Working group on Human Behaviour & Sustainable Development

We are an interdisciplinary research group studying the social psychology of socio-technical transitions for sustainability from various perspectives, in various contexts and at various scales – including individuals as single actors, in networks, in organizations and in institutions. For example, we work on conceptual models and related empirical studies analyzing how psychological factors, e.g. identity processes, and sociological factors, e.g. values on a country level or within an organization, influence how people behave with regard to new technologies, particularly renewable energy. Our social perspective implies attention to processes of social structuration as well as psychology. Hence we are interested in the role of the individual in relation to - and in the context of - systemic, structural change and indeed resistance to change.