Extreme Psychology

Projects

Here you can follow our work in progress and witness the growth of our active initiatives and projects.

Team

Discover our international and dynamic group of academic collaborators, research partners, and experts.

Activities

Explore the outcomes of our work: peer-reviewed publications, conference contributions, and more.

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Extreme Psychology

What defines an “extreme” experience—objective facts or personal perception? Our research investigates the spectrum between subjectivity and objectivity, combining cultural insight with scientific measurement. Through qualitative narratives and quantitative analysis, we explore how extremes shape identity, performance, and mental health across diverse cultural contexts.

VISIT PROJECTS

About the Institution

Read here about Sigmund Freud University.

Sigmund Freud University is an internationally oriented institution offering academic programs across multiple languages, countries, and disciplines. Its Vienna campus serves as the central hub of this network, hosting major European conferences and facilitating academic exchange. With branches in Linz, Berlin, Ljubljana, Milan, and Paris, SFU attracts students and scholars from diverse cultural backgrounds, creating a dynamic and multicultural academic community.
Research is a central pillar of SFU’s mission. The university actively promotes scientific inquiry and academic career development through initiatives such as Research Days, specialized workshops, international conferences, collaborative projects, and structured internship opportunities. These activities foster strong cooperation within and across faculties and strengthen SFU’s partnerships with institutions worldwide. In doing so, SFU not only delivers high-quality education but also contributes meaningfully to the advancement of research in the academic landscape.

About Us

Read here about our team.

We are a multicultural research team united by a shared interest in the study of extreme experiences. Our members bring diverse academic backgrounds, cultural perspectives, and methodological expertise, allowing us to approach extremes as both globally shared and culturally specific phenomena. This diversity is central to our work, shaping how we conceptualize, study, and interpret extremes across contexts. By integrating multiple languages, disciplines, and cultural frameworks, we aim to produce research that is theoretically robust, culturally sensitive, and internationally relevant.

Our Mission

Our mission is to examine how extreme situations and behaviours are defined and perceived across objective and subjective levels. The project explores the relationship between culturally shared indicators of extremity—such as media representations or records of exceptional events—and individuals’ personal evaluations of what counts as extreme. By linking these perspectives, we aim to clarify how extremes are culturally constructed, experienced, and distinguished from both peak performance and clinically relevant deviation.

Collaborative Project Hub

This project functions as an open, international collaboration hub, bringing together researchers, clinicians, and experts from diverse disciplines to advance the study of extreme experiences. We aim to foster an inclusive and dynamic research environment that encourages cross-cultural perspectives, methodological exchange, and innovative joint projects on a global scale. Through collaboration, we seek to connect theoretical, empirical, and applied approaches to better understand extremes across contexts. Researchers and institutions interested in contributing to or collaborating within this network are warmly invited to get in contact with us.