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Prof. Dr. Ulrich Kühnen
Associate Professor of Psychology
School of Business, Social & Decision Sciences
Constructor University Bremen gGmbH
Res. IV
Campus Ring 1
28759 Bremen
GermanyAcademic Chair at Bremen International School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS),Spokesperson DFG Research Training Group "Social Dynamics of the Self"
Res. IV
Campus Ring 1
28759 Bremen
GermanyAcademic Chair at Bremen International School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS),Spokesperson DFG Research Training Group "Social Dynamics of the Self"
Phone number
+49 421 200-3426
Fax number
+49 421 200-3303
Email Address
ukuehnen@constructor.university
Office
Research IV, Room 119
Research Interests
Social Cognition, cultural psychology, evolutionary psychology
University Education
| 2003 | Habilitation "Culture, self-concept, and cognition," Venia legendi in psychology, University of Mannheim |
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| 1998 | Doctoral dissertation: "Biases in social comparisons as a consequence of accessible self-knowledge", Berlin University of Technology |
| 1989-1995 | Undergraduate study in Psychology at Berlin University of Technology; Diploma thesis: "On the self-concept of East- and West-Germans." |
Fellowships and Awards
| 2012 | Teacher of the Year Award; Jacobs University |
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| 1998-1999 | "Auswirkungen der chronischen und situationalen Aktivierung autonomer und sozialer Selbstkonstrukte auf kognitive, motivationale und emotionale selbstbezogene Prozesse", DFG-Postdoctorial Fellowship |
Research and Teaching Positions
| 2001-2003 | Research Scientist at the University of Mannheim |
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| 1998-1999 | Post-doctorial fellow at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, awarded by the German Science Foundation. |
| 1995-2001 | Research Scientist and Lecturer of Social Psychology at the Department of Psychology of Berlin University of Technology |
Selected Publications
Elama, A., Kühnen, U., & Garg, P. (in press). Decolonising Leadership Discourse: The Role of Leader-Member Exchange in Shaping Indigenous Practices. In O. Adekoya, H. A. Ajonbadi, M. Ciesielska, K. Seun, & C. Mordi (eds.). Decolonising the Organisation: Emerging Frontiers and New Perspectives. Palgrave Macmillan Publishers.
Kühnen, U. (in press). Culture: Why we have it, how we do it. In U. Hess, S. Hareli, & K., Kafetsios, K. (in press). Research Handbook on Culture and Emotion. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Henschel, N. T., Kötting, L., Kühnen, U., & Boehnke, K. (2025). Context-specific mechanisms of (negative) secondary transfer effects? A longitudinal investigation. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 28(4), 931-950. LINK
Kalyegira, J., Kühnen, U., & Boehnke, K. (2025). Resilience across borders: An exploration of psychological basic needs satisfaction, adjustment to adversities, and well-being among refugees and the host community in Uganda. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 107, 102183.
Srivastava, A., Kühnen, U., Simunovic, D. & Boehnke, K. (2025). Cultural and Economic Factors in Maximizing: Differences in Rural–Urban Contexts in India. Psychological Studies, 70, 220–236.
Kühnen, U., & Kitayama, S. (2024). Culture, social class and the dynamics of the self. Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, 76(3), 789-806.
Srivastava, A, Kühnen, U, Simunovic, D. & Boehnke, K (2024). “More“ or „enough“? Rural-urban differences in maximizing: The case of India. Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology, 5, 100140
Welzel, C., Boehnke, K., Delhey, J., Deutsch, F., Eichhorn, J., Kühnen, U., Dragolov, G., Hess, S. & Larsen, M. (2024). The Values in Crisis Project. A Three-Wave Panel Study in Germany and the United Kingdom. Journal of Open Psychology Data, 12, No. 1.
Eklund, R. C., Sabiston, C.M., & Kühnen, U. (2023). The self in sport. In J. Schüler, M. Wegner, H. Plessner, & R.C. Eklund (eds.), Sport Psychology - Theory and Application (pp. 463-487). Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature.
Srivastava, A, Kühnen, U, Simunovic, D. & Boehnke, K (2023). “More“ or „enough“? Rural-urban differences in maximizing: The case of India. Current Research in Ecological and Social Psychology, 5, Article 100140.
Delhey, J., Steckermeier, L. C., Boehnke, K., Deutsch, F., Eichhorn, J., Kühnen, U, & Welzel, C. (2023). Existential insecurity and trust during the COVID-19 pandemic: The case of Germany. Journal of Trust Research, 13, 140-163.
Delhey, J., Hess, S, Boehnke, K, Deutsch, F., Eichhorn, J., Kühnen U., Welzel, C. (2023) Life satisfaction during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The role of human, economic, social, and psychological capital. Journal of Happiness Studies, 24, 2201-2222.
Welzel, C., Boehnke, K., Delhey, J., Deutsch, F., Eichhorn, J., Kühnen, U., Dragolov, G., Hess, S., & Larsen, M. (2023). Values in Crisis - a Crisis of Values? Moral values and social orientations under the imprint of the Corona pandemic. GESIS, Cologne. ZA7989 Data file Version 1.0.0,
Binder, N., & Kühnen U. (2021). Teaching Cultural Intelligence for a VUCA World. European Journal of Cross-Cultural Competence and Management, 5, 252-270.
Lippke, S., Schalk, T., Kühnen, U., Shang, B. (2021). Pace of Life and Perceived Stress in International Students. PsyCH Journal, 10, 425-436.
Kühnen, U. & Haberstroh, S. (2020). Soziale Dynamiken des Selbst im Kontext von Stresserleben und Stressbewältigung. In P. Genkova, T. Ringeisen, & F.T.L. Leong (Hrg.). Handbuch Stress und Kultur: Interkulturelle und kulturvergleichende Perspektiven (pp. 123-137). Zweite Auflage, Berlin: Springer
Baur, C., Soucek, R., Kühnen, U. & Baumeister, R. F. (2020). Unable to resist the temptation to tell the truth or to lie for the organization? Identification makes the difference. Journal of Business Ethics 167, 643-662.
Binder, N. & Kühnen, U. (2020). Interkulturelle Kompetenz - Strategien für eine erfolgreiche Zusammenarbeit. Die Zeit Verlag, Hamburg.
Schoop, A. M, Verweij, M., Kühnen, U, Luan, S. (2020). Political disagreement in the classroom: Testing Cultural Theory with observational methods. Quality & Quantity, 54, 623-643.
Kühnen, U. & Kitayama, S. (2020). Agency Detection. In T.K. Shackelford, V.A. Weekes-Shackelford (eds), Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science, Springer, Cham.
Kühnen, U. (2020). What is there to be learned and how-Learning through the lens of the self. In M. Watzlawik & A. Burkholder (eds). Educating adolescents through a cultural lens - Becoming who you are in a world full of expectations (pp 285-298). Heidelberg: Springer
Kühnen, U. (2020). Evolved morality: implications for intercultural learning. Intercultura, 97, 6-9.
Kokkoris, M. D., Baumeister, R. F., & Kühnen, U. (2019). Freeing or freezing decisions? Belief in free will and indecisiveness. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 154, 49-61.
Ponizovskiy, V., Grigoryan, L., Kühnen, U., & Boehnke, K. (2019). Social Construction of the Value-Behavior Relation. Frontiers in Psychology – Personality and Social Psychology.
Kokkoris, M., Sedikides, C. & Kühnen, U. (2019). Do consumer choices augment narcissism? The role of self-referent processing. Self & Identity
Kühnen, U (2019). „…denn es fühlt wie Du den Schmerz“ – Von tierischen Gefühlen. Sozialpsychiatrische Informationen, 49 (2), 10-13.
Kühnen, U. & Simunovic, D. (2018). Assimilation. In T. K. Shackelford, V.A. Weekes-Shackelford (eds.), Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science, Springer: Heidelberg.
Uz, I., Kemmelmeier, M., Paksoy, C., Krumov, K., Kühnen, U., Volkova, E., Gluzdova, O. & Walton, A. P. (2018). Kültürlerarası Bağlamda Cinsiyet ve Toplumsal Cinsiyetin Başarı Motivasyonu Üzerindeki Etkisi [Sex and gender differences in achievement motivation across cultures].Türk Psikoloji Dergisi: Turkish Journal of Psychology, 33 , 1-27.
Kühnen, U. (2018). Psicología cultural: el poder de la comunidad. Mente y cerebro, 88, 78-83. [Reprint von Kühnen, U. (2016). Macht der Gemeinschaft. Gehirn und Geist, 2/2016, 38-43.]
Kühnen, U. & Van Egmond, M. C. (2018). Learning – a cultural construct. In J. Proust and Fortier, M. (Eds.): Metacognitive diversity: An interdisciplinary approach. (pp 245-264) Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Kühnen, U. (2016). Macht der Gemeinschaft. Gehirn und Geist, 2/2016, 38-43.
Hirata, E., Lodder, G. M. A., Kühnen, U., Lippke, S., & Hermans, R. C. J. (2015). The possible antecedents and consequences of matching of food intake: Examining the role of trait self-esteem and interpersonal closeness. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 1920.
Kühnen, U. (2015). Tierisch kultiviert – Menschliches Verhalten zwischen Kultur und Evolution. Heidelberg: Springer Akademischer Verlag.
Hirata, E., Kühnen, U., Hermans, R.C.J., & Lippke, S. (2015). Modelling of food intake in Brasil and Germany: Examining the effects of self-construal. Eating Behavior, 19, 127-132.
Kedzior, K. K., Röhrs, W., Kühnen, U., Odag, Ö., Haber, F., & Boehnke, K. (2015). Evaluation of an intercultural peer training for incoming undergraduate students at an international university in Germany. SAGE Open (Online Journal), 2015, 1-9.
Kokkoris, M., & Kühnen, U. (2015). The need to have an opinion as a driver of consumer choice. Journal of Consumer Behavior, 14, 92-102.
Kokkoris, M., & Kühnen, U. (2015). You are (not only) what you choose: A self-expression account of post-choice dissonance. Motivation and Emotion, 39, 34-48.
Kokkoris, M., & Kühnen, U. (2014). „Express the real you”: Cultural differences in the perception of self-expression as authenticity. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 45, 1221-1228.
Van Egmond, M., & Kühnen, U. (2014). Cultural Diversity in Meta-Cognitive Beliefs about Learning: Within-European Similarities and Differences? In L. T. Jackson, D. Meiring, F. J. R. Van de Vijver, E. S., Idemoudia, & W. K. Gabrenya Jr. (Eds). Toward sustainable development through nurturing diversity: Selected papers from the Twenty First International Congress of the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology. Melbourne, Florida: International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology.
Verweij, M., Van Egmond, M., Kühnen, U., Luan, S., Ney S., & Schoop, A. (2014). I Disagree, Therefore I Am: How to Test and Strengthen Cultural Versatility. Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research, 27, 83-98.
Binder, N., Schreier, M., Kühnen, U., & Kedzior, K. K. (2013) Integrating international students into tertiary education using the intercultural peer-to-peer training at Jacobs University Bremen, Germany. Journal of Educational and Training Studies, 1, 273-286.
Kokkoris, M. & Kühnen, U. (2013) More than just an opinion: The effect of verbal self-expression on consumer choice. Psychology & Marketing, 30, 1062-1075.
Kokkoris, M. & Kühnen, U. (2013) Choice and Dissonance in a European Context: The Case of West and East Europeans. International Journal of Psychology, 48, 1260-1266.
Kokkoris, M., Kühnen, U. & Yang, S. (2013) Likes, Dislikes, and the Perception of Choice as Self-Expression across Cultures. Journal of Cognition and Culture, 13, 129-143.
Kühnen, U, Hannover, B., Pöhlmann, C., & Roeder, U. R. (2013). How self-construal affects dispositionalism in attributions. Social Cognition, 31, 237-259.
Van Egmond, M. & Kühnen, U., Haberstroh, S. & Hansen, N. (2013). Learning through the eyes of Eastern and Western European university students: mind or virtue-oriented? Polish Psychology (Psychologia Społeczna), 8, 140-155.
Van Egmond, M., Kühnen, U., & Li, J. (2013). The meaning of learning, a matter of culture? Learning, Culture, and Social Interaction, 2, 208-216.
Kühnen, U. & Haberstroh, S. (2012). Die Dynamik von Kultur und Selbstkonzept: Konsequenzen für das Erleben und Bewältigen von Stress. In P. Genkova, T. Ringeisen, & F.T.L. Leong (Hrg.). Handbuch Stress und Kultur: Interkulturelle und kulturvergleichende Perspektiven. Berlin: Springer Verlag, pp.97-112.
Kemmelmeier, M. & Kühnen, U. (2012). Culture as process: Dynamics of cultural stability and change. Social Psychology.
Kemmelmeier, M. & Kühnen, U. (2012). Culture as process: Dynamics of cultural stability and change (editorial), Social Psychology, 43, 171-173
Kühnen, U., van Egmond, M., Haber, F., Kuschel, S., Özelsel, A., Rossi, A. L., & Spivak, Y. (2012) Challenge me! Communicating in multicultural classrooms. Social Psychology of Education, 15, 59-76.
Deutsch, F., Boehnke, M., Kühnen, U., & Boehnke, K. (Eds.): Rendering borders obsolete: (Cross-)Cultural Psychology as an interdisciplinary multi-method endeavor. A peer-revieved book based on presentations at the XIX Congress of the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology, 2008; International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology, 2011.
Deutsch, F.; Boehnke, M.; Kühnen, U, & Boehnke, K. (2011): Can happiness change: An interdisciplinary, multi-method investigation of the dynamics of happiness. In F. Deutsch, M. Boehnke, U. Kühnen, & K. Boehnke, (Eds). Rendering borders obsolete: (Cross-)Cultural Psychology as an interdisciplinary multi-method endeavor. Bremen, Germany: International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology.
Kühnen, U. & Hannover, B. (2010). Culture, self-construal and regulatory focus: What and how to promote or prevent? Psychological Inquiry, 21, 233-238.
Kühnen, U. (2010). Manipulation-checks as manipulation: Another look at the ease of retrieval heuristic. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36, 47 - 58.
Berninghausen, J., Gunderson, C., Kammler, E., Kühnen, U. & Schönhagen R. (Eds.). Lost in TransNation - Towards an intercultural dimension in higher education (2009); Kellner Verlag, Bremen.
Hannover, B. & Kühnen, U. (2009). Culture and social cognition in human interaction. In J. Forgas & A. Kruglanski (Series Eds.), F. Strack & J. Förster (Vol. Eds.), Frontiers of social psychology: Vol. 7. Social cognition. Pp. 291-309. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Kühnen, U. (2009) Culture, Self-construal and Social Cognition: Evidence from Cross-Cultural and Priming Studies; In A. Gari, & K. Mylonas, A. Gari (Eds.). Q.E.D. From Herodotus: Ethnographic Journeys to Cross-Cultural Research. pp. 303-310. Athens, Greece: Athens: Atrapos Editions.
Kühnen, U., Deutsch, F. & Boehnke, K. (2009). Crossing Borders - (Cross-) Cultural Psychology as an interdisciplinary, multi-method endeavor. Cross-Cultural Psychology Bulletin, 43, 30-37.
Kühnen, U., van Egmond, M. C., Haber, F., Kuschel, S., Özelsel, A. & Rossi, A. (2009): Mind and virtue: The meaning of learning across cultures. In J. Berninghausen, G. Gunderson, E. Kammler, U. Kühnen & R. Schönhagen (Eds). Lost in TransNation - Towards an intercultural dimension in higher education. pp 27-40. Kellner Verlag, Bremen.
Kuschel, S., Özelsel, A., Haber, F., Jungermann, A. & Kühnen, U (2007). Interkulturelles Lernen an der Jacobs University Bremen: Das Erfolgsrezept Multiplikatoren-Training. Internationalisierung, Vielfalt und Inklusion an Hochschulen (IVI). 1, 97-102 .
Hannover, B. & Kühnen, U. (2007). A connectionist model of the self or just a general learning model. Psychological Inquiry. 18, 102-107.
Kühnen, U. (2005). "I" and "We" think differently - culture, self, and cognition. In P. Ludes (Ed.): Visuals Hegemonies - an outline. Vol. 1, Lit Verlag, Münster, pp. 99-120.
Hannover, B., Pöhlmann, C., Roeder, U., Springer & Kühnen, U. (2005). Eine erweiterte Version des Semantisch-Prozeduralen Interface-Modells des Selbst: Funktion des Mentalen Interface und Implikationen des Modells für motivierte soziale Kognition. Psychologische Rundschau, 56, 99-112.
Hannover, B. & Kühnen, U. (2004). Culture, Context and Cognition: The Semantic-Procedural-Interface Model of the Self. European Review of Social Psychology, 15, 297-333.
Kühnen, U. & Haberstroh, S. (2004). Self-construal activation and focus of comparison as determinants of assimilation and contrast in social comparisons. Current Psychology of Cognition, 22, 289-310.
Kühnen, U., Sczesny, S., von Rennenkampff, A. & Stahlberg, D. (2004). Assets and drawbacks of a feminine or masculine look - how gender stereotypes guide the perception of leadership. In Ö. Ödag and A. Perschai (Eds.): Negotiating space for gender studies. Peter Lang Publishers, Hamburg, pp 119-134.
Sczesny, S. & Kühnen, U. (2004). Meta-cognition about biological sex and gender-stereotypic physical appearance and their impact on the assessment of leadership competence. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30, 13-21.
Kühnen, U. & Hannover, B. (2003). Kultur, Selbstkonzept und Kognition. Zeitschrift für Psychologie, 211, 212-224.
Haberstroh, S., Oyserman, D., Schwarz, N., Kühnen, U. & Ji, L. (2002). Is the interdependent self a better communicator than the independent self? Self-construal and the observation of conversational norms. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 38, 323-329.
Hannover, B. & Kühnen, U. (2002). Der Einfluss independenter und interdependenter Selbstkonstruktionen auf die Informationsverarbeitung im sozialen Kontext. Psychologische Rundschau, 53, 61-76.
Hannover, B. & Kühnen, U. (2002). "The clothing makes the self" - via knowledge activation. Journal of Applied Social Psychology,32, 2513-2525.
Kühnen, U. & Oyserman, D. (2002). Thinking about the self influences thinking in general: Procedural consequences of self-construal activation. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 38, 492-499.
Pöhlmann, C., Hannover, B., Kühnen, U. & Birkner, N. (2002). Independente und interdependente Selbstkonzepte als Determinanten des Selbstwerts: Die Sozial-Autonome Selbstwertskala (SAS). Zeitschrift für Sozialpsychologie, 33, 111-121.
Kühnen, U., Hannover, B., & Schubert, B. (2001). The Semantic-Procedural Interface Model of the Self: The Role of Self-knowledge for context-dependent versus context-independent Modes of Thinking. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80, 397-409.
Kühnen, U., Hannover, B, Roeder, U, Schubert, B., Shah, A.A., Upmeyer, A., Zakaria, S. (2001). Cross-cultural variations in identifying embedded figures: Comparisons from the US, Germany, Russia, and Malaysia. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 32, 365-371.
Kühnen, U., Schießl, M., Bauer, N., Paulig, N., Pöhlmann, C., & Schmidthals, K. (2001). How robust is the IAT? Measuring and manipulating implicit attitudes of East- and West-Germans. Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie, 48, 135-144.
Hannover, B., Kühnen, U., & Birkner, N. (2000). Independentes und interdependentes Selbstwissen als Determinante von Assimilation und Kontrast bei kontextuellem Priming; Zeitschrift für Sozialpsychologie, 31 (1), 44-56.
Kühnen, U., & Hannover, B. (2000). Assimilation and contrast in social comparisons as a consequence of self-construal activation. European Journal of Social Psychology, 30, 799-811.
Publications on Scopus