
Nadja Contzen, PhD
Postdoctoral researcher
n.contzen@rug.nl
+31 50 3636188
Grote Kruisstraat 2/1
9712 TS Groningen
the Netherlands
Room 454
Summary of work:
I am interested in factors influencing the acceptability of (energy) innovations and policies, the impact of social identity on pro-environmental behavior, and social-cognitive mechanisms of behavior change. My research, although having a clear aim for theory development, is highly practice-orientated and aims to help understanding as well as tackling societal challenges.
Research Projects
I am interested in factors influencing the acceptability of (energy) innovations and policies, the impact of social identity on pro-environmental behavior, and social-cognitive mechanisms of behavior change. My research, although having a clear aim for theory development, is highly practice-orientated and aims to help understanding as well as tackling societal challenges.
Current projects
Developing socially responsible innovations: The role of values and moral emotions
For more information please refer to: http://www.rug.nl/gmw/psychology/value-emotion-innovation
Responsible decision-making on gas
For more information please refer to: http://www.nwo.nl/en/research-and-results/research-projects/i/59/28059.html
Social dilemmas in environmental protection: The impact of collective identity on cooperation
Previous projects
In cooperation with Siemens Foundation and the Department Sandec at Eawag. For more information please refer to: http://www.eawag.ch/en/department/ess/projekte/ehpsy-water-kiosk-kenya/ In cooperation with Oxfam America and Gayo Pastoral Development Initiative. For more information please refer to: http://www.eawag.ch/en/department/ess/projekte/ehpsy-water-kiosk-kenya/ In cooperation with Oxfam America, Oxfam Great Britain, Oxfam Québec, and Intermón Oxfam. For more information please refer to: http://www.eawag.ch/en/department/ess/projekte/ehpsy-water-kiosk-kenya/ 2014 - 2015: Explaining the use of safe water kiosks in Kenya
2012 - 2013: Changing handwashing behaviour in southern Ethiopia
2011: Handwashing behaviour in an emergency context: Haiti in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake
Supervision of theses
- Master theses
Individual courses
Summer School Social Aspects of Sustainability, Honours College
What motivates people to use sustainable technologies and products? Which interventions are successful in promoting them? During this Summer School students will develop a research proposal addressing a real life sustainability problem from a social perspective. On the first day of the Summer School we will visit Nest, a Swiss research and innovation building in which new technologies, materials and systems are tested and demonstrated in realistic conditions – people live and work in the building’s research units. After the visit, Nest-researchers will introduce two of the sustainable technologies in more detail: treatment and reuse of greywater and a fertilizer produced out of urine. The following days of the Summer School students will work on a proposal to address societal and psychological issues the researchers are facing. The Summer School will take place in Zurich, where students will work in small groups on this topic. Students will learn how to define the social aspects of the problem, how to develop strategies to solve the problem, supervised and guided by experienced researchers from the Netherlands and Switzerland. During the week lectures will be given by experts in the field. At the final day of the Summer School the groups will present their proposal to the Nest-researchers and fellow students.
Guest lectures
- Consumer and Economic Psychology, Bachelors program Psychology
Contzen, N., & Marks, S. J. (2018). Increasing the regular use of safe water kiosk through collective psychological ownership: A mediation analysis. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 57, 45–52. DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2018.06.008 Contzen, N., De Pasquale, S., & Mosler, H. J. (2015). Over-reporting in handwashing self-reports: Potential explanatory factors and alternative measurements. PLoS ONE, 10(8). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0136445 Contzen, N., & Hans-Joachim, M. (2015). Identifying the psychological determinants of handwashing: Results from two cross-sectional questionnaire studies in Haiti and Ethiopia. American Journal of Infection Control, 43(8), 826–832. DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2015.04.186 Contzen, N., & Inauen, J. (2015). Social-cognitive factors mediating intervention effects on handwashing: a longitudinal study. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 38(6), 956–969. DOI: 10.1007/s10865-015-9661-2 Contzen, N., Meili, I. H., & Mosler, H. J. (2015). Changing handwashing behaviour in southern ethiopia: A longitudinal study on infrastructural and commitment interventions. Social Science and Medicine, 124, 103–114. DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.11.006 Contzen, N., & Mosler, H. J. (2013). Impact of different promotional channels on handwashing behaviour in an emergency context: Haiti post-earthquake public health promotions and cholera response. Journal of Public Health, 21(6), 559–573. DOI: 10.1007/s10389-013-0577-4Scientific Publications
Other Publications
2017
MVO Vlaanderen, March 2017 – Innoveren met emoties – een onderzoeksproject over de ontwikkeling van maatschappelijk verantwoorde innovaties
2016
Royal HaskoningDHV newsletter, June 2016 – Maatschappelijk verantwoord innoveren: de rol van emoties