Division of Psychology (PSY)

Psychology, the science of human thinking and behaviour, is a fascinating subject. At the Division of Psychology we educate psychologists and psychotherapists who are well prepared to face the challenges of working life and future clients in the best possible way. We also educate students of cognitive science and students with a deep knowledge of psychology, ready to put knowledge into practice. Our research contributes among other things to pioneering knowledge on treatment of psychological health problems, cognitive abilities in children and adults, social interplay and group processes.

Research

A group of people sitting in a dark room listning to a speaker.

WHOLE - Research on organizational and social work environment

Management, organizational structure and reward systems are factors that may affect organizational and social work environment. How do they affect individuals’ work experience, occurrence of bullying, levels of reporting in sick and perceived health.

A refugee.s

SAHA digital interventions for refugee mental health problems

Detecting and treating mental health problems for refugees - development of and research on digital tools for the assessment and treatment of anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, sleep problems and migration-related mental health problems.

Three kids eating on a pre-school.

Preschool Meals

Learning doesn't take a lunchbreak, so what happens when young children eat together in preschools? This project examines the multimodal and discursive practices that scaffold eating and social interaction during preschool mealtimes.

Äldre par på höstpromenad.

Research Group for Relational and Psychodynamic Studies

The research group is focused on therapeutic processes in psychotherapy and other treatment, particularly on how the relationship between therapist and client is linked to treatment outcomes (process-outcome).

Rainbow toy.

Physical, mental and reproductive health among sexual and gender minorities during pregnancy, childbirth and first year of parenting

The interdisciplinary research project s will follow the health and experiences of LGBTQ people during pregnancy, childbirth, and early parenthood to contribute to important knowledge in an unexplored area.

A close-up of a woman's hands typing on a laptop computer.

The Internet, Health and Clinical Psychology Research Group

The research group works with many different areas such as anxiety, depression and health problems. Many of the projects work with internet-based CBT, and the group carries out randomised controlled clinical trials.

A  person throws leftover pasta in the rubbish bin.

Try a little first: Communication strategies for reducing plate waste during preschool meals

Reducing 'plate waste' during preschool lunches is a delicate balance between food preferences, satiety and daring to taste new food. In this innovative project, we examine which communication strategies can help to reduce food waste.

An elderly man and a small child are looking at a cell phone together. They are sitting on a couch in a hospital waiting room.

Growing up with digital world

The recent surge in availability of digital media has made media accessible even to very young children. However, we know very little of the effects of digital media on infants social and cognitive development.

People on a beach.

Social Psychology

Social relations and social interaction affect how we behave and how we see and interpret our world. We are also affected by the context and the systems or organizations that we are in - it affects what we do but also how we feel.

Publications

2027

Josefin Brehmer, Matilda Berg, Gabriel Astudillo, Tomas Lindegaard, Amalie Englund Find, Per Carlbring, Mikael Ludvigsson, Gerhard Andersson (2027) A smartphone-based serious game to improve mental health and medication adherence in adults with depression: A randomised controlled trial Journal of Affective Disorders, Vol. 416, Article 122494 (Article in journal) https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2026.122494

2026

Ann-Katrine Ostling, Birgitta Dahl, Gerhard Andersson, Caroline Bjorck (2026) Self-assessed memory problems in everyday life in relation to assessed cognitive domains in neuropsychological tests: A longitudinal study of adult patients with acquired brain injury Applied neuropsychology. Adult (Article in journal) https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23279095.2026.2734319
Jenny Jacobsson, Per Nilsen, Siw Carlfjord, Jan Kowalski, Örjan Dahlström, Ulrika Tranaeus (2026) Bridging the Research-Practice Gap: Diffusion and User Experience of a Digital Health Platform in Swedish Athletics Translational Sports Medicine, Vol. 2026, Article 2452118 (Article in journal) https://dx.doi.org/10.1155/tsm2/2452118
Jennifer Meurling, Anna Bjarta, Youstina Demetry, Anahita Geranmayeh, Gerhard Andersson, Elisabet Rondung (2026) "It's the modern way of doing things": a qualitative study of user-experience, acceptability, and content validity of a digital mental health screener for refugees Frontiers in Psychology, Vol. 17, Article 1902434 (Article in journal) https://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1902434
Jens Agerstrom, Magnus Carlsson, Towe Nilsson (2026) Happiness, Not Awe, Makes People More Diversity-Oriented International Journal of Psychology, Vol. 61, Article e70270 (Article in journal) https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ijop.70270
Benjamin Clareus, Amanda Klysing, Matilda Wurm, Anna Malmquist, Tove Lundberg (2026) A Latent Class Analysis of Work Environment Among LGBTQ and Cisgender Heterosexual Employees in Sweden Journal of career assessment (Article in journal) https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10690727261485962
Sally Wiggins Young, Leelo Keevallik (2026) Disgust at the Table: The Sequential Location and Production of Young Children's Food Disgust Expressions in the Home and Preschool Research on Children and Social Interaction, Vol. 10, p. 1-26 (Article in journal) https://dx.doi.org/10.3138/rcsi-2025-0006
Carolina Lundqvist, Moa Jederström, Laura Korhonen (2026) Understanding safe sport as a public health practice: a strong structuration theory analysis of Swedish elite athletics sport personnel BMC Public Health (Article in journal) https://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12889-026-29709-8
Goda Gegieckaite, Olga Zamalijeva, Karolina Petraskaite, Egle Nagevice, Philip Lindner, Per Carlbring, Tom Van Daele, Gerhard Andersson, Jonas Eimontas (2026) One-Session Versus Three-Sessions of Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for Public Speaking Anxiety: Protocol of a Randomized Controlled Trial JMIR Research Protocols, Vol. 15, Article e89612 (Article in journal) https://dx.doi.org/10.2196/89612
Gerhard Andersson, Johnny Pellas (2026) Psykologisk behandling och fysisk aktivitet för äldre Äldrepsykiatri: kliniska riktlinjer för utredning och behandling, p. 279-288 (Chapter in book)

Annual reports

The psychology division has several researchers and research groups. We cover a broad range of topics within psychology, including cognitive, developmental, social, health and clinical psychology. Different research methods are also represented. Researchers at the division work closely with other universities both nationally and internationally. We hope that the annual report will give an overview of the research conducted here.

Contact us

Staff