Research projects
DFG Project: Preventing the rejection of attitude-inconsistent arguments
Funding:
German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft; DFG)
Project duration:
October 2024 - September 2027
Society is polarized on issues such as climate change, migration, and measures to contain health threats. Attitudes toward these controversial topics are often difficult to change because they are tied to core values. When people are confronted with attitude-inconsistent arguments, they often reject them: by avoiding them (selective exposure), dismissing them as invalid (devaluation), or developing counterarguments (counterarguing). This DFG-project investigates strategies to prevent the rejection of such arguments through the induction of intra-individual conflicts. Engaging with these conflicts increases cognitive flexibility and promotes consideration of alternative thoughts and behaviors. Once activated, this processing style carries over to subsequent, unrelated situations and reduces biases in judgment and information processing. The aim is to examine whether inducing conflicts can prevent the rejection of attitude-inconsistent arguments and to investigate the role of motivational factors in this context. The project examines the role of involvement in conflict induction and its effects on various rejection strategies, as well as potential long-term effects. It provides new insights into the mechanisms of intra-individual conflicts and offers practical approaches to counter the rejection of attitude-inconsistent arguments in public debates, thereby contributing to the reduction of societal polarization.
Team
Dr. Kevin Winter
Kevin.winter@uni-hohenheim.de
+49 711 459 24947
Leonie Ströbele
Leonie.stroebele@uni-hohenheim.de
+49 711 459 24947
Wind farm survey in Rottenburg am Neckar
Our survey on public perception of the planned wind farm in Rottenburg am Neckar has been successfully completed.
What was it about?
At the end of 2022, the Rottenburg municipal council approved the leasing of municipal land in the districts of Hailfingen, Oberndorf and Wendelsheim to enable the construction of a wind farm. Up to 8 wind turbines are planned, which are to be operated in cooperation between Stadtwerke Rottenburg and Altus AG. Before construction can begin, the project must be examined as part of an approval procedure in accordance with the Federal Immission Control Act. This decision will be made by the Tübingen District Office. If the project is approved, construction is scheduled to start in 2025 and the plants could then be commissioned in 2026.
What was the aim of the survey?
The aim of the survey was to find out how the citizens of Rottenburg view the construction of wind turbines and what opportunities and challenges they see in them. We wanted to better understand which aspects influence the acceptance or rejection of wind energy projects among the population.
What happens now?
We would like to thank all participants for their valuable contribution to psychological research in the field of acceptance and rejection of climate protection measures! We are currently evaluating the results of the survey. As soon as the data analysis is complete, we will publish a summary here on the website and also contact the Schwäbisches Tagblatt to make the results available to a wider public.
GROVAINITY
The project GROVAINITY examines how officials in International Organisations perceive the goal conflict between sustainability and economic growth and how it affects their decision-making.
Funding agency
Andrea von Braun Foundation
Project duration May 2022 – December 2024
Links
As ecological crises increase and intensify while the world economy continues to expand, humanity faces a goal conflict between economic growth and planetary sustainability. The project GROVAINITY integrates the focus of Environmental Psychology on individual behaviour and insights from International Relations into broader institutional dynamics to study how this goal conflict plays out in international organisations (IOs), whose work shapes sustainability transitions. Using a mixed-methods research design, we explore how IO officials conceptualise the relationship between growth and sustainability. Our research project will produce novel findings and targeted outputs for society at large (report), as well as practitioners (workshop) and scientists (publication) interested in how this goal conflict undermines efforts to stay within planetary boundaries.
Team
Laura Henn (Jun.-Prof. Dr.)
Co-Principal investigator; University of Kassel
Telephone: +49 (0)711 459 24945
E-Mai: laura.henn@uni-hohenheim.de
Matthias Kranke (Dr.)
Co-Principal investigator; University of Kassel, Department for Development and Postcolonial Studies
Fellow within the Young Academy for Sustainability Research (‘YAS Fellow’), Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS), University of Freiburg, Germany (Oct 2023–Sept 2024)
Telephone: +49 (0) 561 804 7245
E-Mail: matthias.kranke(at)uni-kassel[dot]de
> Jana Antonia Guschlbauer (Student Assistant, University of Kassel)
> Amira Mehr (Student Assistant, University of Kassel)
> Gerrit Lühring (Student Assistant, University of Kassel)
> Ana Gabriela Hermida Ortiz (Student Assistant, University of Kassel)
Final workshop University of Kassel