Research

As a cutting-edge psychological science, existential psychology applies the scientific method to explore quantifiable data patterns and rigorously test theoretical ideas about how the mind works.

Here, you’ll find the following three sections

How researchers and ISSEP are advancing the science of existential psychology

Major topic areas and types of research questions

Resources for researchers, from how to enter the field as a student-researcher, to project tools (e.g., methodology, statistics, and writing), to available ISSEP seed grant research funding.

Advancing the Science of Existential Psychology

Existential psychology research cuts across almost every domain of contemporary psychological science, such as

Cognition and neuroscience;
Motivation and emotion;
Developmental psychology;
Social and personality psychology;
Cultural psychology;
Abnormal, clinical, and counseling psychology;

Health psychology;
Forensic psychology;
Industrial-organizational psychology;
Education psychology;
Sports psychology;
Among others

Across these domains, researchers employ a range of quantitative strategies, using experimental and non-experimental methods, and collect data in both laboratory and field studies.

As a result, this work is often published in leading empirical, peer-reviewed academic journals, such as Psychological Science, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, and Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (SCAN).

That empirical work is also often systematically summarized and meta-analyzed in leading peer-reviewed theoretical review journals, such as Psychological Bulletin and Psychological Review, as well as in handbooks, edited volumes, and popular books.

The ISSEP supports and encourages that scientific study of the role of core existential concerns in everyday life, and top researchers regularly write articles here to showcase the latest advances in research, developments in theory, and applications to the real world.

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Major Topic Areas & Types Of Research Questions

Life & Death

How do people cognitively and emotionally respond to the concept of mortality?

Is awareness of the concept of mortality related to cultural systems, and if so how?

How do people cope with traumas and near- death experiences if (or when) they occur?

Freedom, Authenticity, & Responsibility

How do people exercise their freedom to decide who to be and what to do?

Do authenticity and self-determination matter, and if so—how?

How might responsibility impact moral judgments, emotional experiences (e.g., guilt, pride), or societal behaviors (e.g., dis/engagement in democracy)?

Isolation, Uncertainty, & Shared Reality

How do people feel connected with others, and what are the consequences of feeling disconnected?

What are the causes and consequences of feeling a sense of personal uncertainty?

How do people validate their inner experiences, to maintain a confident sense of truth and reality?

Culture & Identity

What makes you “you,” and how do you fit into your cultural context?

What contributes to the personality and social identities that allow “you” to exist as you are?

Is there such a thing as a “True Self,” and if so, what role does it play in our lives?

Meaning & Purpose

Why do people need to feel their lives are meaningful and the world is an orderly place?

What is the relationship of purpose (goals, teleology) to the experience of meaning in life?

How do people respond to suffering in their lives and in the world?

Religion & Spirituality

Is religion/spirituality a “natural” extension of basic human psychological functioning?

How might religion/spirituality help address important existential concerns?

How might existential concerns fuel, enrich, or undermine people’s religious/spiritual lives?

Personal Growth & Well-being

What promotes open-minded exploration of the world, self-development, and personal growth?

Is meaning in life part of “the good life”?

What contributes to the experience of awe?