Professorship of Economic Psychology
The Professorship of Economic Psychology is part of the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Sustainability. In our research, we focus on various aspects of ecological and social sustainability and examine how these can be implemented and ensured in the long term.
In teaching, we cover a wide range of courses in the fields of economic and social psychology, as well as methodology and statistics.
People
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Fabian Christandl
Head of the Professorship of Economic Psychology
In his work, Univ.-Prof. Dr. Christandl focuses on consumer behavior and cognitive biases. As the author of numerous academic books and articles, he conducts extensive research at the intersection of psychology and sustainable innovation.
Tomislav Katić, M.Sc.
Research Associate
Tomislav Katić teaches courses in personnel psychology and academic research methods. His research focuses on tax psychology and human consumption behavior.
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Fabian Christandl
Professorship of Economic Psychology
E-Mail: fabian.christandl (at) uni-sustainability.at
Fabian Christandl is a Professor of Economic Psychology and Vice-Rector for Research at the University of Sustainability. Previously, he was a Professor of Business and Social Psychology at Hochschule Fresenius in Cologne, where he also served as Vice Dean of Research, responsible for coordinating and promoting research activities.
He earned his doctorate and subsequently his habilitation in Economic and Social Psychology at the University of Cologne. His research focuses, among other topics, on lay beliefs and their consequences for the acceptance of economic and sustainable transformation processes—particularly in the context of perceived fairness.
He regularly publishes in leading international academic journals, such as the Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Business Research, and Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.
Selected Publications
- Justified by ideology: Why conservatives care less about corporate social irresponsibility. Jasinenko, A., Christandl, F., & Meynhardt, T. (2020). Journal of Business Research, 140, 290-303.
- The social insectivore: Peer and expert influence affect consumer evaluations of insects as food. Christandl, F., Berger, S., Bitterlin, D., & Wyss, A. M. (2019). Appetite, 141, 104338.
- What is fair is good: Evidence of consumers‘ taste for fairness. Lotz, S., Christandl, F., & Fetchenhauer, D. (2013). Food Quality and Preference, 30, 139-144.
Research
In our research, we focus particularly on barriers to sustainable transformation activities and ways to overcome them.
We examine the role of ideologies and subjective lay understandings, which provide important insights for addressing and overcoming these transformation barriers.
Our research topics include:
- Ideology-based resistance to sustainable transformation processes and the role of psychological distance
- The persistence of materialistic consumption behavior and the influence of price–quality beliefs
- Effects of organizations’ contributions to the common good on employees’ sense of flourishing
- Acceptance of CO₂ taxes
