Department of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences

 Department of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Research Fields Social Psychology and Personality Psychology Research Unit Life Psychology

Research Unit Life Psychology

Life Psychology is about achieving a "good enough" life. It is characterized by the ability to comprehend and manage fundamental, universal life tasks in a way that holds personal sense while also carrying shared meaning for all of us.


Life Psychology is a theory about becoming an active agent in both one's own and shared life. Being an agent in life means having a sufficiently firm grasp of fundamental, universal life tasks by utilizing corresponding universal life skills.

Life Psychology is also a method that, in a solution-oriented manner, helps individuals develop their life skills to gain a good enough grasp of both personal and common live. This is achieved by managing the small and large challenges of daily life as well as significant life choices.

The research area of Life Psychology encompasses the evolutionary, cultural-historical, and life-historical foundations of life.


Who are we?

Academic Staff

Publications

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Bertelsen, P. & Ozer, S. (2025). A good enough grip on life in youth: Life psychological intervention as an alternative to psychologization and to a nonpractical use of psychology regarding the life challenges young people are facing. Nordic Psychology, 77(3), 227-251. https://doi.org/10.1080/19012276.2024.2338375
Pfuhl, G., Prazeres, F., Kowal, M., Aavik, T., Abad-Villaverde, B., Afhami, R., Aguilar, L., Akello, G., Al-Shawaf, L., Antfolk, J., Atama, C. S., Duyar, D. A., Baiocco, R., Balım, S., Batres, C., Belkacem, Y., Besson, T., Bode, A., Boğa, M. ... Sorokowski, P. (2025). A preliminary study on the role of personal history of infectious and parasitic diseases on self-reported health across countries. Public Health, 242, 220-227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2025.02.030
Kowal, M., Sorokowski, P., Gjoneska, B., Pisanski, K., Pfuhl, G., Aguilar, L., Janssen, S. M. J., Gelbart, B., Arriaga, P., Antfolk, J., Zvončáková, K., Lidborg, L. H., Contreras-Garduño, J., Kozlov, M. V., Milfont, T. L., Varella, M. A. C., Križanić, V., Boussena, M., Kavčič, T. ... Prazeres, F. (2025). Cross-cultural data on romantic love and mate preferences from 117,293 participants across 175 countries. Scientific Data, 12(1), Article 1103. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-05365-2
Ozer, S. & Schwartz, S. J. (2025). Cultural Orientation, Social Support, and Discrimination in regard to Adjustment among Foreign Workers in Denmark. Nordic Psychology, 77(2), 126-153. https://doi.org/10.1080/19012276.2024.2310814
Ebbrecht, C. K. & Bertelsen, P. (2025). Development and Validation of the Invisibility Scale. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 66(3), 370-389. https://doi.org/10.1111/sjop.13080
Madsen, K. K. & Ozer, S. (2025). Experiencing bicultural identities among young Polish immigrants in Denmark. Social Identities. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504630.2025.2578018
Ozer, S., Obaidi, M. & Kunst, J. R. (2025). Globalization, immigrant acculturation expectations, and extremism. Migration Studies, 13(1), Article mnaf009. https://doi.org/10.1093/migration/mnaf009
Ozer, S. & Kamran, M. A. (2025). Integrating Pakistani and Western cultural identities through globalization-based acculturation. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 105, Article 102152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2025.102152
Ozer, S. & Schwartz, S. J. (2025). Striving for Unity in a Culturally Fragmented World: Nested Multiple Cultural Identifications Associated with Well-Being through Self-Concept Clarity. International Journal of Psychology, 60(1), Article e70004. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.70004
Ozer, S., Obaidi, M. & Bergh, R. (2025). The impact of globalized conflicts: Examining attitudes toward Jews among Britons in the political context of the war in Gaza. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 107, Article 102184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2025.102184

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Research projects

  • Development of the theoretical foundation and application method of Life Psychology – see more at https://psy.au.dk/life-psychology.
  • Development of a psychological meta-model.
  • Investigation of how people navigate a life shaped by the pluralism of globalization and the disruptive nature of society.
  • Exploration of culture and life

Contact

If you’re interested in hearing more about the research unit and our activities, you are most welcome to contact:

Preben Bertelsen

Professor
M
H 1350, 518
P +4587165806
Revised 28.01.2026
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Aarhus BSS