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Our current PhD Students

Third Cohort (2023-2026)

Semih Aktepe

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Daniel Heck
Pauline Bauermann

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Winfried Rief
Violetta Biermann

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Sarah Teige-Mocigemba
Marián Boor

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Erik Müller
Lisa Hartke

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Christopher Cohrs
Amin Jahani

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Metin Üngör
Sophie Kievernagel

Supervisor: Dr. Pia von Blanckenburg
Saskia Leißner

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Christiane Melzig
Lara Orphal

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Martin Pinquart
Robin O'Neill

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Hanna Christiansen
Fabian Parth

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Alexander Schütz
Parnian Saberi

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Markus Wöhr
Zeyd Söyük

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Anna Schubö
Ruslan Spartakov

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Dominik Endres

Second Cohort (2020-2023)

Sahar Aghajari

Project: "Does the strength of expectancy violation influence whether expectations are maintained or changed?"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Metin Üngör
Ena Alcan

Project: "Acquisition, maintenance, and change of threat expectancy"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Christiane Pané-Farré

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Nick Augustat

Project: "The Role of Dopamine, Reward Learning and Prefrontal Activity in Expectation-induced Mood Enhancement" (TRR 289)

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Erik Müller

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Yannik Bendel

Project: "Expectations and expectation violation in the communication about death and dying"

Supervisor: Dr. Pia von Blanckenburg

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Anika Brandt

Project: "Violations of negative expectations in individuals with high and low anxiety"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Erik Müller

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Li-Ching Chuang

Project: "The Role of Dopamine, Reward Learning and Prefrontal Activity in Expectation-induced Mood Enhancement" (TRR 289)

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Erik Müller

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Mathangi Ganesan

Project: "Expectation maintenance vs. change in animal models: serotonin – orchestrating associative learning and neuronal plasticity processes"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Markus Wöhr

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Aylin Hanne

Project: "Expectation and selective attention"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Anna Schubö

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Larissa Knöchelmann

Project: "Allowing expectation violations: Moderators of dealing constructively with disagreements"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Christopher Cohrs

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Dhanaraaj Raghuveer

Project: "Can Bayesian and Resource-Rational Learning Models Explain Individual Differences in the Processing and Prediction of Aversive Stimuli?"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Dominik Endres

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Kiara Roth

Project: "Social-cognitive processes underlying stereotypical expectations and expectation change"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Sarah Teige-Mocigemba

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Oliver Schmidt

Project: "Cognitive and Statistical Modeling of Subjective Expectations"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Daniel Heck

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Nino Sharvashidze

Project: "Violation of sensorimotor expectations about action consequences"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Alexander Schütz

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Anna Szép

Project: "ADHD in the classroom"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Hanna Christiansen

Former PhD Students

Philipp Berg

Project: "Expectation and selective attention"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Anna Schubö

Contact information
Dr. Nils Bergmann

Thesis Title: "How the visual environment shapes attention: The role of context in attention guidance"

Project: "Expectation and selective attention"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Anna Schubö
Dr. Annuska Berz

Project: "Investigation of expectation violation in laboratory rats: incentive salience, signal detection and the role of ultrasound vocalizations"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Rainer Schwarting

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Dr. Marcel Binz

Thesis Title: "Principles of Human Learning"

Project: "Do Bayesian and associative models of learning explain individual differences in retrospective revaluation?"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Dominik Endres
Florence Bockting

Project: "Cognitive and Statistical Modeling of Subjective Expectations"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Daniel Heck

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Katharina Borgolte

Project: "Changes in expectancies regarding health behaviours among adolescents"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Martin Pinquart
Dr. Kristina Braun- Koch

Project: "Maintaining (versus modifying) critical attitudes towards psychotherapy"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Winfried Rief

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Dr. Merle Buchholz

Thesis Title: "Cause and Effect in Victim Sensitivity: Analyses of Associated Social-Cognitive Processes"

Project: "Social-cognitive processes underlying the persistence of (un)trustworthiness expectations"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Mario Gollwitzer
Midhula Chandran

Project: "Do Bayesian and associative models of learning explain individual differences in retrospective revaluation?"

Supervisor: Dr. Anna Thorwart
Dr. Martina Dort

Thesis Title: "ADHS im Klassenzimmer: Die Einstellung von Lehrkräften zu Schülerinnen und Schülern mit einer Aufmerksamkeitsdefizit-/Hyperaktivitätsstörung sowie zu entsprechenden Classroom-Management-Strategien"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Hanna Christiansen
Dr. Markus Ebeling

Thesis Title: "Parental Expectations : Intercultural Perspectives and Parents of Children with a Mental Disorder" (2020)

Project: "Age differences and age-related changes in the persistence of expectations"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Martin Pinquart
Dr. Chrys Gesualdo

Thesis Titel: Health Behaviors Among Adolescents and Emerging Adults – Expectations and Expectation Violations

Project: "Influences on the use of assimilation, accommodation, and immunization after expectation violation"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Martin Pinquart
Dr. Larissa Henß

Thesis Title:"Dispositional and Situational Predictors of Coping with Expectation Violations: Experimental Studies on the ViolEx model"

Project: "Influences on the use of assimilation, accommodation, and immunization after expectation violation"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Martin Pinquart

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Dr. Zahra Khosrowtaj

Project: "Stereotypes against Muslims in the face of expectation violations – attitude change or persistence?"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Sarah Teige-Mocigemba

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GeunHyun Kim

Project: "Expectation and selective attention"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Anna Schubö
Dr. Karoline Körfer

Thesis Title: "Die Entstehung, Aufrechterhaltung und Therapie chronischer Schmerzen im Kontext von Erwartungsverletzungen" (2020)

Project: "When and why does exposure therapy fail in patients with chronic back pain?"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Julia Glombiewski
Dr. Lea Nahon

Project: "Stereotypes against Muslims in the face of expectation violations – attitude change or persistence?"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Sarah Teige-Mocigemba

Contact information
Dr. Hauke Niehaus

Thesis Titel: Advancing Research on the Autism Spectrum Disorder using theory and data-driven Methods of Computational Psychiatry

Project: "Can Bayesian and Resource-Rational Learning Models Explain Individual Differences in the Processing and Prediction of Aversive Stimuli?"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Dominik Endres
Inga Pauls

Project: "Intervention strategies against the immunization of intergroup expectations"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Ulrich Wagner

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Martin Pietzsch

Project: "Age differences and age-related changes in the persistence of expectations"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Martin Pinquart

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Tobias Redecker

Project: "Expectation maintenance vs. change in animal models: Serotonin-orchestrating, associative learning and neuronal plasticity processes"

Supervisor: Dr. Markus Wöhr
Dr. David Torrents Rodas

ORCID profile

Thesis title: Prediction error and overt attention to relevant and irrelevant cues: Evidence for an interaction of two associability mechanisms"

Project: "Prediction error and overt attention to relevant and irrelevant cues"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Harald Lachnit

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Dr. Adrian Rothers

Working title of thesis: "What makes people feel respected? Relationship-specific respect expectations in political discussions and beyond"

Project: "Intervention strategies against the immunization of intergroup expectations"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Christopher Cohrs

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Dr. Lena Sarter

Project: "Maintaining (versus modifying) critical attitudes towards psychotherapy"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Winfried Rief
Dr. Nivethini Sangarapillai

Project: "Investigation of expectation violation in laboratory rats: incentive salience, signal detection and the role of ultrasound vocalizations"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Rainer Schwarting
Dr. Anna Seewald

Thesis Title: "Outcome Expectations in Psychotherapy: The Development of an Indirect Measurement and the Importance of the Therapist´s Warmth and Competence"

Project: "Modulating treatment expectations to improve outcome in psychotherapy"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Winfried Rief
Dr. Matthias Sperl

Project: "Individual differences in stability and change of expectations - What is the role played by personality traits and serotonin?"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Erik Müller
Christopher Stolz

Project: "Individual differences in stability and change of expectations - What is the role played by personality traits and serotonin?"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Erik Müller

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Dr. Anna Enrica Strelow

Project: "ADHD in the classroom"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Hanna Christiansen
Sarah- Louise Unterschemmann

Project: "Individual differences in stability and change of expectations - What is the role played by personality traits and serotonin?"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Erik Müller
Dr. Maria Willadsen

Project: "Expectation maintenance vs. change in animal models: Serotonin-orchestrating, associative learning and neuronal plasticity processes"

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Markus Wöhr

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