Lars Korn’s main focus of research are psychological drivers of vaccine acceptance and the prudent use of antibiotics. In this context, he uses behavioral-economical approaches which models vaccine and antibiotics decisions as social dilemmas to observe and change people’s behavior. He is especially interested in social processes and contextual aspects that influence decision-making.
Since his job transfer from the University of Erfurt to the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg, Lars Korn has also been involved in research on vaccine decisions in diverse cultural contexts. Of particular interest in this regard is the insight for health psychology in general. Many studies in this area examine individuals from WEIRD societies (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic). However, study findings may not necessarily be generalized and applied to other cultural contexts. He will be conducting psychological studies, experiments and replication projects to fill this gap to better understand health decision-making and to identify avenues for behavior change interventions.
Academic career
Employment
He is committed to Open Science and a member of the Erfurt Open Science Initiative. He embraces the values of openness and transparency in science by applying Open Science practices in his research, teaching, support of young researchers and interactions with his institution.
Betsch, C., Korn, L., Sprengholz, P., Felgendreff, L., Eitze, S., Schmid, P., & Böhm, R. (2020). Social and behavioral consequences of mask policies during the COVID-19 pandemic. P Natl Acad Sci USA, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2011674117.
Korn, L., Böhm, R., Meier, N.W., Betsch, C. (2020). Vaccination as a social contract. P Natl Acad Sci USA, 17 (26) 14890 - 14899, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1919666.