Research interests

My research interests center around two main topics: the assessment of personality and the dynamic interplay of personality and social relationships.

Regarding personality assessment, I focus on the convergence and incremental predictive validity of different kinds of personality measures (self-reports, other reports, indirect tests, behavioral measures). Moreover, I investigate the structure, measurement, determinants, and consequences of self-knowledge, self-enhancement, and narcissism. Finally, I am interested in the accuracy and processes of judgments in different applied assessment contexts.

In my work on personality and social relationships, I examine the social interaction processes (interpersonal perceptions, behaviors) underlying (a) the accuracy of social judgments, (b) the effects of personality on friendship and romantic relationship development, and (c) the development of personality.

Both research domains are based on an integrative theoretical perspective that combines classical concepts of personality psychology with information-processing models of self-related representations, process models of social behavior and interpersonal perceptions, and transactional models of individual and dyadic development. My research is characterized by a multimethodological approach. I apply and develop indirect reaction-time-based personality tests, standard questionnaires, experience sampling techniques (smartphone reports, online diaries), as well as observational systems for behavioral codings, interaction analyses, and interpersonal perceptions. Moreover, I apply and develop elaborate statistical procedures for the analyses of complex dyadic and network data. Finally, I focus on representative designs and important real-life consequences.