Research Topics

Our research aims at understanding social judgments and social behavior by identifying their underlying processes.

A main focus is on attitude formation, attitude change and the attitude-behavior relationship. 

Our research addresses a variety of real-world issues, including extremism, radicalization, climate change, meat consumption, and social movements.  We use a variety of research methods, like experimental games, lab and field experiments, psychophysiological measurements, virtual reality, and surveys.

Our research is related to political psychology, developmental psychology, environmental psychology and stress research.

Trust in Politics and Radicalisation

Walther, E., & Isemann, S.D., (2019). Einführung: Psychologische Erklärungen für den Erfolg der AfD. (introduction: Why is the AfD  successful?) In E. Walther & S. D. Isemann (Eds.), Die AfD – psychologisch betrachtet (pp.2-26). (The psychology of the AfD) Wiesbaden: Springer.

Walther, E., & Zoeller, M.A. (2014). Die Psychologie kriminalitätsbezogener Radikalisierung – Eine Einführung. (The psychology of criminal radicalisation). Zeitschrift für Internationale Strafrechtsdogmatik, 9, 377-379.

Social Movements

Isemann, S. D., Walther, E., Solfrank, S., & Wilbertz, F. (2019). Peacefully changing the world: Political system support facilitates peaceful, but prevents violent protest orientation among school students. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology. Advance online publication. dx.doi.org/10.1037/pac0000388

Attitude formation and change

Walther, E., Blask, K, Halbeisen, G., & Frings, C. (2019). An action control perspective of evaluative conditioning. European Review of Social Psychology, 30, 271-310. doi: 10.1080/10463283.2019.1699743

Blask, K., Frings, C., & Walther, E. (2016). Doing is for feeling. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 145, 1263-1268. doi:10.1037/xge0000211

Materialism and happiness

Geenen, N.Y.R., Hoheluchter, M., Langholf, V., & Walther, E. (2014). The beneficial effects of prosocial spending in happiness: Work hard, make money and spend it to others? Journal of Positive Psychology, 9, 204-208. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2014.891154

(Bad) habits, environmental psychology and existential threat

Buttlar, B., Latz, M., & Walther, E. (2017). Breaking bad: Existential threat decreases pro-environmental behavior. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 4, 153-167. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01973533.2017.1296360

Buttlar, B., Walther, E., Pohl, C., & Gierens, A. (2020): Mind the gap between feeling bad and feeling dead: Stress but not death reminders elicit endocrine responses. Death Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2020.1740829