The momentary happiness of more than 18,000 people around the world has been successfully predicted using a mathematical equation devised by researchers at University College London (UCL). The results of the work, which has published PNAS magazine, show that a happy state of mind is related not only to the fact that things go well, but also that they do better than expected.
The predictive model was successfully tested in 18,420 participants from various countries who responded to the game What makes me happy? through a mobile application developed by UCL itself, called The Great Brain Experiment< /a>, where points are earned instead of money.
Scientists believe that quantifying subjective states of happiness could help clinicians better understand mood disorders by looking at how personal appraisals fluctuate in response to events such as small wins and losses in a mobile game. . The model could also help governments better implement and report welfare measures for the population.