Social and Health psychology

Social and Health Psychology (Chair Prof. Dr. Rainer Hornung) focuses on health and illness from the perspectives of prevention and health promotion and evaluation research / quality assurance. Prevention and health promotion are fields within health psychology. Health psychology is understood as an integration discipline within psychology, where there is an emphasis on describing and explaining behaviors and experiences affecting health. Social psychology is one of the foundations of health psychology. Social psychology goes beyond the individual-centered perspective and studies health-related experiences and behaviors in a social context. In research we utilize the diverse methodological inventory of basic research in social psychology.

The main research areas are:

• Health behavior and health promotion
• Stress and health
• Health / illness and social support
• Evaluation research