Understanding the power of emotions
Conference invites discussion on psychological aspects of the sustainability transition
Photo vege / Fotolia
"The conference is aimed at employees and decision-makers from politics, administration, civil society and business who are working to advance transformation processes in their respective environments," say the organisers from the non-governmental organisation Germanwatch and the Centre for Transformation Research and Sustainability (transzent) at the University of Wuppertal, emphasising the important exchange between science and practice.
Focus on "Emotion"
The symposium is the third part of the "Psychology & Transformation" exchange series (see info box) and will focus on "Emotion" on 22 October. In his presentation, Prof. Dr Stefan Diestel (Work, Organisational & Business Psychology & transzent, University of Wuppertal) will show how emotions affect our thinking as individuals and what motivates people to protect the climate. He will address research findings on personality-system interactions (PSI theory) and present results from the research project "bergisch.kompetenz" - Bergisches Kompetenzzentrum Kreislaufwirtschaft.
In addition, Nora Habelitz (project "CIDAPE - Climate, Inequality and Democratic Action: The Force of Political Emotions", Bielefeld University) will take a sociological look at which emotions are particularly relevant in the context of climate and energy policy and how they are used in political communication. After the presentations, small groups will discuss the application of psychological research findings to different fields of practice, such as the agricultural, mobility and energy transition. The ideas for application will be summarised at the end and open questions from practitioners will be fed back to the researchers for future research.
Event details at a glance
Participation in the symposium "Psychology & Transformation: Emotion" is free of charge; registration via this link is required by 15 October. The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. in the guest house on the Freudenberg campus of Bergische Universität, Rainer-Gruenter-Straße 3.
More about the Psychology & Transformation series
While technical and political approaches for shaping society in a socially and ecologically sustainable way are increasingly available, many actors are encountering obstacles of a social and psychological nature when implementing these approaches. Against this backdrop, the non-governmental organisation Germanwatch and the Centre for Transformation Research and Sustainability, transzent, which is based at the University of Wuppertal, have launched the "Psychology & Transformation" exchange series.
The series brings together renowned scientists from psychology, behavioural and communication sciences with practitioners from politics, administration, business and civil society who are working in their respective fields to advance transformation processes (agricultural, energy, mobility transition, etc.). The aim of the series is to provide insights into relevant research findings and to promote their application in the development, implementation and communication of sustainability projects.
The Psychology & Transformation series comprises three conferences, each focussing on a different topic: perception, cognition and emotion. There will also be a specialist conference in 2025.
