Research Unit 2718 "Modal and Amodal Cognition"
The question of how the human mind represents the internal and external world plays a crucial role in theories of human cognition. Central to this question is the distinction between modal vs. amodal representations. We will investigate functions and interactions of these representational formats in different subfields of cognition, as well as their development and their role in cognitive dysfunction.
Research at the Department
The Department of Psychology is characterized by its cognitive psychological and cognitive science research profile, which is currently dealt with in about 50 research projects.
In 2020, the Department secured approximately 4.6 million euros of external funding (including the Research Unit). The Tuebingen Psychology obtained the 4th place on the list of the German Research Foundation’s (DFG) Funding Atlas 2018.
Research in the basic disciplines focuses on perception, language, executive functions, numerical cognition, and temporal cognition, as well as on social communication and interaction processes. The applied disciplines include clinical, organizational, school, and applied cognitive psychology.
The research activities in each research group take place in an interdisciplinary environment. The Department cooperates closely with other disciplines like cognitive science, computer science, linguistics, and the Leibniz Institute für Wissensmedien (IWM). The research field "Empirical Education Sciences" is expanded by School Psychology. In addition, the Research Unit 2718 "Modal and Amodal Cognition" started in fall 2020. The Department of Psychology also participates in the Research Training Group 2277 "Statistical Modeling in Psychology".