Projects

The project MEMO analyzed verbal rehearsal-strategy development in children with and without dyslexia or dyscalculia.

The project investigates the effects of metacognitive executive function training in children from low socioeconomic backgrounds with an emphasis on transfer to academic abilities. Children are recruited in Germany and the UK to ensure greater generalizability. We focus on two age groups (4-6 vs. 8-10 years) to examine whether there is a developmentally sensitive period for cognitive training interventions.

The project MILA investigated the language abilities of monolingual children acquiring German and of children acquiring German as early second language. The project aimed at describing typical development in German and at identifying characteristics of language impairment.

The project investigates the role of language and executive functions in cognitive and academic development of elementary school children. The focus is on the comparison of monolingual and bilingual children (especially children from immigrant families), who often differ in terms of their language abilities as well as their academic achievement.

The research project MORAL investigates the socio-moral development of children and adolescents with a strong focus on intergroup processes and social cognition. Another focus of the project is the training of educators and teachers regarding social exclusion among children and adolescents.

The project NEDA investigates the relationship between the development of reading and spelling skills and the development of neural auditory processing in elementary school children.

Project NEIS is concerned with the development of self-regulatory skills – the ability to perform goal-oriented behavior – in children aged between 5 and 8 years.

The project NeuroBind investigates the neural bases of the attachment system in children with different attachment styles using neuroimaging techniques (structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging). To activate their attachment system, children are shown different attachment relevant pictures and are asked to imagine themselves in secure and dangerous social situations. Correlations between brain activity and emotional reactions in response to those specific social situations are analyzed.

The project PaSS evaluates the social validity of school-based prevention programmes that aim to foster social skills and reduce aggressive behaviour.

This project evaluates the potential of predictions generated by students to improve their learning. Further, it investigates the mechanisms that determine its success and asks whether there are age-related differences in its effectiveness.