Prof. Dr. Ulf Hahnel

21335 Lüneburg, Universitätsallee 1, C11.325
Fon  +49.4131.677-1709, ulf.hahnel@leuphana.de
Professor*in, Professorship of Psychology, in particular Collective Action for Sustainability

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Vita

Ulf investigates individual and collective human judgment and decision-making and the underlying psychological mechanisms in the context of global climate change and the energy transition. To account for the global and dynamic nature of climate change he examines variation in judgment and decisions across nations around the globe and across time. His research moreover aims to develop evidence-based behavioral interventions to promote more sustainable decisions. To transfer findings from the level of individual decisions to the system level, he develops interdisciplinary methodology to integrate experimental decision data into energy system and climate models.

CV

Ulf studied psychology at the University of Mainz, Germany and the University of Auckland, New Zealand. He received his PhD from Albert-Ludwigs University Freiburg, Germany in 2014 for examining the impact of psychological determinants on the adoption of sustainable transportation technologies. From 2010 to 2015, he worked in the Group Cognition, Emotion, and Communication at the Department of Psychology of the University of Freiburg. Additionally, he held a position at the Department Smart Grids at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, the largest solar research institute in Europe.

In 2015, Ulf joined the Consumer Decision and Sustainable Behavior Lab at the University of Geneva as postdoctoral researcher (promoted senior researcher in 2018).

In 2022, he was awarded the highly competitive Eccellenza Professional Fellowship by the Swiss National Science Foundation. From 2022 to 2025 he was Assistant Professor for Sustainability and Behavior Change and head of the Society and Choice PhD Program at the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Basel.

Since February 2025, he is Full Professor for Psychology, in particular Collective Action for Sustainability at the Leuphana University Lüneburg.

Selected Publications

Hahnel, U. J. J., Chatelain, G., Conte, B., Piana, V., & Brosch, T. (2020). Mental accounting mechanisms in energy decision-making and behaviour. Nature Energy, 5, 952-958. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-020-00704-6

Nielsen, K. S., Bauer, J. M., Debnath, R., Emogor, C. A., Geiger, S. M., Ghai, S., Gwozdz, W. & Hahnel, U. J. J. (2024). Underestimation of personal carbon footprint inequality in four diverse countries. Nature Climate Change, 14. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-024-02130-y

Pena-Bello, A., Parra, D., Herberz, M., Tiefenbeck, V., Patel, M., & Hahnel, U. J. J. (2022). Integration of prosumer peer-to-peer trading decisions into energy community modelling. Nature Energy, 7(1), 74-82. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-021-00950-2

Spampatti, T., Hahnel, U. J. J., Trutnevyte, E., & Brosch, T. (2024). Psychological inoculation strategies to fight climate disinformation across 12 countries (Registered Report). Nature Human Behaviour, 8(2). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-023-01736-0

Research Interests

Ulf investigates individual and collective human judgment and decision-making and the underlying psychological mechanisms in the context of global climate change and the energy transition. To account for the global and dynamic nature of climate change he examines variation in judgment and decisions across nations around the globe and across time. His research moreover aims to develop evidence-based behavioral interventions to promote more sustainable decisions. To transfer findings from the level of individual decisions to the system level, he develops interdisciplinary methodology to integrate experimental decision data into energy system and climate models.

Publications

Journal contributions

  1. Perceived plasticity of climate-relevant behaviors and policy support among high- and lower-income individuals
    Kristian S. Nielsen (Author) , Fabian Dablander (Author) , Ramit Debnath (Author) , Charles A. Emogor (Author) , Sakshi Ghai (Author) , Wencke Gwozdz (Author) , Ulf Hahnel (Author) , Wilhelm Hofmann (Author) , Jan M. Bauer (Author) , 01.03.2026 , in: Global Environmental Change, 96 , 13 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

  2. Climate impact perceptions and associations with reported behaviors and policy support in three countries
    Nina L. Frings (Author) , Kristian S. Nielsen (Author) , Zahra Rahmani Azad (Author) , Ulf Hahnel (Author) , 01.12.2025 , in: Journal of Environmental Psychology, 108 , 13 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

  3. Psychological and contextual determinants of clean energy technology adoption
    Anne Günther (Author) , Lukas Engel (Author) , Kristian Nielsen (Author) , Joyashree Roy (Author) , Linda Steg (Author) , Kim-Pong Tam (Author) , Anne M. van Valkengoed (Author) , Kimberly S. Wolske (Author) , Gabrielle Wong-Parodi (Author) , Ulf Hahnel (Author) , 05.06.2025 , in: Nature Reviews Clean Technology, 1, 8 , 19 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

  4. Development and test of a dual-pathway model of personal and community factors driving new energy technology adoption - The case of V2G in three European countries
    Ulf Hahnel (Author) , Nora Baumgartner (Author) , Daniel Sloot (Author) , Anne Günther (Author) , 01.04.2025 , in: Ecological Economics, 230 , 17 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

  5. Recurrent carbon labels induce bipartisan effects in environmental choices under risk
    Ulf Hahnel (Author) , Zahra Rahmani Azad (Author) , Doren Cohen (Author) , 01.02.2025 , in: Judgment and Decision Making, 20 , 21 p.

    Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

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Contributions to collected editions/anthologies

  1. Translating interventions to improve competence, motivation, and support of heating professionals to increase energy efficiency in Swiss buildings
    Ulf Hahnel (Author) , Christian Mumenthaler (Author) , Tessa Dent Ferrel (Author) , Tobias Brosch (Author) , 01.01.2024 Toronto , p. 72-93 , 22 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Chapter › Research › peer-review

  2. What the term agent stands for in the Smart Grid definition of agents and multi-agent systems from an engineer's perspective
    Ulf Hahnel (Author) , Gregor Rohbogner (Author) , Simon Fey (Author) , Pascal Benoit (Author) , Bernhard Wille-Haussmann (Author) , 01.01.2012 , p. 1301-1305 , 5 p.

    Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Article in conference proceedings › Research › peer-review

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Courses