The Behavioural Science Institute (BSI) is an interdisciplinary research institute where fundamental, applied and translational research takes place, often with the aim of understanding important societal issues and contributing to their solutions. BSI is one of the three research institutes in the Faculty of Social Sciences at Radboud University. Our researchers collaborate across the boundaries of psychology, communication science, and pedagogical and educational science. Our mission for the upcoming years is to join forces in interdisciplinary research on the theme ’Empowering the Young’. We study the challenges that young people face in our current society and contribute to their empowerment.
BSI performs high-quality research with scientific and societal impact. The institute therefore provides excellent research facilities and has strong collaborations with non-academic partners. Moreover, BSI is known for its successful graduate school and strong dedication to open science and team science. We stand for a warm, inclusive and cooperative research environment in which our employees are well-supported in a work culture promoting collaboration and respect.
The Communication & Media research programme investigates the production, content and reception of mediated communication. Our main objective is to study the psychological mechanisms underlying the uses of media, processes and effects, while taking into account the soco-cultural mechanisms of the media landscape. Secondly, the group aims to apply these fundamental insights to developing and testing media interventions. In ‘positive communication research’, we investigate the potential of mediated communication for improving well-being. A key role is played by techniques and tools from Artificial Intelligence. Innovative methods such as machine learning and knowledge representation are used to develop intelligent media interventions that make people happy, healthy and well-informed.
The project is in collaboration with Developmental Psychology, University of Amsterdam.