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.
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.
Economic development supports social cohesion, poverty weakens it. For the first time, a team of scientists headed by Prof. Dr. Klaus Boehnke from Jacobs University and Prof. Dr. Jan Delhey from Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg measured cohesion in 22 countries in South, Southeast and East Asia (SSEA). According to the study on behalf of Bertelsmann Stiftung social cohesion is the strongest in Hong Kong and Singapore, followed by Thailand and Bhutan.
Social cohesion in Germany is strong. However, poverty and social exclusion threaten to jeopardize it. Mostly owed to weaker basic economic conditions, social cohesion is lower in the East than in the West. Increasing cultural diversity does not weaken societal cooperation. These are the core results of the newest “Social Cohesion Radar.” The study was conducted by a team of researchers from Jacobs University Bremen, consisting of Dr. Regina Arant, Georgi Dragolov, and Professor Klaus Boehnke as its principal investigator, commissioned by Bertelsmann Stiftung. The research is based on a representative survey of 5.041 participants, conducted by the Institute for Applied Social Sciences infas in spring 2017.
Trishti Poloovadoo graduated from the Foundation Year program 2017. Now she is studying Psychology at Jacobs University and is involved in campus life in many areas.
