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Psychology
Switzerland
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Psychology

D-Index
84
Citations
27786
World Ranking
1221
National Ranking
12

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Psychology in Switzerland Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Psychology in Switzerland Leader Award
  • 2023 - Research.com Psychology in Switzerland Leader Award
  • 2022 - Research.com Psychology in Switzerland Leader Award

Overview

Willibald Ruch is affiliated with the University of Zurich in Switzerland. Their research primarily focuses on psychology, with a substantial concentration in social psychology. Additional subfields include clinical psychology, applied psychology, experimental and cognitive psychology, and literature and literary theory.

The scientist's work covers diverse topics within psychological research. These include psychological well-being and life satisfaction, humor studies and applications, optimism, hope, and well-being, resilience and mental health, personality traits and psychology, leadership, courage, and heroism studies, as well as cultural differences and values.

Ruch has authored several papers, notable among them are:

  • Character strengths-based interventions: Open questions and ideas for future research (2020) published in The Journal of Positive Psychology

Frequent co-authors in their research collaborations include Fabian Gander, Sonja Heintz, Lisa Wagner, Chloé Lau, and Donald H. Saklofske, each contributing through multiple joint publications.

Regarding publication venues, Ruch's work appears predominantly in:

  • Frontiers in Psychology
  • The Journal of Positive Psychology
  • PsycTESTS Dataset
  • Journal of Personality Assessment
  • Current Psychology

This research profile highlights a focus on character strengths, well-being, and the interplay of personality traits within various life and social domains. The scientist's interdisciplinary approach integrates aspects of social and clinical psychology with applied and experimental methods.

Best Publications

  • The Geographic Distribution of Big Five Personality Traits Patterns and Profiles of Human Self-Description Across 56 Nations

    David P. Schmitt;Jüri Allik;Robert R. McCrae;Verónica Benet-Martínez

  • Strengths of character, orientations to happiness, and life satisfaction

    Christopher Peterson;Willibald Ruch;Ursula Beermann;Nansook Park

  • The Attractive Female Body Weight and Female Body Dissatisfaction in 26 Countries Across 10 World Regions: Results of the International Body Project I

    Viren Swami;David A Frederick;Toivo Aavik;Lidia Alcalay

  • Universal sex differences in the desire for sexual variety: Tests from 52 nations, 6 continents, and 13 islands

    David P. Schmitt

  • National character does not reflect mean personality trait levels in 49 cultures

    A. Terracciano;A. M. Abdel-Khalek;N. Ádám;L. Adamovová

  • Strength-Based Positive Interventions: Further Evidence for Their Potential in Enhancing Well-Being and Alleviating Depression

    Fabian Gander;René T. Proyer;Willibald Ruch;Tobias Wyss

  • Neural correlates of laughter and humour.

    Barbara Wild;Frank A. Rodden;Wolfgang Grodd;Willibald Ruch

  • Patterns and Universals of Adult Romantic Attachment Across 62 Cultural Regions Are Models of Self and of Other Pancultural Constructs

    David P. Schmitt;Lidia Alcalay;Melissa Allensworth;Jüri Allik

  • Character strengths predict resilience over and above positive affect, self-efficacy, optimism, social support, self-esteem, and life satisfaction

    María Luisa Martínez-Martí;Willibald Ruch

  • Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS): Adaptation and Validation of the German Version and the Development of a Peer-Rating Form

    Willibald Ruch;René T. Proyer;Claudia Harzer;Nansook Park

  • The sense of humor : Explorations of a personality characteristic

    Willibald Ruch

  • The expressive pattern of laughter

    Willibald Ruch;P Ekman;A W Kaszniak

  • Testing Strengths-Based Interventions: A Preliminary Study on the Effectiveness of a Program Targeting Curiosity, Gratitude, Hope, Humor, and Zest for Enhancing Life Satisfaction

    René T. Proyer;Willibald Ruch;Claudia Buschor

  • Exhilaration and humor.

    Willibald Ruch;M Lewis;J M Haviland

  • Patterns and Universals of Mate Poaching Across 53 Nations: The Effects of Sex, Culture, and Personality on Romantically Attracting Another Person's Partner

    David P. Schmitt

  • When the job is a calling: The role of applying one's signature strengths at work

    Claudia Harzer;Willibald Ruch

  • The application of signature character strengths and positive experiences at work

    Claudia Harzer;Willibald Ruch

  • The relationships of character strengths with coping, work-related stress, and job satisfaction

    Claudia Harzer;Willibald Ruch

  • Assessing the „humorous temperament“: Construction of the facet and standard trait forms of the State-Trait-Cheerfulness-Inventory — STCI

    Willibald Ruch;Gabriele Köhler;Christoph Van Thriel

  • Positive psychology interventions in people aged 50–79 years: long-term effects of placebo-controlled online interventions on well-being and depression

    René T Proyer;Fabian Gander;Sara Wellenzohn;Willibald Ruch

Frequent Co-Authors

René T. Proyer
René T. Proyer Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg
Alois Angleitner
Alois Angleitner Bielefeld University
Paul Ekman
Paul Ekman University of California, San Francisco
Andrea Christiane Samson
Andrea Christiane Samson University of Fribourg
Jan Strelau
Jan Strelau University of Warsaw
Christopher Peterson
Christopher Peterson University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
Jamin Halberstadt
Jamin Halberstadt University of Otago
Astrid Schütz
Astrid Schütz University of Bamberg
Martin Voracek
Martin Voracek University of Vienna
Donald H. Saklofske
Donald H. Saklofske University of Western Ontario

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