Kira Abstiens has been a researcher at IHS since 2020 and is part of the research group "Social Sustainable Transformation". She holds a Master of Science in Psychology from the University of Vienna. During her studies, she gained experience in policy-oriented research through an internship at Conpolicy - Institute for Consumer Policy in Berlin.

Her research interests consist in behavioral sciences, i.e. understanding how social, psychological and contextual factors shape individual and collective decision-making in the face of complex societal challenges like climate change, digitalization and social inequality. She combines experimental and survey methods with qualitative methods (i.e. interviews, observations) to examine patterns in human behavior. She aims to develop knowledge that can inform practical applications and public policy to support sustainable and social transformation.