INSTITUTE OF PSYCHOLOGY

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7634-4139

Senior Researcher     Otto-von-Guericke University     Institute of Psychology     Bldg. 24, R 311     P.O. Box 4120     39106 Magdeburg     Tel: +49 391 67 51917     Fax: +49 391 67 41963     E-Mail: karolin.schmidt@ovgu.de

Professional experience

Karolin Schmidt has been a research assistant and lecturer in the Department of Environmental Psychology at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg since October 2015. She completed both her Bachelor's and Master's degree in psychology (with a focus on environmental psychology/ human-technology interaction) at OVGU Magdeburg.

As part of her work for the Department of Environmental Psychology, she supervises various courses and theses as part of the Master's program in Psychology with a focus on Environmental Psychology/Human-Technology Interaction. She also conducts research into various areas of human-environment interaction. The focus of her research is on the psychological factors influencing sustainable behavior of private consumers in the field of resource conservation and the handling of recyclable materials in the household, as well as on the theory-based development and evaluation of intervention measures to promote it. For example, as part of her doctoral project from 2016 to 2020, she investigated the psychological factors influencing the avoidance of food overconsumption and food waste in German private households. In February 2020, she successfully completed her doctorate with the cumulative dissertation "The avoidance of food overconsumption in households as a key area for promoting conscious and climate-friendly food consumption".

Publications

Journal article (peer-reviewed):

de Paula Sieverding, T., Kulcar, V. & Schmidt, K. (2024). Act like There Is a Tomorrow—Contact and Affinity with Younger People and Legacy Motivation as Predictors of Climate Protection among Older People. Sustainability, 16(4), 1477. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16041477

Schmidt, K, Kastner, I. & Matthies, E. (2024). Who can cope with a carbon tax? The role of financial consequences in policy acceptance among German homeowners. Energy Research & Social Science, 111, 103492. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2024.103492

Wallis, H., Holzen, V., Sieverding, T., Matthies, E., & Schmidt, K. (2023). How do appraisal as threat or challenge, efficacy, and environmental quality affect wellbeing in the COVID-19 pandemic?. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13, 1009977. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1009977

Schmidt, K. & Chmielewski, L. (2022) Was passiert, wenn wir der Wahrheit wirklich ins Auge sehen? Evaluation der vielfältigen Wirkungen bildlicher Hinweise auf Produktverpackungen für die Förderung eines nachhaltigen Fleischkonsums in Deutschland. Umweltpsychologie, 25(2), 32-62.

Schmidt, K., Kösling, P., Bamberg, S., & Blöbaum, A. (2022). A Prospect Theory-based experimental vignette methodology for exploring rebound effects and rebound-damping interventions. Ecological Economics, 193, 107302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2021.107302

Schmidt, K., Wallis, H., Sieverding, T., & Matthies, E. (2022). Examining COVID-19-related changes toward more climate-friendly food consumption in Germany. Sustainability, 14(7), 4267. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14074267

Wallis, H., Sieverding, T., Schmidt, K., & Matthies, E. (2022). # Fighteverycrisis: A psychological perspective on motivators of the support of mitigation measures in the climate crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 84, 101898. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2022.101898

Schmidt, K. (2021). When less is more – Effects of providing simple vs. refined action-knowledge interventions to promote climate-friendly food consumption in German consumers. Food Quality and Preference, 94, 104333. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2021.104333

Schmidt, K., Arndt, J., Grote, U. & Matthies, E. (2021). Gärtnern aus der Ferne - Eine Fallstudie zur Untersuchung des Verbreitungspotenzials und der umweltschutzrelevanten Wirkungen digitalen Gärtnerns. Umweltpsychologie, 25(1), 43-72.

Schmidt, K., Sieverding, T., Wallis, H., & Matthies, E. (2021). COVID-19–A window of opportunity for the transition toward sustainable mobility?. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 100374. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trip.2021.100374

Schmidt, K. (2020). Behavioral effects of guideline-provision on climate-friendly food choices – A psychological perspective. Journal of Cleaner Production, 277, 123284. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123284

Schmidt, K. (2018). Häusliche Lebensmittelverschwendung im Fokus umweltpsychologischer Interventionsforschung - Eine Untersuchung zum individuellen Spontankaufverhalten privater Konsument*innen. Umweltpsychologie, 22(2), 119-152.

Schmidt, K. (2019). Predicting the consumption of expired food by an extended Theory of Planned Behavior. Food Quality and Preference, 78, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2019.103746

Schmidt, K. & Matthies, E. (2018). Where to start fighting the food waste problem? Identifying most promising entry points for intervention programs to reduce household food waste and overconsumption of food. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 149, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2018.07.023

Schmidt, K. (2016). Explaining and promoting household food waste-prevention by an environmental psychological based intervention study. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 111, 53-66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2016.04.006

Schmidt, K. (2016). What a Waste! Developing the Food Waste-Preventing Behaviors Scale A Useful Tool to Promote Household Food Waste-Prevention. International Journal of Food and Nutritional Science, 3 (3), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.15436/2377-0619.16.936

Schmidt, K., Kastner, I. & Nachreiner, M. (2016). Bedeutung und Besonderheiten wahrgenommener Quellenglaubwürdigkeit bei umweltrelevanten Verhaltensentscheidungen. Umweltpsychologie, 20 (1), 105-124.

Further publications:

Schmidt, M., Kastner, I., Schmidt, K., Kastner, K. & Schmidt, S. (2023). Developing with People in Mind - A Multidisciplinary Challenge for an Autonomous Cargo Bike (Konferenzbeitrag). 4th International Scientific Convention UCLV 2023, Central University "Marta Abreu" of Las Villas.