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HeBEC Meetings

Our latest meeting focused on refining the integrated theoretical framework for resilience in the context of climate change. Discussions highlighted the need to incorporate political, cultural, economic, and environmental dimensions, alongside social and ecological factors, for a comprehensive approach. Members stressed the importance of assistive technology acceptance and clarified distinctions between societal and ecological levels within the model. We also explored cognitive versus impulsive responses to stress and decision-making processes under climate-related challenges. Plans were confirmed for partial tests and secondary data analysis starting in January 2026. The meeting concluded with an open discussion on future collaboration and research priorities.

HeBEC Workshop 1: Summary

On 4 September 2025, the HeBEC Network held its first workshop in Hanover (Germany), bringing together an interdisciplinary group of researchers to explore the intersection of climate change, mental health, and technology acceptance. The workshop marked the official launch of the network’s collaborative activities funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

Highlights

  • Key Impulse 1: Self-efficacy, supportive technology, individual and planetary health: Extending the HAPA towards pro-environmental behaviors (Professor Dr. Ralf Schwarzer, Freie Universität Berlin)
  • Key Impulse 2: AI assistance for people with disabilities at work – results from AI.ASSIST and AI-Compass Inclusive (Rolf Feichtenbeiner, German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence - DFKI Labor Berlin)

During HeBEC Workshop 1, participants discussed and aligned on the network’s initial goals and collaborative direction. The group shared insights and research contributions, laying the foundation for the joint activities:

  • develop an integrated theoretical framework to understand climate-related psychological processes
  • conduct a meta-analysis of existing studies on mental health and climate-related events
  • perform secondary analyses using longitudinal datasets
  • Collaborative Inputs: Members presented abstracts and ongoing projects, including resilience modelling, AI-based early warning systems, physiological signal analysis, and human-robot interaction
  • Meta-Analysis Project: A large-scale database of studies on mental health and natural hazards was introduced, forming the basis for future European-focused analysis
  • Next Steps: A virtual meeting is planned for November 2025

The workshop fostered rich dialogue, cross-disciplinary exchange, and a shared commitment to addressing climate-related challenges through psychological insight and technological innovation.