Mareike Altgassen is a Full Professor of Developmental Psychology. She is interested in understanding the cognitive and motivational factors that determine why some intentions and goals are successfully implemented and others not. To this end, she is studying the formation and execution of delayed intentions (i.e., prospective memory) as well as the voluntary delay of planned activities (i.e., procrastination).
As a developmental psychologist, Mareike Altgassen is interested in understanding the mechanisms of cognitive development across the lifespan. Her studies involve normal healthy, and clinical populations across the lifespan (e.g., autism, depression, ADHD, Parkinson's disease, Korsakoff Syndrome). She uses a multi-method approach that includes experimental and neuroscientific techniques (e.g., EEG, fMRI). In addition to clarifying the nature and magnitude of cognitive difficulties in various groups, her research also focuses on testing possible intervention strategies (e.g., planning strategies, future thinking, implementation intentions).
Mareike Altgassen’s work has been published in various top-tier outlets, including Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, Neuropsychology, Developmental Psychology, Neuropsychologia, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
CV
since 04/2020 Full Professor of Developmental Psychology at the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Department of Psychology, Germany
07/19 – 03/20 Associate Professor, Head of the Cognitive Lifespan Development lab, Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
10/12 – 06/19 Assistant Professor, Head of the Cognitive Lifespan Development lab, Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands (tenured since 09/14)
09/12 – 06/16 Assistant Professor, Head of the Intention Memory and Volitional Control Development lab, Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany; PI of project on Development of intention memory and volitional control of the Collaborative Research Centre (SFB 940)
10/11 – 08/12 Interim Professor of the Chair Developmental Psychology, Head of the Developmental Neuroscience lab, Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany
10/07 – 09/11 Postdoc, Head of the Developmental Neuroscience lab, Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany
01/07 Visiting Scholar, School of Psychology, University of Reading, UK
05/05 – 09/07 PhD Student, Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Switzerland
2004 Diploma in Psychology, University of Heidelberg, Germany
Publications
publications https://publons.com/researcher/3610573/mareike-altgassen/publications/
Selected publications
Immel, A.-S., Altgassen, M., Meyer, M., Endedijk, H., & Hunnius, S. (2022). Self-projection in early childhood: No evidence for a common underpinning of episodic memory, episodic future thinking, theory of mind, and spatial navigation. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 223. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2022.105481
Altgassen, M., Scheres, A., & Edel, M.-A. (2019). Prospective memory (partially) mediates the link between ADHD symptoms and procrastination. ADHD Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder, 11, 59–71. doi: 10.1007/s12402-018-0273-x.
Pereira, A., Altgassen, M., Atchison, L., de Mendonça, A., & Ellis, J. (2018). Sustaining prospective memory functioning in amnestic mild cognitive impairment: A lifespan approach to the critical role of encoding. Neuropsychology, 32, 634-644. doi: 10.1037/neu0000441.
Sheppard, D.P., Bruineberg, J., Kretschmer-Trendowicz, A., & Altgassen, M. (2018). Prospective memory in autism: Theory and literature review. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 32, 748-782. doi: 10.1080/13854046.2018.1435823.
Altgassen, M., Rendell, P. G., Bernhard, A., Henry, J. D., Bailey, P. E., Phillips, L., & Kliegel, M. (2015). Future thinking improves prospective memory performance and plan enactment in older adults. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 68, 192-204. doi: 10.1080/17470218.2014.956127.
Altgassen, M., Vetter, N. C., Phillips, L.H., Akgün, C., & Kliegel, M. (2014). Theory of Mind and Switching predict prospective memory performance in adolescents. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 127, 163-175. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2014.03.009.