Laura A. King
- Media Contact
- SPN Mentor
My research is broadly concerned with the human experience of meaning in life and well-being. My primary interests include happiness, meaning in life, the narrative construction of identity, and personality development in adulthood. I am also interested in ways that writing about life experiences influences psychological and physical health.
I am currently serving as the editor of the Personality and Individual Differences section of JPSP.
Primary Interests:
- Emotion, Mood, Affect
- Health Psychology
- Life Satisfaction, Well-Being
- Motivation, Goal Setting
- Personality, Individual Differences
- Self and Identity
Research Group or Laboratory:
- Personality Dynamics Laboratory
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Image Gallery
Video Gallery
Introduction to Personality Psychology
Select video to watch
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Introduction to Personality Psychology
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Your Life Is Probably Pretty Meaningful: Five Myths About Meaning in Life
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What Makes Life Meaningful?
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Out of the Lab (SPSP video)
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What Now? Moving Past the Replication Debate
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Meaning in Life During Difficult Times
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On Promoting Research Integrity
Journal Articles:
- Biswas-Diener, R., Kashdan, T., & King, L. A. (2009). Two traditions of happiness research, not two distinct types of happiness. Journal of Positive Psychology, 4, 208-211.
- Burton, C. M., & King, L. A. (2009). The benefits of writing about positive experiences: Applying the broaden and build model. Psychology and Health, 24, 867-879.
- Burton, C. M., & King, L. A. (2008). The effects of (very) brief writing on health: The 2-minute miracle. British Journal of Health Psychology, 13, 9-14.
- Hicks, J. A., & King, L. A. (2011). Subliminal mere exposure and explicit and implicit positive affective responses. Cognition and Emotion, 25, 726-729.
- Hicks, J. A., & King, L. A. (2009). Meaning in life as a judgment and lived experience. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 3, 638-653.
- Hicks, J. A., Schlegel, R. J., & King, L. A. (2010). Social threats, happiness, and the dynamics of meaning in life judgments. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36, 1305-1317.
- King, L. A., & Geise, A. C. (2011). Being forgotten: Implications for the experience of meaning in life. Journal of Social Psychology, 151, 1-14.
- King, L. A., & Hicks, J. A. (2009). Positive affect, intuition, and referential thinking. Personality and Individual Differences, 46, 719-724.
- King, L. A. & Hicks, J. A. (2009). The detection and construction of meaning in life events. Journal of Positive Psychology, 4, 317-330.
- King, L. A., & Hicks, J. A. (2007). Whatever happened to “what might have been”? Regret, happiness, and maturity. American Psychologist, 62, 625-636.
- King, L. A., Hicks, J. A., Abdelkhalik, J. (2009). Death, life, scarcity, and value: An alternative approach to the meaning of death. Psychological Science, 20, 1459-1462.
- King, L. A., Hicks, J. A., Krull, J., & Del Gaiso, A. K. (2006). Positive affect and the experience of meaning in life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 179-196.
- King, L.A., & Raspin, C. (2004). Lost and found possible selves, well-being and ego development in divorced women. Journal of Personality, 72, 603-631.
- King, L. A., & Smith, N. G. (2004). Gay and straight possible selves: Goals, identity, subjective well -being, and personality development. Journal of Personality, 72,967-994.
- King, L. A., & Smith, S. N. (2005). Happy, mature, and gay: Intimacy, power, and difficult times in coming out stories. Journal of Research in Personality, 39, 278-298.
- Lyubomirsky, S., King, L. A., & Diener, E. (2005). The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success? Psychological Bulletin, 131, 803-855.
- Schlegel, R., Hicks, J. A., King, L. A., & Arndt, J. (2011). Feeling like you know who you are: Perceived true self-knowledge and meaning in life. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37, 745-756.
- Hicks, J. A., Cicero, D. C., Trent, J., Burton, C. M., & King, L. A. (2010). Positive Affect, Intuition, and the Feeling of Meaning. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98, 967-979.
- King, L. A., Burton, C. M., Hicks, J. A, & Drigotas, S. M. (2007). Ghosts, UFOs, and magic: Positive affect and the experiential system. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92, 905-919.
Courses Taught:
- Goals, Mood, and Health
- Graduate Seminar in Personality
- Introduction to Personality
- Introductory Psychology
- Personality and Social Development
- Personality Psychology
- The Psychology of Character
Laura A. King
Department of Psychological Sciences
210 McAlester Hall
University of Missouri
Columbia, Missouri 65211
United States of America
- Phone: (573) 239-7729