LIVES Welcome Day, AG CIGEV

27 August 2025 – 15h15-17h15 
UNIGE, Pinchat 010

LIVES Welcome Day, AG CIGEV

15h15-16h :       General Assembly CIGEV - CENTRE LIVES UNIGE

16h15-17h15 :   Lecture by Prof. Theresa Pauly, Simon Fraser University (BC, Canada)

17h15 :               Apéritif 

Lifelong health & well-being: What ecological momentary assessment data tells us about health and social connections in older adults

Prof. Theresa Pauly, Simon Fraser University (BC, Canada)

Dr. Theresa Pauly, Assistant Professor and Canada Research Chair, studies how the fabric of daily life—our emotions, social encounters, and stress responses—shapes health and well-being in older adulthood. Dr. Pauly earned her PhD in Psychology from the University of British Columbia and completed postdoctoral work at the University of Zurich. Her work is interdisciplinary – in psychology, gerontology, physiology – and as such she has expertise in health and aging from a biopsychosocial perspective, including interconnections between biomarkers of health (e.g., cortisol levels), psychological aspects of well-being (e.g., affective states), and daily social contexts (e.g., solitude). 

In this talk, Dr. Pauly will share insights from a series of ecological momentary assessment (EMA) studies that capture older adults’ experiences in real time. These studies examine how day-to-day emotional states, social interactions, and time spent alone relate to HPA-axis functioning and psychological well-being. Drawing on rich data from individuals and couples in their everyday environments, the talk will address questions such as: Is heightened stress reactivity a marker of resilience or risk in old age? Under what circumstances does solitude serve as a source of restoration versus a pathway to social withdrawal? And how do close relationships, especially those with romantic partners, both support and challenge health across different contexts? Together, these findings offer a nuanced view of aging as a dynamic process shaped not just by individual factors, but by moment-to-moment experiences and social environments.