New research collaboration explores the science of happiness at Liseberg
The Center for Wellbeing, Welfare and Happiness (CWWH) at SSE is launching a new research collaboration with Liseberg, Scandinavia’s largest amusement park. Together with affiliated researchers from the Karolinska Institute and the London School of Economics, the initiative will explore how shared experiences and positive forms of stress influence wellbeing and human relationships.
Named The Liseberg Happiness Lab, the project transforms a real-world environment into a large-scale research setting. With more than two million visitors annually, Liseberg offers a unique opportunity to study joy, excitement, social connection, and wellbeing outside the traditional laboratory.
Researchers will collect data before, during, and after park visits using surveys and physiological measurements. More than one thousand volunteer participants are expected to contribute to the studies during the summer of 2026.
The research aims to deepen our understanding of questions such as whether shared adrenaline-filled experiences can strengthen social bonds and whether intense positive experiences can have lasting effects on wellbeing.
“While we know a great deal about the negative effects of stress, we know considerably less about what intense positive experiences do to us. This collaboration gives us a unique opportunity to study these questions in a real-world setting,” says Micael Dahlen, Professor of Wellbeing, Welfare and Happiness and Director of CWWH.
Findings from The Liseberg Happiness Lab will be published in academic journals and shared through reports and public engagement activities. For more info, and for instructions on how to contribute to the research, please visit https://www.liseberg.se/happiness-lab/
