Enhanced Assessment of Social and Health-Related Processes in Panel Studies through Event-Contingent Multimethod Experience Sampling Designs (SHERPA)

• Applicants: Professor Tobias Koch, Ph.D.; Professorin Dr. Michaela Riediger
• Subject Area: Personality Psychology, Clinical and Medical Psychology, Methodology
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 539550566

Social interactions have a major impact on human well-being. Ample research shows that robust social ties promote mental and physical health, while social isolation and loneliness can lead to negative health outcomes. Emerging adulthood is a critical developmental period characterized by navigating new social interactions, adapting to unfamiliar roles, forming personal identities, and establishing important social networks. Our research project employs innovative technologies by combining experience sampling (ESM) methods and panel data (German National Educational Panel Study, NEPS) utilizing a measurement burst design and different sampling schemes. Participants wear low-power Bluetooth devices that track social interaction in real-time and real-world contexts. Using the already-developed Sesamo App, the smartphones will automatically trigger ambulatory assessments when social partners are close proximity. The data will be integrated with NEPS data to examine the effects of social interactions on health outcomes and developmental predictors. Our project aims to develop technological and methodological innovations that make a significant contribution to the Infrastructure Priority Program (InfPP) 'New Data Spaces for the Social Sciences'. With its focus on multimethod ambulatory assessment studies, it will play a substantial role in advancing Research Area 4. The methods and technologies developed in this project can be integrated into the InfPP’s Research Infrastructure to enhance the assessment of social interactions in real-world contexts and link this data to existing or future panel data.

• DFG Programme: Infrastructure Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 2431: Bereich Infrastruktur - New Data Spaces for the Social Sciences
• International Connection: Spain
• Co-Investigators: Professorin Dr. Jana Holtmann; Professor Dr. Franz Josef Neyer
• Cooperation Partners: Professor David Martínez Iñigo, Ph.D.; Professor Dr. Francisco Serradilla