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Information on master theses in Economic and Social Psychology

Dear students,

we offer master students interested in economic psychology or social psychology the opportunity to write an empirical master thesis at our chairs for Economic and Social Psychology.

Empirical master theses usually focus on questions in line with the research topics of the respective chair.

Applications for the supervision of Master's theses at the chairs of economic and social psychology (Chair of Prof. Dr. Erik Hölzl and Chair of Prof. Dr. Detlef Fetchenhauer) for the degree course “Sociology: Social and Economic Psychology” are organized jointly. Further information on the application procedure can be found below.

General information on Master's theses at the Chair of Prof Fetchenhauer

For capacity reasons, the Chair of Prof. Dr. Fetchenhauer will only be able to supervise students enrolled in the "Sociology: Social and Economic Psychology" degree program (PO 2021) from the summer semester of 2023.

For general questions about the process, please contact Nadine Lomny. Registration for the accompanying colloquium for supervision of the Master’s thesis takes place exclusively during the second enrolment phase via KLIPS. It is not possible to register for multiple Master's colloquia at the same time. If you miss this registration window, subsequent registration in KLIPS for the same semester is not possible, and you will need to wait until the following semester to attend the colloquium.

Before registering in KLIPS, students should choose an examiner and confirm with them whether they will supervise the desired topic. Please note the chair's corresponding research areas on the homepage.

If you register without this consultation, we cannot consider your topic preferences; instead, you will be assigned a topic from the chair’s research area, which you will be required to work on. Once registered, it is not possible to withdraw from the colloquium. Should you wish to change your registration, you can only do so in the next semester by re-registering through KLIPS with a different chair.
 

(Last updated 13.11.2025 by Thomas Graczyk)

Master theses at the chair of Prof. Hoelzl

For capacity reasons, only students from the programmes "Business Administration" and "Sociology: Social and Economic Psychology" can be supervised at the chair Prof. Hoelzl.

Students in "Business Administration"

The thesis should be a quantitative empirical study (preferably with an experimental design) with primary (i.e., self-collected) data. The thesis topic should be in the field of economic psychology (with a focus on consumer psychology). You should have completed the courses in the supplementary section "Economic Psychology". 

For supervision in the winter term 2026/27, the following timeline applies:

  • Before 15.07.2026: You contact me to schedule a Zoom meeting for an individual orientation talk.
  • Before 31.07.2026: You inform me whether you are still interested in a supervision place in the winter term 2026/27.
  • Before 10.08.2026: I will inform you whether I can offer you a supervision place.
  • Before 20.08.2026: You inform me whether you accept the offered supervision place.
  • From the end of September 2026: Start of master's theses; the specific topical focus will be developed within the first month of supervision.

[Last updated 29.04.2026 by Erik Hoelzl]

Students in “Sociology: Social and Economic Psychology"

Applications for the supervision of Master's theses at the Chair of Organizational and Social Psychology (Chair of Prof. Dr. Iris Schneider) and the Chairs of Economic and Social Psychology (Chair of Prof. Dr. Erik Hoelzl and Chair of Prof. Dr. Detlef Fetchenhauer) for the study program “Sociology: Social and Economic Psychology” are organized jointly. Please note the following information on the forms of Master's theses and the application procedure:

At the Hoelzl Chair, Master's theses are supervised by Prof Dr. Erik Hoelzl. The Master's thesis consists of a quantitative empirical study (preferably with an experimental design) based on primary data (i.e. data collected by yourself). The topic should be in the field of consumer psychology and you should have completed the course "Consumer Psychology" for your application to be considered. It is recommended to make an appointment for an orientation talk via Zoom by email to Prof. Hoelzl before 15.07.2026.

At the Schneider Chair, Master's theses are supervised by Prof. Dr. Iris Schneider. The Master's thesis must consist of a quantitative empirical study (preferably with an experimental design) based on primary data (i.e., data collected by yourself) or quantitative secondary data re-analyzed with a new idea (i.e., a public dataset). For an overview of current research, please visit www.irisschneider.nl. Possible thesis topics include, but are not limited to:

1) Ambivalence and Social Judgment: How does ambivalence, whether experienced or expressed, affect social perception, including perceived competence, thoughtfulness, trustworthiness, and evaluative bias?

2) Ambivalence in Political Contexts: How do people perceive and respond to expressed ambivalence on contested political issues, including the role of norms on willingness to express mixed views and the potential of ambivalence to reduce affective polarization?

3) Ambivalence in Organizational Settings: How does ambivalence manifest within organizational hierarchies, including its effects on leader-follower communication, well-being, and decision-making?

4) Ambivalence and the Benefit of the Doubt: Under what conditions does ambivalence function as a resource for more open and less biased evaluation, reducing premature judgment and promoting charitable interpretation of ambiguous information?

At the Fetchenhauer Chair, Master’s theses are supervised by Prof. Dr. Detlef Fetchenhauer and Dr. Thomas Graczyk. Four possible types of Master's theses are supervised:

1) A combination of a literature review and a qualitative study on a freely chosen topic, involving approximately eight interviews.

2) Conducting, analyzing and reporting a quantitative (experimental) study on interpersonal trust (with a theme provided).

3) Conducting, analyzing and reporting a quantitative (experimental) study on a topic of your choice. With this option, you have to take care of the acquisition (and thus possible costs) yourself.

Applications to write a Master's thesis in the coming winter term 2026/2027 at the chair of organizational and social psychology and one of the two chairs of economic and social psychology must be submitted by 31.07.2026 at the latest using the following link: https://ww3.unipark.de/uc/CSEP_MastersThesisApplication/

There you will be asked to indicate your preferred supervisor, the preferred type of Master's thesis (literature review/qualitative, intervention, quantitative/experimental) as well as a short letter of motivation with the topics you can imagine for your Master's thesis (2 - 3 suggestions; 150 - 250 words per suggestion). Please be aware that while we will try our best to accommodate your preferences, we cannot guarantee your first choice will be available. You can expect to hear back from us about 4 - 6 weeks after the application deadline. 

[Last updated 04.05.2026 by Thomas Graczyk]