DGPs Honors the Lifetime Scientific Achievements of Prof. Dr. Dieter Frey

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The German Psychological Society (DGPs) is honoring Professor Dr. Dieter Frey of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München for his outstanding lifetime scientific achievements. With this honor, the DGPs recognizes a scholar who has played a pivotal role in shaping social psychology as well as research on ethics-oriented leadership and moral courage over the course of decades.

“Through his work, Professor Dieter Frey has had a lasting impact on social psychology and, at the same time, has impressively demonstrated how basic psychological research can assume social responsibility. His scientific contributions, his extraordinary commitment to the next generation of scientists, and his work in research, teaching, and public engagement have influenced our field far beyond the boundaries of psychology,” explains DGPs President Prof. Dr. Eva-Lotta Brakemeier. The award ceremony will take place on September 7, 2026, as part of the 54th DGPs Congress in Luxembourg.

Professor Dr. Dieter Frey has had a decisive influence on social psychology in the German-speaking world for decades. Through his research on motivation, creativity, decision-making and group processes, as well as on moral courage, fairness, and ethics-based leadership, he has made key contributions to our understanding of human experience and behavior. His research combines theoretical excellence and empirical diversity with significant societal impact.

The jury particularly recognizes Dieter Frey’s contribution to making social-psychological insights applicable to key areas of societal action. His work has significantly expanded our understanding of leadership, innovation, political decision-making processes, and social responsibility, and has demonstrated how psychological research can help address societal challenges.

Furthermore, Dieter Frey has played a decisive role in shaping the institutional development of the field. As the founder and director of the LMU Center for Leadership and People Management, he established a nationally recognized platform that links research on leadership, corporate culture, and human resource development with the needs of business and society. The center thus makes an important contribution to the exchange between academia and practice.


The jury and the DGPs' Executive Board also recognize Dieter Frey’s extraordinary commitment to supporting early-career researchers. Under his guidance, numerous researchers have developed their own independent research profiles and are now successfully advancing his ideas in academia, business, and society.
“Professor Dieter Frey has enriched our field not only through his groundbreaking scientific work, but also through his institutional leadership and his extraordinary support for early-career researchers. His influence extends far beyond his own research and has shaped generations of psychologists. He is thus, in every respect, a worthy recipient of the award for lifetime scientific achievement,” says DGPs President Prof. Dr. Eva-Lotta Brakemeier, summarizing the decision of the Executive Board and the jury.

The Award Recipient

Dieter Frey studied social sciences in Mannheim and Hamburg. After earning his doctorate and habilitation in Mannheim, he became a professor of social and business psychology at Christian-Albrechts University in Kiel in 1978. After serving as Theodor Heuss Professor at the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research in New York, he moved to Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich in 1993. There, he held the Chair of Social Psychology until 2020, served as dean for many years, and headed the Bavarian Elite Academy. Since 2007, he has been director of the LMU Center for Leadership and People Management, which is dedicated to promoting excellence through effective leadership.
His research focuses on decision-making behavior, creativity, innovation, motivation, moral courage, and ethics-oriented leadership. In total, he has published approximately 600 scholarly works in academic journals, anthologies, and books.
Dieter Frey has been a member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities since 1995. In addition, he has served as a DFG reviewer and senior DFG reviewer, as well as a member of the scientific advisory board of the Roman Herzog Institute and the Munich Documentation Center for the History of the Nazi Regime. He is the patron of the association “Zivilcourage für alle e. V.” and a co-founder of the Human Capital Club (HCC).

Dieter Frey has received numerous awards for his scientific and social contributions. In 1998, he was awarded the German Psychology Prize and was recognized by the magazine *Personalmagazin* as a practitioner of ethics and one of Germany’s leading figures in the field of human resources. In 2016, the Margrit Egnér Foundation at the University of Zurich honored him for research that contributes to a more humane world. Also in 2016, he received the Martin-Irle Prize from the German Psychological Society for his outstanding support of early-career researchers. He supervised more than 100 doctoral dissertations, and over 35 of his former doctoral students went on to hold professorships at universities worldwide. For several years, the *Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung* has ranked him among the 100 most influential economists in the German-speaking world.

Honor for a Lifetime of Scholarly Achievement

This award honors members of the German Psychological Society (DGP) whose scholarly activities have had a lasting impact on research and teaching in the field of psychology over a long period of time. The significance of their scholarly work is evident, among other things, in the influence it has had on the next generation of scholars and on issues of public and societal concern. At the same time, the DGP uses this award to recognize scholarly achievements that serve as milestones in the history of psychology.

About the DGPs:

The German Psychological Society (DGPs e.V.) is an association of psychologists active in research and teaching. Its approximately 6,000 members conduct research on human experience and behavior. They publish, teach, and take a stand in academia, research, politics, and everyday life. The DGPs’ press office informs the public about psychology’s contributions to socially relevant topics. In addition, the DGPs provides a database of experts for a variety of issues.