My approach is to integrate lifespan and personality perspectives to study social and personality development in social context using longitudinal data. My work primarily focuses on: 1) the interplay of personality development and social relations (e.g., peer relations), 2) personality development and life transitions, and 3) sociocultural influences on successful development (e.g., of immigrant youth and older adults).

I am currently running a project on contextual influences on personality development during life transitions, such as the transition from university to work. I am particularly interested in the mechanisms underlying personality – context transactions. To this end, I study individual differences in change processes using intensive longitudinal data. This project is funded by the German Research Foundation and is carried out in collaboration with Niall Bolger and Patrick Shrout (New York University).

Reitz, A. K., Motti-Stefanidi, F., Asendorpf, J. B. (2015). Me, us, and them: Testing sociometer theory in a socially diverse real-life context. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000073

Reitz, A. K., Asendorpf, J. B., Motti-Stefanidi, F. (2015). When do immigrant adolescents feel personally discriminated against? Longitudinal effects of peer preference. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 39(3), 197-209. doi: 10.1177/0165025414567008

Reitz, A. K., Motti-Stefanidi, F., Asendorpf, J. B. (2014). Mastering developmental transitions in immigrant adolescents: The longitudinal interplay of family functioning, developmental and acculturative tasks. Developmental Psychology, 50(3), 754. doi: 10.1037/a0033889

Reitz, A. K., Zimmermann, J., Hutteman, R., Specht, J. and Neyer, F. J. (2014). How peers make a difference: The role of peer groups and peer relationships in personality development. European Journal of Personality, 28(3), 279–288. doi: 10.1002/per.1965