Department of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences

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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Schwartz, S. J., Waterman, A. S., Cobb, C. L., Cano, M. Á., Scaramutti, C., Meca, A., Ozer, S., Ward, C., Puente-Durán, S., Lorenzo-Blanco, E. L., Unger, J. B., Duque, M. C., Vos, S. R., Zeledon, I., Fernanda Garcia, M. C. & Martinez, C. R. (2022). Cultural Stress, Daily Well-Being, and Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms Among Hispanic College Students. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 69(4), 416-429. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000604
Schwartz, S., Salas-Wright, C., Cobb, C., Zeledon, I., Duque, M., Stuart, J., Montero-Zamora, P., Perazzo, P. A., Carolina , S. & Ozer, S. (2023). Examining the Lives of Youth from Immigrant Families: Identity, Cultural Stress, and Crisis Migration. In G. Arief D. Liem (Ed.), Flourishing in Contexts and Cultures: Sociocultural Perspectives on Fostering Youth Well-Being (pp. 107-136). Information Age Publishing.
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
Ozer, S. & Schwartz, S. (2022). Identity Development in the Era of Globalization: Globalization-based Acculturation and Personal Identity development among Danish Emerging Adults. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 19(1), 22-42. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2020.1858405
Ozer, S. & Obaidi, M. (2022). Globalization and Radicalization: The Rise of Extreme Reactions to Intercultural Contact, Sociocultural Disruption, and Identity Threat. In I. Katzarska-Miller & S. Reysen (Eds.), Globalized identities: The impact of globalization on self and identity (pp. 107-130). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-04644-5_5
Ozer, S., Obaidi, M. & Schwartz, S. (2023). Radicalized Identity Styles: Investigating Sociocultural Challenges, Identity Styles, and Extremism. Self and Identity, 22(4), 507-532. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298868.2022.2131618
Ozer, S. & Obaidi, M. (2025). The Psychological Consequences of Globalization and the Rise of Violent Extremism. In M. Obaidi & J. Kunst (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of the Psychology of Violent Extremism (pp. 426 - 450). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009407892.025
Ozer, S., Obaidi, M. & Anjum, G. (2024). Extreme Reactions to Globalization: Investigating Indirect, Longitudinal, and Experimental Effects of the Globalization– Radicalization Nexus. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 50(12), 1635–1660. https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672231167694
Ozer, S. & Kamran, M. A. (2023). Majority acculturation through globalization: The importance of life skills in navigating the cultural pluralism of globalization. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 96, Article 101832. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2023.101832
Ozer, S. (2024). Social Support, Self-efficacy, Self-esteem, and Well-being During COVID-19 Lockdown: A Two-wave Study of Danish Students. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 65(1), 42-52. https://doi.org/10.1111/sjop.12952

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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:

Revised 23.04.2026
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Aarhus BSS