The department of Psychology & Methods is home to the Undergraduate Psychology program and a bilingual Graduate Psychologie MSc program. Expertise in these disciplines contribute to Jacobs focus on Diversity.
The first days, weeks and months are often decisive for the later success of one’s studies. First-year students at Jacobs University Bremen can be sure that the university will give them an excellent start. This was confirmed by the renowned CHE university ranking in its current evaluation. The English-language campus university achieved top marks in the categories "Support at the Beginning of Studies" and "International Orientation". This year, Jacobs University is represented in the most comprehensive and detailed ranking of the German-speaking university landscape with the two study courses Electrical and Computer Engineering as well as Psychology.
Patient injuries and errors in medical care can occur in gynecology and obstetrics. This is often caused by inadequate communication between those involved. A research project with five partner institutions and Jacobs University as consortium leader, headed by Dr. Sonia Lippke, Professor of Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine, aims to change this to improve patient safety.
It is a win-win situation; workplace health promotion is beneficial for both employees and the company. In their study of many single tests on workplace health promotion, Prof. Dr. Sonia Lippke from Jacobs University Bremen and her colleague PD Dr. Aike Hessel from the German Pension Insurance Oldenburg-Bremen (Deutsche Rentenversicherung Oldenburg-Bremen) analyzed which types of measures are particularly effective. The motivation of employees by means of behavioral health promotion proved to be useful. However, company-wide measures and improvements in the working environment are even more effective.
Most people are aware that regular exercise is important to feel fit, healthy and connected. However, many don't know how to start exercising or they never find the right time to do the first step for a more physically active lifestyle. The aim of the new “Fit im Nord-Westen” program is to help people aged 60 and over who have so far done little or no physical activity at all. This program aims to help them becoming more active and age successfully. Funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the research project is being carried out by the Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology (BIPS), Jacobs University Bremen, the Institute for Computer Science in Oldenburg (OFFIS) and Chemnitz University of Technology. The patron is Anja Stahmann, Senator for Social Affairs, Youth, Women, Integration and Sport in Bremen.
Information technologies such as tablet PCs are playing an increasingly important role in the communication with patients. But how effective are they for older adults, who often have difficulties understanding medical information and who are not technology-affine? A recently published study by Jacobs University has investigated this. The result: traditional paper formats are better suited for this target group to communicate health-related information than those on tablet PCs.
It is intended to make work easier, especially for older employees: artificial intelligence (AI). A research cooperation between companies and science is developing AI-supported model solutions for personalized assistance and knowledge services. Airbus, Festo, Lufthansa and the Berufsförderungswerk are involved in the project, which is managed by "Das Demographie Netzwerk e.V." (ddn) and scientifically supported by the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) and Jacobs University Bremen. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs with almost one million euros over the next three years.
It is about the interaction of humans and robots in school education: Starting Monday, 15 international researchers from various disciplines will spend a week on the campus of Jacobs University discussing this topic. The workshop is part of the European Union-funded research program "ANIMATAS", which promotes intuitive human-machine interaction with human-like social skills for school education. Jacobs University is part of the research consortium.
How healthy are we - and how healthy is our environment? Anyone interested in these questions can gain exciting insights at the stands of Jacobs University Bremen and the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT). Next weekend (22 and 23 September, each from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.), both institutions will present themselves, among other things, with a joint research project on the “Forschungsmeile” (research mile) at the Schlachte in Bremen’s city centre.
It is the oldest association of psychologists in the world: the International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP) was founded in 1920. At its international conference, which takes place just once every four years, health psychologist Professor Dr. Sonia Lippke from Jacobs University Bremen took office as President of the Health Psychology Division a few days ago.
He is considered to be one of the world's leading scientists in the field of comparative cultural psychology. Prof. Dr. Shinobu Kitayama has now received the Humboldt Research Award for his work. The prize money of 60,000 euros is linked to a research collaboration with a German scientist. Kitayama is joining this project with Dr. Ulrich Kühnen, Professor of Psychology and Head of the Master's program in Psychology at Jacobs University Bremen.
A healthy, low-fat diet and undisturbed sleep play an important role in staying fit and full of energy during the day. Sleep quantity, on the other hand, is of less importance. This is the finding of a recently published study in the journal "Health Behavior & Policy Review," which was conducted at Jacobs University Bremen.
She says it was one of the best decisions she has ever made, but what attracts a young Chinese student from Shanghai to study at a university 8,600 kilometers away from home? In the case of Shuqing Zhao, it was the international orientation of Jacobs University that was the deciding factor – as well as her love of the multiplicity of German music.
Long, drawn-out meetings are not her thing. Adele Diederich values clear, quick decisions; her manner of communication is equally clear and unambiguous. “I love straight talk,” says the Professor of Psychology who has high expectations of herself and others. And her approach has been exceptionally successful, as evidenced by her fundraising achievements. Adele Diederich’s expertise in cognitive and mathematical psychology is in high demand.
No, she does not view research and science as disciplines to be carried out in isolation from the rest of the world. She wants to be in close contact with people and their lives and shape society – for the better. “Our research,” says Dr. Regina Arant, “is meant to reach the real world and help people directly”. This applies equally to her work on social cohesion, as well as her PhD thesis, for which the 33-year-old was awarded the Bremer Studienpreis for excellent dissertations by the Unifreunde Bremen this week.
“The cake is freshly baked, it smells tempting - and everyone has an appetite. Should each guest receive a piece of cake that is the same size, i.e. should the principle of equality be applied? When handing out the cake does hunger, i.e. need, play a role? Or do those who have baked the cake get the biggest piece, i.e. are the earnings received for the creation of the cake decisive for the distribution? “Needs-based fairness and distribution procedures” („Bedarfsgerechtigkeit und Verteilungsprozeduren“) is the subject of a research project with the participation of psychology professor Dr. Adele Diederich from Jacobs University. Of the total budget of 2.4 million euros, around 370,000 euros have been allocated to Jacobs University – a very high funding rate for a psychological research project.
