Discrimination, Emotions and Consumer Behavior. Fundamental research and application possibilities for feminist consumer work (DEVGAV)

Investment Period: May 2025 to April 2027
Funding institution: BMJV (Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection)
Content leadership: Dr. Matthias Schneider (FU Berlin)
Project implementation: Friederike Rosenbaum (FU Berlin), Marlene Münsch, Julius Rauber, Sophia Dasch (ConPolicy)

In recent years, social diversity and the negotiation processes it entails have gained increasing societal and political relevance. Nevertheless, experiences of discrimination remain a daily reality for many people – including in the context of consumption. Markets are by no means neutral spaces; rather, they are shaped by social inequalities. Consumers can experience systematic disadvantages based on age, gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, or disability. These discriminatory experiences often result in significant emotional and psychological distress and can lead to lasting changes in consumer behavior.

Although international studies have occasionally explored these dynamics, the interrelationship of discrimination, emotions, and consumer behavior has not yet been systematically examined in the context of German markets.

The DEVGAV research project addresses this gap. The Freie Universität Berlin (FU Berlin) is working in an interdisciplinary collaboration with ConPolicy – Institute for Consumer Policy to empirically investigate how discrimination, emotional responses, and consumer behavior interact. The aim is to develop evidence-based recommendations and materials for a discrimination- and emotion-sensitive approach to consumer policy and advocacy.

The project will be implemented in the following work packages:

• Work package 1: Theoretical and empirical basic research on the relationship between discrimination, emotions and consumer behavior in market contexts.

• Work package 2: Analysis of existing strategies and practices in dealing with discrimination and emotions of consumer organizations based on expert interviews.

• Work package 3: Participatory development of a target model for discrimination- and emotion-sensitive consumer work and policy recommendations for its institutional anchoring.

• Work package 4: Dissemination of the research results through a scientific conference and open access publications.

In this collaboration, FU Berlin leads the theoretical and dissemination-focused components of the project (Work Packages 1 and 4), while ConPolicy contributes its expertise in applied consumer policy and leads the practice-oriented work packages (Work Packages 2 and 3).

The project follows a participatory research approach. Results will be discussed and further developed in workshops with stakeholders from consumer advocacy and anti-discrimination work. This dialogue-based process ensures the applicability of the findings and contributes to addressing current societal challenges at the intersection of consumption, discrimination, and diversity.