Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Lebenswissen­schaftliche Fakultät - Institut für Psychologie

Consultation Hour
 
Tuesdays, 2–3 pm

Seminar

Social Resonance (summer semester; not offered this year)

Publications (Selection)
 
Hess, U.*, Kastendieck, T.*, Erkol, M. G., Mauersberger, H., Davila-Ross, M., Liebal, K., & Palagi, E. (2026). Evolutionary echoes of emotion: Humans mimic other primate expressions. PLOS One, 21(3), e0342196. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0342196 (*shared first authorship)

Mauersberger, H., Kastendieck, T., Huppertz, D., & Hess, U. (2026). On the relative impact of facial features and surroundings: A comparison of the influence of within-face and external context on emotion communication. Acta Psychologica, 262, 106003. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.106003 First published online 2025.

Kastendieck, T., Dippel, N., Asbrand, J., & Hess, U. (2023). Influence of child and adult faces with face masks on emotion perception and facial mimicry. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 14848. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-40007-w

Mauersberger, H., Tune, J. L., Kastendieck, T., Czarna, A. Z., & Hess, U. (2022). Higher heart rate variability predicts better affective interaction quality in non-intimate social interactions. Psychophysiology, 59(11), e14084. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.14084

Mauersberger, H., Kastendieck, T., Hetmann, A., Schöll, A., & Hess, U. (2022). The different shades of laughter: when do we laugh and when do we mimic other's laughter? Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 377(1863), 20210188. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2021.0188

Kastendieck, T., Zillmer, S., & Hess, U. (2022). (Un)mask yourself! Effects of face masks on facial mimicry and emotion perception during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cognition & Emotion, 36(1), 59–69. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2021.1950639 First published online 2021.

Kastendieck, T., Mauersberger, H., Blaison, C., Ghalib, J., & Hess, U. (2021). Laughing at funerals and frowning at weddings: Top-down influences of context-driven social judgments on emotional mimicry. Acta Psychologica, 212, 103195. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2020.103195 First published online 2020.

Ongoing Projects / Manuscripts in Preparation / Under Review (Selection)
 
Kastendieck, T., Huppertz, D., Mauersberger, H., & Hess, U. (n.d.). Environmental Context Effects on Affective and Cognitive Empathy in Virtual Reality.
(supported by DFG)

Kastendieck, T., Hess, U., & Blaison, C. (n.d.). Affective Judgment, Psychophysiological Activity, and Social Cognition as a Function of Distance From a Threat in Physical Space. (Collaboration with C. Blaison, Université Paris Cité)
(supported by DFG)

Kelly, M., Kastendieck, T., Martin, F., & Hess, U. (n.d.). Empathy Over and Out? The Impact of Social Media on the Development and Expression of Empathy in Young Adults. (Collaboration with the University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia)
(supported by DAAD-Decra)

Klewes, G., Kastendieck, T., Mauersberger, H., & Hess, U. (n.d.). Effects of Cannabis on Empathy-Related Measures.
(doctoral project, Klewes; supported by Change Centre Foundation)

Mauersberger, H., Kastendieck, T., Huppertz, D., & Hess, U. (n.d.). From Dissonance to Compassion: Does a Loving-Kindness Meditation Amplify Joy Mimicry and Attenuate Reactive Frowns to Disgust?

Education
 
Dissertation, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Dipl.-Psych. (Diploma in Psychology, MSc equivalent), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Vordiplom (Pre-Diploma, BSc equivalent), Universität Konstanz
Research Stays: Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, India; University of South Florida, Tampa, FL

Peer Reviewer for
 
Cognition & Emotion
PLOS One (Public Library of Science)
Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications
Italian Association for Cognitive Sciences (AISC)
Frontiers in Psychology
Human Nature
Perception
British Journal of Psychology
Basic and Applied Social Psychology
Social Psychological Bulletin
Scientific Reports (Nature Portfolio Journal)
Communications Psychology (Nature Portfolio Journal)
Motivation & Emotion
Acta Psychologica
Psychological Research
Visual Cognition
Journal of Environmental Psychology