Teaching

Below are the courses taught by the members of the Psychological Aging Research unit during the current semester.

Thesis

Bachelor / Master Thesis Opportunity: Examining the Impact of Virtual Avatars behaviors on Self-Disclosure and Trust.  

Understanding how people develop trust and rapport with virtual avatars in digital service environments is crucial as these digital personas become a standard part of online interactions. Our upcoming experimental study investigates how agent behavior affects user perception, trust, and willingness to share information in virtual reality. We are currently seeking motivated students to join this project for their Bachelor or Master thesis. You will have the unique opportunity to develop your own specific research question within the scope of this experimental design, exploring topics like age difference in self-disclosure, reciprocity, or privacy boundaries in Human-Avatar interaction. Data collection for this project will begin this July, and selected students will actively participate in the study as experimenters, gaining valuable hands-on experience in running a controlled, behavioral research setup. However, please note that while your practical involvement in the data collection starts in July, the actual analysis and writing of your thesis can be prepared and completed at a later date according to your university's timeline. You will receive close supervision, training, and guidance throughout the entire process. Prior experience with VR headsets, experimental software or data analysis (e.g., SPSS, R) is an advantage but not required. Please note that the thesis will be written in English. If you are interested, please contact Dr. Natalia Lipp natalia.lipp@psychologie.uni-heidelberg.de