Primary Research Areas
Masfiah, S., Aji, B., Wang, B., O’Keefe, P. A., Horberg, E. J., Szücs, A., Island, L., Sandalova, E., Rosenthal, S., Meij, H., Maier, A. B. (in press). Expected lifespan and healthspan among rural and urban individuals in Java, Indonesia. GeroScience.
Bruschinski, L., Horberg, E. J., O’Keefe, P. A., Wang, B., Szücs, A., Meij, J. J., Murray, A. L., & Maier, A. B. (2026). Prevalence and determinants of ageism experiences in the Singapore population: insights from the HEalthy LOngevity (HELO) survey. GeroScience. PDF
Amalaraj, J. J. P., Wang, B., Szücs, A., Wang, L. Y-T., Island, L., Horberg, E. J., O’Keefe, P. A., Rosenthal, S., Chong, Y-S., Meij, J. J., Maier, A. B. (2026). Knowledge of lifespan and healthspan and interest in Healthy Longevity Medicine among the general population in Singapore: The Singapore HEalthy LOngevity (HELO) survey. GeroScience. PDF
Wang, B., Szücs, A., Sandalova, E., Lim, Z. M., Horberg, E. J., O’Keefe, P. A., Island, L., Rosenthal, S., & Maier, A. B. (2025). Public views towards lifespan, healthspan, and healthy longevity medicine in Singapore: A qualitative study from the HEalthy LOngevity (HELO) initiatives. Gerontology. PDF
O’Keefe, P. A., Sakthivel, R.,† & Horberg, E. J. (2025). A growth-theory-of-interest intervention helps align science students with a new multidisciplinary curriculum. Contemporary Educational Psychology. doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2025.102371 PDF
Wang, B., Sandalova, E., Szücs, A., Horberg, E. J., O’Keefe, P. A., Island, L., Meij, H., Rosenthal, S., & Maier, A. B. (2025). Awareness, knowledge, and motivations about lifespan, healthspan, and Healthy Longevity Medicine in the general population: The HEalthy LOngevity (HELO) conceptual framework. GeroScience. doi.org/10.1007/s11357-025-01562-4 PDF
Burnette, J. L., Hoyt, C. L., Becker, W., & O’Keefe, P. A. (2024). Addiction stigma: Potential costs and benefits of lay beliefs about the nature of addiction. Stigma and Health. doi: 10.1037/sah0000593 PDF
O’Keefe, P. A., Horberg, E. J., Dweck, C. S., Walton, G. M. (2023). A growth-theory-of-interest intervention increases interest in math and science coursework among liberal arts undergraduates. Journal of Educational Psychology, 115(6), 859–876. doi.org/10.1037/edu0000798 PDF
O’Keefe, P. A., Horberg, E. J., Lee, F., & Dweck, C. S. (2023). Implicit theories of opportunity: When opportunity fails to knock, keep waiting or start cultivating? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 124(6), 1146–1173. doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000330 PDF
O’Keefe, P. A., Chaffee, K. E., Horberg, E. J., Plante, I., & Harackiewicz, J. M. (2022). Revisiting multiple pathways to achievement: Re-examining the roles of achievement goals in predicting grades through task values. Learning and Individual Differences, 98, 102186. doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2022.102186 PDF
O’Keefe, P. A., Lee, H. Y., & Chen, P. (2021). Changing students’ beliefs about learning can unveil their potential. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 8(1), 84–91. doi:10.1177/2372732220984173 PDF
O’Keefe, P. A., Horberg, E. J., Chen, P., & Savani, K. (2021). Should you pursue your passion as a career? Cultural differences in the emphasis on passion in career decisions. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 43(9), 1475–1495. https://do10.1002/job.2552 PDF
O’Keefe, P. A., Horberg, E. J., Sabherwal, A.,† Ibasco, G. S.,† & Zainal, A.† (2021). Thinking beyond boundaries: A growth theory of interest enhances integrative thinking that bridges the arts and sciences. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 162, 95–108. doi: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2020.10.007 PDF
Chen, P., Lin, Y., Pereira, D. J. H., O’Keefe, P. A., & Yates, J. F. (2021). Fanning the flames of passion: A develop mindset predicts intentions to use strategies for up-regulating passion. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 634903. doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.634903 PDF
Plante, I., O’Keefe, P. A., Aronson, J., Fréchette-Simard, C., & Goulet, M. (2019). The interest gap: How gender stereotype endorsement predicts academic interests. Social Psychology of Education, 22(1), 227–245. doi:10.1007/s11218-018-9472-8 PDF
O’Keefe, P. A., Dweck, C. S., & Walton, G. M. (2018, September 10). Having a growth mindset makes it easier to develop new interests. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2018/09/having-a-growth-mindset-makes-it-easier-to-develop-new-interests
O’Keefe, P. A., Dweck, C. S., & Walton, G. M. (2018). Implicit theories of interest: Finding your passion or developing it? Psychological Science, 29(10) 1653–1664. doi:10.1177/0956797618780643 PDF
O’Keefe, P. A. & Harackiewicz, J. M. (Eds.) (2017). The science of interest. Springer, Cham. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-55509-6 (Edited Volume)
O’Keefe, P. A. & Harackiewicz, J. M. (2017). Towards a science of interest. In P. A. O’Keefe & J. M. Harackiewicz (Eds.). The science of interest. Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-55509-6 PDF
O’Keefe, P. A., Horberg, E. J., & Plante, I. (2017). The multifaceted role of interest in motivation and engagement. In P. A. O’Keefe & J. M. Harackiewicz (Eds.). The science of interest. Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-55509-6_3 PDF
O’Keefe, P. A., Letourneau, S., Milne, C., Homer, B. D., Schwartz, R., & Plass, J. L. (2014). Learning from multiple representations: An examination of fixation patterns in a science simulation. Computers in Human Behavior, 35, 234–242. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2014.02.040 PDF
O’Keefe, P. A., & Linnenbrink-Garcia, L. (2014). The role of interest in optimizing performance and self-regulation. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 53, 70–78. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2014.02.004 PDF
*Plass, J., *O’Keefe, P. A., Homer, B. D., Case, J., Hayward, E., Stein, M., & Perlin, K. (2013). The impact of individual, competitive, and collaborative mathematics game play on learning, performance, and motivation. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105(4), 1050–1066. doi:10.1037/a0032688 (*co-first authorship) PDF
O’Keefe, P. A., Ben-Eliyahu, A., & Linnenbrink-Garcia, L. (2013). Shaping achievement goal orientations in a mastery-structured environment and concomitant changes in related contingencies of self-worth. Motivation and Emotion, 37(1), 50–64. doi:10.1007/s11031-012-9293-6 PDF
O’Keefe, P. A. (2013). Mindsets and self-evaluation: How beliefs about intelligence can create a preference for growth over defensiveness. In S. B. Kaufman (Ed.), The complexity of greatness: Beyond talent or practice(pp. 119–134). Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199794003.003.0008 PDF
Plante, I., O’Keefe, P. A., & Théorêt, M. (2013). The relation between achievement goal and expectancy-value theories in predicting achievement-related outcomes: A test of four theoretical conceptions. Motivation and Emotion, 37(1), 65–78. doi:10.1007/s11031-012-9282-9 PDF
Linnenbrink-Garcia, L., Middleton, M., Ciani, K. D., Easter, M. A., O’Keefe, P. A., & Zusho, A. (2012). The strength of the relation between performance-approach and performance-avoidance goal orientations: Theoretical, methodological, and instructional implications. Educational Psychologist, 47(4), 281–301. doi:10.1080/00461520.2012.722515 PDF
O’Keefe, P. A. (2007). Social judgment theory. In W. Darity (Editor-in-Chief), International encyclopedia of the social sciences (2nd ed.), New York: Macmillan Reference USA.
Grigorenko, E. L., & O’Keefe, P. A. (2004). Dealing with change: Manifestations, measurements, and methods. In A. Demetriou & A. Raftopoulos (Eds.). Cognitive developmental change: Theories, models and measurement (pp. 318–353). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511489938.012 PDF
Grigorenko, E. L., & O’Keefe, P. A. (2004). What do children do when they cannot go to school? In R. J. Sternberg & E. L. Grigorenko (Eds.), Culture and competence: Contexts of life success (pp. 23–53). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. doi:10.1037/10681-002 PDF
O’Keefe, P. A. (2002). Teenager: A damaging and outdated label. [Review of T. Hine (Ed.), The rise and fall of the American teenager]. Contemporary Psychology, 47, 480–481. PDF
Other Publications
O’Keefe, P. A. (2024, February 28). When students feel unlucky, teachers can help change that attitude: A growth mindset about opportunity can make a difference. Education Week. www.edweek.org/leadership/opinion-when-students-feel-unlucky-teachers-can-help-change-that-attitude/2024/02
O’Keefe, P. A. (2024, February 19). Opportunities are more than luck. Psychology Today. www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/actionable-advice-to-help-kids-thrive/202402/opportunities-are-more-than-luck
O’Keefe, P. A. & Horberg, E. J. (2023, September 29). Stop trying to ‘find’ your passion—there’s a better way to love what you do. Scientific American. www.scientificamerican.com/article/stop-trying-to-find-your-passion-theres-a-better-way-to-love-what-you-do
O’Keefe, P. A. & Horberg, E. J. (2023, February 27). How you think about opportunities can influence your success. Character & Context (Society for Personality and Social Psychology). https://spsp.org/news/character-and-context-blog/okeefe-horberg-opportunity-success-mindset
O’Keefe, P. A. (2021, May 3). Universities must cultivate a growth mindset in their students. Times Higher Education. www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/universities-must-cultivate-growth-mindset-their-students
O’Keefe, P. A. (2019, August 3). Your passion isn’t waiting to be ‘found.’ You need to develop it. The Business Times. www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/your-passion-isnt-waiting-to-be-found-you-need-to-develop-it
O’Keefe, P. A. (2014, September 7). Liking work really matters. The New York Times, p. 12. www.nytimes.com/2014/09/07/opinion/sunday/go-with-the-flow.html?
Secondary Research Area
Wollast, R., Lüders, A., Nugier, A., Guimond, S., … O’Keefe, P. A., … & Leander, N. P. (2025). Gender inequality and cultural values in explaining gender differences in positive and negative emotions: A comparison of 24 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Current Psychology. PDF
Fisher, A. N., Ryan, M. K., Liao, Y-H., Mikołajczak, G., … O’Keefe, P. A., … (2024). The Precarity of Progress: Implications of a Shifting Gendered Division of Labor for Relationships and Well-Being as a Function of Country-Level Gender Equality. Sex Roles. PDF
Zúñiga, C., Agostini, M., Louis, W. R., Lemay, P., … O’Keefe, P. A., … & Leander, N. P. (2024). Prosociality during covid-19: Pathways through affect, financial stress, well-being, and collective disempowerment across 39 countries. Universitas Psychologica, 23, 1. doi.org/10.11144/Javeriana.upsy23.pdcp PDF
Abakoumkin, G., Tseliou, E., McCabe, K. O., Lemay, E. P., … O’Keefe, P. A., … & Leander, N. P. (2023). Conceptual replication and extension of health behavior theories’ predictions in the context of COVID-19: Evidence across countries and over time. Personality and Social Psychology Compass. doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12909 PDF
Ibanescu, B. C., Gheorghiu, A., Cristea, M., Pascariu, G. C., … O’Keefe, P. A., … & Leander, P. (2023). The evolution of job insecurity in spatial contexts in Europe during COVID-19 pandemic. International Regional Science Review, 01600176231160485. PDF
Douglas, K. M., Sutton, R. M., van Lissa, C. J. … O’Keefe, P. A., … & Leander, N. P. (2023). Identifying important individual- and country-level predictors of conspiracy theorizing: A machine learning analysis. European Journal of Social Psychology. doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2968 PDF
Westgate, E. C., Buttrick, N., Lin, Y., Helou, G. E., … O’Keefe, P. A., … & Leander, N. P. (2023). Pandemic boredom: Little evidence that lockdown-related boredom affected risky public health behaviors across 116 countries. Emotion. doi.org/10.1037/emo0001118 PDF
Han, Q., Zheng, B., Leander, N. P., Agostini, M., … O’Keefe, P. A., … & Bélanger, J. J. (2022). Impact of national pandemic lockdowns on perceived threat of immigrants: A natural quasi-experiment across 23 countries. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 19485506221127487 PDF
Reitsema, A. M., Jeronimus, B. F., Bos, E. H. J., … O’Keefe, P. A., … & Leander, N. P. (2022). Age differences in hedonic adaptation to societal restrictions: Positive and negative affect trajectories during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 33 nations. Emotion, doi.org/10.1037/emo0001149 PDF
Van Lissa, C., Stroebe, W., vanDellen, M., Leander, N. P., … O’Keefe, P. A., … & Bélanger, J. J. (2022). Using machine learning to identify important predictors of COVID-19 infection prevention behaviors. Patterns, 3(4). PDF
Keng, S-L., Stanton, M. V., Haskins, L. B., Almenara, C. A., … O’Keefe, P. A., … & Leander, N. P. (2022). COVID-19 stressors and health behaviors: A multilevel longitudinal study across 86 countries. Preventive Medicine Reports, 27, 101764. PDF
Schumpe, B. M., van Lissa, C. J., Bélanger, J. J., Nisa, C. F., … O’Keefe, P. A., … & Leander, N. P. (2022). Predictors of adherence to public health behaviors for fighting COVID-19 derived from longitudinal data. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 3824. PDF
Enea, V., Eisenbeck, N., Carreño, D. F., Douglas, K. M., … O’Keefe, P. A., … & Leander, N. P. (2022). Intentions to be vaccinated against COVID-19: The role of prosociality and conspiracy beliefs across 20 countries. Health Communication, 1–10. doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2021.2018179 PDF
Lucas, T., Manning, M., Strelan, P., Kopetz, C., … O’Keefe, P. A., … & Leander, N. P. (2022). Justice beliefs and cultural values predict support for COVID-19 vaccination and quarantine behavioral mandates: A multilevel cross-national study. Translational Behavioral Medicine, 12(2), 284–290 PDF
Mula, S., Di Santo, D., Resta, E., Bakhtiari, F., … O’Keefe, P. A., … & Leander, N. P. (2022). Concern with COVID-19 pandemic threat and attitudes towards immigrants: The mediating effect of the desire for tightness. Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology, 3, 100028. PDF
Lemay, E. P., Kruglanski, A. W., Molinario, E., Agostini, M., … O’Keefe, P. A., … & Leander, N. P. (2021). The role of values in coping with health and economic threats of COVID-19. Journal of Social Psychology, 3, 100028. doi: 10.1080/00224545.2021.1979454 PDF
Resta, E., Mula, S., Baldner, C., Di Santo, D., … O’Keefe, P. A., … & Leander, N. P. (2021). We are all in the same boat: How societal discontent affects intention to help during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 32(2), 332–347. PDF
Stroebe, W., vanDellen, M., Abakoumkin, G., Lemay, E. … O’Keefe, P. A., … & Leander, N. P. (2021). Politicization of COVID-19 health-protective behaviors in the United States: Longitudinal and cross-national evidence. PLoS ONE, 17(1): e0263100. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263100 PDF
van Breen, J. A., Kutlaca, M., Koç, Y., Jeronimus, B. F., … O’Keefe, P. A., … & Leander, N. P. (2021). Lockdown lives: A longitudinal study of inter-relationships among feelings of loneliness, social contacts, and solidarity during the COVID-19 lockdown in early 2020. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 48(9), 1315–1330. doi: 10.1177/0146167221103660 PDF
Nisa, C. F., Belanger, J. J., Faller, D. G., Buttrick, N. R., … O’Keefe, P. A., … & Leander, N. P. (2021). Lives versus livelihoods? Perceived economic risk has a stronger association with support for COVID-19 preventive measures than perceived health risk. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 9669. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-88314-4 PDF
Han, Q., Zheng, B., Cristea, M., Agostini, M., … O’Keefe, P. A., … & Leander, N. P. (2021). Trust in government regarding COVID-19 and its associations with preventive health behaviour and prosocial behaviour during the pandemic: a cross-sectional and longitudinal study. Psychological Medicine, 53(1), 149–159. doi:10.1017/S0033291721001306 PDF
Han, Q., Zheng, B., Agostini, M., Bélanger, J. J., … O’Keefe, P. A., … & Leander, N. P. (2021). Associations of risk perception of COVID-19 with emotion and mental health during the pandemic. Journal of Affective Disorders, 284, 247–255. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2021.01.049 PDF
Romano, A., Spadaro, G., Balliet, D., Joireman. J., … O’Keefe, P. A., … & Leander, N. P. (2021). Cooperation and trust across societies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 52(7), 622–642. doi:10.1177/0022022120988913 PDF
Jin, S., Balliet, D., Romano, A., Spadaro, G., … O’Keefe, P. A., … & Leander, N. P. (2021). Intergenerational conflicts of interest and prosocial behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. Personality and Individual Differences, 171, 110535. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2020.110535 PDF
Leander, N. P., Lemay, E. P., Jeronimus, B. F., … O’Keefe, P. A., … (2020). Towards a globally collaborative behavioral science: An organizational approach from pandemic psychology. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 2. PDF
Kreienkamp, J., Agostini, M., Krause, J., & Leander N. P. (on behalf of the PsyCorona Research Collaboration) (2020, October). A world of reactions to COVID-19: How an online data visualization tool reports data from an international psychological survey. www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/psycorona-covid-19