Martin G Erikson

After receiving my doctorate in psychology at Lund University, I started working at the University of Borås in 2006. I was appointed associate professor (docent) in psychology at the University of Gothenburg in 2015. Within psychology, the concept of self is my particular interest, specifically our assumptions about ourselves in the future, based on the theory of “possible selves,” which was the subject of my doctoral thesis. One of my areas of application in this research has been conceptions about the future in women with eating disorders.

In recent years, my research interest has increasingly focussed on higher education from various perspectives. I was Chairman of the Research and Education Committee at the University of Borås between 2012 and 2019, which made me particularly interested in higher education from a quality perspective. Empirically, I have, for example, studied alternative methods for course and programme evaluation. I have also been interested in concepts such as “critical thinking” and “research based education” and ongoing work concerns student responsibility. My work on “possible selves” continues with a focus on student motivation and widening participation.

I have also written about academic freedom, not least in relation to academic responsibility. In my studies in higher education, I have active international collaborations with colleagues at the University of Birmingham, the University of Bristol, the University of Oxford, Queen Mary University, London, KU Leuven, as well as Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. Through collaborations based on projects initiated by the European University Association, I have also been active in international development projects linked to didactics and quality in higher education.

Researcher's publications in DiVA (Digitala Vetenskapliga Arkivet)

Doctoral thesis title

Our Selves in the Future: New Angles on Possible Selves