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Key Profile Area Social and Economic Behavior (C-SEB)

Many of the major challenges of our time – such as climate change, the AI transformation, pandemics, energy crises, social inequality and political polarization – can only be overcome if we understand the underlying social and economic behaviour dynamics.  The ‘Social and Economic Behaviour’ (C-SEB) Key Profile Area promotes research on human behaviour from two complementary perspectives: economics and social psychology.

In collaboration with the University of Bonn and the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, the KPA C-SEB has established the Cluster of Excellence ECONtribute – Markets & Public Policy etabliert. The KPA C-SEB also works closely with the Adenauer School of Government (ASG).

Contacts

Prof. Dr. Bernd Irlenbusch

Spokesperson

Department Corporate Development

email

irlenbusch(at)wiso.uni-koeln(dot)de

phone

+49 221-470-1848

Prof. Dr. Anne Gast

Vice Spokesperson

Social Cognition Center Cologne

email

anne.gast(at)uni-koeln(dot)de

phone

+49 221-470-8648

Dr. Claudia Töpper-Ko

Managing Director

C-SEB Central Office

email

c-seb(at)uni-koeln(dot)de

phone

+49 221-470-1146

Participating faculties

Global Faculty Members

Scientists from various countries are currently participating in the Social and Economic Behavior (C-SEB) KPA as part of the Global Faculty Program.

Here you can find all KPA C-SEB members of the Global Faculty Program at the University of Cologne.

Collaborative and third-party funded projects

The KPA C-SEB is linked to several collaborative and third-party funded projects:

Transfer

The KPA C-SEB supports exchange between science, society, politics and business.  The goal is to communicate research findings in an understandable way, to promote dialogue with the public and to provide evidence-based advice to decision-makers.  Our scientists also work on applied research projects with public institutions, NGOs and companies and combine their research closely with teaching in order to integrate knowledge in a sustainable way.

You can find examples of our transfer activities here:

Teaching

The institutions associated with the KPA C-SEB help strengthen teaching at the University of Cologne through a variety of initiatives, including:

  • Expansion of the course programme to include research-relevant and practice-relevant seminars and workshops (e.g. ECONtribute and C-SEB research seminars);
  • A series of events called 'From Theory to Practice' as part of the Bachelor of Psychology degree; various modules in the Master of Psychology degree, such as 'Judgement and Decision-Making in Social and Economic Contexts', 'Behavioural Change', 'Innovative Applications' and 'Learning in Social Contexts';
  • Implementation of the ‘Giving Voice to Values’ approach as part of the WiSo Faculty's Bachelor programmes;
  • C-SEB Student Awards to strengthen the link between research and teaching and to motivate students to pursue an academic career.

Partnerships

The KPA C-SEB cooperation network includes both regional and international universities and AUFs.

Regional partnerships

  • Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods
  • University of Bonn

International partnerships

  • University of Texas, Dallas, USA
  • University of Pennsylvania, USA
  • Tel Aviv University, Israel
  • University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands
  • Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium

Research infrastructures

Scientists at the KPA C-SEB have access to an excellently equipped laboratory and an online survey infrastructure to conduct behavioural science experiments. The KPA C-SEB continuously supports the maintenance, improvement and expansion of this infrastructure.

Media

Video