HappyFace

HappyFace, boost optimism through Cognitive Bias Modification as per BBC Horizon

HappyFace is a simple game that uses Cognitive Bias Modification to reduce social anxiety and improve personal well being.

The benefits of Cognitive Bias Modification (CBM) were featured on the BBC Horizon programme 'The Truth About Personality', first broadcast in July 2013. The programme investigated the differences between optimistic and pessimistic people. In a 35 year study in Idaho, involving over 1000 people, it was found that those with an Optimistic outlook lived on average 7.5 years longer, enjoyed life more and were less anxious. Excerpts from the programme are available on YouTube.

You will be presented with a series of grids showing peoples faces. One of these faces is happy, smiling and positive. The remaining faces each depict a negative emotion such as anger, frustration, anxiety etc. Your task is to examine the faces and to click on the happy face as quickly as possible. The faster you locate the happy faces the higher your score will be. Currently the game time lasts 1 minute before your score is displayed.

Two to three minutes practice per day over a six week period has been shown to dramatically improve a person's cognitive bias towards a positive outlook. By learning to react faster to the happy faces you are effectively retraining your brain to pick up on more positive information instead of exercising the right side of the brain which is more associated with survival reflexes such as 'fight and flight'.

HappyFace enables you to monitor your progress in two ways. Selecting 'Show Progress' displays a graph of your highest score for each day you have played the game. Selecting 'Show Duration' will show a graph of the number of minutes you have practised each day.

HappyFace works well from Android 2.2 onwards on mobile phones and tablets.