MZES project director Dr. Sandra Morgenstern has been awarded this year’s prize from the Prof. Dr Anna and Prof. Dr Jörg Jiri Bojanovsky Foundation. The Bojanovsky Foundation supports early-career researchers at the University of Mannheim in the field of empirical research into social, inter-individual or cultural processes.
The social scientist was honoured for her study “Credibility and/or anxiety – The moderators of political information on migration” (open access). The paper, published in the internationally renowned journal “Social Science Research”, is based on Morgenstern’s field research in Nigeria for her doctoral thesis. Her study tests a theoretical model from psychology in application to political sociology using experimental methods. A key finding is that irregular migration can be reduced with the help of information campaigns in countries of origin. However, according to Morgenstern, the decisive factors are the content, the emotions conveyed and most of all, the credibility of the source of the message.
The Bojanovsky Prize was awarded at the School of Social Sciences’ graduation ceremony on 26 June 2026. It is endowed with 1,000 euros.