DGPs Congress Briefing Explores AI, Mental Health & Sustainable Behaviour

On Tuesday 8 September 2026, as part of the DGPs 54th international congress at the European Convention Centre in Luxembourg-Kirchberg, the German Psychological Society (DGPs) and the University of Luxembourg held an informal press breakfast which focused on current societal issues in psychology and the research addressing these. 

The event, moderated by Dr. Anne Klostermann of DGPs, was opened by Prof. Robert Kumsta, Congress President and professor at the University of Luxembourg, and featured contributions from Prof. Dr. Silvia Schneider, Ruhr University Bochum; Prof. Dr. Eva-Lotta Brakemeier, University of Greifswald; Prof. Yvonne Rogers, University College London; Prof. Dr. Annette Kluge, Ruhr University Bochum; Prof. Dr. Gerhard Reese, Victoria University of Wellington; and Prof. Dr. Katharina Schwarz, University of Luxembourg.

The discussions focused on the subjects of mental health, artificial intelligence (AI) and sustainable behaviour and how these are shaping society and represent major changes and challenges for both people and organisations.

Silvia Schneider began the discussion by focusing on Germany’s work in the field of mental health in relation to children and adolescents, the challenges of collecting data on the subject, the difficulties in monitoring children and the issues in creating a cohesive approach due to the fragmentation of information shared between Germany’s institutions, schools and youth welfare system.

Silvia Schneider also discussed the impact of social media on the younger generation, and the challenges of ensuring that greater knowledge and monitoring of areas such as ADHD and depression does not create a negative landscape. She remarked: “It is about building a better environment for the children and the people around the children.”

Eva-Lotta Brakemeier was then asked to comment on the mental and institutional strain caused global crises and how approaches can be created that that provide a way forward. She said: “I think that first the important point is that we should not look at crisis in isolation. We are facing different crises but psychologically they have something in common; they create uncertainty and a sense of threat for some people, a feeling of losing control. And this is where psychology has a lot to contribute.”

Eva-Lotta Brakemeier noted that engagement, research and acknowledging uncertainties are key to dealing with the situations we face. She remarked: “We need realistic hope or what I would call confidence to finish. This does not mean believing that everything will be fine but that recognising that there are things we can do individually and politically and then doing them together.”

Yvonne Rogers then spoke on the subject of human-computer interaction and the relationship between psychology, design and computer science. She detailed the implications of how we interact with generative AI systems. On the “paradox of effort”, said: “This is a theory that is in neuroscience, it is in psychology, it is in economics, which basically says, we human beings will avoid effort because it is costly. So we will avoid doing things if we can… How we can use this theory to think about what generative AI is doing to society and to our ability to learn, to be able to critically think?”

Annette Kluge continued the discussion on the implications of implementing AI, the growing issue of AI anxiety and the perception that AI will replace jobs, not just augment them. She stressed the importance of retaining a human element in the adoption of the technology and creating a strategy which will provide support and training for those using AI tools.

Katharina Schwarz then closed the session by speaking on the subject of the psychology behind sustainable behaviour and the challenges of implementing changes in this field. She remarked: “We have to change our behavioural patterns that are ingrained in us and have been ingrained in us for decades, for adults at least. Then we also have social norms which are still often working against us. In some areas, they are actually helpful, but in many others, they are not so much.”

Katharina Schwarz detailed the challenge of implementing change is often hindered by a lack of immediate results. She remarked: “The main issue that we are facing is that we are missing a main drive of behavioural change, and that is what we call experiencing agency or control or authorship over the consequence of our action. Because for that to happen, we need to see immediate change after we do something.”

In tackling this problem, she concluded: “I think the biggest change we could make is establishing habits early on. If we established habits from an early age on, in terms of sustainability, in terms of sustainable considerations, just thinking about sustainability when you make decisions, that would be a game changer, I think.”

The DGPs 54th international congress at the European Convention Centre in Luxembourg-Kirchberg runs from Monday 7 to Thursday 10 September and features over 30 sessions on a variety of subjects relating to psychology, mental health, biology, language and technology.