Prof. Tobias Brosch is Associate Professor at the University of Geneva, where he holds the chair for Psychology of Sustainable Development. In his research, Tobias is interested in understanding how cognitive, affective, and social processes influence our environmentally relevant choices, and how this knowledge can be used to promote sustainable decisions and behaviors. His research has been published in more than 70 peer-reviewed articles in journals including PNAS, Nature Energy, and Nature Human Behavior. Tobias is associate editor for the journal Cognition and Emotion and member of the editorial advisory board of the Journal of Environmental Psychology. Tobias moreover actively engages with policy makers in the sustainability domain to bring insights from behavioral science into their work and to promote science-policy collaborations. He regularly consults for institutions such as the World Economic Forum, the Swiss Federal Office of Energy, or the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. He has recently been appointed representative of the American Psychological Association (APA), the European Federation of Psychologists' Associations (EFPA), and the Swiss Federation of Psychologists (SFP) to the United Nations.

Dr. Fatih Uenal joined the Consumer Decision and Sustainable Behavior Lab in October 2021. Prior to his current appointment, he has worked at the University of Cambridge and Harvard University. Fatih’s academic work is situated at the intersection of a variety of fields in the social, behavioral, and computational sciences, and adopts an integrative perspective to the study of intergroup, interspecies, and human-environment relations. In his work he employs methods from psychology, behavioral and data science—while incorporating theoretical insights from emerging perspectives in evolutionary psychology. His main research interest lies in understanding how elementary kinds of relational (communal, hierarchical, egalitarian) motives underpin meaningful psychological and socio-environmental phenomena and how these relational motives are shaped by––and interact with––macro-structural processes. Topics of particular interest are social power and hierarchies, social and environmental (in-justice and (in)equality, climate change communication, and sustainability. His work utilizes different survey methodologies, experimental methods, machine learning (e.g., Artificial Neural Networks), and Big Data approaches.

climate change communication, big data, machine learning

Dr. Maria Lagomarsino investigates individuals' preferences and decision-making regarding renewable energy and low-carbon technologies, recognizing their pivotal role in facilitating a successful energy transition. She tests interventions aimed at increasing the uptake of these technologies, including solar energy communities with flexibility provision. Her doctoral research highlights the empowering effect of hope in encouraging sustainable choices. Outside the lab, Maria works as an independent consultant, applying insights from behavioral economics to facilitate desired changes in both private and public sectors. Maria can often be found basking in the sun, perhaps lounging in a hammock. She is passionate about gardening, yoga, theater, dance, hiking, the sea, and spending time with friends.

behavioral economics, interventions, sustainability, hope, energy

Dr. Mario Herberz is a passionate cognitive psychologist with a special interest in the application of insights from the behavioral sciences to a wide range of societal challenges. He received his Bachelor and Master degree from the University of Heidelberg before completing his PhD in the Consumer Decision and Sustainable Behavior Lab in 2022. His PhD research, which advances a psychological perspective on individuals’ preferences for electric vehicles, got published in renown journals such as Nature Energy and Journal of Environmental Psychology. Mario has been peer-reviewing for a number of scientific journals, such as the Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, Ecological Economics, Journal of Environmental Psychology, and American Psychologist. Since the beginning of his academic career, building bridges between research and policy making has been one of his main interests, for example by consulting public institutions, such as the Swiss Federal Office for Energy, the State of Geneva, the local University Hospital, and the International Labour Organisation. He has moreover been engaging in public outreach by contributing to the In-Mind magazine and by participating in the science communication contest My Thesis in 180 seconds. He fluently speaks French, English, and German.

heuristics and biases, decision-making, behavioral public policy

Tobia Spampatti is currently a PhD candidate in Neuroscience at the CDSB Lab. His current PhD research project aims at using insights from psychology and neuroscience to understand how, on the one hand, better inform Geneva citizens about geothermal energy and, on the other, how to fight climate disinformation. In particular, Tobia investigates the cognitive, social and affective psychological factors that influence how people process information and disinformation, and how they subsequently shape beliefs, emotions, and decisions. He conducts his research in various ways, from online to field studies to social media data, with a keen eye towards Open Science practices. He is the recipient of the 2022 Swiss Reproducibility Award, and his research has been featured in national and international news outlets.

climate disinformation, emotions, social media, energy project acceptance

Désirée Schmid joined the Consumer Decision and Sustainable Behavior Lab as a PhD student in September 2022. She completed the Bachelor in psychology (2020) at the University of Pécs in Hungary and the Research Master in Behavioral and Social Sciences (2022), with a specialization in environmental psychology, at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. For her PhD, she is supervised by Dr. Nadja Contzen from the aquatic research institute Eawag and Prof. Dr. Tobias Brosch from the University Geneva. Her workplace is at Eawag, Dübendorf in the environmental social science department, more specifically in the environmental health psychology group. Her PhD project named REVALUE is concerned with the value approach in environmental psychology. Research in environmental psychology applies personal values to explain environmentally relevant beliefs, attitudes, behaviors and decisions as well as to develop impactful interventions. However, the values considered today are relatively limited and the value framework is not comprehensive enough to research newer topics such as climate change adaptation and individual health concerns. The REVALUE project aims to address shortcomings of the current value approach in environmental psychology by developing and testing a refined value typology and new measurement instruments.

personal values, value typology, value instrument, environmental health psychology

Morris Krainz was born and raised in Vienna, where he studied psychology. After obtaining his master’s degree he worked as a research assistant and lecturer at the University of Vienna. He then joined the Consumer Decision and Sustainable Behavior Lab in May 2023 as a PhD candidate under the supervision of Prof. Tobias Brosch and Prof. Evelina Trutnevyte. Morris is a member of the SWEET PATHFNDR project, where he investigates attitudes and public acceptance of renewable energy policies. His research aims to understand the evolution of these attitudes over time and in response to information. Focusing on refining informed citizen panels, Morris seeks to enhance public understanding of the impacts of renewable energy policies and associated technologies. The project's ultimate goal is to identify barriers and facilitators of public support towards renewable energy policies. Previously, his work in Vienna included projects on anthropomorphism, biodegradable plastics and the effects of blue spaces on health and well-being. In his free time, Morris enjoys football, running, hiking, and relaxing by the lake.

cognition, emotion, climate mitigation policies, public acceptance

After studying in Peru, France and Canada, Izïa Vallaeys obtained her Master degree in Applied Psychology, with a focus on affective sciences and environmental behavior, at the University of Geneva in 2021. Since then, she has worked in two United Nations agencies (UNITAR and International Trade Center) as a project coordinator, where she was able to develop and implement interventions and training linked to the environment, human health and women's rights. Having joined the CDSB lab in October 2023, her current research focuses on the concept of Warm Glow : the positive emotions that can arise from pro-environmental behavior, and how to start a virtuous circle. Alongside this, at the Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, she is running an impact study in collaboration with the HUG on visual art and how beautiful environments can improve the well-being of patients and staff in a psychiatric center. When not in the lab, Izïa’s interest on positive emotions and art continues, as she does theatre, improv and dance.

international policy & interventions, positive emotions, warm glow, well-being