Today, British psychologist Professor Richard Wiseman (University of Hertfordshire) invites the public to take part in an ambitious five-day experiment that aims to boost the happiness. Participants will first rate their mood and then be randomly assigned to one of four groups. People in each group will watch a video describing one of four techniques commonly used to boost happiness, and use the technique during each day of the study. At the end of the experiment everyone will reassess their mood, allowing the research team to identify the most effective way of making people happy. http://www.ScienceOfHappiness.co.uk It will take place next week, between Monday 3rd – Friday 7th August. Those taking part first complete a quick questionnaire assessing their current level of happiness. They then see a short video describing a happiness boosting exercise and are asked to repeat it each day of the study. At the end of the project they again rate their level of happiness.To test whether this happens in the UK, a poll will be commissioned to measure Britain’s level of happiness at the start and end of the project. [continue reading…]
July 2009
GPs looking for depression make more misidentifications (false positives of depression) than the number of depressions they correctly spot following an initial consultation but accuracy could improved by re-assessment of people suspected of having depression.
A meta-analysis of more than 50,000 patients has shown that general practitioners (GPs) have great difficulty separating those with and without depression, with substantial numbers of missed and misidentified.
These are the conclusions of an article published Online First and in an upcoming edition of The Lancet, written by Dr Alex Mitchell of University of Leicester together with Dr Amol Vaze, and Dr Sanajay Rao of Leicester Partnership Trust. The study pooled 41 trials from nine countries that used robust outcome standard of a semi-structured interview to assess depression. The researchers found that GPs were able to recognize about half of people who had clinical depression and correctly reassured 80% of healthy people. [continue reading…]
Paul Hoffman, Big Think’s Editorial Chairman, Introduces a Panel Discussion on Genetic Testing
Watch the full Panel DiscussionPaul Hoffman moderates a 50-minute panel discussion about in-home DNA tests and the connection between genes and disease
Source: The Big Think
Get some happy go check out Gretchen Rubin’s Happiness Project Toolbox-a free collection of eight tools that will help you be happier now. The Happiness Project Toolbox grew out of Gretchens’ discovery that certain tools she’d developed were especially helpful in boosting happiness .These tools will help you set goals, keep your resolutions, articulate your values, and pull together material that inspires you.
Source: Happiness Project Toolbox
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