Behavioural & Cognitive Sciences

The Behavioural and Social Sciences develop and advance scientific knowledge about the brain, human cognition, social behaviour, and culture, including research on the interplay between individuals and their physical, economic and social environments as well as their development across the life span. They are crucial for the understanding of the interactions between health, individual behaviour, cognition, personality, social environment, and contextual factors.

Research in the Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences spans a wide spectrum of current areas of investigation, ranging from neurophysiology, neurocognition and behaviour, the economics of health and well-being, to clinical and health psychology, educational, social and media psychology, and developmental and cultural psychology. The Department’s focus also includes psychological methodology, psychometrics, assessment and user-experience.
It involves numerous research groups working in three institutes (Cognitive Science and Assessment, Health and Behaviour, and Lifespan Development, Family, and Culture), in close collaboration with national partners in Luxembourg from research institutions, industry, social organizations, as well as international research institutions. Research in the Department takes an interdisciplinary approach and is fully committed to the research priorities of the University, which include the digital world, education, and health, and the societal and scientific challenges that they entail.

Related Institutes

Institute for Cognitive Science and Assesment

Institute for Lifespan Development, Family, & Culture

Institute for Health and Behaviour

Latest projects

Behavioural & Cognitive Sciences

Chronic stress and body perception in schoolteachers

We aim to investigate core mechanisms of a dysregulated exchange in the brain-body-system

Behavioural & Cognitive Sciences

OPINION PIECE – Vaccination reluctance in Luxembourg, France and Germany

OPINION PIECE – Vaccination reluctance in Luxembourg, France and Germany
By Pr. Dr. Conchita D’Ambrosio and Pr. Dr. Claus Vögele

Behavioural & Cognitive Sciences

PANDEMIC Pandora's Box: The demographic, Economic, Social and Psychological impact of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our world. The experiences we have had since the onset of the pandemic have affected us in many ways. The pandemic killed, but has also had a profound impact on the organization of employment and work, our behaviour, social dynamics and mental health. These effects have not been equal, being felt by some groups and societies much more than others.

Behavioural & Cognitive Sciences

From the University of Luxembourg to the NBA courts

A Personality assessment tool developed by the University of Luxembourg in 2016 is now used in the National Basketball Association in the United States of America. Coaches use the instruments developed by researchers from the Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Work to build the best teams possible.

Behavioural & Cognitive Sciences

The influence of the physical environment on student satisfaction

Learning environments continuously evolve from beyond the mere physical to the digital space. However, research shows that the physical learning environment can positively affect students’ satisfaction and their general well-being. University of Luxembourg researchers Dr. Andreia Pinto Costa and Prof. Dr. Georges Steffgen explore how students’ satisfaction with their physical environment is connected to students’ satisfaction with their learning environment in the context of the move to a new modern campus.

Behavioural & Cognitive Sciences

The impacts of COVID-19 on our sexual and reproductive health

An international study, in which the University of Luxembourg is taking part, is launching an online survey to better understand the impacts of the health crisis on sexual health, intimate violence and access to essential reproductive health products and services.

Behavioural & Cognitive Sciences

How to support healthy and sustainable grocery shopping to achieve a healthy and sustainable diet?

The department of Behavioural & Cognitive Sciences launches a new mobile application to support people achieve a healthier and more sustainable diet. The HealthStainable app gives clear indications on nutritional values and CO2 footprint while grocery shopping to support better choices.

Behavioural & Cognitive Sciences

How can emotions and multilingualism influence the school success of children with autism?

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) tend to have poorer school results than their capacities would predict. Why is that? What can we do to tackle this problem? The ASA project aims to address these questions.

Behavioural & Cognitive Sciences

A survey to understand public attitudes towards Dementia in Luxembourg

Dementia. A word that on its own can give you a cold sweat. By its simple pronunciation, all kinds of images appear in our minds. But what do we really know about dementia? Does it scare us all the same? Researchers from the Department of Behavioral & Cognitive sciences launch a survey to assess the knowledge and attitudes about dementia among the general public.

Behavioural & Cognitive Sciences

How confinement measures and their communication impact elders

Since the start of the health crisis, people over the age of 60 have been omnipresent in the media, portrayed as a "risk group". Even though older people might have a higher risk when affected by Covid-19, considering them as one homogeneous group would be a mistake. The CRISIS research project, supported by the FNR (Luxembourg National Research Fund) and carried out in collaboration with RBS-Center fir Altersfroen, looks at the impact of aging stereotypes on psychological well-being and health-related outcomes in older Luxembourgers.

Behavioural & Cognitive Sciences

How do different confinement measures affect people across Europe?

Some of the first hardest-hit countries in Europe start planning to relax COVID-19 related restrictions. But how have those restrictions affected the populations? The University of Luxembourg launches a survey to compare the psychological effects of social distancing measures across Europe.

Behavioural & Cognitive Sciences

How do Americans behave facing coronavirus?

Three researchers from the Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences are conducting a survey to understand the psychological and behavioral effects that the COVID-19 might have on people in the United-States.

Behavioural & Cognitive Sciences

Which strategies do we create to control our own social media use?

Social media and social networks are omnipresent in our daily lives. We all have been stuck scrolling down on Youtube, reading friend’s comments on Facebook, checking likes on Instagram or kilometers on Strava. But are we able to control ourselves? And when we do, which strategies do we use?

Behavioural & Cognitive Sciences

Subjective well-being and identity construal in a changing world (SWITCH)

The increased diversification of populations has raised concerns regarding the ability of European societies to retain their identity. However, we know very little about the process of identity formation at the individual level in a diverse and multicultural context. The SWITCH research project looks into Luxembourg’s exceptional multicultural context to understand how, when and why nationality and origin become a salient part of identity construal.

Behavioural & Cognitive Sciences

How does pain change with age?

The impact of ageing on the way pain is processed is not yet clearly understood. We are looking at brain activity to examine the way psychological factors can modulate pain in young and older people. A fuller understanding of the way pain perception changes when we get older may lead to better treatment strategies targeted towards older adults.

Behavioural & Cognitive Sciences

Understanding reward-seeking behaviours in an age of excess

Ready-to-consume rewards are omnipresent in today’s environments. A new project being carried out by the Institute of Health and Behaviour focuses on gambling, studying the impact of ready-to-consume rewards on the development of addictive disorders

Behavioural & Cognitive Sciences

Using e-learning to combat domestic violence

Domestic violence costs European countries billions of Euros a year in terms of healthcare and economic downturn.
The aim of a new project in the Institute of Health and Behaviour is to develop an on-line training to improve doctor's response to domestic violence.