2026 Laura L. Carstensen: Psychology Researcher – H-Index, Publications & Awards

Discipline name	D-Index	World Ranking	Current World Ranking	National Ranking	Current National Ranking	Publications	Citations
Psychology	83	1244	1097	755	648	214	62139

Research.com Recognitions

2016 - Member of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM)
2003 - Fellow of John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
1996 - Fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA)

Overview

Laura L. Carstensen is affiliated with Stanford University in the United States. The primary focus of their research lies within the field of psychology, with a particular emphasis on aging and gerontology. Their work intersects several subfields, including neuropsychology and physiological psychology, social psychology, experimental and cognitive psychology, health, and demography.

Their research addresses a range of topics centered on aging, well-being, and psychological perspectives on time and identity. Key areas of study include:

Aging and Gerontology Research
Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
Psychological and Temporal Perspectives Research
Health disparities and outcomes
Retirement, Disability, and Employment
Identity, Memory, and Therapy
Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior

Recent scholarly contributions by Laura L. Carstensen include:

"Socioemotional Selectivity Theory: The Role of Perceived Endings in Human Motivation," 2021, The Gerontologist
"Age Advantages in Emotional Experience Persist Even Under Threat From the COVID-19 Pandemic," 2020, Psychological Science
"Beyond Stereotypes: Using Socioemotional Selectivity Theory to Improve Messaging to Older Adults," 2021, Current Directions in Psychological Science
"Rethinking the urban physical environment for century-long lives: from age-friendly to longevity-ready cities," 2021, Nature Aging
"The future is now: Age-progressed images motivate community college students to prepare for their financial futures," 2020, Journal of Experimental Psychology Applied

Frequent collaborators in their research include Li Chu, Yochai Shavit, Claire M Growney, John W. Rowe, and Kevin Chi. These collaborations reflect ongoing interdisciplinary engagement that complements their primary research interests.

Their scholarly output has been published repeatedly in several venues, with a notable number of publications in:

Innovation in Aging
Psychology and Aging
Nature Aging
Emotion
The Lancet Healthy Longevity

Recognition for their work includes election as a Member of the National Academy of Medicine in 2016. Additional honors include being named a Fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation in 2003 and a Fellow of the American Psychological Association in 1996.

Best Publications

Taking Time Seriously. A Theory of Socioemotional Selectivity

Laura L. Carstensen;Derek M. Isaacowitz;Susan T. Charles

6244
Citations
The Influence of a Sense of Time on Human Development

Laura L. Carstensen

3180
Citations
Socioemotional Selectivity Theory and the Regulation of Emotion in the Second Half of Life

Laura L. Carstensen;Helene H. Fung;Susan T. Charles

2661
Citations
Social and emotional patterns in adulthood: Support for socioemotional selectivity theory.

Laura L. Carstensen

2636
Citations
Aging and motivated cognition: the positivity effect in attention and memory

Mara Mather;Laura L. Carstensen

2475
Citations
Emotional experience in everyday life across the adult life span.

Laura L. Carstensen;Monisha Pasupathi;Ulrich Mayr;John R. Nesselroade

2400
Citations
Evidence for a Life-Span Theory of Socioemotional Selectivity

Laura L. Carstensen

2175
Citations
Social and Emotional Aging

Susan T. Charles;Laura L. Carstensen

1930
Citations
Emotion and aging: experience, expression, and control.

James J. Gross;Laura L. Carstensen;Monisha Pasupathi;Jeanne Tsai

1682
Citations
Time counts: future time perspective, goals, and social relationships.

Frieder R. Lang;Laura L. Carstensen

1682
Citations
Aging and emotional memory: the forgettable nature of negative images for older adults.

Susan Turk Charles;Mara Mather;Laura L. Carstensen

1677
Citations
Emotional experience improves with age: evidence based on over 10 years of experience sampling.

Laura L. Carstensen;Bulent Turan;Susanne Scheibe;Nilam Ram

1604
Citations
At the Intersection of Emotion and Cognition Aging and the Positivity Effect

Laura L. Carstensen;Joseph A. Mikels

1538
Citations
The Process of Successful Ageing

Margret M. Baltes;Laura L. Carstensen

1425
Citations
Aging and Attentional Biases for Emotional Faces

Mara Mather;Laura L. Carstensen

1140
Citations
Emotional behavior in long-term marriage.

Laura L. Carstensen;John M. Gottman;Robert W. Levenson

1058
Citations
The theory behind the age-related positivity effect.

Andrew E. Reed;Laura L. Carstensen

952
Citations
Emotional Aging: Recent Findings and Future Trends

Susanne Scheibe;Laura L. Carstensen

940
Citations
Differences in life expectancy due to race and educational differences are widening, and many may not catch up.

S. Jay Olshansky;Toni C. Antonucci;Lisa F. Berkman;Robert H. Binstock

937
Citations
INCREASING SAVING BEHAVIOR THROUGH AGE-PROGRESSED RENDERINGS OF THE FUTURE SELF.

Hal E . Hershfield;Daniel G . Goldstein;William F . Sharpe;Jesse Fox

927
Citations

Frequent Co-Authors

Susan T. Charles University of California, Irvine

Gregory R. Samanez-Larkin Duke University

Frieder R. Lang University of Erlangen-Nuremberg

Joseph A. Mikels DePaul University

Helene H. Fung Chinese University of Hong Kong

Corinna E. Löckenhoff Cornell University

Susanne Scheibe University of Groningen

Robert W. Levenson University of California, Berkeley

Mara Mather University of Southern California

Brian Knutson Stanford University

External Links

Wikipedia of Laura L. Carstensen Personal website of Laura L. Carstensen Google Scholar page

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