© Ásdís Olsen  Positive psychology and happiness study on Channel 2’s new reality show Happier  8 ordinary Icelanders were observed as they went about icreasing their happiness levels through positive psychology  Notable increase in happiness – measurable success! A new Icelandic Happiness Study

8 week course in happiness ‘Mindfulness’ was the basis of the course. Mindfulness teaches us to stay in the present, content with the now, distancing ourselves from negative thoughts. The practice of Mindfulness leads to increased self-awareness, serenity and better mental and physical status. The course is based on the best selling book Happier by Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar. A challenge a week: 1. Good habits - give you a sense of security and freedom 2. Expressing gratitude (Thank you letters) 3. Map your life - meaning, pleasure, strengths 4. Positive emotions and what enhances them 5. Outside the comfort zone – learn to fail or fail to learn 6. Being human - painful emotions and experiences 7. Integrity and values – for better self-esteem 8. Good deeds – to better the world. Knowing is not enough – DOING leads to change

HAPPIER © Ásdís Olsen  Happier is a new breed of TV show – Positive reality TV!  Nobody gets eliminated – everone is a winner  Based on positive psychology  A scientific study – measureable results of the participants’ progress. Happiness course for all to see

The Science Guy: Dr. Þorlákur Karlsson © Ásdís Olsen Dr. Karlsson measured the participants’ success and failures before, after and during the show to produce measurable data. His findings were presented weekly. Dr. Karlsson has a P.hD in psychology and analytics. He is presides over the pscyhology and public health dept. at The University of Reykjavík

Research methods - measuring tools © Ásdís Olsen 1. Dieners Happiness Test. A simple self evaluation questionnaire with 8 questions and 7 options to answer each one. Questions about general well being, hopefulness and attitudes to life. Named after its creator, Ed Diener, one of the world’s most respected happiness researchers. 2. Mindfulness Attention Awareness - MAAS from A self evaluation questionnaire with 15 questions and 6 options to answer each one. 3. Discomfort test – Participants ability to keep their hand submerged in ice- cold water. Measures general endurance. 4. Stress tests – Cortisol levels were checked each week at the University Hospital by dr. Ísleifur Óskarsson. 5. The Happiness Index– 40 questions each week measuring process, mapping the participant’s increased happiness levels.

Diener’s Happiness Test © Ásdís Olsen Here below you will find 8 statements – rate your response according to the following options: Strongly DisagreeSomewhat Neutral SomewhatAgree Strongly disagree disagree agree Agree  Ég lifi tilgangsríku og innihaldsríku lífi  Tengsl mín við annað fólk eru gefandi og veita mér stuðning  Ég sinni daglegum verkum mínum af innlifun og áhuga  Ég stuðla með beinum hætti að hamingju annarra  Ég er hæf(ur) og leikin(n) í því sem skiptir mig máli  Ég er góð manneskja og lifi góðu lífi  Ég er bjartsýn(n) á framtíð mína  Fólk ber virðingu fyrir mér Leggðu saman stigin, fyrir öll átta atriðin. Lægsti hugsanlegur stigafjöldi er 8 en hæsti 56. Há einkunn bendir til hamingjuríks lífs, en lág einkunn að ýmislegt megi betur fara. Samkvæmt þessu prófi er meðal hamingja manna í heiminum á bilinu 44 til 45 stig. Tveir helstu sérfræðingar heims í hamingjumælingum, Ed Diener og Robert Biswald-Diener sömdu þetta próf árið 2009.

Participants are now in among the happiest 17% of the world’s population © Ásdís Olsen Participant’s took the Diener’s Happiness Test before and after the course In the beginning they were among the unhappiest 21% of the world’s population but by the end they were happier than 83% of people. They are now among the happiest 17%! The Diener Happiness Test is considered to be one of the best indicators of happiness in the world – it has been tried and tested in numerous studies.

30% increse in participants’ Happiness Index © Ásdís Olsen A weekly 40 question test mapping participants’ progress on a scale of 0 – 100. Index numbers were revealed at the end of each episode Before the course started the average score was 67. By the end it had reached 95.3.

Arnaldur went from 52/67 to 86 © Ásdís Olsen

Dagný fór úr 60 stigum í 92 © Ásdís Olsen

Gríma went from 71/82 to 92 © Ásdís Olsen

Heiðrún went from 54 to 99 © Ásdís Olsen

Jóhann went from 72/74 to 99 © Ásdís Olsen

Kristín went from 66 to 94 © Ásdís Olsen

Sigurður went from 77 to 92 © Ásdís Olsen

Valgeir went from 74 to 92 © Ásdís Olsen

Mindfulness: before and after © Ásdís Olsen MAAS-scale (Mindfulness Awareness....) Participants increased their Mindfulness by almost 8% on the MAAS Mindfulness Awareness Scale. Participants reported having increased their active mindfulness, and how, before the course, they had been completely unaware of their lack of it at the beginning of the course, when they first took the test.

Everyone increased their endurance, except Valgeir (he was having a bad day) © Ásdís Olsen