I explore how attention shapes our interaction with the world
By studying how attention operates in real-world settings, I aim to understand how we process, filter, and respond to the vast amount of information we encounter in everyday life, influencing our decisions, behaviors, and interactions.
From curiosity to cognition
I grew up in Göttingen, Germany, and my fascination with cognition kicked off during my social year at a care facility, where I quickly learned that the human brain is as puzzling as it is fascinating. Not wanting to put myself in a box too early, I opted for a B.Sc. in Cognitive Science in Osnabrück – a little bit of everything to nurture my various interests. Then I jumped into an M.Sc. in Neuro-Cognitive Psychology at LMU Munich.
I was lucky enough to stay at LMU for my Ph.D., where I spent years figuring out how we learn to block out distractions (it’s trickier than it sounds). Now, my focus is firmly on attention – and trying to keep mine in one place.
Some days, I’m a cognitive psychologist.
Other days, I’m negotiating with my 3-year-old about why we can’t have ketchup with everything.
And when there’s time left, I enjoy playing games – especially Magic: The Gathering.
Juggling research, family, and hobbies isn’t always smooth, but it keeps things interesting and sometimes even gives me new ideas about how attention works in the real world.
