Mia Maurer

Hello everyone,

I am currently a postdoctoral researcher in the University of Jyväskylä, starting as an Assistant Professor in DPU in September 2025. I am a passionate researcher, particularly interested in building new theoretical insights regarding well-being, lifespan development, and the philosophy behind psychological inquiry. I have a rather international background, working and studying mainly in the UK (University of St Andrews, University of Nottingham), Sweden (Lund University) and Finland (University of Jyväskylä). Originally, I am from Finland.

My research interest so far focuses on three main aspects: (1) modeling how well-being develops over the lifespan; (2) investigating how to promote well-being in practice in a sound way that does not cause harm; and (3) thinking of the philosophy behind the field informing the research and practice. I am particularly passionate about creating new theoretical insights into the field, integrating subfields such as positive, humanistic, developmental, educational and clinical psychology and education. I believe that such an across-subfields approach allows one to build more comprehensive models and theories of human development and to generate holistic insights, which I believe to be fundamentally important.

To date, I have been working on two main types of research: (1) theoretical articles that merge humanistic and positive psychology, including a model of personal growth and a proposed metatheory for positive psychology; and (2) empirical studies on various aspects of child and adolescent development. These include research on motivation (interest and self-concept), academic achievement in primary school children, adolescent mental health profiles, the validation of a well-being measure for adolescents, and studies on grit and well-being in adults.

Currently, I am working on several new publications covering topics such as children’s academic development, motivational and well-being profiles, the role of parent-child and teacher-child relationships, adult personal growth, and a new theoretical model of well-being. I am also writing a book on the philosophical foundations of psychology—especially positive psychology—and how these underlying values inform real-world practices, such as school-based interventions with children and adolescents.

My PhD thesis from Lund University, titled Well-being Processes: Insights into Personal Growth and Adolescent Mental Health, included five articles: two theoretical papers on personal growth and three empirical studies on adolescent mental health. During and prior to my PhD, I gained extensive experience in practical intervention research with adolescents. Notably, I designed and piloted a well-being course for high school students in Sweden, which showed promising results, and I created a companion well-being workbook for adolescents. I have also contributed as a researcher to two international projects—one in Finland and one in the UK—focused on school-based well-being interventions.

These experiences have deepened my understanding of what makes interventions effective and sustainable, and what are the problems involved. They have also helped me develop a critical yet constructive perspective on how well-being interventions are designed and implemented in educational settings. I am currently working on an article that offers a critical analysis of these interventions, drawing on my firsthand experience.

I am excited to start in my new position in DPU soon, and I am looking forward to meeting you all.

Best regards,
Mia