Research
We study how people experience their social world and how their social world shapes their cognitions, emotions, behavior, and life outcomes. Among other topics, our research focuses on:
Social interactions and relationships
Subjective well-being
Cynicism and trust
Psychology of taxation
Conspiracy theories
Political and religious attitudes and behavior
Our research relies on a variety of methodological approaches, including cross-national survey data, longitudinal and intensive longitudinal studies, online and lab experiments, dyadic and round-robin designs, text analysis and computational social science methods.
Research programs
Social and Personal Relationships
Social relationships are a crucial ingredient of a happy and healthy life. Our lab is asking what types of relationships are particularly conductive to well-being, whether there can be “too much” of social interactions, whether there are circumstances under which sociality is no longer beneficial and how romantic life events (e.g., experiencing infidelity or parenthood) shape well-being development.
We are also interested in sociality in a broader sense, including interpersonal effects in romantic relationships (e.g., the consequences of one’s spouse’s personality for one’s life outcomes), social perception and reputational consequences of personality and other individual differences.
Featured projects and publications:
The Transition to Parenthood: Individual Variability in Well-Being: The transition to parenthood is a major life event associated with happiness in some individuals and unhappiness in others. This project will use longitudinal and experience sampling methods to study the sources and processes underlying individual differences in psychological well-being trajectories during the transition to parenthood. The project is financed by the Herbert Simon Research Institute: [Project webpage].
Tran, C., Ivanova, K., Stavrova, O., & Reitz, A. K. (2025). Changes in psychological well-being across the transition to motherhood: Combining longitudinal and experience sampling methods. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
Stavrova, O., Pronk, T., Denissen, J. (2022). Estranged and unhappy? Examining the dynamics of personal and relationship well-being surrounding infidelity. Psychological Science, 34(2),143–169.
Stavrova, O. (2019). Having a happy spouse is associated with lower risk of mortality. Psychological Science, 30(5), 798–803.
Ren, D., Stavrova, O., & Wei Loh, W. (2022). Nonlinear effect of social interaction quantity on psychological well-being: Diminishing Returns or Inverted U? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 122(6), 1056-1074. pdf.
Cynicism and Trust
Are most people honest, trustworthy, and good, or are they dishonest, egoistic, and self-interested? Our research suggests that people differ in how they answer this question and these differences – referred to as cynicism – play a potentially important role in their well-being, occupational success, social relationships and physical health.
Featured projects and publications:
Measuring Cynicism and Trust Using Text Data to Predict Information Diffusion, Polarization and Incivility on Digital Platforms. The proposed project will 1) use techniques from Natural Language Processing and machine learning to develop a tool that measures Cynicism and Trust (CaT tool) in text data, and 2)apply the CaT tool to better understand information diffusion, polarization, and incivility on social media platforms. The project is financed by the Herbert Simon Research Institute: [Project webpage].
Stavrova, O., & Ehlebracht, D. (2016). Cynical beliefs about human nature and income: Longitudinal and cross-cultural analyses. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 110(1), 116–132. pdf.
Stavrova, O., & Ehlebracht, D. (2019). The cynical genius illusion: Exploring and debunking lay beliefs about cynicism and competence. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 45(2), 254–269.
Stavrova, O., Ehlebracht, D., & Vohs, K. D. (2020). Victims, perpetrators, or both? The vicious cycle of disrespect and cynical beliefs about human nature. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 149(9), 1736–1754. pdf.
Stavrova, O., Evans, A.M., & Brandt, M.J. (2021). Ecological dimensions explain the past but do not predict future changes in trust. American Psychologist, 76(1), 983–996. pdf.
Spiridonova, T., Leib, M., van Beest, I., & Stavrova, O. (2025). Do cynics lie to avoid exploitation, to exploit others, or not at all? A registered report on the relationship between cynicism and dishonesty. European Journal of Personality.
Psychology of Taxation
Taxation forms the financial backbone of modern societies. It enables resource redistribution, supports social welfare, and funds essential infrastructure and services. But what drives people to pay their fair share of taxes? Our research explores the social and psychological factors shaping tax behavior, with a focus on communication about taxes and the moral aspects of paying taxes.
Featured publications:
Puklavec, Ž., Stavrova, O., Kogler, C., & Zeelenberg, M. (2025). Exploring the morality of tax morale. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 35(1), e70042. https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.70042
Puklavec, Ž., Stavrova, O., Kogler, C., & Zeelenberg, M. (2024). Diffusion of tax-related communication on social media. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 110, 102203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2024.102203
Puklavec, Ž., Kogler, C., Stavrova, O., & Zeelenberg, M. (2023). What we tweet about when we tweet about taxes: A topic modelling approach. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 212, 1242-1254. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2023.07.005
Conspiracy Theories
Our research investigates why people believe in conspiracy theories, the psychological mechanisms underlying these beliefs, how conspiracy beliefs shape attitudes and behavior, and how the potential negative consequences of conspiracy theories can be mitigated. A particular focus lies on social processes and emotions.
Current projects and publications:
When Do Conspiracy Theories Lead to Violence? The Role of Threat Perception and Moral Beliefs
This project examines to what extent perceived threat and individual moral beliefs contribute to an increased willingness to use violence in the context of conspiracy theories. The project combines correlational and experimental studies, integrating insights from psychology, communication science, and philosophy, and is funded by the German Foundation for Peace Research: https://bundesstiftung-friedensforschung.de/blog/wann-fuehren-verschwoerungstheorien-zu-gewalt/
Pummerer, L., Ditrich, L. (shared first authorship), Winter, K., Sassenberg, K. (2025). Belief in a Norm-Consistent Climate Policy Conspiracy Theory and Non-Normative Collective Action. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 55 (5). doi.org/10.1111/jasp.13094 (Open Access).
Pummerer, L., Gkinopoulos, T., Douglas, K. M., Jolley, D., Sassenberg, K (2024). The Appraisal Model of Conspiracy Theories (AMCT): Applying Appraisal Theories to Understand Emotional and Behavioral Reactions to Conspiracy Theories. Psychological Inquiry, 35 (3–4). https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2024.2442906 (Open Access).
Pummerer, L., Fock, L., Winter, K., Sassenberg, K. (2024). Conspiracy Beliefs and Majority Influence. The Journal of Social Psychology, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2024.2397491 (Open Access).
Pummerer, L., Ditrich, L., Winter, K. & Sassenberg, K. (2023). Think about it! Deliberation reduces the negative relation between conspiracy belief and norm adherence. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 14 (8). https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506221144150 (Open Access).
Political and Religious Attitudes and Behavior
Political and religious beliefs can be central dimensions of our identity. Our research explores how such beliefs emerge, how they change, and how they shape individual behavior such as protest participation or leaving the church.
Recent publications
Pummerer, L., Reinhardt, C. & Nielsen, M. (in press). Leaving the Catholic church: Cross-sectional and longitudinal predictors of leaving intentions. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508619.2025.2553408 (Open Access).