Health Psychology Group presentation

In our newly established Health Psychology research group at the University of Vienna, we delve into the intricate interplay between lifestyle behaviours and health outcomes.

Our research spans various domains, including the psychological underpinnings of health behaviours, digital health equity and health communication. Our ongoing projects investigate self-monitoring health behaviours, menstrual cycle health and its effects on health behaviours, partner support in experiences of menstrual disorders, attitudes and behaviours towards digital health.

We employ a multifaceted approach, including a diverse array of research methods. From conducting realistic food experiments in our brand-new fake food buffet Lab, to utilizing smartphone-based Ecological Momentary Assessment for real-time data collection, we are committed to unravelling the psychological and social determinants that influence health behaviours and health choices.

We are advocates of open science principles, fostering transparency and collaboration.

Meet the brilliant minds driving our research forward:

Univ.-Prof.in Dr.in Laura M. König

Director of the Health Psychology Research Group

Laura M. König completed obtained her PhD in Psychology at the University of Konstanz (Germany). She joined the University of Vienna in 2023 after having worked as a Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge (UK) and Junior Professor of Public Health Nutrition at the University of Bayreuth (Germany). Her research focuses on psychological determinants and outcomes of health behaviour and engagement with health behaviour interventions such as app-based and choice architecture interventions. She also studies research participation effects such as measurement reactivity. Current projects include systematic reviews on social inequality in digital health promotion and effects of front-of-pack nutrition labelling on product perceptions and food choice. Laura is passionate about interdisciplinary research, science communication, and open science.
 

Dr.in Theresa Koch

Senior Researcher

Theresa J. S. Koch completed her PhD in Psychology at the University of Mannheim in 2023. Her PhD research centred around health behaviour (physical activity and healthy eating) in daily work life, methodologically largely based on ecological momentary assessment data. Given her interest in statistical methods, she also took part in the graduate programme of the Research Training Group “Statistical Modeling in Psychology” (SMiP). She joined the University of Vienna as a senior scientist in 2024. She now studies health behaviour from a broader perspective – both in contents (e.g., including women’s health) and methods (e.g., including experimental studies in our Fake Food lab).
 

Dr.in Alea Ruf

Postdoctoral Researcher

Alea Ruf completed her PhD in Psychology at the Goethe University in Frankfurt (Germany). During her PhD she conducted an Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) study (the APPetite study), which is part of the Horizon2020 project Eat2beNICE, at the Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy of the Goethe University Hospital. Her PhD focused on the development and evaluation of an app to capture actual food intake in daily life, the analysis of semicontinuous dietary EMA data and on how stress influences food intake in daily life. Alea joined the Health Psychology Group in January this year and is looking forward to continuing her research on health behaviours in daily life.

Lucia Volpi, BA MSc 

PreDoc

Lucia Volpi graduated from the International Joint Master of Research in Work and Organisational Psychology (IJMRWOP), an international programme designed by Maastricht University, Leuphana University and the University of Valencia. She concluded her bachelor’s degree in HR and Psychology at Stirling University (Scotland). In 2023, she worked as a research assistant at the Human Factor Risk and Safety Research Unit of the University of Bologna, where she was involved in the EU-funded H-WORK project about mental health at work. During her studies she carried out research related to physiological changes at work: in her master’s thesis, she investigated the role of the menstrual cycle in influencing innovation at work, whereas in her bachelor’s she explored the experience of in dealing with menopause at work. She has just started her PhD journey at the Health Psychology research group, investigating menstrual health.
 

Lisa Gänsler, BSc

Student assistant

Paula Moosbauer, BSc

Student assistant
  

Diana Dejakum, BA MA

Organisational assistant