Fabian Winter is an experimental social scientist whose research focuses primarily on social norms and the ways they evolve over time. Their work combines experimental methods with surveys, computer simulations, and the analysis of small and large-scale datasets to investigate processes of social change.

Their research explores questions such as why some norms remain unexpectedly stable until a tipping point is reached — for example, attitudes towards homophobia in football — while others change rapidly once transformation begins. They also examine the persistence of normative conflicts around issues such as gender equality, the effects of hate speech and fake news on online discourse, and how discrimination in norm enforcement changes in the context of migration.

Their work is grounded in the understanding that social and legal norms are continually changing: older norms erode while new ones emerge, often in abrupt and uneven ways. Even norms that lack broad societal support can remain highly resilient. Approaching these questions from an interdisciplinary perspective, their research seeks to understand the mechanisms that shape different dynamics of normative change and to contribute to the understanding and management of social change through a broad range of experimental and non-experimental empirical methods.

Biographical details correct as of 11.05.26