Research

Sprengholz, P., Bruckmann, R. W., & Wolstein, J. (2025). Effects of naming heatwaves on risk perception and protective behaviour. Weather / Royal Meteorological Society, online first, 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1002/wea.7679

Sprengholz, P., & Bührig, D. (2025). Reactance as a Persuasive Strategy: How Health Communication Can Harness Anger to Leverage Behavior Change. Health Communication, Online-First, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2024.2446369

Sprengholz, P., Hammer, L., & Scheelje, L. (2025). The taste of change?: Free vegan meal boxes do not change meat consumption, self-efficacy, or attitudes toward a plant-based diet among meat eaters. Food Quality and Preference, 128(July 2025, 105471). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2025.105471

Sprengholz, P., Betsch, C., & Böhm, R. (2024). Experimental testing of three categorization‐based interventions to reduce prejudice and discrimination against the unvaccinated in the aftermath of COVID‐19. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 24(2), 552–566. https://doi.org/10.1111/asap.12386

Sprengholz, P. (2024). Public preferences regarding slow codes in critical care. Bioethics, Online First, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1111/bioe.13359

Sprengholz, P., & Meier, V. T. (2024). Radical Climate Movements: Associations Between Government Response and Public Support. Environment and Behavior, 56(1–2), 3–18. https://doi.org/10.1177/00139165241272468

Scholz, D. D., Bader, M., Betsch, C., Böhm, R., Lilleholt, L., Sprengholz, P., & Zettler, I. (2024). The moderating role of trust in pandemic-relevant institutions on the relation between pandemic fatigue and vaccination intentions. Journal of Health Psychology, 29(4), 358–364. https://doi.org/10.1177/13591053231201038

Schmid, P., Böhm, R., Das, E., Holford, D., Korn, L., Leask, J., Lewandowsky, S., Shapiro, G. K., Sprengholz, P., & Betsch, C. (2024). Vaccination mandates and their alternatives and complements. Nature Reviews. Psychology, Online First. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44159-024-00381-2

Eitze, S., Sprengholz, P., Korn, L., Shamsrizi, P., Felgendreff, L., & Betsch, C. (2024). Vicarious experiences of long COVID: A protection motivation theory analysis for vaccination intentions. Vaccine, 16(January 2024, 100417), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvacx.2023.100417

Sprengholz, P., Tannert, S., & Betsch, C. (2023). Explaining Boomerang Effects in Persuasive Health Communication: How Psychological Reactance to Healthy Eating Messages Elevates Attention to Unhealthy Food. Journal of Health Communication, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2023.2217098

Gilan, D., Birkenbach, M., Wossidlo, M., Sprengholz, P., Betsch, C., Hahad, O., & Lieb, K. (2023). Fear of COVID-19 disease and vaccination as predictors of vaccination status. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-35064-0

Böhm, R., Sprengholz, P., Betsch, C., & Partheymüller, J. (2023). Filter Questions in Symptom Assessment Affect the Prevalence of (A)Symptomatic COVID-19 Cases. Medical Decision Making, 43(4), 530–534. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272989X231158380

Sprengholz, P., Bruckmann, R., Wiedermann, M., Brockmann, D., & Betsch, C. (2023). From delta to omicron: The role of individual factors and social context in self-reported compliance with pandemic regulations and recommendations. Social Science & Medicine, 317, 115633. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115633

Sprengholz, P., Schreckenbach, F., Giesen, C. G., Koranyi, N., & Rothermund, K. (2023). Guilty on the Go: Uncovering Concealed Information by Assessing Response Preparation Processes in a Go-Nogo-Paradigm. Collabra, 9(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1525/collabra.77819

Shamsrizi, P., Jenny, M. A., Sprengholz, P., Geiger, M., Jäger, C. B., & Betsch, C. (2023). Heatwaves and their health risks: knowledge, risk perceptions and behaviours of the German population in summer 2022. European Journal of Public Health, 33(5), 841–843. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckad109

Sprengholz, P., Henkel, L., Böhm, R., & Betsch, C. (2023a). Historical narratives about the COVID-19 pandemic are motivationally biased. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06674-5

Sprengholz, P., Henkel, L., Böhm, R., & Betsch, C. (2023b). Learning from the past?: how biased memories of the pandemic endanger preparation for future crises. Clinical and Translational Medicine, 13(12, e1510), 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1002/ctm2.1510

Taubert, F., Sprengholz, P., Korn, L., Eitze, S., Wiedermann, M., & Betsch, C. (2023). Situational pathogen avoidance mediates the impact of social connectedness on preventive measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Scientific Reports, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-29239-y

Sprengholz, P., Felgendreff, L., Buyx, A., & Betsch, C. (2023). Toward future triage regulations: Investigating preferred allocation principles of the German public. Health Policy, 134(August 2023, 104845). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2023.104845

Sprengholz, P., Korn, L., Felgendreff, L., Eitze, S., & Betsch, C. (2022). A lay perspective on prioritization for intensive care in pandemic times: Vaccination status matters. Clinical Ethics, 147775092210944. https://doi.org/10.1177/14777509221094474

Sprengholz, P., Korn, L., Eitze, S., Felgendreff, L., Siegers, R., Goldhahn, L., De Bock, F., Huebl, L., Böhm, R., & Betsch, C. (2022). Attitude toward a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy and its determinants: Evidence from serial cross-sectional surveys conducted throughout the pandemic in Germany. Vaccine, 40(51), 7370–7377. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.01.065

Böhm, R., Betsch, C., Litovsky, Y., Sprengholz, P., Brewer, N. T., Chapman, G., Leask, J., Loewenstein, G., Scherzer, M., Sunstein, C. R., & Kirchler, M. (2022). Crowdsourcing interventions to promote uptake of COVID-19 booster vaccines. EClinicalMedicine, 53, 101632. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101632

Sprengholz, P., Henkel, L., Böhm, R., & Betsch, C. (2022). Different Interventions for COVID-19 Primary and Booster Vaccination? Effects of Psychological Factors and Health Policies on Vaccine Uptake. Medical Decision Making, 43(2), 239–251. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272989X221138111

Sprengholz, P., Henkel, L., & Betsch, C. (2022). Payments and freedoms: Effects of monetary and legal incentives on COVID-19 vaccination intentions in Germany. PLOS ONE, 17(5), e0268911. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0268911

Henkel, L., Sprengholz, P., Korn, L., Betsch, C., & Böhm, R. (2022). The association between vaccination status identification and societal polarization. Nature Human Behaviour, 7(2), 231–239. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-022-01469-6

Sprengholz, P., & Betsch, C. (2022). Zero-sum or worse? Considering detrimental effects of selective mandates on voluntary childhood vaccinations. The Journal of Pediatrics, 240, 318–319. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2021.08.018

Korn, L., Siegers, R., Eitze, S., Sprengholz, P., Taubert, F., Böhm, R., & Betsch, C. (2021). Age Differences in COVID-19 Preventive Behavior. European Psychologist, 26(4), 359–372. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040/a000462

Sprengholz, P., Korn, L., Eitze, S., & Betsch, C. (2021). Allocation of COVID-19 vaccination: when public prioritisation preferences differ from official regulations. Journal of Medical Ethics, 47(7), 452–455. https://doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2021-107339

Hajek, A., De Bock, F., Sprengholz, P., Kretzler, B., & König, H.-H. (2021). Attitudes towards the economic costs associated with measures against the spread of COVID-19: Population perceptions from repeated cross-sectional data of the nationally representative COVID-19 Snapshot Monitoring in Germany (COSMO). PLOS ONE, 16(11), e0259451. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0259451

Adeyanju, G. C., Sprengholz, P., Betsch, C., & Essoh, T.-A. (2021). Caregivers’ Willingness to Vaccinate Their Children against Childhood Diseases and Human Papillomavirus: A Cross-Sectional Study on Vaccine Hesitancy in Malawi. Vaccines, 9(11), 1231. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9111231

Betsch, C., Sprengholz, P., Siegers, R., Eitze, S., Korn, L., Goldhahn, L., Schmitz, J. M., Giesler, P., Knauer, G., & Jenny, M. A. (2021). Empirical evidence to understand the human factor for effective rapid testing against SARS-CoV-2. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(32). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2107179118

Sprengholz, P., Siegers, R., Goldhahn, L., Eitze, S., & Betsch, C. (2021). Good night: Experimental evidence that nighttime curfews may fuel disease dynamics by increasing contact density. Social Science & Medicine, 286, 114324. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114324

Sprengholz, P., Eitze, S., Felgendreff, L., Korn, L., & Betsch, C. (2021). Money is not everything: experimental evidence that payments do not increase willingness to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Journal of Medical Ethics, 47(8), 547–548. https://doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2020-107122

Sprengholz, P., & Betsch, C. (2021b). Ok Google: Using virtual assistants for data collection in psychological and behavioral research. Behavior Research Methods, 54(3), 1227–1239. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-021-01629-y

Sprengholz, P., & Betsch, C. (2021a). Previous SARS‐CoV‐2 infection is linked to lower vaccination intentions. Journal of Medical Virology, 93(12), 6456–6457. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmv.27221

Sprengholz, P., Betsch, C., & Böhm, R. (2021). Reactance revisited: Consequences of mandatory and scarce vaccination in the case of COVID‐19. Applied Psychology, 13(4), 986–995. https://doi.org/10.1111/aphw.12285

Felgendreff, L., Korn, L., Sprengholz, P., Eitze, S., Siegers, R., & Betsch, C. (2021). Risk information alone is not sufficient to reduce optimistic bias. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, 17(5), 1026–1027. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sapharm.2021.01.010

Betsch, C., & Sprengholz, P. (2021). The human factor between airborne pollen concentrations and COVID-19 disease dynamics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(34). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2107239118

Sprengholz, P., Eitze, S., Korn, L., Siegers, R., & Betsch, C. (2021). The power of choice: Experimental evidence that freedom to choose a vaccine against COVID-19 improves willingness to be vaccinated. European Journal of Internal Medicine, 87, 106–108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejim.2021.03.015

Sprengholz, P., Felgendreff, L., Böhm, R., & Betsch, C. (2021). Vaccination policy reactance: Predictors, consequences, and countermeasures. Journal of Health Psychology, 27(6), 1394–1407. https://doi.org/10.1177/13591053211044535

Eitze, S., Felgendreff, L., Korn, L., Sprengholz, P., Allen, J., Jenny, M. A., Wieler, L. H., Thaiss, H., De Bock, F., & Betsch, C. (2021). Vertrauen der Bevölkerung in staatliche Institutionen im ersten Halbjahr der Coronapandemie: Erkenntnisse aus dem Projekt COVID-19 Snapshot Monitoring (COSMO). Bundesgesundheitsblatt - Gesundheitsforschung - Gesundheitsschutz, 64(3), 268–276. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00103-021-03279-z

König, H.-H., De Bock, F., Sprengholz, P., Kretzler, B., & Hajek, A. (2021). Willingness to bear economic costs of measures against SARS-CoV-2 in Germany. BMC Public Health, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11734-4

Sprengholz, P., & Betsch, C. (2020). Herd immunity communication counters detrimental effects of selective vaccination mandates: Experimental evidence. EClinicalMedicine, 22, 100352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2020.100352

Schreckenbach, F., Sprengholz, P., Rothermund, K., & Koranyi, N. (2020). How to Remember Something You Didn’t Say. Experimental Psychology, 67(6), 364–372. https://doi.org/10.1027/1618-3169/a000504

Hajek, A., De Bock, F., Wieler, L. H., Sprengholz, P., Kretzler, B., & König, H.-H. (2020). Perceptions of Health Care Use in Germany during the COVID-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(24), 9351. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17249351

Gilan, D., Röthke, N., Blessin, M., Kunzler, A., Stoffers-Winterling, J., Müssig, M., Yuen, K. S. L., Tüscher, O., Thrul, J., Kreuter, F., Sprengholz, P., Betsch, C., Stieglitz, R. D., & Lieb, K. (2020). Psychomorbidity, Resilience, and Exacerbating and Protective Factors During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic. Deutsches Ärzteblatt International. https://doi.org/10.3238/arztebl.2020.0625

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. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(36), 21851–21853. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2011674117

Habersaat, K. B., Betsch, C., Danchin, M., Sunstein, C. R., Böhm, R., Falk, A., Brewer, N. T., Omer, S. B., Scherzer, M., Sah, S., Fischer, E. F., Scheel, A. E., Fancourt, D., Kitayama, S., Dubé, E., Leask, J., Dutta, M., MacDonald, N. E., Temkina, A., … Butler, R. (2020). Ten considerations for effectively managing the COVID-19 transition. Nature Human Behaviour, 4(7), 677–687. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-0906-x