Benjamin Buttlar

DE
EN

Curriculum Vitae

In 2014, I spent three months in Canada as a research associate, working with Regan Mandryk at the Human Computer Interaction Laboratory at the University of Saskatchewan. This experience sparked my passion for scientific research and motivated me to pursue a career in academia. In 2015, I joined the Social Psychology Department at the University of Trier as a Ph.D. student under the supervision of Eva Walther. Since 2019, I have continued my academic journey as a postdoctoral researcher at Trier University, where I have developed an independent research profile and built an international network of collaborators. I have also become an associate editor for Collabra: Psychology and a consulting editor for the Psychology of Human-Animal Integroup relations (PHAIR). Scroll down to learn more about my career.

GRANTS (TOTAL 30.792,82€)

Learn More
Date Awarded
Third-Party Funding
01/2021EASP Seedcorn Grant 2978€
“The functionality of doing nothing: Decision-Delay as a Strategy to Resolve Ambivalence in Food Waste”.
European Association of Social Psychology.
05/2014Travel Grant  1300€
Awarded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
Internal Funding
10/2022Project start-up grant 4752,78€
„Safe and Sorry? How people can overcome accuracy bias in decision-making”.
Research Fund, University of Trier, Germany.
06/2022Project start-up grant 4996,79€
Ambivalence and dietary behavior in everyday life.
Research Fund, University of Trier, Germany.
06/2021Project start-up grant 4895,25€
„Foodpic Database”.
Research Fund, University of Trier, Germany.
12/2020Project start-up grant 4840€
“Decision Delay a functional strategy to resolve ambivalence”.
Research Fund, University of Trier, Germany.
09/2019Project start-up grant 4700€
“Disgust or Anger: The Influence of Moral Emotions on Attitudes”
Research Fund, University of Trier, Germany.
02/2018Project start-up grant 3630€
“Ambivalence: a central predictor of health-relevant behavior”
Research Fund, University of Trier, Germany.
05/2017Travel Grant  500€
Awarded by the Research Fund, University of Trier, Germany

AWARDS

Learn More
Date Awarded
09/2019Award for Outstanding Dissertations. Awarded by the Freundeskreis of the University of Trier, Germany.
06/2019Publication award of the University of Trier (second place; shared-first authorship with P. Zimmer)
09/2018 Finalist ESCON Best Paper Award (Top 4)

INVITED TALKS

Learn More
Date of the Talk
04/2025The Role of Cognitive Conflict in Behavioral Transitions. The Case of Meat Consumption.
Prof. Dr. Marielle Stel, Prof. Dr. Peter de Vries, University of Twente.
12/2024The Role of Cognitive Conflict in Behavioral Transitions. The Case of Meat Consumption.
Prof. Dr. Roland Pfister, Trier University
10/2024The Model of Ambivalent Choice And Dissonant Commitment.
Dr. Matthew B. Ruby, Social and Cultural Psychology Research Seminar Series, LaTrobe University.
06/2023The Role of Cognitive Conflict in Behavioral Transitions. The Case of Meat Consumption.
Prof. Dr. Malte Friese, Saarland University.
03/2022Two Sides of the Same Fence: A Model of the Origins and Consequences of Meat-Related Conflict in Omnivores and Veg*ans.
Prof. Dr. Cameron Brick, University of Amsterdam.
03/2021 The Functionality of Doing Nothing.
Prof. Dr. Iris Schneider, University of Cologne.

CONFERENCE CONTRIBUTIONS (SELECTION)

Learn More
Date of the Talk
Organized Symposia
09/2022A Feasible Pathway to Sustainable Eating? Illuminating Barriers and Opportunities for the Adoption and Maintenance of Meat-Free Diets. DGPS Congress, Hildesheim.
Personal Contributions
09/2025Cognitive Conflict and Behavior Change: Insights from the Model of Ambivalent Choice and Dissonant Commitment
20. Tagung der Fachgruppe Sozialpsychologie, Bochum.
10/2024Attitude-Based Self-Regulation: An Experience Sampling Study on the Role of Attitudes in the Experience and Resolution of Self-Control Conflicts.
Symposium: Integrative Perspectives on Conflict and Control, Tübingen.
07/2023Two Sides of the Same Fence: Why ambivalence accompanies behavior change in an inverted u-shaped function.
19th General Meeting of the European Association of Social Psychology, Krakow.
09/2022Two sides of the same fence: A Model of the Origins and Consequences of Meat-Related Conflict in Omnivores and Veg*ans.
DGPS Congress, Hildesheim.
07/2021Food for Thought: Investigating Communication Strategies to Counteract Moral Disengagement in Animal Advocacy.
Animal Advocacy Conference, Online.
09/2019Dealing with the meat paradox: Threat leads to moral disengagement from meat consumption
17. Tagung der Fachgruppe Sozialpsychologie, Cologne.
09/2018Measuring the Meat Paradox: How Ambivalence Towards Meat Influences Moral Disengagement.
ESCON 2018, Cologne.
07/2017Stressing the Difference: The Differential Impact of Stress and Mortality Salience on the Endocrine System.
18th General Meeting of the European Association of Social Psychology, Granada.

ACADEMIC SERVICES

Learn More
Date of Activity
Since 05/2025Member of the Science Communication in Psychology interest group (PsyComm), German Psychological Society (DGPs).

Main responsibility: Designing and organizing a practice-oriented lecture series on science communication formats, using applied examples from psychology
Since 02/2022 Member of the „Open Science“ Commision of the non-professorial academic staff of the Trier University (Currently on Hold)

Incl. the organisation of preregistration workshops (e.g., Fachgruppe Sozialpsychologie; 10/2022) 
11/2020 – 02/2023Staff representative for the Psychology Department of the Trier University
05/2017 – 05/2020Member of the ethics committee of the Trier University
11/2016 – 10/2017Member of the sub-commission of the Department of Psychology “electronic allocation of course credits for study participation”

EDITORIAL SERVICES

Learn More
Date of Activity
Since 09/2024Associate Editor at Collabra: Psychology
Since 03/2022Consulting Editor at PHAIR (Psychology of Human-Animal Intergroup Relations)

REVIEWING SERVICES

Learn More
  • Appetite
  • Basic and Applied Social Psychology
  • Environmental Communication
  • Food Quality and Preference
  • Journal of Environmental Psychology
  • Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
  • Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
  • Journal of Social Psychology
  • Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
  • Social Psychological and Personality Science
  • Social Psychology
  • The Inquisitive Mind