General Psychology II

Head:
Univ. Prof. Dr. Annett Schirmer

​Team:
Dr. Xiaoqin Cheng
Vanessa Kaufmann, MSc

Focus

• The effect of nonverbal behaviors on interaction partners with a particular emphasis on auditory and tactile communication. ​
• With respect to the auditory modality, the focus is on emotion signaling in terms of signal properties and perceiver processes. 
• With respect to the tactile modality, the focus is on friendly social touch, its physical properties, signaling pathways and representation in the brain.
• Across modalities, the lab explores dynamic processes between interaction partners including, for example, their rhythmic synchronization.
• The goal is to understand how nonverbal communication shapes interaction outcomes and contributes to health and well-being.

Externally Funded Projects

FWF-Grant "Who benefits from social touch: Toucher, touchee or both?"

Methods

• Electroencephalogram (EEG)
• Motion tracking
• Peripheral nervous system recordings (e.g., heart rate)
• Eye tracking
• Social touch robot development

Lab Website

https://sites.google.com/view/brainbehaviorlab/home

Publication Highlights

• Schirmer, A., Lai, O., McGlone, F., Cham, C., & Lau, D. (2022). Gentle stroking elicits somatosensory ERP that differentiates between hairy and glabrous skin. Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 17, 864-875.
• Schirmer, A., Cham, C., Zhao, Z., Croy, I. (2023). What Makes Touch Comfortable? An Examination of Touch Giving and Receiving in Two Cultures. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 49, 1392-1407.
• Schirmer, A., Cham, C., Zhao, Z., Croy, I. (in press). What Makes Touch Comfortable? An Examination of Touch Giving and Receiving in Two Cultures. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
• Schirmer, A., Lai, O., McGlone, F., Cham, C., & Lau, D. (in press). Gentle stroking elicits somatosensory ERP that differentiates between hairy and glabrous skin. Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience.
• Lo, C., Chu, S.T., Penney, T.B., & Schirmer, A. (2021). 3D hand motion tracking and bottom-up classification sheds light on the physical properties of gentle stroking. Neuroscience, 464, 90-104.
• Hoehl, S., Fairhurst, M., & Schirmer, A. (2021). Interactional Synchrony: Signals, Mechanisms, and Benefits. Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience, 16, 5-18.
• Schirmer, A. & Adolphs, R. (2017). Emotion perception from face, voice and touch: comparisons and convergence. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 21, 216-228.
• Brauer, J., Xiao, Y., Poulain, T., Friederici, A.D., & Schirmer, A. (2016). Frequency of maternal touch predicts resting activity and connectivity of the developing social brain. Cerebral Cortex, 26, 3544-52.
• Schirmer, A., Meck, W.H., Penney, T.B. (2016). The socio-temporal brain: Connecting people in time. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 20, 760-772.
• Schirmer, A. (2014). Emotion. Sage Publications, Inc.

External Collaboration Partners

• Prof. Darwin Lau
• Prof. Greg Gerling
• Dr. Noemí Aguiló-Aguayo (Research Institute of Textile Chemistry and Textile Physics, University of Innsbruck)