Writing and writing and writing on my written assignment… updates will follow soon :)
| Motivation | |
| Subject & subject description | The Happiness Advantage of Interaction DesignThe Happiness Advantage is a term created by psychologist Shawn Achor. It means that the brain processes significantly better when we are happy. This leads to more intelligence, creativity and the energy level rises.
We perceive the world through a lens – our brain. This lens shapes our individual reality. By changing it to focus on positivity the brain gets rewired for a positive mindset. People become happier and therefore more successful. |
| Purpose of the assignment | This creates a great opportunity for interaction design. People get in contact with so many interactive devices every day. By creating positive user experiences the brain gets rewired to focus on positive patterns.The two books The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor and The Art of Happiness by Howard C. Cutler and the Dalai Lama explain their methods to train the mind to become happy. |
| Problem formulation | How can I use methods from the Happiness Advantage and the Art of Happiness to create a new design method for evaluating interactive products regarding happiness? |
| Choice of method and theory | |
| Review of theory, empirical approach and method | By making a comparative analysis between the two books The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor and The Art of Happiness by the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler I get two different views on the same subject. The Happiness Advantage is more business oriented and the Art of Happiness explains the topic from a Buddhism point of view. By finding out their commonalities and differences I won’t just focus and believe in one source but remain critical regards both of them. Further more it gives me a more open-minded view on the subject of long-term happiness and will help me map the summarized findings to interaction design. I will use these methods to create an evaluation system for interactive products. By defining questions for all the methods I will be able to rate products in the different aspects of the Happiness Advantage and the Art of Happiness. |
| Preliminary list of literature | Achor, Shawn (2010): The Happiness Advantage, Crown BusinessGyatso, Tenzin (the 14th Dalai Lama) and Cutler, Howard (1998): The Art of Happiness, Mobius, Eastern Press |
| 1. Subject | |
| Subject | The Happiness Advantage in combination with interaction design |
| Subject Description(Context, Target, Group, Sender/Recipient) | ”The Happiness Advantage” is a term created by psychologist Shawn Achor. It means that the brain processes significantly better if it is in a positive mindset than a negative one. This leads to more intelligence, creativity and the energy level rises.The brain sees the world through a lens, which shapes our reality. By changing this lens people can become happier and therefore more successful. |
| 2. Problem Statement | Most people think if they work harder they will be more successful and if they are more successful they will be happier. But every time the brain experiences success they just change the goal of what success looks like. Success becomes a moving target. Therefore we need to invert our thinking. We need to be happy first and this will lead to success. Not the other way around.So how can people achieve long-term happiness and therefore become more successful by using techniques of The Happiness Advantage in combination with interaction design? |
| 3. Purpose | |
| Professional Incentive | To work with happiness is a positive approach of problem solving. It is important for me to point out the positive in interaction design and not the negative. It is also a way of problem solving by looking at the roots and not just solving symptoms. This can have a long-term impact on society and economy. Additionally happiness is a global issue. Everybody has a need to be happy. This increases the importance of the subject. |
| Personal Motivation | Our daily actions are based on our mindset. Therefore in my opinion everything is related to happiness. And the happier we are the happier are the others. Our mindset directly influences the others mindset.By working with the subject I can try out the techniques and learn a lot for myself. |
| 4. Goal | |
| Objective | Make people aware of The Happiness Advantage and use it in combination with interaction design. |
| Type and Scope | By using existing digital or non-digital artifacts and adding value to it that helps people practicing The Happiness Advantage or by creating new artifact that do the same. |
| 5. Knowledge Basis Practical Knowledge and ExperienceCore Concepts | Psychological knowledge from books and practical skills from my studies as an interaction designer. Personal experience by trying out different methods of The Happiness Advantage. I’m trying to get in contact with Shawn Achor or other psychologists and get feedback from people in general during the concept phase. |
| 6. Method | I will base my work on the knowledge of The Happiness Advantage, Buddhism and other literature about positive psychology. I won’t make any further research about happiness by myself. I’ll map the gained knowledge to interaction design and implement it in the artifact. |
| 7. Project Framework Format, Time Frame, Documentation(Financial Considerations, Partners) | Week 11-13: Research & IdeationWeek 14-16: Concept & PrototypingWeek 17-18: Write theoretical assignmentWeek 18-23: RealizationWeek 24: Finish Documentation and prepare exam |
| 8. References | |
| Bibliography Including Links, Image Bibliography | Books:The Happiness Advantage by Shawn AchorThe Art of Happiness by Dalai LamaYoutube:What is the Happiness Advantage?Glücklich auf dem Dach der Welt – Leben in Buthan(Documentary)What is Gross National Happiness?The Happiness Advantage: Linking Positive Brains to Performance(TED talk)Barry Schwartz: The paradox of choice(TED talk)
Links: http://www.grossnationalhappiness.com/
Wikipedia: |
Happiness
Definitions
Gross National Happiness (Wikipedia)
Gross National Happiness (Official Site)
Network
Center for Positive Psychology Denmark
European Network for Positive Psychology
International Positive Psychology Association
Tal Ben-Shahar – Positive Psychology
April 6th, 2012 | Posted by in Research | Videos - (0 Comments)[youtube width=”100%”]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2l_iHjGick[/youtube]
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