Lifetime achievement award for Paul van Lange

The common thread in Van Lange's career concerns the theme "trust and human cooperation". With principles from psychology, economics, and the evolutionary sciences, he has provided new insights into numerous new scientific issues. In addition to his work at VU Amsterdam, Van Lange is  a distinguished research fellow at the University of Oxford, and will soon also be working as a Global Professor at the University of Cologne. The award will be presented on 2 July 2023 at the EASP Congress  in Krakow.

Van Lange: "I am very honoured by this award. It is especially in recognition of my research on the role of reputation and gossip in promoting collaboration within groups, the importance of "social mindfulness" and Vitamin S (from Social Contact) in encounters and the development of trust between people, why climatic differences provide a new perspective for understanding planning culture, and why interactions in pairs can contribute to reducing mistrust and hostility between groups."

New insights
In addition to his own research work, Van Lange has edited important textbooks and contributed to a new generation of interdisciplinary behavioural scientists. Finally, he is closely involved in applications of scientific insights to climate change, refugees, and trust, including at the Amsterdam Sustainability Institute (VU) and the Adapt Academy (Utrecht University), an interdisciplinary research group that focuses on effective learning from, preparing for, and adapting to societal crises.

Lifetime achievement award
Once every three years, the lifetime achievement award is presented by EASP, a scientific association with more than 1200 international scientists. A lifetime achievement award recognizes exceptional scientific achievements in the field of social psychology over a career. It is a special recognition, not only because the prize covers an entire career, but is also a rare prize that is only awarded once every three years. It is therefore a unique follow-up to the mid-career award (Kurt Lewin Award) that Van Lange received from the EASP in 2014.