‘Appiness’ test on your smartphone

SCOTTISH scientists have developed the first smartphone app which records how people’s perceptions of themselves vary from day to day.

The Daily Self App, which has been created by researchers at Edinburgh University, will “ping” volunteers twice a day at random times for eight days asking them a range of 20 questions such as “what are you doing?”

Scientists hope their findings will help confirm whether it is the small things in life that have a larger impact on how we feel about ourselves.

Dr Alison Lenton, of the university’s school of philosophy, psychology and language sciences, said: “The data will give us an idea of how people’s sense of themselves changes on a day-to-day basis, which means we’ll have a better understanding of what constitutes ‘typical’ variation in self-related thoughts and feelings.

“We already know that ‘the self’ is changeable, but most of the research to date has been done in the lab. The results of this study, once out there, could make people more aware of what affects them and makes them feel good or bad.”

The university is looking to recruit around 100 volunteers for the project.