Alexandra M. Freund
My research interests focus on the motivational, affective, and behavioral consequences of goal representations and how they change across the life span. More specifically, I investigate the role of the availability of resources on goal orientation (towards gain, maintenance, or the avoidance of losses) and goal focus (on the means or the outcomes of goal pursuit) and their adaptivity in guiding thought and action. I investigate these questions in different age groups (primarily young, middle-aged, and older adults) and different life domains (e.g., health-related behavior, social relationships). I use a multimethodological approach integrating experimental and correlative designs (including Experience Sampling Methods).
Primary Interests:
- Close Relationships
- Emotion, Mood, Affect
- Health Psychology
- Life Satisfaction, Well-Being
- Motivation, Goal Setting
- Social Cognition
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Video Gallery
Goal-Setting for Happiness
Select video to watch
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4:25 Goal-Setting for Happiness
Length: 4:25
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1:32 Younger Adults Focus on Growth and Outcome, Older Adults on Pursuing Goals
Length: 1:32
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1:19:20 Work Is Exhausting and Leisure Recovering: A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Length: 1:19:20
Books:
Journal Articles:
- Depping, M. K., & Freund, A. M. (2011). Normal aging and decision making: The role of motivation. Human Development, 54, 349-367.
- Ebner, N. C., Freund, A. M., & Baltes, P. B. (2006). Developmental changes in personal goal orientation from young to late adulthood: From striving for gains to maintenance and prevention of losses. Psychology and Aging, 21, 664-678.
- Freund, A. M. (2006). Age-differential motivational consequences of optimization versus compensation focus in younger and older adults. Psychology and Aging, 21, 240-252.
- Freund, A. M., & Baltes, P. B. (2002). Life-management strategies of selection, optimization, and compensation: Measurement by self-report and construct validity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 642-662.
- Freund, A. M., & Hennecke, M. (2012). Changing eating behaviour vs. losing weight: The role of goal focus for weight loss in overweight women. Psychology and Health, 27, 25-42.
- Freund, A. M., & Keil, A. (2012). Out of mind, out of heart: Attention affects duration of emotional experience. Cognition and Emotion.
- Freund, A. M., Hennecke, M., & Riediger, M. (2010). Age-related differences in outcome and process goal focus. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 7, 198-222.
- Freund, A. M., Kourilova, S., & Kuhl, P. (2011). Stronger evidence for own-age effects in memory for older as compared to younger adults. Memory, 19, 429-448.
- Freund, A. M., Nikitin, J., & Ritter, J. O. (2009). Psychological consequences of longevity: The increasing importance of self-regulation in old age. Human Development, 52, 1-37.
- Hennecke, M., & Freund, A. M. (2010). Staying on and getting back on the wagon: Age-related improvement in self-regulation during a low-calorie diet. Psychology and Aging, 25, 876-885.
- Keil, A., & Freund, A. M. (2009). Changes in the sensitivity to appetitive and aversive arousal across adulthood. Psychology and Aging, 24, 668-680.
- Nikitin, J., & Freund, A. M. (2010). When wanting and fearing go together: The effect of co-occurring social approach and avoidance motivation on behavior, affect, and cognition. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40, 783-804.
- Nikitin, J., & Freund, A. M. (2011). Age and motivation predict gaze behavior for facial expressions. Psychology and Aging, 26, 695-700.
- Riediger, M., & Freund, A. M. (2008). Me against myself: Motivational conflicts and emotional development in adulthood. Psychology and Aging, 23, 479-494.
- Ritter, J. O., & Freund, A. M. (2009). Asymmetric comparison in choice processes. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 3, 582-600.
- Scheibe, S., Freund, A. M., & Baltes, P. B. (2007). Toward a developmental psychology of Sehnsucht (life longings): The optimal (utopian) life. Developmental Psychology, 43, 778-795.
- Weiss, D., & Freund, A. M. (2012). Still young at heart: Negative age-related information motivates distancing from same-aged people. Psychology and Aging, 27, 173-180.
Other Publications:
- Freund, A. M., Hennecke, M., & Mustafic, M. (2012). On means and ends: Process and outcome focus. In R. M. Ryan (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of human motivation (pp. 280-300). New York: Oxford University Press.
- Freund, A. M., Nikitin, J., & Riediger, M. (2012). Successful aging. In R. M. Lerner, A. Easterbrooks, & J. Mistry (Eds.), Handbook of psychology, Vol. 6. Developmental psychology (2nd ed.). New York: Wiley.
- Nikitin, J., & Freund, A. M. (2010). A motivational perspective on reactions to emotional faces. In A. Freitas-Magalhães (Ed.), Emotional expression: The brain and the face (Vol. 2, pp. 85-108). Porto, Potugal: Universidade Fernando Pessoa.
Courses Taught:
- Adult Development and Aging
- Cognitive Development in Childhood
- Development Across Adulthood
- Emotion Regulation Across the Lifespan
- Human Motivation
- Introduction to Data Analysis
- Life Management 1: Self
- Life Management 2: Others, Tasks
- Psychology of Happiness
- Psychology of Life-Management
- Psychology of Suicide Bombing
- Successful Development in Adulthood
Alexandra M. Freund
Department of Psychology
University of Zurich
Binzmuehlestrasse 14, P.O. Box 11
8050 Zurich
Switzerland
- Phone: ++41 44 635 7200
- Fax: ++41 44 635 7209
