This document summarizes a talk about the connections between intentional communities, happiness, and quality of life. It discusses how human behavior and feelings evolved to promote behaviors that help pass on genes, with happiness as an accidental byproduct. Intentional communities may help exercise "good mood apps" in the brain and avoid "bad mood apps" by providing a social structure more aligned with how humans evolved. A study of over 1,000 individuals in 170 intentional communities found high levels of life satisfaction, social support, and other measures of well-being and quality of life. The talk suggests intentional communities provide an environment that may avoid "discords" or mismatches with human nature that can cause mental health problems in modern societies.

2. Speakers
Bjørn Grinde, Ph.D
Chief Scientist at Division of
Mental and Physical Health,
Norwegian Institute of Public
Health
Researcher and
Author
Bjorn.Grinde@fhi.no
Laura Musikanski,
Executive Director of
Happiness Alliance at
happycounts.org
laura@happycounts.org
Jill Johnson,
Executive Director of
ISQOLS
isqols.org
isqols.org@gmail.com

3. What do Intentional
Communities have to do with
Quality-of-Life?
A talk connecting the dots between
the human brain, happiness, and how
we choose to live together.
Bjørn Grinde

4. Human behavioral biologyHuman behavioral biology
What is happiness?
How do we find it?
More:
grinde.wikispaces.com

5. Nothing makes sense exept in theNothing makes sense exept in the
light of evolutionlight of evolution

6. Who can be happy?Who can be happy?

7. Why nervous systems?Why nervous systems?
Direct behaviour
Behaviour means movement

8. Why move?Why move?
Away from what is bad –
toward what is good for genes

9. Feelings – a strategy for makingFeelings – a strategy for making
behavioral decissionsbehavioral decissions
• Punishment and reward – away from or toward
• Our prospect for happiness an accidental by-product
BadBad

10. When did feelings evolve?When did feelings evolve?

11. The brain consists of functions formed byThe brain consists of functions formed by
evolution – like apps on a smartphoneevolution – like apps on a smartphone
The «main switches» for good and bad
feelings are controlled unconsciously

12. Mood ~ well-being ~Mood ~ well-being ~
happinesshappiness
A question of net activity in mood apps:
Rewards minus punishments

13. Default state of contentmentDefault state of contentment
• If …
o primary needs are covered, no
physical pain
• Then …
o the brain is designed to be in a good
mood
That is, reward apps normally
dominate

14. The problem is hyperactiveThe problem is hyperactive
punishment appspunishment apps
Normal function: Hyperactivity:
oPain chronic pain
oFear anxiety
oLow mood depression

15. EvolutionEvolution Cultural adaptationCultural adaptation
Version: 1.0 2.0 3.0
The age of the human zoo

16. Experimenting on humans?Experimenting on humans?
Project:Project:
Intentional Communities as a natural experimentIntentional Communities as a natural experiment

17. Muscles and brain modules expandMuscles and brain modules expand
upon useupon use
• How to excercise good
mood apps
• How to avoid
excercising bad mood
apps
Does life in intentional
communities help?
⇒

18. When we depart from a natural way of life:When we depart from a natural way of life:
Unfortunate mismatches are referred to as discords

19. NearsightednessNearsightedness
(80 % in Singapore, 1 % farmers in Nepal)
Possible discords:
Too much focus on close range?
Light on at night?
Not spending time outside?

20. What are the discordsWhat are the discords
causing mental problems?causing mental problems?
Social structure?Social structure?
The achilles heel ofThe achilles heel of
society?society?

21. Intentional CommunitiesIntentional Communities
• More like how humans
are designed to live
o Small scale
o Close knit
o Sharing
o A purpose
o Non-hierarchical

22. Web-based questionnaireWeb-based questionnaire
• ~1000 responders
• ~170 intentional communities
• Probing social relations, happiness,
meaning of life and much more
• Compare results to othe populations

23. They are doing fine!They are doing fine! Total Sample (n=849)
Mean SD
Life satisfaction 5.41 1.12
Personality Emotional stability 5.51 1.20
Extraversion 4.26 1.68
Openness 5.87 0.98
Agreeableness 5.52 1.08
Conscientiousness 5.82 1.15
Social support 27.8 4.2
Identity fusion 3.93 0.96
Meaning Presence 27.5 6.1
Searching 18.9 8.0
Community Tenure (months) 122 116
Community
satisfaction
5.90 1.24
Positive change 6.13 1.04
Grinde B, Nes RB, MacDonald I, Wilson DS.
Quality of life in intentional communities. Social Indicators
Research, (2017) DOI 10.1007/s11205-017-1615-3.

24. Books and articlesBooks and articles
(see: grinde.wikispaces.com)(see: grinde.wikispaces.com)