Welcome at the Institute of Psychology!

This Institute, which is now located at the Adlershof campus in the south-east of Berlin, looks back at a history of more than 100 years. Leading scientists, such as Hermann Ebbinghaus, Carl Stumpf, Wolfgang Köhler, Kurt Lewin, Kurt Gottschaldt und Friedhart Klix did their pioneering research at the “Berliner Universität” (Berlin University; the former name of the Humboldt-University). Traditionally, psychology is conceived here as a natural science.

The present focus of research and teaching is on Psychology as a life science discipline including:

• Basic cognitive science and neuroscience:
    response conflicts, action monitoring and control, implicit learning
• Clinical neuroscience:
    obsessive–compulsive disorder and schizophrenia
• Individual differences and personality:
    sociosexuality, face processing, aging
• Transfer research:
    man-machine interaction, conflict management, treatment of anxiety disorders

We have strong national and international collaborations with research groups in medicine, engineering science, mathematics, computer science, linguistics, geography, economics, and others. Joint projects are conducted with Max-Planck Institutes as well as with partners in the industry.

The newly formed Interdisciplinary Wolfgang Köhler Center for the Study of Conflicts in Intelligent Systems will bring together different approaches in order to learn more about the structure of systems generating conflicts and the role of these conflicts in adapting these systems to changing demands.

The Institute offers a module-based teaching program with a Diploma degree in Psychology (Diplompsychologe/in). Since 2007, a special psychotherapy program is offered to postgraduate students who aim at the German license to practice psychotherapy (Approbation).

The Institute has co-initiated and supports several doctoral programs including the Berlin School of Mind and Brain and the International Max Planck Research School LIFE The Life Course: Evolutionary and Ontogenetic Dynamics.

Please find further information on our research and teaching programs on the following www pages.

Norbert Kathmann
Director