Prof. Dr. Jürgen Beckmann

Academic Career and Research Areas

Prof. Beckmann (*1955) conducts research in the field of psychology in the areas of motivation and volition. His goal is to understand the processes of motivation and volition in particular and to use the research findings for interventions in sports and health promotion. One research focus is on understanding the neurophysiological processes underlying motivation and movement control in stressful situations. In view of the psychological problems in competitive sports that have become apparent in recent years, a focus on clinical sports psychology has emerged at the chair. This also includes the mindful use of nature as a preventive measure (Green Exercise) in a European project network. In addition, as of 2018, the establishment of a working group for psycho cardiology at the German Heart Center Munich was started. On a regular basis, he conducts seminars for cardiological self support groups. Since 2018, he organizes the annual interdisciplinary and international "High Performance Leadership Forum" at the TUM Academy Center Raitenhaslach. Since 2022 he is editor of the Advances in Recovery and Stress Research together with Prof. Kellmann of Ruhr-University Bochum which are annually published by Routledge, UK. 

After studying social sciences with a focus on psychology at Ruhr University Bochum (1981), he earned his doctorate (1984) and habilitation (1988) in psychology at the University of Mannheim (Venia Legendi for psychology; additionally Dr. habil. LMU in 1992). Further training in psychotherapy followed. From 1984 he was project head at the Max Planck Institute for Psychological Research in Munich. In 1990 he received a Heisenberg fellowship from the DFG (German Research Foundation). With the scholarship he worked at Florida Atlantic University in 1993. After an appointment to the professorship of sport psychology at the University of Potsdam (1997), he took over the chair of sport psychology at TUM in 2006. Visiting professorships took him to the University of Oslo and Southwest Jiao Tong University, China (appointed adjunct professor). In 2018 he was awarded an Honorary Professorship at the University of Queensland (School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences), and in 2020 appointed  Adjunct Professor at the University of Limerick, Ireland. In 2019, the Association for Sport Psychology (asp) awarded him the Gold Badge of Honor for his contributions to the development of sport psychology. In 2021he was appointed Emeritus of Excellence by the president of TUM.

Awards

• TUM Emeritus of Excellence (2021)
• Badge of Honour awarded by German Society of Sport Psychology (asp) (2019)
• Honorarprofessor an der University of Queensland (2018)
• Heisenberg-Stipendium der DFG (1990)
• Jungwissenschaftlerpreis der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Psychologie (1984)