together, in a sense

The first of my social software for wellness applications is available on Facebook (info page).

Three Good Things supports a positive psychology exercise in which participants record three good things, and why these things happened. When completed daily – even on the bad days – over time, participants report increased happiness and decreased symptoms of depression. The good things don’t have to be major events – a good meal, a phone call with a friend or a family member, or a relaxing walk are all good examples.

I’m interested in identifying best practices for deploying these interventions on new or existing social websites, where adding social features may make the intervention more or less effective for participants, or may just make some participants more likely to complete the exercise on a regular basis. Anyway, feel free to give the app a try – you’ll be helping my research and you may end up a bit happier.