ARCHIVE - Activities in relation to well-being, health and cognitive functioning

Active engagement in life represents a key factor for successful development and aging. Of particular importance are leisure activities, and these have been found to be associated with beneficial outcomes across the life-span. Our research investigates to what extent being active is associated to objective aspects, including health and cognitive functioning, as well as quality of life, including well-being and depression. In that context, we also address the role of psychological aspects, such as self-referent beliefs (e.g., control beliefs) about memory or cognitive functioning. We furthermore investigate activities in relation to the social cure hypothesis, that is to what extent the feeling of being a member of a social group has additional benefits, for example after critical life events such as divorce or bereavement, in collaboration with Prof. Dario Spini (University of Lausanne). Moreover, team member Charikleia Lampraki is investigating activity patterns in middle, old and very old age and the motives behind activity selection, as part of her doctoral thesis under the supervision of Prof. Daniela Jopp and Prof. Dario Spini. An additional focus of this research also focuses on how social group memberships can promote identity processes, i.e. self-continuity, in the context of critical life events.