Maria José Pereira Ferreira completed her Ph.D. in Social Psychology in 2012 at the University of Minho. Currently is an Assistant Professor at the Lusófona University of Porto. Works in the Psychology area with an emphasis on Social Psychology, Community Psychology, Positive Psychology, and Development along the life span. She is a recognized specialist by the Portuguese Psychologists Order in Clinical and Health Psychology, Work, Social and Organizational Psychology, Community Psychology, and Psychogerontology.
Supervises dissertations covering topics such as Autotelic Personality and Flow; Capacity for Emotional Recognition; Stress, Coping and Well-Being; Positive Orientation to Life, and Self-regulatory Processes and Well-Being.
Has been involved in several research projects in positive human development and positive psychology, integrating international teams with applied research on well-being, emotions, coping strategies, autotelic personality, and optimal experiences.