Sari Nijssen
Social & Environmental psychologist
Social & Environmental psychologist
ABOUT
Hi! I am Sari and I currently work as a post-doctoral reseracher in the Environmental Psychology Group at the University of Vienna.
In my current line of research, I focus on social cognitive moderators of pro-environmental and conservation behavior. That is to say, I am interested in why we care for some animal and plant species more than others, and I investigate how we can use this knowledge to increase our care and concern for the environment. For more information about my past and current research, please take a look at my publications.
I obtained my PhD (Cum Laude) from Radboud University Nijmegen. In my PhD, I investigated the development of anthropomorphism under supervision of Tibor Bosse, Barbara Müller, and Markus Paulus. Prior to my PhD, I graduated from University College London (UK) with an MSc (Dist.) in Cognitive Science.
In my current line of research, I focus on social cognitive moderators of pro-environmental and conservation behavior. That is to say, I am interested in why we care for some animal and plant species more than others, and I investigate how we can use this knowledge to increase our care and concern for the environment. For more information about my past and current research, please take a look at my publications.
I obtained my PhD (Cum Laude) from Radboud University Nijmegen. In my PhD, I investigated the development of anthropomorphism under supervision of Tibor Bosse, Barbara Müller, and Markus Paulus. Prior to my PhD, I graduated from University College London (UK) with an MSc (Dist.) in Cognitive Science.
RESEARCH
List of publications
2022
Nijssen, S.R.R., & Peis, M. (submitted). How to promote sustainable package delivery? A large-scale randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing nudging versus boosting interventions.
Nijssen, S.R.R., Müller, B.C.N., & Kühn, S. (2022). Applying persuasive messages to reduce public outdoor smoking: A pseudo-randomized controlled trial. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being. doi: 10.1111/aphw.12382 [PDF].
Nijssen, S.R.R., Bosse, T., Paulus, M., & Müller, B.C.N. (2022). Can you count on a calculator? The effect of agency and emotion attribution on our evaluation of a robot as a moral agent. Human-Computer Interaction. doi: 10.1080/07370024.2022.2080552 [PDF]
Nijssen, S.R.R., Müller, B.C.N., & Kühn, S. (2022). Applying persuasive messages to reduce public outdoor smoking: A pseudo-randomized controlled trial. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being. doi: 10.1111/aphw.12382 [PDF].
Nijssen, S.R.R., Bosse, T., Paulus, M., & Müller, B.C.N. (2022). Can you count on a calculator? The effect of agency and emotion attribution on our evaluation of a robot as a moral agent. Human-Computer Interaction. doi: 10.1080/07370024.2022.2080552 [PDF]
2021
Nijssen, S.R.R. (2021). Dimensions of human-robot interaction: The effect of anthropomorphic cues on behavior towards robots across the lifespan (Doctoral dissertation, [Sl]:[Sn]). [PDF]
Nijssen, S.R.R., Bosse, T., Paulus, M., & Müller, B.C.N. (2021). You, robot? The role of anthropomorphic emotion attributions in children’s sharing with a robot. Journal of Child-Computer Interaction. doi: 10.1016/j.ijcci.2021.100319 [PDF]
Nijssen, S.R.R., Pletti, C., Müller, B.C.N., & Paulus, M. (2021). Does agency matter? Neural processing of robotic movements in 4- and 8-year olds. Neuropsychologia. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.107853 [PDF]
Nijssen, S.R.R., Bosse, T., Paulus, M., Müller, B.C.N. (2021). Do we take a robot’s needs into account? The effect of humanization on pro-social considerations towards other human beings and robots. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. doi: 10.1089/cyber.2020.0035
Müller, B.C.N., Gao, X. Nijssen, S.R.R., & Damen, T. (2021). Factors in Human-robot interaction: Anthropomorphic appearance, perceived agency, and self-other overlap. International Journal of Social Robotics. doi: 10.1007/s12369-020-00663-8 [PDF]
Nijssen, S.R.R., Bosse, T., Paulus, M., & Müller, B.C.N. (2021). You, robot? The role of anthropomorphic emotion attributions in children’s sharing with a robot. Journal of Child-Computer Interaction. doi: 10.1016/j.ijcci.2021.100319 [PDF]
Nijssen, S.R.R., Pletti, C., Müller, B.C.N., & Paulus, M. (2021). Does agency matter? Neural processing of robotic movements in 4- and 8-year olds. Neuropsychologia. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.107853 [PDF]
Nijssen, S.R.R., Bosse, T., Paulus, M., Müller, B.C.N. (2021). Do we take a robot’s needs into account? The effect of humanization on pro-social considerations towards other human beings and robots. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. doi: 10.1089/cyber.2020.0035
Müller, B.C.N., Gao, X. Nijssen, S.R.R., & Damen, T. (2021). Factors in Human-robot interaction: Anthropomorphic appearance, perceived agency, and self-other overlap. International Journal of Social Robotics. doi: 10.1007/s12369-020-00663-8 [PDF]
2017-2020
Nijssen, S.R.R., Müller, B.C.N., van Baaren, R.B., & Paulus, M. (2019). Saving the robot or saving the human: Robots who feel, deserve moral care. Social Cognition, 37(1), 41-S2. doi: 10.1521/soco.2019/37.1.41
Nijssen, S.R.R., Schaap, G., & Verheijen, G.P. (2018). Has your smartphone replaced your brain? Construction and validation of the Extended Mind Questionnaire (XMQ). PLoS ONE, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0202188 [PDF]
Müller, B.C.N., Chen, S., Nijssen. S.R.R., & Kühn, S. (2018). How (not) to increase elderly’s tendency to anthropomorphise in serious games. PLoS ONE, 13(7): e0199948. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0199948 [PDF]
Vesper, C., Abramova, E. Bütepage, J., Ciardo, F., Crossey, B., Effenberg, A., Hristova, D., Karlinsky, A., McEllin, L., Nijssen, S.R.R., Schmitz, L. & Wahn, B. (2017). Joint Action: Mental Representation, Shared Information and General Mechanisms for Coordinating with Others. Frontiers in Psychology, 7: 2039. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.02039 [PDF]
Nijssen, S.R.R., Schaap, G., & Verheijen, G.P. (2018). Has your smartphone replaced your brain? Construction and validation of the Extended Mind Questionnaire (XMQ). PLoS ONE, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0202188 [PDF]
Müller, B.C.N., Chen, S., Nijssen. S.R.R., & Kühn, S. (2018). How (not) to increase elderly’s tendency to anthropomorphise in serious games. PLoS ONE, 13(7): e0199948. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0199948 [PDF]
Vesper, C., Abramova, E. Bütepage, J., Ciardo, F., Crossey, B., Effenberg, A., Hristova, D., Karlinsky, A., McEllin, L., Nijssen, S.R.R., Schmitz, L. & Wahn, B. (2017). Joint Action: Mental Representation, Shared Information and General Mechanisms for Coordinating with Others. Frontiers in Psychology, 7: 2039. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.02039 [PDF]
IMPACT
Media
My work has been featured on platforms such as Wired and EOS, as well as on Dutch national radio |
Industry
I have worked as a freelance behavioral expert on sustainability projects for various organisations, such as the Behaviour Change Group and the Simulation Crew. For example, I did a project with the Dutch Ministry of Climate to increase pro-environmental choices while online shopping. |
Non-profit
I have co-founded and directed the Behaviour Change Foundation. The BCF aims to use behavioral insights to address sustainability issues in developing economies. For example, I did externally-funded projects in Nicaragua to increase recycling. |
TEACHING
Lecturing
MSc level: lectures on models of behaviour change and environmental psychology BSc level: lectures on mind perception and academic skills |
Individual supervision
Thesis supervision at MSc and BSc level Supervision of applied behaviour change internships |
Coordination
MSc course on environmental psychology Peer coaching program for MSc students BSc course on conscious vs unconscious processing |
