Lab Environment

Core Values

1. We do research, teach, mentor and promote potential.

As a chair, we have three central tasks: Our research, the training of future psychologists in methods and diagnostics, as well as mentoring and developing the potential of young researchers. We have different profiles and tasks, i.e. depending on the role at the chair or the career level, one of these tasks may be more important, but in principle all three tasks are part of our job (see also point 4). The tasks are not weighted or evaluated differently (e.g. publications vs. teaching), we strive for high quality in the implementation of all tasks.

2. We are a team

We respect each other - regardless of gender, national or ethnic origin, religion, age, disability or sexual orientation - as well as other characteristics that could be mentioned here. We take each other’s perspectives on an issue seriously and respect each other’s opinions, even if they may differ. And we stick together. This is evident in the following points (see also Roles in the working group).

3. We do credible and robust research.

The first goal of our research activity is to gain knowledge. We get our reputation not from the amount of citations or the reputation of a journal, but from the credibility of our research process. We therefore practice Open Science.

We strive for research results that will endure and make a difference many years from now - to put it bluntly, this means: better one paper with impact than ten papers of ‘research waste’. For us, this also means that we present the evidence of our research results appropriately and do not exaggerate it.

4. We help each other and share our knowledge.

When colleagues are in trouble, we take on tasks, even if they are not really ours. We see science as a collaborative process, not a competition. We support each other with research questions, borrow each other’s textbooks, share teaching and workshop materials. We help other colleagues in the department when we have expert knowledge, even if it is not our project (see also Exchange and development).

5. We take care of our health.

Nothing is more important than our health. Nobody comes to the office with illness. Instead, we fall back on item 4 above and get healthy. In everyday life, we focus on long-term health maintenance and performance (working in academia is more like a marathon than a sprint). That means we try to take care of breaks, weekends and vacations on our own responsibility. Since experience shows that there is always something to do in our job (or at least we could always tackle another project), we ourselves have to take care to adjust our self-determined amount of work to our working hours. “Me time” is important for our health, and should be consistently scheduled!

6. We respect different work habits.

With regard to item 5, we respect the different working rhythms of our colleagues: No one looks at you askance if you take breaks or have to work longer hours during periods of increased workload. No one has to be available on weekends.

7. We are family-friendly.

We make it possible to combine family and career. This means scheduling joint meetings at family-friendly times (i.e. especially not too late in the afternoon), children can be brought to work. If children/family members are sick or have problems, we are there for each other and, if necessary, stand in for colleagues who are affected. We respect the fact that family has priority over work performance!

8. We make mistakes - and talk about them.

Everyone makes mistakes. Dealing openly with our mistakes not only prevents worse, but also prevents similar mistakes in the future and allows us all to learn from them. When in doubt, we can rely on item 2 and Markus’ backing.

Main language

The everyday language at our group is German and we encourage our non-German speaking employees to learn German. Of course we switch to English when we talk to our non-German speaking colleagues or discuss our science in a larger group. All teaching and therefore most teaching materials are in German. In team meetings, we usually have an English part for information relevant for all group members and a German part where only teaching or administrative stuff is discussed that is not relevant for all group members.

Roles in the working group

Our team is as colourful and diverse as our areas of responsibility. There are various options for formal affiliation with the chair. On the one hand, there are permanent and temporary academic council positions and chair staff positions. There are also project positions that are funded either by research grants (e.g. DFG) or industrial co-operations. There is also the possibility of being funded by a scholarship (e.g. Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes). It is also possible to be an associated member of the chair, i.e. not formally employed, but still linked to it (e.g. via an external doctorate or as a visiting researcher). The positions located directly at the chair (i.e. council and staff positions) are accompanied by a contractually regulated teaching load, which can vary in scope depending on the position. Project positions are generally not linked to a teaching load and therefore have a stronger research focus.

However, we are in the habit of organising the distribution of teaching flexibly, which can be of particular benefit to employees in qualification phases. If both sides (chair staff and project staff) agree, project staff also take on teaching duties. Corresponding arrangements are discussed and agreed each semester anew. In addition to tasks linked to specific courses, there are special teaching tasks at the end of each semester. These include exam supervision and marking. In the spirit of teamwork, we greatly appreciate it when employees who are not formally involved in teaching nevertheless support and help out with these tasks.

It is important to note that there is a difference between disciplinary management and professional supervision. Doctoral students are therefore officially subordinate to Markus in disciplinary terms, but are sometimes supervised by employees with a doctorate.

Exchange and development

Regular dialogue and transparent communication are highly valued and actively practised at our working group. In addition to informal exchange opportunities, such as the daily lunch in the Mensa, there is a 30-minute chair meeting Thursdays at 2 pm during the lecture period on a fortnightly basis. Here, organisational topics and questions relating to teaching are discussed. During the lecture-free period, we also use this meeting from time to time to discuss our teaching vision and direction in more depth. If, as a project member, you don’t have time to take part in these teaching-related meetings due to your own project tasks, it’s perfectly okay if you opt out of the meetings. In principle, however, anyone who has time is welcome to get involved, even if they have no formal teaching commitments.

We meet during the lecture period as part of the Lehrstuhlkolloquium (Thursdays, 2.30 - 4.00 p.m.) for professional dialogue. In addition to presentations of theses being supervised at our group, we also value presentations by all members of the department. Researchers from other universities can also be proactively invited. In this context, it is not relevant to us at what stage a presented project is. We welcome presentations on anything from an initial idea to the results of a completed project. Only one thing is always very important to us: constructive feedback. Regardless of whether your own area of responsibility as a faculty member is more focussed on teaching or research, we greatly appreciate the participation of all colleagues. The presentations at the research colloquium are usually held in German. However, if foreign-language guests are present, we are happy to switch to English.