WO2001009759A2 - Computerized self-assessment system and electronic journal - Google Patents

Abstract

A computerized method, system, and program for providing increased self-awareness and self-empowerment through self-assessment and electronic journal functions to a user over at least one interactive session. The invention includes an initial computer display that may be embodied in a standalone computer program or implemented as a web site for Internet access. A 'home' window provides access to subject windows relating to particular subjects of interest to a user. An environmental information frame provides information about external factors pertinent to a particular user that may have an effect upon the well-being of the user. The home window also displays questions to the user that are designed to elicit basic information about a user that can be correlated with selected external factors. A correlations frame provides either a textual or graphical indication of correlations performed by the inventive systems between the user's input to questions and external factors such as the type shown in the environmental information frame. Selected correlations from a set of computed correlations serve as an indication to the user of possible influences of at least some elements of the set of environment factors on the user's well-being.

Description

COMPUTERIZED SELF-ASSESSMENT SYSTEM AND ELECTRONIC JOURNAL

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to computerized self-assessment systems and electronic journals.

BACKGROUND

A number of attempts have been made over the years to use computer programs as psychological or medical evaluation, diagnostic, and/or treatment tools. Examples of such systems are set forth in U.S. Patent Nos. 5,207,580; 5,722,418; 5,596,994; 4,931,934; 5,828,943; and 5,692,501. Computer programs have also been used to allow users to record "daily diary" information. For example, personal information manager computer programs allow users to record free form text that can describe events that have occurred to the user.

A drawback to these types of computer programs is that none are known to exist that allow a user to record in a free form manner the events that have occurred to the user, while prompting the user for self-assessment information in a multi-level manner and then cross- correlating the user's inputs and also correlating the user's inputs to external factors. Such external factors may include, for example, environmental factors that may affect a user's health, mental state, emotional state, self-esteem, spiritual well-being, and personal and work relationships. Accordingly, the inventors have determined that it would be desirable to have a computer-implemented system that achieves these objects in a manner that provides real-time correlation and self-assessment to users, either as a standalone computer program or by means of an Internet accessible web site.

-l- SUMMARY

The invention includes a computerized method for providing increased self-awareness and self-empowerment through self-assessment and electronic journal functions to a user over at least one interactive session. The preferred embodiment includes an initial computer display that may be embodied in a standalone computer program or implemented as a web site for Internet access. A "home" window provides access to subject windows relating to particular subjects of interest to a user, such as EMOTIONS, ENVIRONMENT, MENTAL, PERSONAL, HEALTH, SELF-ESTEEM, SPIRITUAL, WORKING LIFE, and FINANCIAL. Each subject window provides a record of prior responses of the user to a variety of relevant questions, as well as the opportunity to provide responses to various levels of questions designed to illicit the current status of the user with respect to the selected subject. In the preferred embodiment, each such subject window would include a hierarchy of self-assessment questions for the user. An environmental information frame provides information about external factors pertinent to a particular user that may have an effect upon the well-being of the user. Examples include local temperature, predicted low and high temperature values for a particular date, humidity, air quality and principal pollution offender, pollen count and principal pollen offender, wind velocity and direction, ultraviolet index, total amount of daylight, and 24-hour weather forecast. Virtually all of such external factors can be obtained automatically for most users from commonly available Internet based services.

The home window also displays questions to the user that are designed to elicit basic information about a user that can be correlated with selected external factors. The questions may be changed daily, or at the beginning of each session, or after a preselected time, or upon any combination of events. An important aspect of the invention is that each question posed to the user may lead to additional questions of greater detail to elicit information about the user and the user's life and environment.

A correlations frame provides either a textual or graphical indication of correlations performed by the inventive systems between the user's input to questions and external factors such as the type shown in the environmental information frame. Selected correlations from a set of computed correlations serve as an indication to the user of possible influences of at least some elements of the set of environment factors on the user's well-being.

Thus, in one aspect, the invention includes a computerized method for providing self-assessment and electronic journal functions to a user over at least one interactive session, including the steps of: determining a set of environment factors applicable to the user; displaying a summary indicative of the set of environmental factors; displaying at least one question to the user relating to the user's well-being; receiving responses from the user to at least one such question; computing a set of correlations between the received responses from the user and at least selected elements of the set of environment factors; and displaying selected correlations from the set of correlations to the user as an indication of possible influences of at least some elements of the set of environment factors on the user's well- being.

The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an example of an initial computer display that may be used in an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a hierarchy of questions or statements in the preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is an example of a computer display that may be used in an embodiment of the invention as a subject window.

FIG. 4 is an example of a computer display that may be used in an embodiment of the invention as a journal window. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a preferred process for user interaction with a preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is an example of a graph of the time-series data for air quality versus an overall assessment of physical well-being (PWB), where a positive correlation has been calculated. Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

"Home " Window Display

FIG. 1 is an example of an initial computer display that may be used in an embodiment of the invention. Shown is a "home" window 100 that may be embodied in a standalone computer program or implemented as a web site for Internet access (utilizing, for example, conventional HTML encoding provided by a server computer system over an Internet- compatible network system to a client computer system utilized by a user). This home window 100 would be displayed to a user each time the user accessed the system (a "session"). Near the top of the home window 100 are a series of window selection buttons 102 which provide access to other windows relating to particular subjects of interest to a user. For example, the embodiment in FIG. 1 displays buttons 102 for a JOURNAL window, and for nine subject windows: EMOTIONS, ENVIRONMENT, MENTAL, PERSONAL, HEALTH, SELF-ESTEEM, SPIRITUAL, WORKING LIFE, and FINANCIAL. The user can directly access any subject window by activation of the corresponding display button 102. Each subject window would then provide a record of prior responses of the user to a variety of relevant questions, as well as the opportunity to provide responses to various levels of questions designed to illicit the current status of the user with respect to the selected subject. In the preferred embodiment, each such subject window would include a hierarchy of self- assessment questions for the user, as described below. More, fewer, or different subject windows may be provided as desired.

In the preferred embodiment, an environmental information frame 104 displays information pertinent to a particular user, preferably on a geographical basis. For example, during an initial enrollment session with the system, a user would enter a ZIP code or a telephone area code for the user's principal place of residence or work. If desired, the system can be adapted to permit entry of identifiers for two or more geographical sites and a schedule of when the user would be at each site. For example, the user might enter the ZIP code for the user's residence, at which the user would normally be located from the hours of 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Monday through Friday and all of Saturday and Sunday of each week; a second ZIP code representing the user's work place could be scheduled for display between the hours of, for example, 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. In any event, the environmental information frame 104 would display external factors (in particular, environmental factors) that may have an effect upon the well-being of the user. Examples shown in FIGURE 1 include local temperature, predicted low and high temperature values for a particular date, humidity, air quality and principal pollution offender, pollen count and principal pollen offender, wind velocity and direction, ultraviolet index, total amount of daylight, and 24-hour weather forecast. More, less, or other information may be including. Such other information may include: present sunrise and sunset times, moon rise and moon set times, barometric pressure, predicted high and low barometric pressures, visibility, ceiling, cloud coverage, precipitation, high tide and low tide times (possibly displayed only if the indicated site is within a specified distance of a major body of water), wind chill factors, combined heat and humidity indices, concentration of specific allergens (e.g., grass pollens, rag weed, molds, fungus, tree pollens, etc.), and other external factors that may be relevant to the health and well-being (physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual) of the user (e.g., whether local water is chlorinated or fluorinated, whether the user lives in close proximity to high electromagnetic fields, average noise levels at the user's selected sites, daily commute distance, stock market indices, etc.). Virtually all of the external factors described above can be obtained automatically for most users from commonly available Internet based services.

A "daily thought" or "proverb" frame 106 is also provided in the preferred embodi- ment to provide spiritual or enlightening comments designed to positively influence a user.

The text displayed in the proverb frame 106 can be changed daily, or at the beginning of each session, or after a preselected time, or upon any combination of events. The text may be drawn from public domain literature, famous quotations, philosophical or religious works, etc. The general categories of text that may be displayed may be tailored to the user For example, if a user indicates during an enrollment session that the user is very religious, then the text selected for display in the proverb frame 106 may be primarily selected from an appropriate religious work, such as the Bible, the Koran, etc.

In the preferred embodiment, a relatively large portion of the home window 100 is dedicated to a questions section 108. The questions section 108 provides a series of high level "overview" questions 110 designed to elicit basic information about a user that can be correlated with external factors. The questions 110 may be changed daily, or at the beginning of each session, or after a preselected time, or upon any combination of events. Each question 110 has an associated control 112, which in the preferred embodiment is a simple slider having a scale (e.g., from 1 to 5). Scale labels 114, 116 provide suitable labels for the end points of the scale. The content of the control labels 114, 116 may vary for each associated question 110. Of course, other types of controls, such as rotary knobs, "spinners", etc., could be use to allow a user to indicate a response to the questions 110. If desired, the user's prior response may be indicated on each control, for example, as a "shadow" indicator 113. The prior response may be either from the previous session, or an average, which may be cumulative (i.e., all prior sessions) or rolling (e.g., the previous 10 sessions), weighted or unweighted.

An important aspect of the invention is that each question 110 posed to the user may lead to additional questions of greater detail to elicit information about the user and the user's life and environment, as described in greater detail below. A correlations frame 120 provides either a textual or graphical indication of correlations performed by the inventive systems between the user's input to the questions 110 (and further detailed questions, as described below) and external factors such as the type shown in the environmental information frame 104. In the illustrated embodiment, a correlation has been discovered that the user has felt unwell and tired in 10 of the past 30 days on days when the pollen count was over 30 and the air quality level was higher than 50. In addition, the correlations frame 120 may provide suggestions to the user based on such correlations. In the illustrated embodiment, the user is advised to consult an allergist.

Preferred Subject Windows The nine subject windows shown in FIG. 1 have been chosen as being particular relevant to assessing the overall well-being of an individual. In the preferred embodiment, the types of information sought to be captured under each of the preferred subject window would include the following:

ENVIRONMENT - This subject would elicit information about the user's local environment that cannot be automatically ascertained (e.g. , address, zip code, and/or area code), as well as provide a historical record of the environmental factors determined during each session. In some embodiments, the environmental data can be recorded independently of sessions, such as by periodic (e.g., daily) recordation of such information in a central data base. EMOTIONS - This subject would elicit information that would include an initial assessment, during an enrollment process, of a user's emotional well-being or state, and then provide on-going questions and statements for assessing the user's short term and long term emotional well-being or state. The questions (which may be phrased in various manners, including non-interrogatory statements that the user can agree or disagree with) may ask (directly or indirectly) for information which would indicate whether the user was, for example, generally an optimistic or pessimistic person; warm and friendly, or aloof; forgiving or unforgiving; etc.

MENTAL - This subject would elicit information that would include an initial assessment, during an enrollment process, of a user's mental well-being or state, and then provide on-going questions and statements for assessing the user's short term and long term mental well-being or state. The questions may ask for information which would indicate, for example, the cognitive and problem solving abilities of the user, memory function, etc.

PERSONAL - This subject would elicit information that would include an initial assessment, during an enrollment process, of the personal life of the user, and then provide on-going questions and statements for assessing the personal life of the user over time. The questions may ask for information about such subjects as marital status, sexual behavior and problems, personal relationship with friends and family, etc.

HEALTH - This subject would elicit information that would include an initial assessment, during an enrollment process, of a user's health or physical well-being, and then provide on-going questions and statements for assessing the user's short term and long term health. For example, during the enrollment process, the user may be asked basic questions about his or her age, height, weight, physical infirmities, known allergies (e.g., latex, pollen, animal hair or saliva, etc.). In addition, questions posed on a periodic (e.g., daily) basis would prompt the user for input regarding the user's exercise, diet, alcoholic consumption, drug use, etc. SELF-ESTEEM - This subject would elicit information that would include an initial assessment, during an enrollment process, of a user's self-esteem, and then provide on-going questions and statements for assessing the user's self-esteem over time. The questions may ask for information about such subjects as body image, social skills, perceived position in various social hierarchies, etc.

SPIRITUAL - This subject would elicit information that would include an initial assessment, during an enrollment process, of a user's spiritual state, and then provide ongoing questions and statements for assessing the user's short term and long term spiritual state. The questions may ask for information about such subjects as religious beliefs, faith in prayer, views on good and evil in the world, etc.

WORKING LIFE - This subject would elicit information that would include an initial assessment, during an enrollment process, of a user's working life, and then provide on-going questions and statements for assessing the user's working life over time. The questions may ask for information about such subjects as the user's level of job coping skills, job stress, personal interactions with coworkers, office social hierarchies, goals and ambitions, etc. FINANCIAL - This subject would elicit information that would include an initial assessment, during an enrollment process, of a user's financial condition, and then provide on-going questions and statements for assessing the user's financial condition over time. The questions may ask for information about such subjects as the user's income level, expenses, etc. The questions may be objective (for example, how much a user earns and spends each year) or subjective (for example, asking the user "do you feel overwhelmed by your financial burdens?").

Other subjects that may be of special interest to some people would include questions directed to the amount of control the user feels he or she exerts over his or her life; questions that may be diagnostic of particular disorders, such as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or alcoholism; and/or questions directed to any or all of the following topics (which may be offered in adult level, adolescent level, child level, and/or family interactive versions): Understanding and Overcoming Depression; Helping the Depressed Child Understand and Overcome Depression; Understanding and Overcoming Anxiety and Panic Attacks; Helping the Anxious Child Understand and Overcome Anxiety; Understanding and Overcoming Occupational and Social Stress; Understanding and Overcoming the Stresses of Adolescence; Helping the Over-Stressed, Hyper-Reactive Child; Rearing the Unruly Child; Understanding and Overcoming Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Difficulties; Helping the Child Understand and Cope with ADHD; Understanding and Overcoming Obesity and the Compulsion to Eat; Helping the Obese Child Understand and Conquer Obesity and the Compulsion to Eat; Parenting Children of a Broken Family; Adjusting to Divorce in the Family; Helping the Child of Divorce Understand the Impact of Divorce; Rearing the Child of a Broken Family ; Helping the Child of Divorce Adjust to a New Family; Adjusting to New Family Members; Positive Growth in Recovery from Alcohol; Helping your Adolescent Family Member During Recovery from Alcohol; Families Working Together to Recover from Alcohol;

Positive Growth in Recovery from Poly-Substance Abuse; Helping your Adolescent During Recovery from Poly-Substance Abuse; Families Working Together to Recover from Poly- Substance Abuse; Rearing the Child with a [specific] Physical Disability; Rearing the Child with a Mental Disability; Rearing the Child with an Emotional Disability; Growing up with a Physical Disability; Helping the Eating Disordered Adolescent Family Member; etc.

Derived Measures

If desired, various measures of the state of the user's well-being can be determined from the user's responses to selected questions. These measures may be determined from the responses to questions from only a single subject window, or from responses to questions from selected sets of subject windows. These measures need not necessarily be exposed to the user, but in some embodiments may be displayed in a form that provides an "at a glance" indication of the user's overall well-being in a particular area. For example, such measures may include one or more metrics indicating the user's Emotional Well-Being (EWB), Mental Well-Being (MWB), Personal Relations (PR), Physical Well-being (PWB), Self-Esteem

Assessment (SEA), Spiritual Well-Being (SWB), and Work Relations (WR). Other measures that may involve assessing multiple factors to determine one or more metrics indicating the user's Job Coping Skills (JCS), Overall Self- Assessment (SAS), and Locus of Control (LoC). One simple method of arriving at a derived measure is to score the responses to the questions posed to the user and present a total score, or "bin" the total into a normalized range (e.g., 1 to 5) with assigned meaning. The bin ranges and score values may be empirically determined from a test set of users who are also subjected to more rigorous professional testing in particular subject areas in order to validate the user's answers against the professionally determined test scores.

Question Levels

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a hierarchy of questions or statements in the preferred embodiment of the invention. In most cases, other than during the enrollment process, a user is presented a "Level 1" overview question or statement 200. Depending upon the user's response to the Level 1 question, one or more Level 2 generalized detail questions or statements 202 may be presented to the user. Level 2 questions are designed to elicit more information from a user to explicate the response of the user to a corresponding Level 1 question. In the preferred embodiment, at least one additional level of questions or statements are used. Level 3 particularized detail questions or statements 204 are designed to elicit even further about the user's responses to corresponding Level 1 questions 200 and Level 2 questions 202. Of course, additional levels of questions may be used as desired.

For example, a Level 1 question might be similar to those shown in FIG. 1, e.g., "Yesterday I Ate (poorly) ... (wisely)". A corresponding Level 2 question might ask if the user had any alcoholic drinks yesterday. Level 3 questions corresponding to this Level 2 question might include the following:

"The number of glasses of wine I drank yesterday was: "

"The number of bottles of beer I drank yesterday was: "

"The number of mixed drinks I drank yesterday was: "

As suggested by the examples above and in FIG. 1 , questions at any level can be in any form, such as true/false, multiple choice, fill-in, sliding scale, or free-form text. Further, a particular level of questioning can be triggered by the user's response to a higher level of questioning. For example, referring to FIG. 1 , if the user answered the Level 1 question "Physically I feel (awful) ... (great)", with a value near the high end of the scale (i.e. , "great"), then for that particular session, the user may not be presented with any correspond- ing Level 2 question. However, if the user's response to that question was a value towards the lower end of the scale (i.e., "awful"), then the user may be prompted to respond to one or more Level 2 questions to try to elicit the basis for the user's Level 1 question response. Moreover, which questions are presented to a user can be varied depending upon a variety of factors. For example, a subset of all possible Level 1 questions may be posed to the user every session (or at least once each day), while another subset of Level 1 questions may be intermittently posed to the user, either on a random basis, a cyclic basis, or in response to the user's responses to other questions. Similarly, when Level 2 or Level 3 questions are posed to a user, the specific questions posed may vary depending upon the user's prior responses to such questions, or on a random or cyclic basis, or as a function of the user's responses to other questions at any level. Moreover, the questions posed need not relate only to the prior day, but can be addressed to other time periods (e.g., the prior week, prior month, prior year, etc.).

Subject Window Display

FIG. 3 is an example of a computer display that may be used in an embodiment of the invention as a subject window 300. Each such subject window 300 may be activated by selecting the corresponding subject button among the window selection buttons 102 shown in FIG. 1. The selection may shown in conventional fashion, for example, by displaying a subject button 302 ("Health") as being depressed.

In the illustrated embodiment, one or more Level 1 questions 304 relevant to the subject are displayed to a user, along with associated input controls 306 and (optionally) scale labels 308, 310. In this embodiment, an "expansion" control 312 associated with some or all of the Level 1 questions causes a cascade of one or more related Level 2 questions 314 and associated input controls 316 to be displayed when activated or hidden when deactivated (for example, by clicking on the expansion control 312 with a mouse). Similarly, one or more of the Level 2 questions 314 includes a manual "expansion" control 318 that causes a cascade of one or more related Level 3 questions 320 and associated input controls 322 to be displayed when activated. By controlling cascading of lower level questions, the user can control what information is displayed at any time. In an alternative embodiment, selecting or activating a question at a particular level can cause the entire display to change to another "page" or window showing one or more related lower level questions (e.g., by using hyperlinks).

Subject windows of the type shown in FIG. 3 may be used during enrollment of a user with the inventive system. For example, during one or more initial sessions, the user would be prompted to respond to questions posed in one or more subject windows corresponding to the subjects shown in FIG. 1. This initial, rather intensive, questioning provides a basic data base which can be used to evaluate which questions should be posed most frequently to the user. For example, it may be that a user provides most "negative" answers only with respect to emotional questions during enrollment. By simply determining the subjects having the highest number of "negative" responses, the system can pose more questions to the user relating to those subjects than other subjects.

In the illustrated embodiment, each selected question (indicated, for example, by gray shading) is associated with a graph 330 that shows the recent history (e.g., last seven days) of a user's responses to that question. As the selected question changes, the data displayed in the graph 330 would change to corresponding values. A date column 332 indicates when the prior responses were made. A scroll control 338 allows the user to review earlier or later dates.

In the illustrated example, the selected question 304 relates to the user's physical well being. The length of each bar 334 in the graph 330 indicates the scale value input by the user on a particular date (in this case, the scale ranges from 1 = "awful" to 5 = "great"). A central line 336 tells the user at a glance how many of the user's most recent responses were above the middle of the scale (2.5) or below the middle of the scale. The bars 334 may be coded with a "below middle" color and an "above middle" color to further differentiate bar values. In an alternative embodiment, the spacing between bars 334 can correspond to the amount of days between values. For example, if two values had been entered on consecutive days, the corresponding bars 334 would be adjacent; if two values had been entered two days, the corresponding bars 334 would be separated by a space corresponding to two days. Thus, the intra-bar spacing is a direct indication of the time between data entry.

Longer or shorter periods can be displayed, and other graphical or tabular depictions of such data can be used in place of the illustrated graph 330. However, the illustrated graph 330 is useful because it provides the user within an instant indication of how many days the user has been above the scale middle and below the scale middle.

Journal Window Display FIG. 4 is an example of a computer display that may be used in an embodiment of the invention as a journal window 400. The journal window 400 may be activated by selecting the JOURNAL button among the window selection buttons 102 shown in FIG. 1. The selection may shown in conventional fashion, for example, by displaying the JOURNAL button 402 as being depressed. One purpose of the journal window 400 is to allow a user to record significant events on a daily basis. A control bar 404 shows a selected date and includes a control 406 for selecting previous or later dates. In the illustrated embodiment, a user may enter free-form text into an event row 408 that corresponds to an event number 410. Questions related to each event number are set forth in a question section 412. A variety of questions 414 may be posed to the user with respect to each event. The user may provide input to each question 414 by means of associated controls 416. In the illustrated embodiment, each control 416 is a simple slider control. Scale labels 418, 420 provide suitable labels for the end points of the scale. The content of the scale labels 418, 420 may vary for each associated question 414.

In the illustrated embodiment, an additional text entry frame 430 is provided to allow a user to record a "Keepsake Thought" for the date selected in the event control bar 404. This allows a user to record ideas, concepts, emotions, etc. , that the user may not characterize as an event.

Conventional controls may be provided as desired to allow a user to print a report of information collected within the system. For example, the user may be able to print a cumulative diary of all events entered into the system through the journal window 400.

General System Operation

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a preferred process for user interaction with a preferred embodiment of the invention. This example assumes that the user has already enrolled into the inventive system, and thus has supplied basic background information and responses to an initial set of questions at various levels. When the user logs on into a web site implementing the invention, or executes a program embodying the invention, the system receives and validates a user ID (STEP 500). In a standalone based system, this step may be optional, but even in such an implementation, use of a user ID may be desirable if the implementing program is shared among multiple users (e.g. , within a family).

The system determines a set of environmental factors applicable to the user (STEP 502). This may entail, for example, looking up weather and environmental information for the geographical sites specified by the user during the enrollment process. Examples of typical environmental factors are described above with respect to FIG. 1. The system fetches from data storage the data records applicable to the user (STEP

504). Such data records may include, for example, the enrollment information previously provided by the user, and the responses to previous questions or statements entered by the user during previous sessions with the system.

The system then determines the questions to be posed to the user during the current session (STEP 506). As noted above, the questions generally would be Level 1 questions relating to the user's well-being. The particular Level 1 questions posed may vary over time, although it is contemplated that a core set of questions may be asked each session.

The system then displays a summary screen similar to that shown in FIG. 1 , including a summary indicative of at least some of the elements of the set of environmental factors and at least one question (STEP 508). As the user responds to the questions displayed during a session, the system receives the user's input to the displayed questions (note that a user need not necessarily respond to each question; a visual indication, such as a grayed out or different color slider on a slider control, may be used to inform a user that a control 112 has not been set during the current session) (STEP 510). In an optional step sequence, the system evaluates the user's input to each question against selected threshold values (STEP 512). For example, if a user responds to a Level 1 question by entering "2" on a scale from 1 to 5, that value may be below a preselected threshold (e.g., "2.5"), causing the system to indicate that the selected threshold has been exceeded or not met (STEP 514). If the threshold has been exceeded or not met, the system can prompt the user for input to additional questions (i.e., Level 2 questions) (STEP 516). In any event, processing continues with the system cross-correlating the user's inputs, as well as correlating the user's inputs with at least selected elements of the set of environmental factors determined in STEP 502 (STEP 518). One or more correlations from the set of correlations may then be displayed to the user as an indication of possible influences of at least some elements of the set of environment factors on the user's well-being (STEP 520). In addition to displaying selected correlations determined from the user's inputs, the system may also make self-empowerment recommendations to the user, such as suggesting goals or providing insightful statements for the user to contemplate.

Note that some of the processes and steps described above with respect to FIG. 4 can be done in different orders (/^'. e. , they are order independent), and that only some steps are order-dependent.

Correlating User Input and External Factors

It is believed by the inventors that much of a person's well-being and behavior is significantly affected by - and in some cases, determined by - external factors. In addition, much of a person's well-being and behavior is determined by the interaction of a multiplicity of external events and internal states. Thus, for example, overuse of alcohol or drugs generally correlates with poor health, low self-esteem, and poor personal relationships. However, other correlations may be less obvious. For example, a person may not be aware of a low-level allergy, the symptoms of which cause the person to be irritable, thereby affecting relationships with family and at work. Accordingly, an important aspect of the invention is cross-correlating the user's inputs and correlating the user's inputs with respect to external factors.

Thus, the correlations performed in the preferred embodiment of the invention are not made to determine the relationship between the variables in a theoretical or generalized fashion. Instead, the correlations specifically are to determine the perceived relationships between the variables for each individual user. There may or may not be a relationship between the individual's perception of these variables and the generalized or theoretical relationships found in other research performed on a variety of groups of persons. Stated another way, the preferred correlations relate a single user's responses to that user's other responses and to environmental factors.

In the preferred embodiment, correlations to be made include the various combinations that may be made from each measured external factor (for example, those displayed in the environmental information frame 104), and the user's responses to questions posed to the user (for example, within the home window 100 or within the various subject windows). Thus, the user's can be presented with correlations, for example, between and among various environmental factors and the user's recorded status with respect to Emotions, Mental state, Personal life, Health (including physical and dietary), Self-Esteem, Spiritual state, Working Life, and Financial state.

Moreover, in a diagnostic version of the invention, various measures of the user's state may be derived from the user's answers (for example, whether a user has Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD). These derived measures (for example, an ADHD total score) may also be correlated against any and all of the environmental factors recorded for the user and the user's question responses. The correlations may be made at a top-tier level (for example, correlating the user's response to a question about the general physical well-being of the user against pollen count), or at lower levels (for example, correlating the user's response to a question about whether he or she has yelled at a loved one within the past day against both humidity and temperature).

Correlation Methods

Since one goal in capturing information from a user is to assist the user in developing greater levels of self-awareness and self-empowerment, there are several types of statistical analyses which may be performed on the data collected from the individual. Below are discussions of several types of correlation algorithms. However, other types of statistical analyses that provide two variable or multi-variable correlations may also be used.

Regression analysis may be used when one wishes to predict values of one variable from values of another variable. A technical definition of regression analysis is: the prediction of unknown values of one variable from known values of another variable. For example, after developing basic data on a user, the preferred embodiment of the invention may take an Environmental Factor (X) and predict Work Relations the next day (Y). If knowing the values of X provides information about the value of Y, then X and Tare said to be related, or to be associated. If the relationship between two variables is linear (a straight line when graphed), Linear Regression is used. Then the formula used for this particular analysis is:

Y = a + bX

where: Y = the to-be-predicted variable (e.g. , Work Relations) X = the known variable (e.g. , Environmental Factor) a = some variable related to the analysis b = the slope of the line used in the regression formula (the tangent of the angle of the regression line).

A second form of analysis which may be used on the data collected from each individual is a correlational analysis. Correlational analysis is used when one wants to know if there is a tendency for an individual who is high in one area (e.g., Environmental Pollutants) to be high in another area (e.g., difficulty in mentally focusing). If these two variables co-vary, the correlation coefficient is said to be positive and may range between 0 and +1. If they vary inversely, they are said to be negative and the correlation coefficient may range from 0 to -1.

One form of correlational analysis is the Pearson Product Moment Correlation. The formula used in this particular analysis is:

_ CX ^~ XmeanXY ^~ ^mean) r = ∑(X - _me n)² ∑(Y - Y_mean)²

In this formula, r is the Pearson Product Moment Correlation, and the X and Y values are the typical designation of values which have been graphed on a Cartesian graph. Another form of correlation which might be used in analyzing the data is the Spearman Rank Order Correlation. The Spearman Rank Order Correlation is a non-parametric statistical analysis and is used when one's data does not meet the stringent requirement the parametric tests of correlation require. The conventional formula used in computing the Spearman Rank Order Correlation is:

6∑d² p = l

N(N² - 1)

where: N = the number of paired ranks d = the difference between pairs of rank.

The number of simple two-way correlations that may be computed can mount up rapidly. For example, if 10 environmental factors and 10 measures of a user's well-being are correlated so that each environmental factor is correlated against each of the 10 measures, and each of the 10 measures are correlated against each of the remaining 9 measures, then the total number of correlations will be (10 x 10) + (10 x 9), or 190. Accordingly, a thresholding function may be applied to categorize and select only the correlations that appear to be most significant statistically. The selected correlations may then be displayed in various forms to the user. For example, FIG. 6 is an example of a graph of the time-series data for air quality versus an overall assessment of physical well-being (PWB), where a positive correlation has been calculated.

Other User Feedback In addition to providing the correlations described above, in some embodiments of the invention, it may be useful to provide users with additional feedback. The invention contemplates at least two forms of feedback: recommendations based on the correlations determined from the user's inputs to the system, and self-responsive questioning.

For example, recommendations based on the correlations determined from the user's inputs to the system can be implemented as a database of text statements indexed by score values assigned to certain correlations. For instance, some recommendations may suggest that a user seek various types of medical attention when a significant enough correlation exists between the user's general health and air pollution levels, or alcoholic beverage consumption and poor personal relationships. Self-responsive questioning is essentially asking a user questions that are derived from the free-form text of the user's responses to prior questions. An example of this type of question generation is the well-known ELIZA program, which parsed a user's response to a preliminary question and generated a new question based on key words selected from the parsed response. For example, an initial question to a user might be, "How are you feeling today?" If the user responded with "I'm not feeling very good today", a simple parser discards "noise" terms (e.g. , "I'm") and generates a new question by adding an introductory phrase (e.g. , "Why are you") to the remainder of the input to generate a new question: "Why are you not feeling very good today?" Thus, text fields may be including in one or more of the display windows that ask the user open-ended questions, and then generate ELIZA-type responses. This capability makes the system appears to the user to be a "good listener" that is responsive to the feelings and views of the user.

Examples of Question Topics

Example question topics that may be posed to a user in various subject windows are set forth below. Text with braces indicates possible text set members that may be used for constructing unique questions.

Health, or Physical Well-Being - Examples include seeking the user^'s response on scales (e.g., 1 to 5) measuring both severity and impact on the user: "In the past {day, week, month, year} I felt: {tension; fatigue; muscle aches; digestive upsets; pounding heart; racing heart; restlessness}".

"In the past {day, week, month, year} I had: {a rash; a headache; a cold; a fever blister; insomnia; hypersomnia; a racing heart}". "Recently I have noticed an increased or significant: {appetite change; weight change; accident proneness; teeth grinding; foot tapping; increased use of alcohol or drugs; increased use of tobacco}".

Emotional Well-Being - Examples include seeking the user's response on scales (e.g. ,

1 to 5) measuring both severity and impact on the user:

"In the past {day, week, month, year} I felt: {anxious; frustrated; the "blues"; irritable; "no one cares"; depressed; discouraged}".

"In the past {day, week, month, year} I had: {wide mood swings; a bad temper; nightmares; little joy in life; a sense of discouragement; a nervous laugh; worries}".

Mental Well-Being - Examples include seeking the user's response on scales (e.g., 1 to 5) measuring both severity and impact on the user:

"In the past {day, week, month, year} I felt: {forgetful; dull senses; poor concen- tration; low productivity; confused; my mind was whirling}".

"In the past {day, week, month, year} I had: {negative attitudes; no new ideas; a sense of "spacing out"; a sense of lethargy; a sense of boredom; negative self-talk}".

Spiritual Well-Being - Examples include seeking the user's response on scales (e.g., 1 to 5) measuring both severity and impact on the user:

"In the past {day. week, month, year} I felt: {an emptiness; a loss of meaning; unforgiving of myself; unforgiving of others; a sense of cynicism; a loss of direction}".

"In the past {day, week, month, year} I had: {doubt; a sense of martyrdom; a need for magic solutions; a need to prove myself; apathy}".

Personal Relationships - Examples include seeking the user's response on scales (e.g. , 1 to 5) measuring both severity and impact on the user:

"In the past {day, week, month, year} I felt: {isolated; resentment; loneliness; distrust; lack of intimacy; intolerant}". "In the past {day, week, month, year} I had: {lashed out; hid (from others, from responsibility, from myself, from the truth); clammed up; nagged; used people; had fewer contacts with friends}".

Work Relations and Job Coping Skills - Examples include asking the user whether, during a particular period (e.g., day, week, month, year), the user was particularly concerned about certain issues or items, with choices including "none of the time", "some of the time", "a good part of the time", and "most or all of the time": "In the past {time period} I was concerned about: Being unclear regarding what is expected of me at work;

Spending my time "fighting fires" rather than working according to a plan;

Feeling overqualified for the work I actually do;

Being expected to accept the decisions of others without being told their rationale; Not having the right amount of interaction (too much or too little) with others;

Not having enough work to do;

Not receiving the right amount of supervision (too much or too little);

Not having the opportunity to use my knowledge and skills;

Not receiving meaningful work assignments; Management expecting me to interrupt my work for new priorities;

My personal standard of living and ability to make ends meet financially;

Feeling under-qualified for the work I actually do;

My lacking of confidence in upper management;

My concern over the future of my career; The caution I feel about what I say in meetings;

The demands of others for my time cause a conflict in me;

The differences of opinion I have with my supervisors;

The conflict which exists between me and others with whom I must work;

Getting too little personal support from my co-workers; Having too much to do and too little time in which to do it; Decisions or changes that affect me are made without my knowledge or involvement;

Concerns over finances;

Being unclear regarding what is expected of me in a social situation."

Self Assessment and Self Esteem - Examples include asking for a particular period (e.g., day, week, month, year), the user's feelings on particular spectra (a numeric scale, such as 1 to 5, may be used, or a range of response choices including "none of the time", "some of the time", "a good part of the time", and "most or all of the time"): "How I have felt about myself in the past {time period} : Absolutely the worst ...

Unbelievably great and satisfying." "In the past {time period} I have felt:

Highly discontented ... Highly contented; Greatly distressed ... Highly relaxed; In high emotional upheaval ... Highly serene;

Deeply depressed ... High on life; Totally out of control ... In complete control of myself; Anxious and panicky ... Very peaceful and tranquil; Highly disoriented ... Self directed and in control; Very vulnerable ... Secure and personally powerful;

Highly uneasy ... Very peaceful and tranquil;

Highly disagreeable and uncooperative ... Very agreeable and cooperative; Highly guarded and defensive ... Very open and constructive; Very passive ... Very assertive; Very cold and rejecting ... Very warm and accepting."

"In the past {time period} I: Bragged;

Exaggerated my importance; Felt jealous of someone's possessions, opportunities, or position; Judged my behavior by other people's standards or expectations rather than my own;

Was possessive in my relationships with friends and/or family members; Had difficulty admitting my mistakes; Bullied or intimidated someone;

"Put someone down" so that I could feel "one up";

Acted in a perfectionistic manner;

Took advantage of someone in order to win."

Locus of Control - Examples include asking the user about several activities which many persons use to deal with the environment. All of the listed activities are dishonest behaviors which will cause a person to have increasing levels of difficulties over time. The questions may be posed for a particular period (e.g., day, week, month, year), with choices including "none of the time", "some of the time", "a good part of the time", and "most or all of the time":

"I found it difficult to get to the point in a conversation".

"I believed others did not take me seriously".

"I blamed someone".

"I lied to protect myself. "I begged someone".

"I was not sure what the point was in a conversation".

"I manipulated others by saying what they wanted to hear".

"I said what I thought would please others".

"I talked unkindly about other people". "I waited to express my opinions until I knew other people's opinions".

"I took myself too seriously".

"I talked too much".

"I did not say what I should have said".

"I did not mean what I said". "I did not say what I meant". "I did not know what I meant (when I said something)". "I communicated my wishes indirectly (e.g., sighing, shaking my head, grimacing", etc.);".

"I communicated my needs indirectly (e.g. , sighing, shaking my head, grimacing, etc.)".

"I coerced someone".

"I bribed someone".

"I bragged in order to feel better about myself.

ADHD Symptoms Assessment - Examples include asking the user about several activities which may be diagnostic of ADHD. The questions may be posed for a particular period (e.g. , day, week, month, year), with choices including "none of the time", "some of the time", "a good part of the time", and "most or all of the time":

"I found myself being inattentive". "I made careless mistakes".

"I missed deadlines at work".

"I was late for social events".

"I failed to carry through on work assignments".

"I failed to complete work assignments on time". "I had difficulty organizing tasks at work".

"I avoided tasks which required sustained mental effort".

"I found myself not listening".

"I found myself changing the focus of a conversation".

"I did not follow details in a task or game". "I was impatient with others".

"I had difficulty with restlessness".

"I had difficulty lack of tolerance".

"I had difficulty with my bossiness".

"I had difficulty with my temper outbursts". "I had difficulty with my frustration". Self-Empowerment Feedback

In addition to recording a user's responses and performing correlations as described above, one embodiment of the invention provides motivational self-empowerment feedback to allow a user to make positive changes in the user's life. For example, statements of the following type may be posed to a user to guide the user in defining goals, means for accomplishing those goals, and time lines for completion:

"What I Choose to Change in my personal/social life: ".

"What I Will Do to Make These Changes Happen: ". "When I Will Set in Motion the above Changes:

"What I Choose to Change in My Work/Professional Life: "What I Will Do to Make These Changes happen: _

"When I Will Set in Motion These Changes:

Self-Awareness Statements. Thereafter, the user may be given self-awareness statements, one at a time, which help the user define herself or himself as a healthy functioning person. The user may be asked to read each statement at least once during a session until it becomes a part of the user's thinking (although the user is not expected to memorize the statement). The user may be asked to consider both the surface meaning of each statement, and any deeper meanings of each statement. The user may also be asked to spend time contemplating each statement's meaning to the user and how it might change the user's thoughts, actions, and/or beliefs. In particular, the user may be asked what the user learned from concentrating on each statement, and what, if anything, does the user choose to do differently in light of each statement. The statements may be presented to a user several times over the course of a some time period (such as a year), which generally causes a user to achieve deeper levels of understanding as the user re-contemplates a statement and probes to deeper levels of meaning in the statement. The system keeps a journal or log of the statements posed and the user's responses, for future review by the user, for automated analysis by a diagnostic system, or for review and analysis by a professional care giver Examples of self- awareness statements include:

"I am a distinctive person. I choose to be the best I can be and to do the best I can do.". "There is a difference between healthy self-orientation and neurotic selfishness."

"I choose to be in charge of my own life."

"My primary responsibility is a healthy concern for my own growth and my own well-being. The better I am to me, the better I will be to others."

"I will listen and be aware of the opinions and attitudes of others and will change my behaviors as is necessary, but I refuse to put myself down due to the attitude or opinions of others."

"Regarding my life, I make my own decisions and assume the responsibility for any mistakes I make. I will be responsible for the consequences of my actions; however, I refuse to feel shame or guilt about them." "I am not my actions. I can lose at something without being a loser. My actions may be good or bad. That does not make me good or bad."

"A Greek philosopher, Epictetus, once stated: 'It is not the events in life which upset us, but it is our interpretation of these events which upsets us'."

"The Koran states: Our view of the world is not a view of the world, but is a view of ourselves'."

"I can not control all of the things that will happen to me. However, I am in total control of the attitude I choose to have toward these things. My personal well-being or my suffering depend upon my beliefs and my attitudes."

"I do not have to prove myself to anyone. I need only to express myself as honestly and effectively as I am capable."

"I choose to free myself of anger or jealousy."

"My emotional well-being is dependent primarily on how I love me." "Many feel it is not mature, healthy, right, or Christian to love yourself. What is meant by the statement: 'Love your neighbor as you love yourself ." "I chose to be kind and gentle towards me." "I chose to live one day at a time; I will do first things first (Do I know what are the first things? Do I have a personal priority system?)."

"I am patient and serene for I have the rest of my life in which to grow."

"Every experience I have in life (even the unpleasant ones) contributes to my learning and growth."

"As a person, no one in the world is more important than I."

"My mistakes and nonsuccesses do not make me a loser, an undesirable person, or whatever. They only prove that I am human and there is nothing wrong with being human." "My goal is to grow continually in wisdom and in compassion."

"In Hamlet Shakespeare had Polonius instruct Laertes: 'To Thine Own Self be True'."

"This week I will concentrate on understanding that I am whole and good."

"This week I will explore the meaning of: T am capable of changing'." "This week I will explore the meaning of: a Chinese philosophy which states, 'Do nothing, but leave nothing undone'."

"This week I will explore the meaning of: 'Fears stop us from succeeding more than lack of opportunity or missed opportunity'."

"This week I will explore the meaning of: There is no 'good news' or 'bad news,' only 'news'. I attach the 'good' or the 'bad'."

"My primary goal is to grow in my ability to give and to receive love."

"Every person has a "spark of divinity", an element of goodness, or a characteristic which elevates him above animals. I choose to find that element of goodness in each person with whom I interact and choose not to react to surface negative behav- iors."

"Self-Confidence begins with Self-Appreciation. Without Self-Appreciation there is Self-Doubt and feelings of inadequacy, inferiority, depression, and shame."

Goal Statements. In addition to self-awareness statements, this embodiment of the invention may provide goal statements to a user. New goal statements may be provided each session, or the same goal statement may be repeated for a period of time (e.g., a week). The user may be asked what the user learned from concentrating on each goal statement, and what, if anything, does the user choose to do differently in light of each goal statement. The system keeps a journal or log of the statements posed and the user's responses, for future review by the user, for automated analysis by a diagnostic system, or for review and analysis by a professional care giver. Examples of goal statements include:

"This week I will respect my own and other's boundaries." "This week I will be vulnerable with someone I trust."

"This week I will take one compliment and hold it in my heart for more than just a fleeting moment. I will let it nurture me."

"This week I will act in a way that I would admire in someone else." "This week I will act in such a way that my behavior will communicate to others that I am a spiritual person."

"This week I will act in such a way that my behavior will communicate to others that I am a caring, concerned person."

"This week I will find a way to demonstrate to myself I am a person who has worth and value."

"This week I will act in such a way that my behavior will communicate to others that I am a gentle, beautiful person." "This week I will find a way to love and respect myself unconditionally. The love and respect I have for myself will not be based upon what I do, how much I do, what I have, or what I do not have. "

"This week I will not be self-critical or hurtful to myself." "This week I will find a way to structure ample leisure time for myself without feeling guilty."

"This week I will find a way to be less defensive."

"This week I will find a way accept criticism without devaluing myself or having to defend myself."

"This week I will concentrate on being deserving of love, peace, prosperity, and serenity." "This week I truly and deeply will foigive myself for hurting myself and others."

"This week I truly will forgive myself for letting others hurt me."

"This week I will be willing to be vulnerable enough to accept love."

"This week I will find a way to be my own best friend."

"This week I will focus on why I choose to have anger in my life."

"This week I will focus on why I choose to have shame in my life."

"This week I will focus on why I choose to have jealousy in my life."

"This week I will focus on why I choose to have suspiciousness in my life."

"This week I will focus on why I choose to have guilt in my life."

Emotional Word Enrichment. Some users seeking better self-awareness may benefit from enrichment of their vocabulary of with adjectives and adverbs that help them define and focus on their emotions and mental state. It has been said that nouns and verbs are like the sharpness and clarity of a picture on TV, while adjectives and adverbs provide the color to the picture. A lack of adjectives and adverbs is like watching a sharp, clear black and white TV program. Accordingly, in one embodiment of the invention, a user is presented with a "word of the day" (or session, or week, etc.) and a definition intended to increase a user's descriptive vocabulary. Examples include the following:

"Unpopular. This is a word which has a much broader use than just to refer to someone or something which is in disfavor. It is a word used to express a mild negative feeling level about something. Synonyms include: disdained, disliked, ignored, neglected, obscure, uncelebrated, unknown, and unaccepted. Antonyms include: accepted, common, approved, favored, contemporary, and fashionable."

"Listless. This word means feeling or showing no interest in anything. It expresses a mild level of negative feelings. Synonyms include: lethargic, sluggish, torpid, apathetic, indifferent, unconcerned, phlegmatic, sleepy, idle, lazy, lackadaisical, languorous, inanimate, leaden, languid, and torpid. Antonyms include: animated, energetic, playful, sporty, and interested." Following are lists of adjectives and adverbs (grouped by emotional category) that, along with corresponding definitions, may be selected for display to users in a like manner: Mild Negative Feelings: listless, moody, lethargic, gloomy, dismal, discontented, tired, indifferent, unsure, impatient, dependent, unimportant, regretful, bashful, self- conscious, puzzled, edgy, upset, reluctant, timid, mixed-up, sullen, provoked.

Moderate Negative Feelings: suspicious, envious, enmity, aversion, dejected, unhappy, bored, bad, forlorn, disappointed, wearied, torn-up, inadequate, ineffectual, helpless, resigned, shamed, apathetic, shy, uncomfortable, baffled, confused, nervous, tempted, tense, worried, perplexed, troubled, disdainful, contemptuous, alarmed. Strong Negative Feelings: disgusted, resentful, bitter, detested, fed-up, frustrated, sad, depressed, sick, disconsolate, dissatisfied, fatigued, worn-out, useless, weak, hopeless, forlorn, guilty, rejected, embarrassed, inhibited, bewildered, frightened, anxious, dismayed, apprehensive, dreadful, disturbed, antagonistic, vengeful. Intense Negative Feelings: hate, unloved, abhor, loathed, despised, angry, hurt, miserable, pain, lonely, cynical, exhausted, worthless, impotent, futile, abandoned, degraded, estranged, humiliated, alienated, shocked, panicky, trapped, horrified, afraid, scared, terrified, threatened, infuriated, furious.

Expressions of Happiness: cheerful, contented, delighted, ecstatic, elated, elevated, enthusiastic, euphoric, excited, exhilarated, fantastic, fine, glad, glowing, good, gratified, great, happy, high spirits, light-hearted, marvelous, neat, offended, overjoyed, pleasant, pleased satisfied, sensational, serene, terrific, thrilled, turned on, up, wonderful.

Expressions of Caring: admiration, affection for, attached to, cherish, close, concerned, devoted, enamored, fond of, friendly, idolize, infatuated, like, positive toward, prize, regard, respectful, tenderness, trust, warm, worship.

Expressions of Inadequacy: blah, crippled, defeated, deficient, dejected, desolate, helpless, hopeless, impotent, incapable, incompetent, incomplete, ineffective, inefficient, inept, insignificant, lacking, melancholy, overwhelmed, powerless, sad, small, unable, uncertain, unfit, unimportant, weak, whipped, worthless. Expressions of Fear fulness: afraid, alarmed, apprehensive, awkward, bashful, defensive, desperate, distrustful, doubtful, dread, embarrassed, frightened, hesitant, horrified, ill at ease, intimidated, jittery, jumpy, on edge, panicky, paralyzed, risky, scared, self-conscious, shaky, shy, terrified, terror struck, threatened, timid, uncom- fortable, uneasy, unsure, vulnerable, worried

Expressions of Hurt: abused, anguished, belittled, cast off, cheapened, criticized, crushed, debased, defamed, degraded, deprecated, destroyed, devalued, devastated, discarded, discredited, disgraced, disparaged, exploited, forsaken, humiliated, laughed at, let down, maligned, mistreated, mocked, neglected, overlooked, pained, put down, rejected, ridiculed, ruined, slandered, tortured, unappreciated, used, wounded.

Expressions of Anger: aggravated, agitated, annoyed, antagonistic, belligerent, bitter, bugged, burned up, chagrined, cross, disgusted, dismayed, exasperated, furious, galled, hateful, hatred, hostile, indignant, irked, irritated, mad, mean, miffed, nauseated, out raged, perturbed, put out, rage, resentful, seething, spiteful, turned off, upset with, uptight, vengeful, vexed, vicious, vindictive.

Expressions of Guilt or Shame: at fault, blew it, crummy, degraded, demeaned, disgraced, embarrassed, exposed, goofed, horrible, humiliated, in error, lament, lost face, regretful, remorseful, responsible, sick at heart, to blame, unforgivable, wrong.

Feelings of Loneliness: abandoned, alienated, all alone, alone, aloof, apart from others, cut off, distant, estranged, excluded, forsaken, isolated, left out, lonesome, remote.

Implementation

The invention may be implemented in hardware or software, or a combination of both (e.g., programmable logic arrays). Unless otherwise specified, the algorithms included as part of the invention are not inherently related to any particular computer or other apparatus. In particular, various general purpose machines may be used with programs written in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may be more convenient to construct more specialized apparatus to perform the required method steps. However, preferably, the invention is implemented in one or more computer programs executing on programmable systems each comprising at least one processor, at least one data storage system (including volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements), at least one input device, and at least one output device. Program code is applied to input data to perform the functions described herein and generate output information. The output information is applied to one or more output devices, in known fashion.

Each such program may be implemented in any desired computer language (including machine, assembly, high level procedural, or object oriented programming languages) to communicate with a computer system. In any case, the language may be a compiled or interpreted language. Each such computer program is preferably stored on a storage media or device (e.g. ,

ROM, CD-ROM, or magnetic or optical media) readable by a general or special purpose programmable computer, for configuring and operating the computer when the storage media or device is read by the computer to perform the procedures described herein. The inventive system may also be considered to be implemented as a computer-readable storage medium, configured with a computer program, where the storage medium so configured causes a computer to operate in a specific and predefined manner to perform the functions described herein.

A number of embodiments of the present invention have been described. Neverthe- less, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

L A computerized method for providing self-assessment and electronic journal functions to a user over at least one interactive session, including the steps of: (a) determining a set of environment factors applicable to the user; (b) displaying a summary indicative of the set of environmental factors; (c) displaying at least one question to the user relating to the user's well-being; (d) receiving responses from the user to at least one such question; (e) computing a set of correlations between the received responses from the user and at least selected elements of the set of environment factors; and (f) displaying selected correlations from the set of correlations to the user as an indica- tion of possible influences of at least some elements of the set of environment factors on the user's well-being.

2. The computerized method of claim 1, further including the steps of: (a) retrieving prior responses of the user to one or more displayed questions; and (b) displaying an indication to the user of such prior responses.

3. The computerized method of claim 1, further including the steps of: (a) comparing the user's response to a displayed question to a selected threshold value; and (b) prompting the user for a response to at least one additional question as a result of such comparing indicating that the user^'s response exceeded or did not meet the selected threshold value.

4. The computerized method of claim 1, further including the steps of: (a) displaying a subject window to the user, the subject window displaying at least one question to the user relating to the user's well-being in a specific subject; (b) receiving responses from the user to at least one such question; (c) retrieving prior responses of the user to one or more displayed questions; and (d) displaying an indication to the user of such prior responses.

5. The computerized method of claim 1 , wherein the computerized system is implemented on a server computer system in communication with a client computer system over a network system.

6. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein the step of displaying selected correlations includes graphically displaying such selected correlations.

7. The computerized method of claim 1 , further including the steps of: (a) displaying a journal window to the user for recording events selected by the user; (b) displaying at least one event-related question to the user; (c) receiving a response from the user to at least one such event-related question; and (d) storing each received response by the user in a journal.

8. The computerized method of claim 1, further including the steps of: (a) displaying at least one self-awareness statement to the user; (b) receiving a response from the user to at least one such self-awareness statement; and (c) storing each received response by the user in a journal.

9. The computerized method of claim 1, further including the steps of: (a) displaying at least one goal statement to the user; (b) receiving a response from the user to at least one such goal statement; and (c) storing each received response by the user in a journal.

10. A computerized system for providing self-assessment and electronic journal functions to a user over at least one interactive session, including: (a) means for determining a set of environment factors applicable to the user; (b) means for displaying a summary indicative of the set of environmental factors; (c) means for displaying at least one question to the user relating to the user's well- being; (d) means for receiving responses from the user to at least one such question; (e) means for computing a set of correlations between the received responses from the user and at least selected elements of the set of environment factors; and (f) means for displaying selected correlations from the set of correlations to the user as an indication of possible influences of at least some elements of the set of environ- ment factors on the user's well-being.

11. The computerized system of claim 10, further including: (a) means for retrieving prior responses of the user to one or more displayed questions; and (b) means for displaying an indication to the user of such prior responses.

12. The computerized system of claim 10, further including: (a) means for comparing the user's response to a displayed question to a selected threshold value; and (b) means for prompting the user for a response to at least one additional question as a result of such comparing indicating that the user's response exceeded or did not meet the selected threshold value.

13. The computerized system of claim 10, further including: (a) means for displaying a subject window to the user, the subject window displaying at least one question to the user relating to the user's well-being in a specific subject; (b) means for receiving responses from the user to at least one such question; (c) means for retrieving prior responses of the user to one or more displayed questions; and (d) means for displaying an indication to the user of such prior responses.

14. The computerized system of claim 10, wherein the computerized system is implemented on a server computer system in communication with a client computer system over a network system.

15. The computerized system of claim 10, wherein the means for displaying selected correlations includes means for graphically displaying such selected correlations.

16. The computerized system of claim 10, further including: (a) means for displaying a journal window to the user for recording events selected by the user; (b) means for displaying at least one event-related question to the user; (c) means for receiving a response from the user to at least one such event-related question; and (d) means for storing each received response by the user in a journal.

17. The computerized system of claim 10, further including: (a) means for displaying at least one self-awareness statement to the user; (b) means for receiving a response from the user to at least one such self-awareness statement; and (c) means for storing each received response by the user in a journal.

18. The computerized system of claim 10, further including: (a) means for displaying at least one goal statement to the user; (b) means for receiving a response from the user to at least one such goal statement; and (c) means for storing each received response by the user in a journal.

19. A computer program, stored on a computer-readable medium, for providing self-assess- ment and electronic journal functions to a user over at least one interactive session, the computer program comprising instructions for causing a computer to: (a) determine a set of environment factors applicable to the user; (b) display a summary indicative of the set of environmental factors; (c) display at least one question to the user relating to the user's well-being; (d) receive responses from the user to at least one such question; (e) compute a set of correlations between the received responses from the user and at least selected elements of the set of environment factors; and (f) display selected correlations from the set of correlations to the user as an indication of possible influences of at least some elements of the set of environment factors on the user's well-being.

20. The computer program of claim 19, further including instructions for causing a computer to: (a) retrieve prior responses of the user to one or more displayed questions; and (b) display an indication to the user of such prior responses.

21. The computer program of claim 19, further including instructions for causing a computer to: (a) compare the user's response to a displayed question to a selected threshold value; and (b) prompt the user for a response to at least one additional question as a result of such comparing indicating that the user's response exceeded or did not meet the selected threshold value.

22. The computer program of claim 19, further including instructions for causing a computer to: (a) display a subject window to the user, the subject window displaying at least one question to the user relating to the user's well-being in a specific subject; (b) receive responses from the user to at least one such question; (c) retrieve prior responses of the user to one or more displayed questions; and (d) display an indication to the user of such prior responses.

23. The computer program of claim 19, wherein the computerized system is implemented on a server computer system in communication with a client computer system over a network system.

24. The computer program of claim 19, wherein the instructions for causing a computer to display selected correlations further include instructions for causing a computer to graphically display such selected correlations.

25. The computer program of claim 19, further including instructions for causing a computer to: (a) display a journal window to the user for recording events selected by the user; (b) display at least one event-related question to the user; (c) receive a response from the user to at least one such event-related question; and (d) store each received response by the user in a journal.

26. The computer program of claim 19, further including instructions for causing a computer to: (a) display at least one self-awareness statement to the user; (b) receive a response from the user to at least one such self-awareness statement; and (c) store each received response by the user in a journal.

7. The computer program of claim 19, further including instructions for causing a computer to: (a) display at least one goal statement to the user; (b) receive a response from the user to at least one such goal statement; and (c) store each received response by the user in a journal.