KEEP Panel Thuringia: Cognitive development of decision making competencies and societal participation

Funding period 09/2021-08/2024

The Free State of Thuringia is funding the "KEEP Panel Thuringia" project by Prof. Dr. Tilmann Betsch and Dr. Stefanie Lindow with around 397,000 euros as part of the directive to promote research. The project receives further financial support from the University of Erfurt with an additional 39,000 euros (total funding: around 436,000 euros).

Decision-making competence is a central developmental task and the basis for a self-determined life and social participation. A better understanding of these processes is important from the perspective of both basic research and application. Adult decision-making has long been the subject of intensive research. But what developmental steps lead to decision-making competence in complex modern environments? How can these be promoted? Specifically, we want to find out which factors determine the cognitive development of decision-making competence from primary school age onwards. For this purpose, the KEEP Panel Thuringia was set up with children from the age of 6. The project builds on the findings of the previous DFG project on probabilistic decision-making in children. Here, cross-sectional, experimental research has been used since 2013 to investigate children's decisions in comparison to adults. With longitudinal data, the KEEP Panel Thuringia provides insight into the development of decision-making competence, especially with regard to later social participation.

The project website can be found on the pages of the ErfurtLab.