Dr. Daniela Jopp
Visting Scholar
Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the Adult Cognition Lab

Contact information:
School of Psychology
Georgia Institute of Technology
654 Cherry Street
Atlanta GA 30332-0170

Office: J. S. Coon Building, G96
Phone: (+1) 404 385 0010
Fax: (+1) 404 894 8905
Email: daniela.jopp[at]psych.gatech.edu

Research Description:

My research investigates the interplay between personal resources, strategy use, and self-referent beliefs. Personal resources (i.e., basic individual characteristics) are most beneficial for goal pursuit if they are invested in an optimal way. Specific strategies (e.g., planning, life-management strategies) have been found to be helpful, but whether they are applied seems to be dependent on the individual’s beliefs. The beliefs assumed to be critical are a general feeling of control, the beliefs about the efficiency of the strategies, but also the conviction that the individual can apply these strategies successfully.  Having investigated the dynamics between resources, strategies, and beliefs with respect to subjective well-being and successful aging, my central research project is addressing their interplay within the cognitive domain of functioning (in cooperation with Dr. Christopher Hertzog). The major goal of the set of studies I am conducting at Georgia Tech (sponsored by the German Research Foundation DFG) is the examination of cognitive resources, memory-related strategies, and beliefs at a more fine grain level within an experimental setting.

Education:

Free University of Berlin, Ph.D. in Psychology, 2003
Free University of Berlin, Diploma (M.A.) in Psychology, 1997

Click here to see CV
 

Affiliations:

Gerontological Society of America (GSA)
International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development (ISSBD)
American Psychological Society (APS)
Research Interests:
  • Personal resources, adaptive strategies, and self-referent beliefs, and their interplay
  • Perception of resources (status, importance, and changes)
  • Strategy use over the life-span (life-management, coping, cognitive, and behavioral)
  • Beliefs about cognitive functioning, gait/balance, and aging
  • Relation between health and cognition
  • Psychological determinants of mortality
  • Successful aging and development
 Cooperation:

Dr. Kathrin Boerner, Lighthouse International, New York, NY
Dr. Freya Dittmann-Kohli, University of Nijmegen, Nederlands
Dr. Christopher Hertzog, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA
Dr. Bernhard Leipold, University of Hildesheim, Germany
Dr. Ulman Lindenberger, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
Dr. Michael Marsiske, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Dr. Christoph Rott, Heidelberg University, Germany
Dr. Jacqui Smith, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Dr. Marina Schmitt, Heidelberg University, Germany


Selected Publications:

Jopp, D., & Rott, C. (2006). Adapting to very old age: Exploring the role of personal resources and protective mechanism in centenarians. Psychology and Aging, 21, 266–280.

Jopp, D., & Smith, J. (2006). Resources and life-management strategies as determinants of successful aging: On the protective effect of selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC). Psychology and Aging, 21, 253–265.

Smith, J., & Jopp, D. (2005). Geschlechterdifferenzen im Alter(n) [Gender differences in age and aging]. In S.-H. Filipp & U. M. Staudinger (Eds.), Entwicklungspsychologie des mittleren und höheren Erwachsenenalters (Enzyklopädie der Psychologie: C: 5, Vol. 6) (pp. 501-524). Göttingen: Hogrefe.

Jopp, D., & Leipold, B. (2004). Zur Wahrnehmung von Ressourcen und ihrer Bedeutung für das Wohlbefinden: Altersassoziierte Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede [On the perception of resources and their roles for subjective well-being: Age-associated similarities and differences]. Zeitschrift für Gerontologie und Geriatrie, 37, 354–356.

Schulz, U., & Jopp, D. (2004). Good Old Germany? Gerontological research for an aging society. AGHE Newsletter.

Jopp, D. (2003). Ressourcenwahrnehmung und Wohlbefinden aus Lebensspannenperspektive / Resource perception and well-being over the life-span. Newsletter des Deutschen Zentrums für Alternsforschung, 6 (2), 5.

Smith, J., Maier, H., Borchelt, M., & Jopp, D. (2003). Health and well-being in old age: Findings from the Berlin Aging Study. Journal of Social Issues, 58, 715–732.
 


Selected Presentations:

Jopp, D. & Hertzog, C. (2005, November). Health dimensions and their relation to beliefs about cognition, strategy use, and cognitive performance. Paper presented at the 58. Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America in New Orleans, LA.

Jopp, D. & Schmitt, M. (2005, November). Personal resources, perceived loss, and aging satisfaction. Paper presented at the 58. Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America in New Orleans, LA.

Jopp, D., & Rott, C. (2004, November). On the impact of resources and self-referent beliefs on successful aging: The sample case of centenarians. Paper presented at the 57. Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America, Washington, DC.

Jopp, D., & Schmitt, M. (2004, March). Die Bedeutung von Ressourcen und Strategien bei der Bewältigung von kritischen Lebensereignissen im mittleren Erwachsenenalter [The impact of resources and strategies for coping with critical life events among middle-aged adults]. Paper presented at the 6. German Congress for Health Psychology, Leipzig, Germany.

Jopp, D., & Leipold, B. (2003, November). Perception of resources and their relationship to subjective well-being: Exploring age differences. Poster presented at the 56. Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America, San Diego, CA.

Jopp, D., & Smith, J. (2002, November). Successful aging: Longitudinal effects of resources and SOC life-management strategies. Poster presented at the 55. Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America, Boston, MA.

Jopp, D., & Lindenberger, U. (2001, November). Adults’ beliefs about intellectual functioning and intellectual aging: On the relation between agency beliefs and cognitive performance. Paper presented at the 54. Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America, Chicago, IL.

Jopp, D., Lißmann, I., & Smith, J. (2000, November). Perceived negative changes across multiple areas of functioning: A unique predictor of mortality in very old age. Paper presented at the 53. Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America, Washington, DC.

Jopp, D., Lang, F. R., & Baltes, M. M. (1999, November). Successful aging: Relationships with resources and SOC life-management strategies. Poster presented at the 52. Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America, San Francisco, CA.