Background and experience
Marie Seberg Primdahl is a PhD candidate in psychology at the Department of Psychology at the University of Agder. Her doctoral project is also affiliated with the Department of Sport Science and Physical Education.
Primdahl holds a master’s degree in psychology from UiT The Arctic University of Norway, including Student Research Programme in Psychology. She also holds a one-year programme in philosophy from the University of Agder. During her studies, Primdahl served as Communications Manager for Students of the International Positive Psychology Association (SIPPA), board member of the Tromsø Student Research Programme Association (TøFF), and as the safety representative in Blandakoret Psynge.
Her previous work experience has given Primdahl communication skills after five years as an ambassador for UiT, where she worked extensively with social media and gave presentations to upper secondary students. Primdahl also has experience supervising and motivating others, including through her work as a job counselor at Ressurs in Tromsø and as a manager at Dyreparken in Kristiansand.
Research
Primdahl’s research lies at the intersection of social psychology and personality psychology. She is currently investigating how personality influences effort in cooperative settings. Her earlier research examined how the encouragement to “think positively” influenced efforts and how it was experienced by the recipient. More specifically, she has explored potential negative aspects of promoting positive thinking.
Primdahl’s research is primarily quantitative, including controlled randomized experiments. However, she also has experience with qualitative methods, such as group interviews and thematic analysis.