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News More about Happiness Observer: see Benefits of Membership.
Happiness Observer 3/08, March 15, 2008 Cover: Prof. Sonja Lyubomirsky Ph.D., leading expert on Positive Psychology, gave an interview to the secretary of IFEG – Institut für experimentelle Glücksforschung for page 3 of this Happiness Observer. Page 4 and 5: Critical reports on research of happiness. Is it good to search for happiness? Page 6: Politics and happiness. Studies show growing influence of research of happiness on political decisions. Further: Happiness on the workplace. Page 7: Interview with Martin Seligman (qoted). He answers open questions to the development of Positive Psychology. Page 8: Empirical research of happiness. Different tips on happiness and results of inquiries. Page 9: Reviews of books critical to happiness - but anyway happiness-books. Page 10: News from the IFEG, among them the plan to change the name to stress scientific work.
Happiness Observer 2/08, February 21, 2008 Pages 2 through 4 are concentrated on empirical research of happiness. They contain tips how to attain happiness following the opinions of different authors. Page 5 contains biological informations, from chemical substances to body language of happiness. Page 6 treats books, among them the German edition of the new book of Sonja Lyubomirsky. Page 7 lists the events along with the happiness-exhibition in Deutsches Hygiene-Museum, Dresden. Reports of our members Dipl.-Psych. Vera Fischhof and Majda Moser are continued on page 8.
Happiness Observer 1/08, January 29, 2008 Michael Argyle starts lectures about happiness with the things we do not know in order to silence the people who try to know everything better. Happiness Observer in this issue follows his example. On Page 2 you find reasons why happiness is so difficult. Page 3 brings the opposing view: There are "happy brains". Page 4 covers sex and happiness, page 5 work an happiness an page 6 money, health and happiness. On page 7 you find three reports on education and happiness. Page 8 is dedicated to politics of happiness. Page 9 showls happiness tips. Beginning with page 10 there are book reviews. Page 12 announces events, among them the first converence on happiness on German soil on April 4 and 5, 2008 in Darmstadt.
Happiness Observer 12/07, December 21, 2007 Michael Argyle, author of Psychology of Happiness, starts lectures not with his knowledge about happiness, but with the things he dies not know. By this he silences the people in his audience who claim to know everything better. Happiness Observer in this issue follows his example. Page 2 shows, why it is so difficult to make people happy. Page 3 presents the contrary vision: There are "happy brains". Page 4 is devoted to a rare subject: Sex and happiness. Page 5 treats work and happiness. Page 7 contains three contributions to the education in happiness. Page 8 is dedicated to happiness politics and related subjects. Page 9 presents suggestions on how to be happy. Starting with Page 10 we review books on happiness, among others the new book of Sonja Lyubomirsky, which is not yet available in German language. Page 10 deserves special attention, concerning events, among others the first "Happiness conference" on German soil, April 4 and 5, 2008 in Darmstadt.
Happiness Observer 12/07, December 21, 2007 Page 2 shows 6 articles concerning happiness in the workplace. Page 3 concerns money and happiness including a new study on happiness by lottery. Page 4 ist dedicated to the relations between happiness, contentment and suffering. Page 5 treats besides education in happiness the new category of research in forgiveness. Page 6 concerns optimism and a new device called „Genuss-O-Meter“ (Enjoy-O-Meter) On page 7 start quotations about happiness and book reviews. The most important discovery in this context is Michael Argyle, born 1925, creator of the „Oxford Happiness Inventory“ (OHI) with his latest book „The Psychology of Happiness“. His most surprising statement: „The research on happiness has not been theory driven.“
Happiness Observer 11/07, November 27, 2007 Experimental Psychology has discovered happiness. In different media Sonja Lyubomirsky, scholar of Martin Seligman, is quoted. More on page 2. Work and happiness are the subject of page 3. Page 4 concerns happiness in connection with corporal reactions. Happiness politics are treated on page 5. New expression: Happiness Gap. A TV-Discussion about happiness is commented on page 6. Mixes news on happiness are to be found on pages 7 through 9. Pages 10 through 15 contain a very voluminous book review. Highlight is the book of Dr. Tal Ben Shahar, Harvard University, Boston.
IFEG now in Xing Xing is a forum dealing with different interesting topics. IFEG has initiated a forum for research of happiness. It is German language only. If you want to register free of charge, please use the following link: http://www.xing.com/go/invita/3219408/10832
IFEG-Symposion „Glück und
Arbeit“ (Work and Happiness), October 23,
2007, 2 - 6 pm, Programme and report see German News. (Click on "Deutsch".)
Happiness Observer 10/07, October 9, 2007 This issue of Happiness Observer is extraordinarily voluminous (22 pages) due to a backlog of news from summer. Page 2 is primarily devoted to the report on a German school running lectures on happiness. It is Willy Hellpach Schule in Heidelberg. Page 3 reports on lectures of different researchers of happiness in different congresses, voicing different opinions on happiness. Page 5 reports on food in connection with happiness, page 6 on work and happiness. From page 7 on there is a mix of different reports on happiness. On page 16 there start several book reviews. From page 19 to 22 there are reports on events where members of IFEG have taken part or will take part.
Happiness Observer 8-9/07, September 11, 2007 This issue starts on page 1 with a graphic based on 6000 questionnaires in Central Europe. Results: The Sentence "Happiness means for me ..." is supplemented by most of the people with "Health" (77.9%), "A partner who loves me" (75,0 %) and "a happy and content family" (71,7 %). Page 3 quotes happiness suggestions from different countries, from Denmark to India. Page 4 is dedicated to altruistic happiness. It is surprising, how many researchers of happiness try to gain sympathy of their government by stating, that paying taxes makes happy. Page 5 compares different statistical methods of research of happiness. Page 6 deals with the mounting number of conferences concerning happiness. Page 7 concerns the relationship between happiness and belief. Page 8 supplements these questions from the viewpoint of philosophy. Page 9 and following pages bring quotations, book reviews, own research of the IFEG and news from the institute including a preview of the IFEG Symposion 2007.
Happiness Observer 6-7/07, June 12, 2007 Page 2 suggests to teach happiness not only in schools, but also in courses of the service for unemployed people. Page 3 covers „Happiness Economy“, page 4 New Biology. Page 5 shows several articles concerning rising interest in research of happiness. Page 6 covers elektric und magnetic Stimulation of brain and nerves in order to create happiness. In July and August there are no meetings of IFEG.
Happiness Observer 5/07, May 8, 2007 Page 2 is dedicated to a comment to the report on happiness in Psychologie heute (Psychology today), a medium, which only a few years ago has refused to print an article submitted by Herbert Laszlo, now secretary of IFEG - Institute for experimental research of happiness. Today they are eager to cover happiness - but without confessing prior errors. Page 3 covers reports on philosophy, social capital, Christian ethics and others. Page 4 answers a reader's question on the activities of IFEG: What do we do with the information we collect? Pages 5 through 7 bring book reviews, one of them a publication of Casinos Austria publicrelations@casinos.at, which covers so many experts in happiness, that the quotation is extremely long, including the addresses in e-Mail or internet. Pages 8 and 9 are dedicated to an article of our member Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Ernst Gehmacher ona „Glück und Gemeinwohl“ (happiness and common welfare).
Happiness Observer 4/07, April 12, 2007 Happiness Economics stand at the beginning of this Happiness Observer. Not less than 5 articles fill the pages 2 and 3. Subject is the relation of happiness and affluence. On page 4 two contributions tell us why happiness makes beautiful. The keyword is "Neuro Cosmetics". On the same page we say farewell to one of the gread representatives of the research of Happiness. Paul Watzlawick („Anleitung zum Unglücklichsein“) died lately Different ideas to generate feelings of happiness are to be found on page 5 and 6. Vast coverage concerns this time the researches by the team of Happiness Observer. At the Institut für Leistungsmanagement (ILM) of Dr. Gerhard H. Eggetsberger we found an experimental array that comes near to the "happiness computer" (see „Das große Buch vom Glücklichsein“). A cooperation between ILM and IFEG ist planned. More on page 7. On page 8 you find a report on a discussion among architects about happiness.
Happiness Observer 3/07, March 6, 2007 Happiness causes measurable physical reactions. This opinion backs our theory that you could combine research of Happiness and biofeedback. Source of these findings are research results from Great Britain. See page 1. Caucuses about happiness this time fill several pages, starting with page 1. Besides the usual uncritical reports there are some critical treatments of the subject of research of happiness by asking people. Attacks of "old sciences" like philosophy and sociology are to be found on page 4. The old sciences seem to wake up to the competition of research of happiness. The IFEG this time reports several own researches and findings, beginning on page 7. On page 8 you find a first short report on the working group on terminology of research of happiness. The members of the team have received documentations, on which they will work until the next meeting scheduled for March 30.
Happiness Observer 2/07, February 13, 2007 Some books deserve more attention than others. Therefore Happiness Observer reviews once again the Book "Stumbling on Happiness" of Daniel Gilbert on pages 2 and 3. Galore are the news on politics and happiness. They fill most of page 3 and all of page 4. Similar is the situation with inquiries on happiness. People give very diverse answers when asked about happiness. Four book reviews complete this Happiness Observer.
Happiness Observer 1/07, January 9, 2007 While compiling the past volumes of Happiness Observer the editor found out, that most of the news on happiness had been detected as false or true already 2003. The few real news like the axioms of experimental research of happiness were ignored completely by the media. Nevertheless Happiness Observer continues to protocol all mentionings of happiness in the news. Page 2 is dedicated to the measurement of happiness. Also contributions on page 6 and 7, which arrived later. The automatic recognition of body language an a report on the so called "honeymoon effect" are to be found on page 3. Page 4 reports on the effect of laughing and of thinking on happiness, page 5 on the effect of intelligence on happiness. Happiness Observer 12/06, December 12, 2006 The Trend Report 2007 of futurologist Matthias Horx gives much room to research of happiness - unfortunately without consulting experts. Read more on page 2. A Meta-Study concerning the readiness of people to declare themselves happy in different countries combines the results of individual studies. Interesting: Denmark leads in happiness in front of Switzerland and Austria. (Page 3) On the same page you find different definitions of happiness. Also on page 3 is the start of three contributions concerning Happiness Business. New findings about laughing are to be found on page 4. After new theories laughing is not only "body language of happiness", but communication. Contributions to discussions handed in by readers start on page 6. They concern the relation of happiness and alcohol and the school of Stoa. Book reviews, this time extraordinarily numerous, start on page 8. On page 11 you find the announcement of an new committee on terminology to start on February 15, 2007.
Happiness Observer 11/06, November 14, 2006 This Happiness Observer is dominated by our Symposion 2006 „Glück und Sport“ (Happiness and Sport). Content of the papers is to be found on page 8. Page 2 features an Interview with Nobel Price Laureate Daniel Kahnemann. Page 3 shows a programme to teach health on Austrian schools following a programme of the European Union and the World Health Organisation. This time the backlog in books has nearly been worked off. There are several reviews of books concerning happiness. Own research concerns the homepage of the fishmongers "Nordsee" claiming that eating fish makes happy, and an Anti-Aging-Congress in Vienna dealing among others with happiness in old age. To order Happiness Observer (German only) please use the form on this homepage.
IFEG-Symposion 2006
IFEG-Symposion 2006 on Friday, October 20, 2006 thanks to Österreichischen Bundes-Sportorganisation (BSO) was a full success. A summary report (German only) is here.
Happiness Observer 8-9/06, 17. Oktober 2006 Emphasis lies this time on the development of pharmacology and electronics which influence the happiness of people - and the concerns of philosophy against them. Also on page 2 you find the history of the happiness education in an English college. Page 3 presents "experimental ethics" which give the permission to try to be happy without regard to the feelings of others. Also on pate 3 economists say farewell to maximisation of profits, choosing rather "maximisation of happiness". There are some books about happiness, but all of them without authorship of scientists of research of happiness. More books - this time really concerning happiness - in edition 11/06. Out of the IFEG there is a paper on happiness presented at the celebration of a reward for electronic games. A report on the IFEG Symposion 2006 with very interesting papers follows in edition 11/06.
Happiness Observer 8-9/06, 2006-09-12 Covering 14 pages this Happiness Observer is a bit more voluminous than the others. This is due to the summer holidays which brought us more material than usual. Daniel Gilbert, 48 years old, teaching psychology at the Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is the new Shooting Star of the research of happiness American style. Happiness Observer analysed his provocative opinions on page 2. More an more psychologists discover the state of mind which we call "happiness". They wonder how this state of mind can be accompanied by feelings which we consider negative. Read different articles to this subject on page 3. Extraordinarily much is written about age and happiness, als well from the medical point of view as from the economic one. Read more on pages 4 and 5. A short excursion into the history of positive psychology stands on page 6. Several examples for the abuse of the word "happiness", in German "Glück", from the island of Vanuatu to a Happiness Party at the coming parliamentary elections in Austria, see page 7. UNO have declared October 10 for "day of mental health". Let's celebrate October 20 as "day of happiness" at our symposium in Haus des Sports.
Happiness Observer 6-7/06
Due to the summer holidays this issue is a bit larger than usual, but there is quite some material left for the next issue, double abein, 8-9/06 scheduled Sept. 12. 2006.
+ Happiness more and more becomes subject also of economic sciences. This is documented e.g. by the call of David Blanchflower into a committee of the Bank of England berufen wurde. (Financial Times Deutschland, 8.5.06.)
+ 8 persons from Vienna were invited by Barbara Mucha Verlag to discuss happiness. Among them was Prof. Erich Leitenberger, press officer of the arch bishop of Vienna. (Signora, April 06.)
+ The idea of Optimal Challenge is more and more widely disussed. (Deutsche Welle, 25.4.06, und Ganze Woche, 10.6.06.)
+ The thesis of TV-journalist Claudia Stöckl about "Presentation of Happiness in Magazines " brings little surprise, as only three media - a women's magazine, a business magazine and an eclesiastic magazine - were observed. (Unsere Stadt, Mai 06.)
+ In the London suburb Slough 50 volunteers have passed a Programme of activities which are said to enhance happiness: Loughing spontaneously, cultuvatin plants ... The TV-Station BBC made a Film about the Action. Not quite unexpectedly the participants declared themselves more happy afterwards. (Der Tagesspiegel, 16.4.06.)
+ Contradictory readers' reactions earned futurologist Matthias Horx when he suggested to introduce "happiness" al subject into education. (Die Presse, 25.4.06.)
+ In the Quality-of-Life-Index www.economist.com not more Danmark is top, but Ireland, followed by Switzerland and Norway.
+ "Crap Jobs" and "Tream Jobs" are the subjects of two consecutive articles in Happiness Observer. Conclusion: Work can make happy. (Penthous, US-Edition, Mai 06, und Manager Magazin 6/06.)
There are reviews of the following books (all of them in German):
Sablik / Kunze / Wehle / Egger (Hg.): Das
große Buch vom Lebensstil mit Karikaturen von Manfred Deix und Ironimus,
Böhlau Verlag, Wien 2006, ISBN 3-205-77417-5.
Peter Lauster: Die Liebe
und das Leben. Wege zur Selbstbestimmung. Verlag Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach
2006, ISBN-10 3-7857 2248-6. Eric Kandel: Auf der Suche nach dem Gedächtnis. Die Entstehung einer neuen Wissenschaft des Geistes. Verlag Siedler, München 2006, ISBN-10 3-88680-842-4.
Happiness Observer 5/06
The latest Happiness Observer volume 4, issue 5/2006, has the following content:
+ Tag der Psychologie (Day of Psychology) April 21st - 22nd 2006, in Trauttmannsdorf Palace, Vienna. Discussion "Happiness in 21st Century - what can psychology contribute on an individual and collective level?". 3 pages report of Dr. Pia Zdrahal.
+ Optimal challenge in everyday life, report by Franz Katzlinger.
+ Social Capital, report about a research of Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Ernst Gehmacher, Austria's major researcher of happiness, in Austrian high schools. (Conturen 1/06)
+ Teaching happiness in school. 440 times an English school which started to teach "happiness" was mentioned in 80 different news media. That shows a high public interest in the subject of happiness, while this subject is still boycotted by most disciplines of science out of the reason that it is considered "unscientific". (www.netzeitung.de)
... and further contributions about happiness.
Happiness Observer 4/06
The Happiness Observer volume 4, issue 4/2006, has the following content:
+ Polls in Austria, Germany and Switzerland revealed new data on the readiness of people to declare themselves happy.
+ Happiness and addiction were treated in different sources. Slowly but certain people seem to accept, that addiction does not make happy and happiness does not cause addiction, but that these are different phenomena.
+ Several articles point out, that happiness primarily depends on the devotion of and the devotion versus other people. This supports the theory of optimal challenge, a main thesis of experimental research of happiness.
+ Happiness Economics are a keyword used in Germany. It describes the phenomenon, that happiness is not rising in the same quantity as material wealth.
+ A "third wave of psychotherapy" claims that happiness is not a normal state of mind of human beings, but an exception. That is considered the reason why panic attacks should not be cured, but accepted, because the attempt to cure makes them worse.
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