Dr. Benedikt Seger

Research topics

• Ecological handprint and approval of pro-environmental policies: Scale construction, prediction, and intervention studies
• Role of psychological distance in the cognitive and affective reception of environmental communication
• Cognitive and affective processes involved in the debunking of misinformation

Publications

Peer-reviewed articles

Seger, B. T., Baghestani, F., & Nieding, G. (2024). Testing the dimensionality of environmental policy approval and its convergence with environmental attitude and pro-environmental behavior. Acta Psychologica, 104613. doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104613

Baghestani, F., Rißel, L., & Seger, B. T. (2023). Zustimmung zu umweltpolitischen Maßnahmen als Messinstrument für Umwelteinstellung und -verhalten: Hinweise auf ein eindimensionales und zeitgeschichtlich abhängiges Konstrukt. [Environmental policy approval as a measurement for environmental attitude and behavior: evidence for a one-dimensional and historically susceptible construct.] Umweltpsychologie, 27, 361-370.

Seger, B. T., Burkhardt, J., Straub, F., Scherz, S., & Nieding, G. (2023). Reducing the individual carbon impact of video streaming: a 7-week intervention using information, goal setting, and feedback. Journal of Consumer Policy, 46, 137-153. doi:10.1007/s10603-023-09536-9

Betz, A.-K., Seger, B. T. & Nieding, G. (2022). How can carbon labels and climate-friendly defaults contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions associated with dining? PLoS Climate, 1(5), e0000028.doi:10.1371/journal.pclm.0000028

Seger, B. T., Wannagat, W., & Nieding, G. (2021). Children's surface, textbase, and situation model representations of written and illustrated written text. Reading and Writing, 34, 1415-1440. doi:10.1007/s11145-020-10118-1

Seger, B. T., Hauf, J. E. K., & Nieding, G. (2020). Perceptual simulation of vertical object movement during comprehension of auditory and audiovisual text in children and adults. Discourse Processes, 57(5-6), 460-472. doi:10.1080/0163853X.2020.1755801

Hauf, J., Nieding, G., & Seger, B. T. (2020). The development of dynamic perceptual simulations during sentence comprehension. Cognitive Processing, 21, 197-208. doi:10.1007/s10339-020-00959-7

Seger, B. T., Wannagat, W., & Nieding, G. (2019). How pictures and picture animations contribute to multi-level mental representations of auditory text in 7-, 9-, and 11-year-old children. Journal of Cognition and Development, 20(4), 573-591. doi:10.1080/15248372.2019.1636799

Books and Book Chapters

Seger, B., Wullenkord, M., Hamann, K., Chokrai, P., & Landmann, H. (2021). Psychologie des sozial-ökologischen Wandels. Eine offene virtuelle Vorlesung. [Psychology of social-ecological change. An open virtual lecture.] In L. Dohm, F. Peter & K. van Bronswijk (Eds). Climate Action - Psychologie der Klimakrise [Psychology of Climate Crisis], 371-387. Psychosozial. doi:10.30820/9783837978018-371

Seger, B. T. (2021). Children’s Comprehension of Illustrated Narrative Text: The Role of Tripartite Representations and Perceptual Simulation. Doctoral Thesis, Universität Würzburg. urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-242280

Conference Papers, Invited Talks, and Workshops (sample)

Seger, B. T., Müller, A., & Landmann, H. (2025, Juni). How can ecological handprint behaviors be fostered by providing different types of environmental knowledge? Symposium presentation at International Conference on Environmental Psychology, Vilnius, Lithuania.

Seger, B. T. (2025, April). Was steckt hinter diesem Workshop? Menschenbilder und Theorien des Wandels in umweltpsychologischen Interventionen erfahrbar machen [What hides behind this workshop? Anthropologies and theories of change in eco-psychological interventions]. Workshop at 64. Kongress der Initiative Psychologie im Umweltschutz (IPU).

Seger, B. T. (2025, April). Psychological interventions for socio-ecological transformation: on the potentials, pitfalls, trials, and errors of three individual behaviors. Invited Colloquium, Alpe-Adria Universität Klagenfurt, Austria.

Seger, B. T. (2024, November). Vom Wissen zum Handeln: Psychologie und Transformation [Knowledge to Action: Psychology and Transformation]. Invited talk and workshop at the interdisciplinary seminar System Change!?, University of Würzburg.

Seger, B. T., Burkardt, R., Ungar Mayné, I., Reidl, J. L., Gruber, L., & Nieding, G. (2024, September). Effects of the timing and severity of forecasted climate impacts on the psychological distance of climate change. Poster presentation at 53rd Congress of the German Psychological Society and 15th Conference of the Austrian Psychological Society, Vienna, Austria.

Seger, B. T. (2024, June). Emotionen und kollektives Handeln in der Klimakrise. [Emotions and collective actions in the climate crisis.] Lecture Series of the Psychology Students Association, University of Würzburg.

Seger, B. T. & Teigeler, J. (2023, October). Wie gewinne ich andere für den Klimaschutz? [How do I convince others of climate protection?] Invited talk and workshop at a communal series of courses in Landshut (Bavaria).

Seger, B. T., Wandernoth, M. J., Agirman, J., Schütz, J., & Nieding, G. (2023, June). Retrieval of misinformation prior to debunking: How does it affect the continued influence effect? Paper presentation at 33th Annual Meeting of the Society for Text & Discourse, Oslo, Norway.

Seger, B. T. & Böcker, N. (2023, June). Reduce your footprint, increase your handprint: A group intervention for individual goal-directed action. Poster presentation at International Conference on Environmental Psychology, Aarhus, Denmark.

Seger, B. T. (2022, January). Psychologie für individuellen und kollektiven Klimaschutz: eine Einführung. [Psychology for individual and collective climate protection: an introduction.] Presentation at the lecture series Communicate Climate!, Technische Universität Dresden.

Seger, B. T. & Nieding, G. (2021, July). Development of Narrative Processing within the Framework of the Tripartite Model and Embodied Cognition. Hot Topic-Workshop at Würzburg Summer Module Course: How Stories Affect our Lives: The Psychology of Narrative Impact, Universität Würzburg.

Seger, B. T. & Nieding, G. (2019, September). Aufbau von Repräsentationen beim Lesen narrativer und illustrierter narrativer Texte: eine Studie mit 7- bis 13-jährigen Kindern. [Constructing Representations while Reading Narrative and Illustrated Narrative Texts: a Study among Children Aged 7 to 13 years.] Poster presented at PAEPSY 2019, Leipzig, Germany.

Seger, B. T., Hauf, J., & Nieding, G. (2019, July). Perceptual simulation of vertical object movements in children aged between 5 and 11 and adults: A comparison between auditory and audiovisual narrative text. Paper presented at the 29th Annual Meeting of the Society for Text & Discourse, New York City, USA.

Seger, B. T. (2018, October). Psychologie im Umweltschutz – was hindert Menschen daran, anders zu handeln, was motiviert? [Pro-Environmental Psychology: What prevents us from doing different, and what motivates?] Keynote talk at Plastic Summer School, Universität Würzburg.

Seger, B. T., Wannagat, W., & Nieding, G. (2018, July). How Do Static and Animated Pictures Contribute to Multi-level Mental Representations of Auditory Text in Basic School Students? Poster presentation at 28th Annual Meeting of the Society for Text & Discourse, Brighton, UK.

Curriculum vitae

Education
2021-04	PhD, University of Würzburg: Children’s Comprehension of Illustrated Narrative Text: The Role of Tripartite Representations and Perceptual Simulation (summa cum laude)
2015-09	M.Sc. Psychology with major in Environmental Psychology & Human-Technology Interaction (1.3/very good) University of Magdeburg, Germany
2013-09	B.Sc. Psychology (1.4/very good), University of Magdeburg
2009-03	A-Levels (Abitur, 1.3/AAA), Bad Kreuznach, Germany
Research experience
since 2021	Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Developmental Psychology Department, University of Würzburg
2015-2021	PhD Research, Developmental Psychology Department, University of Würzburg
Teaching experience
since 2015	Lecturer, Developmental Psychology Department, University of Würzburg
2017-2021	Lecturer, Media Literacy Center, University of Würzburg
2012-2015	Tutor in Statistics, Psychological Institute, University of Magdeburg
Additional training
2018-07	Workshop on linear modelling in R
2018-01	Certificate Teaching at Bavarian Universities – Advanced, ProfiLehre (Professional Teaching), University of Würzburg
2017-10	Service Learning: Good Learning – Good Practice, Akademie Bildung durch Verantwortung (Education by Responsibility Network), University of Kassel
Peer review activities
Reading & Writing (since 2021)