We currently offer the following topics for theses:

• Bias Amplification in Social Media (Bachelor or Master thesis)
  When using social media, algorithms influence what content is displayed to us. This can lead to us being predominantly confronted with information and opinions that correspond to our own beliefs - creating a filter bubble that reinforces the existing opinions of users. A thesis on this topic can, for example, examine the effects of this filter bubble phenomenon on the offline behavior of social media users or how the reinforcement of their own views influences the (group) identity of users. The role of media literacy can also be examined in this context.
  
  
• What role do morality, prosociality and environmental motivation play in the training of algorithms? (Bachelor or Master thesis)
  Algorithmic systems and artificial intelligence are playing an increasingly important role in corporate decisions. They are already being used in personnel selection and could also be helpful in supporting strategic corporate decisions (opening a new production site, building a hydropower plant, etc.). This thesis examines the role of individual variables of the people involved (in particular their morality, prosociality and environmental motivation) in the training of such an algorithm using the example of a corporate decision related to sustainability
  
  
• What influence does knowledge about the CO2 impact of different behaviors have on the personal CO2 footprint? (only Master thesis)
  In the discipline of environmental psychology, there is currently criticism of the predictability of individual CO2 footprints using psychological behavioral theories. The main goal of this thesis is to demonstrate, through a comprehensive approach, that this criticism is partially unfounded. In particular, this thesis aims to investigate whether people with a high level of environmental motivation on the one hand have a better understanding of the CO2 impact of different behaviors and on the other hand are able to translate their motivation more specifically into effective behavior
  
  
• How can existing measurement tools for environmentally relevant behaviors be adapted to become more sensitive to an individual's carbon footprint? (only Master thesis)
  In the discipline of environmental psychology, there is currently criticism of the predictability of individual carbon footprints using psychological theories of behavior. The main goal of this thesis is to optimize existing behavioral and motivational measures to address this criticism. In doing so, item-response-theoretical methods will be applied.

If you are interested, please send an e-mail to Nicolas Neef. You are also welcome to approach us with your own topics. General information about theses at our department can be found here.