Sosja Prinsen
In 2009 I earned my master’s degree in Clinical and Health Psychology at Utrecht University. In 2010 I started with the research master Social and Health Psychology, because I wanted to further develop my research skills and expand my knowledge. I have always been very interested in research and theories on how to influence and change unhealthy behaviors, and especially how societal changes have lead to new challenges for health professionals, like the current obesity epidemic. Last year, I did my internship at the Self-Regulation Lab, under supervision of Dr. Emely de Vet. A central theme of her studies is how certain food environments may enhance or comprise people’s self-regulation of their food intake. This year, I am continuing this internship that will eventually result in my master thesis.
For my thesis, I am going to examine the effectiveness of social norms as guides for healthy food choices. Specifically, I am interested in what kind of specific and abstract social norms can steer people towards making healthy food choices in ambiguous situations, meaning that the ‘healthy’ social norm is conflicting with a norm advocating a ‘hedonic lifestyle’.