotional memory is typically poor; we tend to remember ups and downs rather than average mood. Yet how happy we feel on average is the most important for main decisions we make, such as splitting up or not. Hence better awareness of how happy we usually feel will help to make more informed decisions, which will mostly result in a more satisfying life.

Does it work?
A first follow-up study showed that users of the Happiness Indicator became a bit happier. A summary of the report is available here.

What about my privacy?
We ensure anonymity as our researchers do not have access to personal information such as your name and e-mail address. The personal information will not be shared with other parties. Details of the anonymity guarantee are available here.

Why on the internet?
The website allows us to give users instant and automated feedback. This cannot be done using other methods, such as self-help books. Internet also allows long-term follow-up, which is required for the research purposes mentioned above.

How often should I participate?
You can determine that yourself: the options are not to be reminded at all, yearly, monthly, weekly, or even daily. The more frequently you participate, the better you will be able to assess what kind of life style and life choices make you happy because you are able to track changes in your happiness. When you decide to participate, you are asked to leave an e-mail address so that we can invite you to participate on a regular basis

How much time does it take?
The first time will take about half an hour. You will then complete the profile questionnaire, which is required to compare your happiness with the average for similar participants. This will take some 10 minutes. Completing the Happiness Diary is also time consuming, especially when you do it for the first time. This will take some 20 minutes. The effect of this Happiness Indicator is mainly to sharpen your awareness, and that takes time.

Any wider use of my participation?
The Happiness Indicator is part of an international study on the long-term effects of life-choices on happiness, meant to provide a scientific basis for happiness education. Your anonymized data will be added to the database. As such other people will profit from your past experiences in the future. Your anonymized data will also be used to improve this tool. For this reason it is important that you keep using the Happiness indicator at least once a year.

I'm depressed or out of a job, which affects my happiness level. Does that exclude me from participating?
No. The most important thing is to give honest answers to the questions asked. It is quite normal to not feel happy all the time. Feeling depressed or ill is part of life; the Happiness Indicator may help you find your way to a kind of life style that makes you happier. If you keep on experiencing severe depressive moods for over a month, we do advice you to contact your medical doctor.

What kind of methodologies is being used in the Happiness Indicator?
All questions posed in the Happiness Indicator stem from academic research questionnaires to assure you get accurate feedback. Further, the Happiness Diary uses a ‘Day Reconstruction Methodology’ originally developed by Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman (Kahneman et al., 2004). In short, this method allows you to remember accurately your daily emotional experiences related to specific episodes, e.g. activities, social interactions, and so on, on a specific day.

I'm 83 years old, can I participate?
Of course!

I'm 16, can I participate?
Yes, you're most welcome!

How do I participate?
Please click here

I cannot logon.
Please set your internet browser to receive both cookies and JavaScript.

I lost my password.
Please click here to reset your password. You'll receive an e-mail with your new password.