Professional competence areas:
- Meaning in life
- Psychology of Religion, Spirituality and Secularity
- Suffering and mortality awareness
- Meaning in work
- Alienation and existential indifference
I joined MF as professor of existential psychology in October 2020. After studying in Göttingen (GER), London (UK), Heidelberg (GER) and Cambridge (UK), I obtained my doctorate at the University of Trier (GER) and my habilitation in Psychology at the university of Innsbruck (AT), where I maintain an affiliation as Professor II and run the Existential Psychology Lab. My research focuses on the conceptualisation and measurement of meaning in life, as well as on the nexus of meaning in life and secularity, religion, spirituality, well-being, health, work, and civic engagement. I further work on transdisciplinary approaches to suffering, mortality awareness and alienation, and their practical significance for individuals, organisations and society. I am a member of several editorial boards (Journal of Happiness Studies, Archive for the Psychology of Religion, Personality Science, International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, Secular Studies, etc.). Latest monograph: The Psychology of Meaning in Life (Routledge, 2021). Fortnightly column "Better living" in Die Zeit, a German national weekly newspaper.
Selected publications
View all publications on the Cristin website...
- Schnell, T. (2021). The Psychology of Meaning in Life, Routledge, ISBN: 9780367415853
- la Cour, P. & Schnell, T. (2020). Presentation of the Sources of Meaning Card Method: The SoMeCaM., Journal of humanistic psychology, s. 20 - 42. Journal of humanistic psychology, ISSN: 0022-1678
- Schnell, T. & Krampe, H. (2020). Meaning in Life and Self-Control Buffer Stress in Times of COVID-19: Moderating and Mediating Effects With Regard to Mental Distress. , Frontiers in Psychiatry, Frontiers in Psychiatry, ISSN: 1664-0640
Latest academic publications
View all publications on the Cristin website...
- Spitzenstätter, D. & Schnell, T. (2023). The Uncertain Certainty: A Mixed Methods Exploration of Personal Meanings of Death and Preliminary Insights Into Their Relationship With Worldview, Omega - Journal of Death and Dying, Omega - Journal of Death and Dying, ISSN: 0030-2228
- Schnell, T. & Krampe, H. (2022). Meaningfulness protects from and crisis of meaning exacerbates general mental distress longitudinally, BMC Psychiatry, s. - . BMC Psychiatry, ISSN: 1471-244X
- Kreiss, C. & Schnell, T. (2022). Have a good day! An experience-sampling study of daily meaningful and pleasant activities, Frontiers in Psychology, Frontiers in Psychology, ISSN: 1664-1078
- Schnell, T. (2022). Suffering as meaningful choice. An existential approach., Ta vare. En bok om diakoni, sjelesorg og eksistensiell helse. Festskrift til Hans Stifoss-Hanssen,, s. 3 - 14. ISBN: 978-82-8456-007-6
- Tommasi, F. V. & Sartori, R. & Ceschi, A. & Schnell, T. (2021). The Meaning in Work Inventory : Validation of the Italian version and its association with sociodemographic variables, Bollettino di psicologia applicata, s. 17 - 36. Bollettino di psicologia applicata, ISSN: 0006-6761
- Böhmer, M. & la Cour, P. & Schnell, T. (2021). A randomized controlled trial of the Sources of Meaning Card Method: a new meaning-oriented approach predicts depression, anxiety, pain acceptance, and crisis of meaning in chronic pain patients., Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.), Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.), ISSN: 1526-2375
- Schnell, T. & de Boer, E. & Alma, H. (2021). Worlds Apart? Atheist, Agnostic, and Humanist Worldviews in Three European Countries, Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, s. - . Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, ISSN: 1941-1022
- Schnell, T. & Spitzenstätter, D. & Krampe, H. (2021). Compliance With Covid-19 Public Health Guidelines: An Attitude-Behaviour Gap Bridged by Personal Concern and Distance to Conspiracy Ideation. , Psychology and Health, s. - . Psychology and Health, ISSN: 0887-0446
- Schnell, T. (2021). The Psychology of Meaning in Life, Routledge, ISBN: 9780367415853
- Krampe, H. & Danbolt, L. J. & Haver, A. & Stålsett, G. & Schnell, T. (2021). Locus of control moderates the association of COVID-19 stress and general mental distress: results of a Norwegian and a German-speaking cross-sectional survey, BMC Psychiatry, s. 1 - 13. BMC Psychiatry, ISSN: 1471-244X
- la Cour, P. & Schnell, T. (2020). Presentation of the Sources of Meaning Card Method: The SoMeCaM., Journal of humanistic psychology, s. 20 - 42. Journal of humanistic psychology, ISSN: 0022-1678
- Schnell, T. (2020). Glücksversprechen? Die Selbstdarstellung diakonischer Sozialunternehmen aus Perspektive der Sinn- und Glücksforschung., Gibt es Glück in der Diakonie ,, s. 17 - 34. Mohr Siebeck, ISBN: 978-3-16-159095-5
- Schnell, T. (2020). Psychologie des Lebenssinns, Springer, ISBN: 978-3-662-61119-7
- Schnell, T. & Fuchs, D. & Hefti, R. (2020). Worldview under stress: Preliminary findings on cardiovascular and cortisol stress responses predicted by secularity, religiosity, spirituality, and existential search, Journal of religion and health, s. 2969 - 2989. Journal of religion and health, ISSN: 0022-4197
- Spitzenstaetter, D. & Schnell, T. (2020). Effects of mortality awareness on attitudes toward dying and death and meaning in life-a randomized controlled trial., Death Studies, Death Studies, ISSN: 0748-1187
- Spitzenstätter, D. & Schnell, T. (2020). The existential dimension of the pandemic: Death attitudes, personal worldview, and coronavirus anxiety, Death Studies, s. - . Death Studies, ISSN: 0748-1187
- Schnell, T. (2020). Sinnerleben und Wohlergehen in Zeiten von Covid-19, Wissenschaftliches Jahrbuch der Tiroler Landesmuseen. 13(2020),, s. 31 - 35. Studienverlag, ISBN: 978-3706560825
- Schnell, T. & Krampe, H. (2020). Meaning in Life and Self-Control Buffer Stress in Times of COVID-19: Moderating and Mediating Effects With Regard to Mental Distress. , Frontiers in Psychiatry, Frontiers in Psychiatry, ISSN: 1664-0640
- Schnell, T. & Hoffmann, C. (2020). ME-Work: Development and validation of a modular meaning in work inventory., Frontiers in Psychology, Frontiers in Psychology, ISSN: 1664-1078
- Krampe, H. & Goerling, U. & Spies, C. D. & Gerhards, S. K. & Enge, S. & Salz, A. (2020). Sense of coherence, mental well-being and perceived preoperative hospital and surgery related stress in surgical patients with malignant, benign, and no neoplasms, BMC Psychiatry, s. - . BMC Psychiatry, ISSN: 1471-244X
- Votter, B. & Schnell, T. (2019). Bringing Giftedness to Bear: Generativity, Meaningfulness, and Self-Control as Resources for a Happy Life Among Gifted Adults, Frontiers in Psychology, Frontiers in Psychology, ISSN: 1664-1078
- Schnell, T. & Höge, T. & Weber, W. G. (2019). Belonging' and its relationship to the experience of meaningful work, The Oxford Handbook of Meaningful Work,, s. 165 - 185. Oxford University Press, ISBN: 9780198788232
- Votter, B. & Schnell, T. (2019). Cross-Lagged Analyses Between Life Meaning, Self-Compassion, and Subjective Well-being Among Gifted Adults, Mindfulness, s. 1294 - 1303. Mindfulness, ISSN: 1868-8527
- Sørensen, T. & la Cour, P. & Danbolt, L. J. & Stifoss-Hanssen, H. & Lien, L. & deMarinis, V. (2018). The Sources of Meaning and Meaning in Life Questionnaire in the Norwegian Context: Relations to Mental Health, Quality of Life, and Self-Efficacy, The international journal for the psychology of religion, s. 32 - 45. The international journal for the psychology of religion, ISSN: 1050-8619
- Pedersen, H. F. & Birkeland, M. H. & Jensen, J. S. & Schnell, T. & Hvidt, N. C. & Sørensen, T. (2018). What brings meaning to life in a highly secular society? A study on sources of meaning among Danes, Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, s. 678 - 690. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, ISSN: 0036-5564
- Krampe, H. & Barth-Zoubairi, A. & Schnell, T. & Salz, A. & Kerper, L. F. & Spies, C. D. (2018). Social Relationship Factors, Preoperative Depression, and Hospital Length of Stay in Surgical Patients, International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, s. 1 - 11. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, ISSN: 1070-5503