Welcome to the Personality & Motivation Group
Our working group investigates the question of why people behave and experience the way they do. To answer this question, we apply a complex dynamic systems framework that considers how person-related processes and traits interact among each other and with situational factors (“Dynamics of Personality Approach”; Quirin et al., 2020). Variables relating to emotion, stress-/emotion regulation, motivation, will (volition), self-awareness, and social cognition are in the center of our attention. Such an approach allows a holistic, person-centered investigation of research questions from each basic and applied psychological science.
In our experimental and correlational studies we combine self-report questionnaires (e.g., on personality traits) with cognitive-behavioral methods (e.g., reaction times, memory retrieval/recognition, emotional face recognition), neuroscientific methods (e.g., fMRI, EEG), as well as psychophysiological (e.g., heart rate) and endocrinological (e.g., cortisol, oxytocin) indicators.
Not least, we develop self-report and objective psychodiagnostics to assess traits and processes.
You can find more information about our activities below.