Research interests | Publications | Academic distinctions

Research interests

Trust & distrust • Stereotyping & person judgment • Uncertainty reduction in judgment and decision-making • Information integration and memory processes • Social and non-social comparison processes • Behavioral economics

Publications

• Posten, A.-C., & Gino, F. (in press). How trust and distrust shape perception and memory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

• Buckenmaier, J., Dimant, E., Posten, A.-C., & Schmidt, U. (in press). Efficient institutions and effective deterrence: On timing and uncertainty of formal sanctions. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty.

• Steinmetz, J., & Posten, A.-C. (in press). Ja-Sage-Tendenz: Eine wenig beachtete Fehlerquelle in Umfragen [Yeah-saying-tendencies: A source of error little attended to in surveys]. Wirtschaftspsychologie aktuell.

• Amit, E., Han, E. Posten, A.-C., & Sloman, S. (in press). How people judge institutional corruption. Connecticut Law Review.

• Posten, A.-C., & Kitzig, C. (in press). Strategische Merkmalsnutzung zur Erkennung und Tarnung von Lügen aus der Perspektive von Laien [Strategic cue application to detect and disguise lies from lay people’s perspective]. Praxis der Rechtspsychologie.

• Uğurlar, P., Posten, A.-C., & Zürn, M. (2021). Interpersonal closeness impairs decision memory. Social Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335/a000439

• Posten, A-.C., Bliesener, T., Dahle, K.-P., & Orth, C. (2019). Zur Expertise forensischer Sachverständiger - Ein Positionspapier [On the expertise of forensic expert witnesses - A position paper]. Psychologische Rundschau, 70, 259-260.

• Posten, A.-C., & Mussweiler, T. (2019). Egocentric foundations of trust. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 84, 103820. https://doi.org10.1016/j.jesp.2019.103820

• Kannegießer, A., Orth, C., Posten, A.-C., & Hoese, M. (2019). Neue Föderative Gutachtenstandards - Die Quadratur des Kreises? [New federal standards for expert witness reports - squaring the circle?] Praxis der Rechtspsychologie, 29, 147-151.

• Posten, A.-C., & Mussweiler, T. (2019). How do you decide whether to trust a stranger? Character & Context. 

• Posten, A.-C., & Steinmetz, J. (2018). Temperatur und Zustimmung - ein bisher unbekannter Zusammenhang. Einblicke für Praxis und Forschung. Praxis der Rechtspsychologie, 2, 137-152.

• Steinmetz, J., & Posten, A.-C. (2018). White lies and black lies: What they have in common and how they differ. In-Mind Magazine.  [full text]

• Amit, E., Koralnik, J., Posten, A.-C., Muethel, M., & Lessig, L. (2017). Institutional corruption revisited: Exploring open questions within the institutional corruption literature. Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal, 26, 447–595.

• Posten, A.-C., & Mussweiler, T. (2017). That certain something! Focusing on similarities reduces judgmental uncertainty. Cognition, 165, 121–125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2017.05.010

• Steinmetz*, J., & Posten*, A.-C. (2017). Physical temperature affects response behavior. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 70, 294–300. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2016.12.001 * shared first authorship

• Miller, J. E., Amit, E., & Posten, A.-C. (2015). Behavioral economics. In H. ten Have (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Global Bioethics (pp. 1–6). Cham, Switzerland: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05544-2_37-1

• Posten, A.-C., Ockenfels, A., & Mussweiler, T. (2014). How activating cognitive content shapes trust: A subliminal priming study. Journal of Economic Psychology, 41, 12–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2013.04.002

• Posten, A.-C., & Mussweiler, T. (2013). When distrust frees your mind: The stereotype-reducing effects of distrust. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 105, 567–584. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0033170

• Mussweiler, T., & Posten, A.-C. (2012). Relatively certain! Comparative thinking reduces uncertainty. Cognition, 122, 236–240. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2011.10.005

Academic distinctions

• DFG Research Grant PO 1850/3-1 How Much do You Trust Me? Determining Thresholds for Trust to Be Perceived as Such, 2019-2021

• Junior Start-Up Grant High Trust and High Distrust: A Matter of Perspective Taking?, awarded by C-SEB, University of Cologne, 2018-2019

• Junior Start-Up Grant Trust increases a general response bias (together with Janina Steinmetz, Utrecht University), awarded by C-SEB, University of Cologne, 2017-2018

• Junior Start-Up Grant The automaticity of trust (together with Maayan Katzir, PI), awarded by C-SEB, University of Cologne, 2017-2018

• Seedcorn Grant Determining thresholds for trust to be experienced as such (together with Michael Zürn), awarded by C-SEB, University of Cologne, 2016

• International Fellowship Grant for the research visit of Pınar Uğurlar, awarded by C-SEB, University of Cologne, 2016

• Junior Start-Up Grant The role of social distance on trust and cooperation: Does self-other overlap hinder 'rational' decisions? (together with Pınar Uğurlar), awarded by C-SEB, University of Cologne, 2016

• Junior Start-Up Grant Trust, distrust and uncertainty (together with Michael Zürn, PI), awarded by C-SEB, University of Cologne, 2016

• Gender Research Grant Dress for success—Women can use their outfit to maximize outcomes in ultimatum and trust games by signaling trustworthiness and competence (together with Alexandra Fleischmann (PI) and Joris Lammers), awarded by C-SEB, University of Cologne, 2016

• Seedcorn Grant, European Association of Social Psychology (EASP), 2015
• Heinz Sauermann Sponsorship Award, Society for Experimental Economic Research (GfeW), 2014

• Dissertation Award Finalist, Society for Experimental Social Psychology (SESP), Round of last three, 2013

• Post-doctoral Fellowship, German Research Foundation (DFG), 2013-2015

• Research Fellowship, Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, Harvard University, 2013-2015

• Best Paper Award for the paper entitled "When distrust frees your mind: Cognitive effects of trust and distrust on stereotyping" co-authored with Thomas Mussweiler, European Social Cognition Network (ESCON), 2011