Jutta Heckhausen
Biography
Jutta Heckhausen, Ph.D., is Distinguished Professor in the Department of Psychological Science at the University of California, Irvine. She received her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Great Britain, and served as a Research Scientist and Senior Research Scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin, Germany, for over a decade before joining UC Irvine in 2001.
Heckhausen's research focuses on motivation and developmental regulation across the life span, with particular attention to how individuals navigate major life-course transitions such as the school-to-work transition, career development, and retirement. She developed the Motivational Theory of Life-Span Development, which examines how individuals engage with and disengage from developmental goals in response to age-graded opportunities and constraints. Her work integrates psychological and sociological perspectives to understand the interplay between individual agency and societal structures in shaping life trajectories and social mobility.
Heckhausen is an elected Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, the Association for Psychological Science, and the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development. She received the Max Planck Research Award for International Cooperation in 1999 and the Baltes Distinguished Research Achievement Award from the American Psychological Association in 2014. She was awarded the Distinguished Career Contribution to Gerontology Award from the Gerontological Society of America in 2020 and the Distinguished Contribution to Motivation Science Award from the Society for the Science of Motivation in 2025. She has served in numerous leadership roles, including Chair of the UC Irvine Academic Senate and Chair of the Coordinating Committee for Graduate Affairs for the University of California system.
Return to topEducation
- Vordiplom (B.A.) in Psychology and Philosophy, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 1977
- Diplom (M.A.) in Psychology, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 1980
- Ph.D. in Psychology, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, 1985
- Habilitation (Venia Legendi) in Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, 1996
Distinctions
- Distinguished Career Contribution to Gerontology Award, Gerontological Society of America (GSA), Behavioral and Social Sciences Section, 2020
- Baltes Distinguished Research Achievement Award, American Psychological Association, 2014
- Humboldt Professor, 1999
- Distinguished Contribution to Motivation Science Award, Society for the Science of Motivation, 2025
- Associate member, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Successful Mid-Life Development, 1991-1998
- Fellow, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford, 1995-1996
- Max Planck Research Award for International Cooperation, 1999
- Appointment to the Kuratorium (Executive Board) of the Leibniz-Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi) by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the Bavarian State Ministry for Education, Science and Art, 2013
- Research Fellow, Center for Interdisciplinary Research (ZiF), University of Bielefeld, 2015-2016
- Fellow, Association for Psychological Science, 2016
Areas of Expertise
- Life-Span Developmental Psychology
- Motivational Self-Regulation Processes
- Primary and Secondary Control
- Developmental Transitions Across Adulthood
- Social Mobility and Educational Attainment
- Goal Engagement and Disengagement
- Health Behavior in Aging
Recent Publications
- Keyserlingk, L. von, Lauermann, F., Li, Q., Yu, R., Rubach, C., Arum, R., Heckhausen, J., “Students' study activities before and after exam deadlines as predictors of performance in STEM courses: A multi-source data analysis” (opens in new tab), Learning and Individual Differences, vol. 117, pp. online #102598, 2025.
- Heckhausen, J., Rheinberg, F., “Commentary: Don't Throw Motivation out with the Black Box: The Value of a Good Theory Revisited (see pages 29-30)” (opens in new tab), Behavioral and Brain Sciences, vol. 48, 2025.
- Rubach C., von Keyserlingk L., Heckhausen J., Eccles J.S., “The situatedness of instructional quality—How situated are college students' ratings?” (opens in new tab), British Journal of Educational Psychology, vol. 95, pp. S316-S336, 2025.
- Heckhausen J., “Motivation and Action” (opens in new tab), Motivation and Action, pp. 1-977, 2025.
- Cho Y., Hamm J.M., Heckhausen J., Cramer S.C., “Downward adjustment of rehabilitation goals may facilitate post-stroke arm motor recovery” (opens in new tab), Psychology and Health, vol. 40, pp. 175-191, 2025.
- Von Keyserlingk, L., Moeller, J., Heckhausen, J., Eccles, J. S., Arum, R., “Adjusting to college – Do ability beliefs and confidence in getting support matter for performance and mental health?” (opens in new tab), Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft, vol. 27, pp. 123–146, 2024.
- Wrosch, C., Heckhausen, J., “Control strategies for managing health threats in older adults” (opens in new tab), Current Opinion in Psychology, vol. 55, pp. online #101750, 2024.
- Cho, Y., Hamm, J. M., Heckhausen, J., Cramer, S. C., “Downward adjustment of rehabilitation goals may facilitate post-stroke arm motor recovery”, Psychology and Health, 2023.
- Rogers, J., Shane, J., von Keyserlingk, L., Heckhausen, J., “Changes in college students' socioeconomic status aspirations during the COVID-19 pandemic” (opens in new tab), Social and Personality Psychology Compass, vol. 17, 2023.
- Buchinger, L., Richter, D., Heckhausen, J., “The development of life goals over the adult lifespan” (opens in new tab), Journals of Gerontology Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, vol. 77, pp. 905-915, 2022.
- Yau, P. S., Cho, Y., Kay, J., Heckhausen, J., “The effect of motive-goal congruence on adolescents' academic goal engagement and disengagement” (opens in new tab), Motivation and Emotion, vol. 46, pp. 447-460, 2022.
- Yau, P. S., Cho, Y., Shane, J., Kay, J., Heckhausen, J., “Parenting and adolescents' academic achievement: The moderating role of goal engagement and disengagement” (opens in new tab), Journal of Child and Family Studies, vol. 31, pp. 897-909, 2022.
- Cho, Y., Hamm, J. M., Heckhausen, J., Cramer, S. C., “The role of goal adjustment during rehabilitation from stroke” (opens in new tab), Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, vol. 14, pp. 26-43, 2022.
- Keyserlingk, L. von, Rubach, C., Lee, H. R., Eccles, J. S., Heckhausen, J., “College students' motivational beliefs and use of goal-oriented control strategies: Integrating two theories of motivated behavior” (opens in new tab), Motivation and Emotion, vol. 46, pp. 601-620, 2022.
- Chang, E. S., Shane, J., Villarreal, B., Heckhausen, J., “Shared and nonshared agency for occupational goals with mothers, fathers, VIPs, and romantic partners during young adulthood” (opens in new tab), Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 13, pp. online 902288, 2022.
- Heckhausen, J., Wrosch, C., “Goal disengagement – past, processes, and future” (opens in new tab), Motivation and Emotion, vol. 46, pp. 884–888, 2022.
- Heckhausen, J., “Invited Commentary: Societal constraints and individual agency: Navigating educational transitions for upward mobility” (opens in new tab), Journal of Youth and Adolescence, vol. 50, pp. 437-445, 2021.
- Cramer, S. C., Dodakian, L., Le, V., McKenzie, A., See, J., Zhou, R. J., Nguyen, T., Vanderschelden, B., Raefsky, S., Wong, G., Bandak, D., Nazarzai, L., Dhand, A., Scacchi, W., Heckhausen, J., “A feasibility study of expanded home-based telerehabilitation after stroke” (opens in new tab), Frontiers in Neurology, vol. 11, 2021.
- Heckhausen, J., Brandstätter, V., Fishbach, A., Freund, A. M., Lachman, M. E., Robert, P., “Goal changes and healthy aging” (opens in new tab), Journals of Gerontology Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, vol. 76, pp. S105-S114, 2021.
- Zacher, H., Zadeh, R. S., Heckhausen, J., Oettingen, G., “Motivation and healthy aging at work” (opens in new tab), Journals of Gerontology Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, vol. 76, pp. S145-S156, 2021.
Most Cited Publications
- Heckhausen, J., Schulz, R., “A life-span theory of control”, Psychological Review, vol. 102, pp. 284-304, 1995.
- Heckhausen, J., Wrosch, C., Schulz, R., “A motivational theory of life-span development” (opens in new tab), Psychological Review, vol. 117, pp. 32-60, 2010.
- Schulz, R., Heckhausen, J., “A life-span model of successful aging” (opens in new tab), American Psychologist, vol. 51, pp. 702-714, 1996.
- Heckhausen, J., Dixon, R. A., Baltes, P. B., “Gains and losses in development throughout adulthood as perceived by different adult age groups” (opens in new tab), Developmental Psychology, vol. 25, pp. 109-121, 1989.
- Heckhausen, J., “Developmental regulation across adulthood: Primary and secondary control of age-related challenges” (opens in new tab), Developmental Psychology, vol. 33, pp. 176-187, 1997.
- Heckhausen, J., Heckhausen, H., “Motivation and action” (opens in new tab), Motivation and Action, Cambridge University Press, pp. 1-508, 2008.
- Heckhausen, J., Krueger, J., “Developmental expectations for the self and most other people: Age grading in three functions of social comparison” (opens in new tab), Developmental Psychology, vol. 29, pp. 539-548, 1993.
- Heckhausen, J., Wrosch, C., Fleeson, W., “Developmental regulation before and after a developmental deadline: The sample case of "biological clock" for child-bearing” (opens in new tab), Psychology and Aging, vol. 16, pp. 400-413, 2001.
- Wrosch, C., Heckhausen, J., “Control processes before and after passing a developmental deadline: Activation and deactivation of intimate relationship goals” (opens in new tab), Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 77, pp. 415-427, 1999.
- Heckhausen, J., Wrosch, C., Schulz, R., “Agency and motivation in adulthood and old age” (opens in new tab), Annual Review of Psychology, vol. 70, pp. 191-217, 2019.
Contact Information
Email: heckhaus@uci.edu
Phone: (949) 824-9219
Address: 4316 Social & Behavioral Sciences Gateway, Irvine, CA 92697-7085
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Last updated on 2/24/2026.