Masterarbeiten

Beschreibung: On April 29, 2020, the German supreme court ruled that the Federal Climate Change Act was incompatible with constitutional rights. For the first time, the government became accountable for installing appropriate measures to mitigate climate change. Notably, the plaintiffs were no scientists or opposing politicians but school students who started taking their protests to the streets. Did perceived threats to their beliefs about the world feed the activism that ultimately caused this unprecedented ruling? The students strike for ?climate justice??curbing emissions now to preserve the world?s environment for the future. Central to their identity are the sadness, fear, and anger that accompany the prospect of spending adulthood in a world that is not worth living in anymore. This thesis investigates whether such beliefs about the future world, called primals, are important correlates of school student strikers? activism. The resulting paper can be submitted in English or German.

Literatur
- Clifton, J. D. W., Baker, J. D., Park, C.L., Yaden, D. B., Clifton, A. B. W., Terni, P., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2019). Primal world beliefs. Psychological Assessment, 31, 82?99. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0000639
Anzahl Arbeiten für dieses Thema: 2
Zeitrahmen: ab sofort
Eingabedatum: 28.11.2022
Kontakt: Alexander Stahlmann, E-Mail

Beschreibung: Etablierte Modelle der Intelligenz gehen von einer hierarchischen Konzeptualisierung der Intelligenz aus (z.B. Cattell-Horn-Carroll Modell; Berliner Intelligenzstrukturmodell), welche basierend auf explorativen und konfirmatorischen Faktoranalysen wiederholt empirisch bestätigt werden konnte. In den letzten Jahren wurde in der Intelligenzforschung immer stärker die psychometrische Netzwerkanalyse (Borsboom et al., 2021) als Alternative zur Faktorenanalyse diskutiert. Basierend auf einen bestehenden Datensatz soll in dieser Masterarbeit das Berliner Intelligenzstrukturmodell (Süß & Beauducel, 2015) mittels konfirmatorischer Faktorenanalyse und psychometrischen Netzwerkanalyse (mittels der Statistiksoftware R) überprüft werden. Dabei soll auch herausgearbeitet werden, ob und inwieweit die psychometrische Netzwerkanalyse Vorteile über etablierte Verfahren (z.B. konfirmatorische Faktorenanalyse) zur Überprüfung der Struktur der Intelligenz hat.

Literatur
Borsboom, D., Deserno, M. K., Rhemtulla, M., Epskamp, S., Fried, E. I., McNally, R. J., Robinaugh, D. J., Perugini, M., Dalege, J., Costantini, G., Isvoranu, A.-M., Wysocki, A. C., van Borkulo, C. D., van Bork, R., & Waldorp, L. J. (2021). Network analysis of multivariate data in psychological science. Nature Reviews Methods Primers, 1(1), 1?18. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43586-021-00055-w
Süß, H.-M., & Beauducel, A. (2015). Modeling the construct validity of the Berlin Intelligence Structure Model. Estudos de Psicologia (Campinas), 32(1), 13?25. https://doi.org/10.1590/0103-166X2015000100002
Anzahl Arbeiten für dieses Thema: 1
Zeitrahmen: ab HS23
Eingabedatum: 25.11.2021
Kontakt: Dr. Andre Kretzschmar, E-Mail

Beschreibung: Charakterstärken wie Mut, Freundlichkeit und Humor sind Persönlichkeitseigenschaften, die andere Menschen dazu inspirieren über sich selbst hinauszuwachsen, indem sie Gefühle der Bewunderung und des Stolzes statt Neid und Scham auslösen. Alle Charakterstärken sind wünschenswerte Eigenschaften, aber manche werden eher geschätzt als andere. Zum Beispiel ist die Charakterstärke Urteilsvermögen beliebter als Vorsicht. Dies könnte daran liegen, dass die Laienkonnotationen der Begriffe negativer besetzt sind als theoretisch intendiert. Zum Beispiel könnte der theoretisch positiv besetzte Begriff Vorsicht von Laien fälschlicherweise mit Zurückhaltung, Feigheit, oder Ängstlichkeit verwechselt werden. In dieser Arbeit sollen die Laienkonnotationen von Charakterstärken systematisch untersucht werden. Am Ende sollen best-practice-Empfehlungen zur Kommunikation von Charakterstärken abgeleitet werden; also ob zum Beispiel die Charakterstärke Vorsicht im Umgang mit Laien anders benannt werden sollte. Die Arbeit soll in deutscher Sprache verfasst werden.

Literatur
-Ruch, W., & Stahlmann, A. G. (2019). 15 years after Peterson and Seligman (2004): A brief narrative review of the research on the 12 criteria for character strengths ? the forgotten treasure of the VIA classification. In M. Brohm-Badry, C. Peifer, J. M. Greve, & B. Berend (Eds.), Zusammen wachsen ? Förderung der positiv-psychologischen Entwicklung von Individuen, Organisationen und Gesellschaft (pp. 142?172). Pabst Science Publishers.
Anzahl Arbeiten für dieses Thema: 1
Zeitrahmen: ab sofort
Eingabedatum: 28.11.2022
Kontakt: Alexander Stahlmann, E-Mail

Beschreibung: Agreeableness refers to individual differences in compassion, politeness, and trust in relations with others. People who are described by others as "kind" are also described as "considerate" and "warm," implicating a superordinate dimension that is relatively stable over time and related to a wide range of thoughts, feelings, and social behaviors. But how exactly do agreeable people spend their time on an average day? The purpose of the present thesis is to examine whether people who are high vs. low in agreeableness differ in their time expenditure using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement, in Europe (SHARE). In addition to analyzing the average effects of agreeableness on time expenditure, the thesis will explore cultural differences in in the time usage of agreeable people.

Einstiegsliteratur:
- Chapman, B. P., & Goldberg, L. R. (2017). Act-frequency signatures of the Big Five. Personality and Individual Differences, 116, 201-205.
- Graziano, W. G., & Tobin, R. M. (2009). Agreeableness. In M. R. Leary & R. H. Hoyle (Eds.), Handbook of individual differences in social behavior (pp. 46?61). The Guilford Press.
- Jensen?Campbell, L. A., & Graziano, W. G. (2001). Agreeableness as a moderator of interpersonal conflict. Journal of personality, 69(2), 323-362.
- John, O. P. (2021). History, measurement, and conceptual elaboration of the Big?Five trait taxonomy: The paradigm matures. In O. P. John & R. W. Robins (Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (pp. 35?82). The Guilford Press.
Anzahl Arbeiten für dieses Thema: 1
Zeitrahmen: ab sofort
Eingabedatum: 28.11.2022
Kontakt: Prof. Dr. Wiebke Bleidorn, E-Mail

Beschreibung: Openness to experience refers to relatively stable individual differences in curiosity, exploration, and imagination. People who score high in this personality trait are supposed to have many interests; they like to seek out novel experiences, and tend to be reflective and thoughtful about new ideas. But how do open people spend their time on an average day? The purpose of the present thesis is to examine whether people who are high vs. low in openness differ in their time expenditure using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement, in Europe (SHARE). In addition to analyzing the average effects of openness on time expenditure, the thesis will explore cultural differences in the time usage of open people.

Einstiegsliteratur:
- Chapman, B. P., & Goldberg, L. R. (2017). Act-frequency signatures of the Big Five. Personality and Individual Differences, 116, 201-205.
- John, O. P. (2021). History, measurement, and conceptual elaboration of the Big?Five trait taxonomy: The paradigm matures. In O. P. John & R. W. Robins (Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (pp. 35-82). The Guilford Press.
- McCrae, R. R., & Costa Jr, P. T. (1997). Conceptions and correlates of openness to experience. In Handbook of personality psychology (pp. 825-847). Academic Press.
- Schwaba, T., Luhmann, M., Denissen, J. J. A., Chung, J. M., & Bleidorn, W. (2018). Openness to experience and culture-openness transactions across the lifespan. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 115(1), 118?136.
- Schwaba, T., Robins, R. W., Grijalva, E., & Bleidorn, W. (2019). Does openness to experience matter in love and work? Domain, facet, and developmental evidence from a 24?year longitudinal study. Journal of Personality, 87(5), 1074-1092.
Anzahl Arbeiten für dieses Thema: 1
Zeitrahmen: ab sofort
Eingabedatum: 28.11.2022
Kontakt: Prof. Dr. Wiebke Bleidorn, E-Mail

Beschreibung: Conscientiousness refers to individual differences in orderliness, industriousness, and self-control. Conscientious people tend to be hardworking, reliable, and adhere to rules and norms. But how do conscientious people spend their time on an average day? The purpose of the present thesis is to examine whether people who are high vs. low in conscientiousness differ in their time expenditure using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement, in Europe (SHARE). In addition to analyzing the average effects of conscientiousness on time expenditure, the thesis will explore cultural differences in in the time usage of open people.

Einstiegsliteratur:
- Chapman, B. P., & Goldberg, L. R. (2017). Act-frequency signatures of the Big Five. Personality and Individual Differences, 116, 201-205.
- Jackson, J. J., Wood, D., Bogg, T., Walton, K. E., Harms, P. D., & Roberts, B. W. (2010). What do conscientious people do? Development and validation of the Behavioral Indicators of Conscientiousness (BIC). Journal of research in personality, 44(4), 501-511.
- Jackson, J. J., & Roberts, B. W. (2017). Conscientiousness. In T. A. Widiger (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of the Five Factor Model (pp. 133?147). Oxford University Press.
- John, O. P. (2021). History, measurement, and conceptual elaboration of the Big?Five trait taxonomy: The paradigm matures. In O. P. John & R. W. Robins (Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (pp. 35?82). The Guilford Press.
Anzahl Arbeiten für dieses Thema: 1
Zeitrahmen: ab sofort
Eingabedatum: 28.11.2022
Kontakt: Prof. Dr. Wiebke Bleidorn, E-Mail

Beschreibung: Das beste «Training» für die Intelligenzentwicklung ist die Beschulung (Ritchie & Tucker-Drob, 2018). In Deutschland wurde im Rahmen einer Schulreform die Schuldauer von 9 auf 8 Jahren reduziert bei gleichzeitiger Beibehaltung der Inhalte im Lehrplan (sogenannte «G8-Reform»). Unklar ist dabei, welche Auswirkungen dies auf die Entwicklung der Intelligenz der Schüler*innen hatte: Die Studie von Bergold et al. (2017) hat zwar substantielle Unterschiede nachweisen können, allerdings ist die Aussagekraft wegen der fehlenden Repräsentativität der Stichprobe stark eingeschränkt. Eine andere Studie hat nur teilweise Unterschiede in den schulischen Kompetenzen gefunden, allerdings nicht die allgemeine kognitive Leistungsfähigkeit berücksichtigt (Hübner et al., 2017) In dieser Masterarbeit soll der Effekt der reduzierten Schuldauer auf die kognitive Leistungsfähigkeit anhand eines bestehenden Datensatzes basierend auf einer repräsentativen Stichprobe (NEPS-Daten: Zusatzstudie Baden-Württemberg; Blossfeld et al., 2011) untersucht werden. Die Arbeit kann in Deutsch oder Englisch verfasst werden.

Literatur
- Bergold, S., Wirthwein, L., Rost, D. H., & Steinmayr, R. (2017). What happens if the same curriculum is taught in five instead of six years? A quasi-experimental investigation of the effect of schooling on intelligence. Cognitive Development, 44, 98?109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2017.08.012
- Blossfeld, H.-P., H.-G. Rossbach und J. von Maurice (Hrsg.) (2011). Education as a Lifelong Process -- The German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). Zeitschrift fuer Erziehungswissenschaft: Sonderheft 14.
- Hübner, N., Wagner, W., Kramer, J., Nagengast, B., & Trautwein, U. (2017). Die G8-Reform in Baden-Württemberg: Kompetenzen, Wohlbefinden und Freizeitverhalten vor und nach der Reform. Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11618-017-0737-3
- Ritchie, S. J., & Tucker-Drob, E. M. (2018). How Much Does Education Improve Intelligence? A Meta-Analysis. Psychological Science, 29(8), 1358?1369. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797618774253
Anzahl Arbeiten für dieses Thema: 1
Zeitrahmen: ab sofort
Eingabedatum: 09.12.2022
Kontakt: Dr. Andre Kretschmar, E-Mail

Beschreibung: The transition to parenthood has been associated with changes in various psychological variables. However, little is known about new parents? affective development during this life transition. The goal of the present study is to examine the stability and change in positive and negative affect among first-time parents (n = 246) in comparison to a sample of individuals who did not have children during the research period (n = 293) using three-wave longitudinal data.

Einstiegsliteratur:
- Bleidorn, W., Buyukcan-Tetik, A., Schwaba, T., Van Scheppingen, M. A., Denissen, J. J., & Finkenauer, C. (2016). Stability and change in self-esteem during the transition to parenthood. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 7, 560-569.
- Saxbe, D., Rossin-Slater, M., & Goldenberg, D. (2018). The transition to parenthood as a critical window for adult health. American Psychologist, 73(9), 1190-1200.
- van Scheppingen, M. A., Denissen, J. J. A., & Bleidorn, W. (2018). Stability and change in self?control during the transition to parenthood. European Journal of Personality, 32(6), 690-704
- van Scheppingen, M. A., Jackson, J. J., Specht, J., Hutteman, R., Denissen, J. J., & Bleidorn, W. (2016). Personality trait development during the transition to parenthood: A test of social investment theory. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 7(5), 452-462.
Anzahl Arbeiten für dieses Thema: 1
Zeitrahmen: ab sofort
Eingabedatum: 09.05.2022
Kontakt: Prof. Dr. Wiebke Bleidorn, E-Mail

Beschreibung: People differ in the ways in which they deal with stress. While some people rely on communal strategies involving social support from relevant others (Cohen & Wills, 1985), others prefer to rely on themselves and favor agentic ways of coping involving mastery and self-efficacious strategies (e.g., Little et al., 2006). Both communal and agentic strategies may be fruitful and effective ways of coping with stressful events (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). However, little is known about the relative effectiveness of communal versus agentic coping strategies in dealing with stress over time. The present Master?s thesis will use existing data to examine the longitudinal links between stress and agentic (mastery, self-efficacy) versus communal strategies (social inclusion, perceived support) across 9 assessment waves in a sample of 400 students during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Einstiegsliteratur:
Cohen, S., & Wills, T. A. (1985). Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin, 98, 310-357.
Elliot, A. J., Thrash, T. M., & Murayama, K. (2011, Jun). A longitudinal analysis of self-regulation and well-being: avoidance personal goals, avoidance coping, stress generation, and subjective well-being. Journal of Personality, 79(3), 643-674.
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. Springer.
Little, T. D., Snyder, C., & Wehmeyer, M. (2006). The agentic self: On the nature and origins of personal agency across the lifespan. In D. K. Mroczek & T. D. Little (Eds.), Handbook of Personality Development (pp. 61-79). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers. Polizzi, C., Lynn, S.J., Perry, A. (2020). Stress and Coping in the Time of COVID-19: Pathways to Resilience and Recovery. Clinical Neuropsychiatry, 17, 59-62.
Anzahl Arbeiten für dieses Thema: 1
Zeitrahmen: ab sofort
Eingabedatum: 25.11.2021
Kontakt: Prof. Dr. Wiebke Bleidorn, E-Mail

Beschreibung: Im Gegensatz zu traditionellen Leistungstests wird bei Lernfähigkeitstests die Leistung bewertet, anhand von standardisierten Rückmeldungen ein Problem zu lösen. Damit sollen Lernfähigkeitstests eher das Potenzial abbilden. Im Rahmen dieser Masterarbeit soll ein figuraler Lernfähigkeitstests weiterentwickelt und empirisch überprüft werden. Basierend auf den bisherigen Aufgaben sollen (vor allem schwierige) Items entworfen und in einer Onlineumfragesoftware (LimeSurvey) implementiert werden. Darauf aufbauend soll der weiterentwickelte Lernfähigkeitstest hinsichtlich psychometrischer Eigenschaften (z.B. Itemschwierigkeiten) und der Konstruktvalidität (z.B. Korrelationen mit anderen Leistungstests) empirisch überprüft und validiert werden. Die Masterarbeit liefert damit einen wichtigen Beitrag zur Weiterentwicklung der psychologischen Leistungsdiagnostik.

Literatur
Beckmann, J., & Dobat, H. (2000). Zur Validierung der Diagnostik intellektueller Lernfähigkeit. Zeitschrift für Pädagogische Psychologie, 14(2/3), 96?105. https://doi.org/10.1024//1010-0652.14.23.96
Beckmann, J. F., & Guthke, J. (1999). Psychodiagnostik des schlußfolgernden Denkens: Handbuch zur Adaptiven Computergestützten Intelligenz-Lerntestbatterie für Schlußfolgerndes Denken (ACIL). Hogrefe, Verl. für Psychologie.
Anzahl Arbeiten für dieses Thema: 1
Zeitrahmen: ab sofort
Eingabedatum: 25.11.2021
Kontakt: Dr. Andre Kretzschmar, E-Mail

Beschreibung: Recent research suggests that many people desire to change their personality -- e.g., to be less stressed, better organized, or more outgoing -- and are willing to invest time and effort to do so. However, people differ in the extent to which they desire to change different traits, raising questions about the factors underlying these differences. The goal of this set of theses is to examine age and gender differences in personality change goals, through meta- (or mega-) analytic techniques and / or empirical replication studies of age and gender diverse samples.

Einstiegsliteratur:
- Hudson, N. W., & Roberts, B. W. (2014). Goals to change personality traits: Concurrent links between personality traits, daily behavior, and goals to change oneself. Journal of Research in Personality, 53, 68-83.
- Hudson, N. W., Briley, D. A., Chopik, W. J., & Derringer, J. (2019). You have to follow through: Attaining behavioral change goals predicts volitional personality change. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 117, 839-857.
- Hudson, N. W., & Fraley, R. C. (2016). Do people?s desires to change their personality traits vary with age? An examination of trait change goals across adulthood. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 7, 847-856.
- Miller, T. J., Baranski, E. N., Dunlop, W. L., & Ozer, D. J. (2019). Striving for change: The prevalence and correlates of personality change goals. Journal of Research in Personality, 80, 10-16.

Anzahl Arbeiten für dieses Thema: 2
Zeitrahmen: ab sofort
Eingabedatum: 09.05.2022
Kontakt: Prof. Dr. Wiebke Bleidorn, E-Mail

Beschreibung: Intimate relationship partners continuously covary in their everyday emotions (Schoebi & Randall, 2015). One mechanism through which intimate relationship partners experience and shape each other?s emotions is emotion contagion, that is, the spread of emotions from one person to another. The present Master?s thesis will examine whether everyday processes of emotion contagion differ with respect to (1) personality traits and (2) gender of older intimate partners. For example, neuroticism is associated with heightened reactivity to social and emotional stressors (McCrae & Costa, 1996) and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies (Baranczuk, 2019) and may be hypothesized to impact upon processes of emotion contagion. Data from an experience sampling study will be used to track processes of emotion contagion in the daily lives of older intimate partners. The results of this study will contribute to a better understanding of dispositional factors underlying everyday emotional processes between older intimate partners.

Literature
Hatfield, E., Bensman, L., Thornton, P. D., & Rapson, R. L. (2014). New perspectives on emotional contagion: A review of classic and recent research on facial mimicry and contagion. Interpersona, 8(2), 159?179. https://doi.org/10.5964/ijpr.v8i2.162
McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T. (1996). Toward a new generation of personality theories: Theoretical contexts for the five-factor model. In J. Wiggins (Ed.), The five-factor model of personality: Theoretical perspectives (pp. 51?87). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Schoebi, D., & Randall, A. K. (2015). Emotional dynamics in intimate relationships. Emotion Review, 7(4), 342?348. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073915590620
Anzahl Arbeiten für dieses Thema: 1
Zeitrahmen: ab sofort
Eingabedatum: 25.11.2021
Kontakt: Dr. Elisa Weber, E-Mail

Beschreibung: Civic engagement involves different actions individuals take to improve conditions for others or to help shape a community?s future, such as volunteering, donating blood, and voting. While the literature offers some theory and evidence that civic engagement correlates with the Big Five, little is known about specific actions? relationships with other individual differences. Recently, a group of American researchers introduced Primal world beliefs?or primals for short?to the literature. Primals are conceptualized as a category of individual differences in beliefs about the overall character of the world (e.g., the world is a safe place). Proponents of the model postulate that primals inform differences in various aspects of cognition, affect, and behavior and hence influence civic engagement. In this project, we examine the cross-sectional relationships of primals with civic engagement in a nationally representative sample of couples from the U.S.A. The Master?s Thesis involves analyzing the data in view of our hypotheses and exploring multivariate relationships of primals, personality, and civic engagement?both in close collaboration with the supervisor. The resulting paper should be submitted in English.

Literatur
Adler, R. P., & Goggin, J. (2005). What do we mean by ?civic engagement?? Journal of Transformative Education, 3(3), 236?253. https://doi.org/10.1177/1541344605276792
Clifton, J.D.W., Baker, J.D., Park, C.L., Yaden, D.B., Clifton, A.B.W., Terni, P., & Seligman, M.E.P. (2019). Primal world beliefs. Psychological Assessment, 31, 82?99. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0000639
Anzahl Arbeiten für dieses Thema: 1
Zeitrahmen: ab sofort
Eingabedatum: 25.11.2021
Kontakt: Alexander Stahlmann, E-Mail

Beschreibung: Primal world beliefs?or primals for short?are a category of beliefs about the overall character of the world (e.g., the world is a safe place). Theory and evidence suggest that some of these beliefs correlate with important mental health and well-being indicators, such as resilience, life satisfaction, and relationship quality. Accordingly, there is growing interest in the development of interventions that change these outcomes through changing primals. A relatively novel approach to fostering mental health involves virtual reality interventions, which have been used successfully, for example, for treating eating disorders or promoting empathy. In this project, we will attempt to elicit short-term changes in primals through subjecting individuals to different worlds in the popular video game ?Minecraft.? Specifically, we expect individuals who spend time in a world abundant with resources, beautiful landscapes, and little danger from enemies to briefly superimpose their experiences on the real world. Although this would not prove that primals can change in the long run, the project would provide initial evidence that changing primals is possible at all. The Master?s Thesis involves planning the first study, collecting data, and analyzing them in view of our hypothesis?all in close collaboration with the supervisor. The resulting paper should be submitted in English.

Literatur
Clifton, J.D.W., Baker, J.D., Park, C.L., Yaden, D.B., Clifton, A.B.W., Terni, P., & Seligman, M.E.P. (2019). Primal world beliefs. Psychological Assessment, 31, 82?99. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0000639
Freeman, D., Reeve, S., Robinson, A., Ehlers, A., Clark, D., Spanlang, B., & Slater, M. (2017). Virtual reality in the assessment, understanding, and treatment of mental health disorders. Psychological Medicine, 47(14), 2393?2400. https://doi.org/10.1017/S003329171700040X
Anzahl Arbeiten für dieses Thema: 1
Zeitrahmen: ab sofort
Eingabedatum: 25.11.2021
Kontakt: Alexander Stahlmann, E-Mail

Beschreibung: Understanding others is a crucial element of maintaining functioning social relationships. Empathic processes, e.g., how people perceive, process and respond to information about other people, is strongly tied to dimensions of peoples? personality, such as neuroticism (McNulty et al., 2008) and agreeableness (Graziano et al., 2007). However, little is known about the role of personality factors for empathic processes in the daily lives of older couples. The present Master?s thesis will use existing experience sampling data to examine the role of personality in everyday processes of (a) cognitive empathy, i.e., the extent to which intimate partners are accurate in identifying each other?s thoughts and emotions, and (b) empathic motivation, i.e., the extent to which intimate partners are motivated to understand each other?s thoughts and emotions. In addition, the extent to which individual differences in empathic processes are linked to markers of relationship satisfaction and functioning in the daily lives of older couples will be explored. The results of this study will contribute to a better understanding of dispositional factors that conduce to maintaining positive romantic relationships. Furthermore, it will help to identify important predictors of dyadic relationship satisfaction and functioning.

Literature
Graziano, W. G., Habashi, M. M., Sheese, B. E., & Tobin, R. M. (2007). Agreeableness, empathy, and helping: A person × situation perspective. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93(4), 583?599. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.93.4.583
Ickes, W. J. (1997). Empathic accuracy. Guilford Press. Rauers, A., Blanke, E., & Riediger, M. (2013). Everyday empathic accuracy in younger and older couples: Do you need to see your partner to know his or her feelings? Psychological Science, 24(11), 2210?2217. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797613490747
Zaki, J. (2014). Empathy: A motivated account. Psychological Bulletin, 140(6), 1608?1647. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037679
Anzahl Arbeiten für dieses Thema: 2
Zeitrahmen: ab sofort
Eingabedatum: 25.11.2021
Kontakt: Dr. Elisa Weber, E-Mail

Beschreibung: Self-esteem, a person's subjective evaluation of their worth as a person, predicts a variety of important life outcomes, including relationship satisfaction, physical and mental health, educational success, and job satisfaction (for a review, see Orth & Robins, 2014). Leading self-esteem theories posit that self-esteem varies as a function of the extent to which people feel appreciated and included by others (e.g., Leary, 2005). Specifically, self-esteem has been often described as a sociometer, with lower levels indicating low levels of social inclusion. Evidence for the sociometer hypothesis has been mixed, with some studies finding higher self-esteem levels in those people who report higher levels of social inclusion and other studies finding no evidence or reverse effects suggesting that higher self-esteem may lead to better relationship outcomes (e.g., Denissen et al., 2008; Harris & Orth, 2020). One potential explanation for the mixed body of evidence is that most existing studies examined the links between self-esteem and relationship outcomes at the between-person level, either in cross-sectional or in longitudinal studies with few assessments and oftentimes long intervals between assessments. These studies have been useful in testing whether people with higher self-esteem trait levels tend to have better relationship outcomes. However, the cross-sectional approach does not enable an examination of the within-person links between self-esteem and relationship outcomes over shorter time periods. The goal of the present thesis is to test whether within-person changes in daily self-esteem attitudes predict changes in daily relationship experiences in a sample of first-time parents. The project will use existing data of N=230 parents who completed three waves of 7-day diary studies during the transition to parenthood.

Einstiegsliteratur:
Denissen, J. J. A., Penke, L., Schmitt, D. P., & van Aken, M. A. G. (2008). Self-esteem reactions to social interactions: Evidence for sociometer mechanisms across days, people, and nations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95, 181?196.
Harris, M. A., & Orth, U. (2020). The link between self-esteem and social relationships: A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 119, 1459-1477.
Leary, M. R. (2005). Sociometer theory and the pursuit of relational value: Getting to the root of self-esteem. European review of social psychology, 16, 75-111.
van Scheppingen, M. A., Denissen, J. J. A., Chung, J. M., Tambs, K., & Bleidorn, W. (2018). Self-esteem and relationship satisfaction during the transition to motherhood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 114, 973?991.
Anzahl Arbeiten für dieses Thema: 1
Zeitrahmen: ab sofort
Eingabedatum: 25.11.2021
Kontakt: Prof. Dr. Wiebke Bleidorn, E-Mail

Beschreibung: In der Persönlichkeitspsychologie wird zwischen kognitiven (z.B. Intelligenz) und nicht-kognitiven (z.B. Big Five) Persönlichkeitseigenschaften unterschieden, wobei üblicherweise schwache bis moderate Zusammenhänge aufgezeigt werden konnten (Kretzschmar et al., 2018). Bei der Fähigkeit, komplexe Probleme zu lösen, wurde in den letzten Jahren vermehrt auch der Einfluss nicht-kognitiver Persönlichkeitseigenschaften diskutiert (Greiff & Neubert, 2014). Im Rahmen dieser Masterarbeit soll basierend auf einen bestehenden Datensatz (N ~300) der Zusammenhang zwischen nicht-kognitiven Persönlichkeitseigenschaften und der Komplexen Problemlösefähigkeit empirisch untersucht werden (z.B. mittels konfirmatorischer Faktorenanalysen). Dabei sollen einerseits verschiedene Messinstrumente der komplexen Problemlösefähigkeit als auch verschiedene Konzeptualisierungsebenen der Big Five (z.B. Dimensionen und Facetten) berücksichtigt werden.

Literatur
Greiff, S., & Neubert, J. C. (2014). On the relation of complex problem solving, personality, fluid intelligence, and academic achievement. Learning and Individual Differences, 36, 37?48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2014.08.003
Kretzschmar, A., Spengler, M., Schubert, A.-L., Steinmayr, R., & Ziegler, M. (2018). The Relation of Personality and Intelligence?What Can the Brunswik Symmetry Principle Tell Us? Journal of Intelligence, 6(3), 30. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence6030030
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Zeitrahmen: ab sofort
Eingabedatum: 25.11.2021
Kontakt: Dr. Andre Kretzschmar, E-Mail

Beschreibung: In früheren Studien konnte wiederholt ein negativer Zusammenhang zwischen kognitiven Leistungen (z.B. kritisches Denken) und negativen Lebensereignissen (z.B. überhöhte Preise bezahlen, Substanzmissbrauch, Termine nicht einhalten) aufgezeigt werden (z.B. Butler, 2017). Dazu wurde ein Inventar negativer Lebensereignisse verwendet, welches vor allem für den amerikanischen Kontext entwickelt wurde. In dieser Masterarbeit soll der Zusammenhang zwischen verschiedenen kognitiven Leistungen (d.h. fluide Intelligenz, komplexes Problemlösen, Lernfähigkeit) und negativen Lebensereignissen empirisch untersucht und damit frühere Studien konzeptuell repliziert werden: (1) Findet sich der Zusammenhang auch im deutschsprachigen Kontext? (2) Fällt der Zusammenhang je nach berücksichtigter Kognition unterschiedlich stark aus? Basierend auf einen bestehenden Datensatz (N ~ 300 deutschsprachige Studierende) soll im ersten Schritt der Fragebogen zu den negativen Lebensereignissen analysiert werden (d.h. psychometrische Itemanalyse). Im zweiten Schritt soll darauf aufbauend der Zusammenhang zwischen negativen Lebensereignissen und unterschiedlichen Kognitionen auf Basis konfirmatorischer Faktorenanalysen und Strukturgleichungsmodellierungen (vorzugsweise mittels der Statistiksoftware R) überprüft werden.

Literatur
Butler, H. A., Pentoney, C., & Bong, M. P. (2017). Predicting Real-World Outcomes: Critical Thinking Ability is a Better Predictor of Life Decisions than Intelligence. Thinking Skills and Creativity. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2017.06.005
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Zeitrahmen: ab sofort
Eingabedatum: 25.11.2021
Kontakt: Dr. Andre Kretzschmar, E-Mail

Beschreibung: In der differentiellen Psychologie gibt es einen Konsens darüber, wie Intelligenz konzeptualisiert werden kann (siehe z.B. Gottfredson, 1997). Weniger Evidenz gibt es allerdings dahingehend, welche Bedeutung dem Konzept der Intelligenz im Alltagsverständnis zugrunde liegt. Wegweisend war dabei die Studie von Hofstätter (1971), welche nicht nur die Alltagsvorstellung (d.h. implizite Theorie) über Intelligenz bzw. intelligente Personen untersucht hat, sondern auch verschiedene Vorurteile (z.B. Rollenstereotype von Mann und Frau) aufzeigen konnte. In Anlehnung an Hofstätters Studie soll daher in dieser Masterarbeit eine Onlineumfrage geplant sowie an einer deutschsprachigen (optional: zusätzlich englischsprachigen) Stichprobe durchgeführt und ausgewertet werden. Die Masterarbeit liefert damit nicht nur wichtige Erkenntnisse, ob sich die damaligen Ergebnisse replizieren lassen, sondern auch, ob und welche Vorurteile mit Intelligenz heutzutage assoziiert sind.

Literatur
Gottfredson, L. S. (1997). Mainstream science on intelligence: An editorial with 52 signatories, history, and bibliography. Intelligence, 24(1), 13?23. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0160-2896(97)90011-8
Hofstätter, P. R. (1971). Differentielle Psychologie. Kröner.
Rost, D. H. (2013). Handbuch Intelligenz (1. Auflage). Beltz - siehe Abschnitt 1.1
Anzahl Arbeiten für dieses Thema: 1
Zeitrahmen: ab sofort
Eingabedatum: 25.11.2021
Kontakt: Dr. Andre Kretzschmar, E-Mail