Research Interests
- Multimodal emotion processing (visual, auditory, tactile)
- Emotion regulation
- Influence of psychological disorders on (multimodal) emotion processing
- Gender differences in emotion processing and psychological disorders
- Emotion processing in old age
- Pain and emotion
Academic and Professional Career
Professional Career
Since 2017 Academic council at the Department of Clinical and Biological Psychology and Psychotherapy at the University of Mannheim 2016 – 2017 Research Assistant at the Department of Clinical and Biological Psychology and Psychotherapy at the University of Mannheim 2010–2016 Scientific Director of the Project “Emotion and Perception” (own position; DFG), at the Department of Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Mannheim 2009–2010 Scientific Director of the project “Emotion and Perception” (own position; DFG), Department of Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg, Germany 2007–2009 Research Assistant in the project “Pain and Emotion” (DFG), at the Department of Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg 2005 – 2007 PhD scholarship holder of the Department of Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg 2004 -2005 Research Assistant in the project “Control of smoking in public buildings and schools” at the Department of Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg Academic Career
2019 Habilitation Since 2014 Postgraduate training to become a psychological psychotherapist (behavioural therapy), Centre for Psychological Psychotherapy, Mannheim 2008 Doctorate at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Würzburg (Topic: “Preferential Processing of Phobic Cues – Attention and perception in Spider Phobic Patients”) 2004 Diploma in Psychology; Dissertation on “Binocular Rivalry with Different Facial Expressions and the Influence of Social Anxiety”. 1997 – 2004 Studied Psychology at the University of Würzburg 1996 – 1997 Studied Sociology/ Pedagogy at the University of Göttingen 1995 Abitur (German A-level qualification) at the grammar school “In der Wüste”, Osnabrück Publications and Conference Contributions
You can find many datasets relevant for these papers here: Madata Repository University of Mannheim.
2025
- Fraunfelter, L.-A., Gerdes, A. B. M. & Alpers, G. W. (2025). Spieglein, Spieglein an der Wand: verzerrte Selbstbewertungen psychotherapeutischer Kompetenzen im Psychotherapie-Studiengang. Psychotherapie, Psychosomatik, medizinische Psychologie : PPmP, 75(5), 162–172. https://doi.org/10.1055/a-2547-8479
- Müller, U. W. D., Gerdes, A. B. M. & Alpers, G. W. (2025). Setting the tone: crossmodal emotional face-voice combinations in continuous flash suppression. Frontiers in Psychology, 15(Article 1472489), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1472489
2023
- Büdenbender, B., Höfling, T., Gerdes, A. B. M. & Alpers, G. W. (2023). Training machine learning algorithms for automatic facial coding: The role of emotional facial expressions’ prototypicality. PLOS ONE, 18(2, Article e0281309), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0281309
2022
- Fraunfelter, L.-A., Gerdes, A. B. M. & Alpers, G. W. (2022). Fear one, fear them all: A systematic review and meta-analysis of fear generalization in pathological anxiety. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 139(Article 104707), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104707
- Gerdes, A. B. M., Fraunfelter, L.-A., Braband, M. & Alpers, G. W. (2022). Girls' stuff? Maternal gender stereotypes and their daughters' fear. Frontiers in Psychology, 12(Article 741348), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.741348
- Höfling, T., Alpers, G. W., Büdenbender, B., Föhl, U. & Gerdes, A. B. M. (2022). What's in a face: Automatic facial coding of untrained study participants compared to standardized inventories. PLOS ONE, 17(3, Article e0263863), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263863
- Müller, U. W. D., Gerdes, A. B. M. & Alpers, G. W. (2022). Time is a great healer: Peak-end memory bias in anxiety – induced by threat of shock. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 159(Article 104206), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2022.104206
- Müller, U. W. D., Gerdes, A. B. M. & Alpers, G. W. (2022). You see what you avoid: Fear of spiders and avoidance are associated with predominance of spiders in binocular rivalry. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 86(Article 102513), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2021.102513
- Quast, A., Batschkus, S., Brinkmann, J., Schliephake, H., Alpers, G. W., Meyer-Marcotty, P. & Gerdes, A. B. M. (2022). Effect of cleft lip on adolescent evaluation of faces: An eye-tracking study. Pediatric dentistry, 44(2), 108–113.
2021
- Gerdes, A. B. M., Alpers, G. W., Braun, H., Köhler, S., Nowak, U. & Treiber, L. (2021). Emotional sounds guide visual attention to emotional pictures: An eye-tracking study with audio-visual stimuli. Emotion, 21(4), 679–692. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000729
- Höfling, T., Alpers, G. W., Gerdes, A. B. M. & Föhl, U. (2021). Automatic facial coding versus electromyography of mimicked, passive, and inhibited facial response to emotional faces. Cognition and Emotion, 35(5), 874–889. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2021.1902786
2020
- Alpers, G. W., Gerdes, A. B. M., Büdenbender, B., Flora, G., Höfling, T., Hengen, K. M., Hies, O. B., Fraunfelter, L.-A., Köther, A. K., Müller, U. W. D., Siebenhaar, K. U. & Meachon, E. (eds.) (2020). Grundlagen- und Psychotherapieforschung Hand in Hand – trotz Social Distancing : eingereichte Abstracts für das verschobene 38. Fachgruppensymposium Klinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie 2020 Bd. 1: Symposienbeiträge . Mannheim: Lehrstuhl für Klinische Psychologie, Biologische Psychologie und Psychotherapie, Universität Mannheim.
- Alpers, G. W., Gerdes, A. B. M., Büdenbender, B., Flora, G., Fraunfelter, L.-A., Höfling, T., Hengen, K. M., Hies, O. B., Köther, A. K., Müller, U. W. D., Siebenhaar, K. U. & Meachon, E. (eds.) (2020). Grundlagen- und Psychotherapieforschung Hand in Hand – trotz Social Distancing : eingereichte Abstracts für das verschobene 38. Fachgruppensymposium Klinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie 2020 Bd. 2: Posterbeiträge . Mannheim: Lehrstuhl für Klinische Psychologie, Biologische Psychologie und Psychotherapie, Universität Mannheim.
- Gerdes, A. B. M., Fraunfelter, L.-A. & Alpers, G. W. (2020). Hear it, fear it: Fear generalizes from conditioned pictures to semantically related sounds. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 69(Article 102174), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2019.102174
- Höfling, T., Gerdes, A. B. M., Föhl, U. & Alpers, G. W. (2020). Read my face: Automatic facial coding versus psychophysiological indicators of emotional valence and arousal. Frontiers in Psychology, 11(Article 1388), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01388
2018
- Berdica, E., Gerdes, A. B. M., Bublatzky, F., White, A. J. & Alpers, G. W. (2018). Threat vs. threat: Attention to fear-related animals and threatening faces. Frontiers in Psychology, 9(Article 1154), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01154
2017
- Berdica, E., Gerdes, A. B. M. & Alpers, G. W. (2017). A comprehensive look at phobic fear in inhibition of return : phobia-related spiders as cues and targets. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 54, 158–164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbtep.2016.07.013
- Reicherts, P., Wiemer, J., Gerdes, A. B. M., Schulz, S. M., Pauli, P. & Wieser, M. J. (2017). Anxious anticipation and pain: the influence of instructed vs conditioned threat on pain. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience : SCAN, 12(4), 544–554. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsw181
2016
- Berdica, E. & Gerdes, A. B. M. (2016). Ein neues Aufmerksamkeitstraining: Operante Konditionierung von Blickbewegungen. Verhaltenstherapie & Verhaltensmedizin, 37(4), 489–490.
- Hamm, A. O., Richter, J., Pané-Farré, C. A., Westphal, D., Wittchen, H.-U., Vossbeck-Elsebusch, A. N., Gerlach, A. L., Gloster, A. T., Ströhle, A., Lang, T., Kircher, T., Gerdes, A. B. M., Alpers, G. W., Reif, A. & Deckert, J. (2016). Panic disorder with agoraphobia from a behavioral neuroscience perspective : applying the research principles formulated by the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) initiative. Psychophysiology, 53(3), 312–322. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.12553
- Linz, C., Gerdes, A. B. M., Meyer-Marcotty, P., Müller-Richter, U., Böhm, H., Ernestus, R.-I., Kübler, A., Alpers, G. W. & Schweitzer, T. (2016). Perception of children’s faces with unilateral coronal synostosis – an eye-tracking investigation. Child's Nervous System : ChNS, 32(1), 135–141. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-015-2798-z
- Reicherts, P., Gerdes, A. B. M., Pauli, P. & Wieser, M. J. (2016). Psychological placebo and nocebo effects on pain rely on expectation and previous experience. The Journal of Pain, 17(2), 203–214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2015.10.010
2014
- Berdica, E., Gerdes, A. B. M., Pittig, A. & Alpers, G. W. (2014). Inhibition of return in fear of spiders: Discrepant eye movement and reaction time data. Journal of Ophthalmology, 2014(Article 183924), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/183924
- Bublatzky, F., Gerdes, A. B. M. & Alpers, G. W. (2014). The persistence of socially instructed threat: Two threat-of-shock studies. Psychophysiology, 51(10), 1005–1014. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.12251
- Bublatzky, F., Gerdes, A. B. M., White, A. J., Riemer, M. & Alpers, G. W. (2014). Social and emotional relevance in face processing : happy faces of future interaction partners enhance the late positive potential. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8(Article Nr. 493), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00493
- Conzelmann, A., Gerdes, A. B. M., Mucha, R. F., Weyers, P., Lesch, K.-P., Bähne, C. G., Fallgatter, A. J., Renner, T. J., Warnke, A., Romanos, M. & Pauli, P. (2014). Autonomic hypoactivity in boys with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and the influence of methylphenidate. The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry, 15(1), 56–65. https://doi.org/10.3109/15622975.2013.829584
- Ewald, H., Glotzbach-Schoon, E., Gerdes, A. B. M., Andreatta, M., Müller, M., Mühlberger, A. & Pauli, P. (2014). Delay and trace fear conditioning in a complex virtual learning environment-neural substrates of extinction. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8(Article 323), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00323
- Gerdes, A. B. M. & Alpers, G. W. (2014). You see what you fear: Spiders gain preferential access to conscious perception in spider-phobic patients. Journal of Experimental Psychopathology : JEP, 5(1), 14–28. https://doi.org/10.5127/jep.033212
- Gerdes, A. B. M., Wieser, M. J. & Alpers, G. W. (2014). Emotional pictures and sounds: A review of multimodal interactions of emotion cues in multiple domains. Frontiers in Psychology, 5(Article Nr. 1351), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01351
- Reicherts, P., Gerdes, A. B. M., Pauli, P. & Wieser, M. J. (2014). Der wechselseitige Einfluss von Schmerz- und Emotionsverarbeitung. Der Schmerz, 28(6), 631–634. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00482-014-1481-8
- Wieser, M. J., Gerdes, A. B. M., Büngel, I., Schwarz, K. A., Mühlberger, A. & Pauli, P. (2014). Not so harmless anymore: How context impacts the perception and electrocortical processing of neutral faces. NeuroImage, 92, 74–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.01.022
- Wieser, M. J., Gerdes, A. B. M., Reicherts, P. & Pauli, P. (2014). Mutual influences of pain and emotional face processing. Frontiers in Psychology, 5(Articles 1160), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01160
2013
- Gerdes, A. B. M., Wieser, M. J., Bublatzky, F., Kusay, A., Plichta, M. M. & Alpers, G. W. (2013). Emotional sounds modulate early neural processing of emotional pictures. Frontiers in Emotion Science, 4(Article Nr. 741), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00741
- Reicherts, P., Gerdes, A. B. M., Pauli, P. & Wieser, M. J. (2013). On the mutual effects of pain and emotion: facial pain expressions enhance pain perception and vice versa are perceived as more arousing when feeling pain. Pain : Journal of the International Association for the Study of Pain, 154(6), 793–800. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pain.2013.02.012
- Schwarz, K. A., Wieser, M. J., Gerdes, A. B. M., Mühlberger, A. & Pauli, P. (2013). Why are you looking like that? How the context influences evaluation and processing of human faces. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience : SCAN, 8(4), 438–445. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nss013
- Weymar, M., Gerdes, A. B. M., Löw, A., Alpers, G. W. & Hamm, A. O. (2013). Specific fear modulates attentional selectivity during visual search: Electrophysiological insights from the N2pc. Psychophysiology, 50(2), 139–148. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.12008
- Wiemer, J., Gerdes, A. B. M. & Pauli, P. (2013). The effects of an unexpected spider stimulus on skin conductance responses and eye movements: An inattentional blindness study. Psychological Research, 77(2), 155–166. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-011-0407-7
2012
- Eisenbarth, H., Alpers, G. W., Gerdes, A. B. M., Spanner, S. & Osterheider, M. (2012). Look where the emotion is: Blickbewegungen psychopathischer Patienten bei der Betrachtung emotionaler Gesichtsausdrücke. Empirische Forschung in der forensischen Psychiatrie, Psychologie und Psychotherapie : EFPPP-Jahrbuch, 2012, 13–20.
- Gerdes, A. B. M., Wieser, M. J., Alpers, G. W., Strack, F. & Pauli, P. (2012). Why do you smile at me while I'm in pain? Pain selectively modulates voluntary facial muscle responses to happy faces. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 85(2), 161–167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2012.06.002
- Likowski, K. U., Mühlberger, A., Gerdes, A. B. M., Wieser, M. J., Pauli, P. & Weyers, P. (2012). Facial mimicry and the mirror neuron system: simultaneous acquisition of facial electromyography and functional magnetic resonance imaging. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 6(Article 214), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2012.00214
- Plichta, M. M., Schwarz, A. J., Grimm, O., Morgen, K., Mier, D., Haddad, L., Gerdes, A. B. M., Sauer, C., Tost, H., Esslinger, C., Colman, P., Wilson, F., Kirsch, P. & Meyer-Lindenberg, A. (2012). Test–retest reliability of evoked BOLD signals from a cognitive–emotive fMRI test battery. NeuroImage, 60(3), 1746–1758. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.01.129
- Reicherts, P., Wieser, M. J., Gerdes, A. B. M., Likowski, K. U., Weyers, P., Mühlberger, A. & Pauli, P. (2012). Electrocortical evidence for preferential processing of dynamic pain expressions compared to other emotional expressions. Pain : Journal of the International Association for the Study of Pain, 153(9), 1959–1964. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pain.2012.06.017
- Wieser, M. J., Gerdes, A. B. M., Greiner, R., Reicherts, P. & Pauli, P. (2012). Tonic pain grabs attention, but leaves the processing of facial expressions intact -Evidence from event-related brain potentials. Biological Psychology, 90(3), 242–248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2012.03.019
2011
- Eisenbarth, H., Gerdes, A. B. M. & Alpers, G. W. (2011). Motor-Incompatibility of Facial Reactions : The influence of valence and stimulus content on voluntary facial reactions. Journal of Psychophysiology, 25(3), 124–130. https://doi.org/10.1027/0269-8803/a000048
- Meyer-Marcotty, P., Gerdes, A. B. M., Stellzig-Eisenhauer, A. & Alpers, G. W. (2011). Visual face perception of adults with unilateral cleft lip and palate in comparison to controls – an eye-tracking study. The Cleft palate craniofacial journal, 48(2), 210–216. https://doi.org/10.1597/08–244
- Mühlberger, A., Wieser, M. J., Gerdes, A. B. M., Frey, M. C. M., Weyers, P. & Pauli, P. (2011). Stop looking angry and smile, please: start and stop of the very same facial expression differentially activate threat- and reward-related brain networks. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience : SCAN, 6(3), 321–329. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsq039
- Plichta, M. M., Gerdes, A. B. M., Alpers, G. W., Harnisch, W., Brill, S. J., Wieser, M. J. & Fallgatter, A. J. (2011). Auditory cortex activation is modulated by emotion : A functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) study. NeuroImage, 55(3), 1200–1207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.01.011
2010
- Conzelmann, A., Pauli, P., Mucha, R. F., Jacob, C. P., Gerdes, A. B. M., Romanos, J., Bähne, C. G., Heine, M., Boreatti-Hümmer, A., Alpers, G. W., Fallgatter, A. J., Warnke, A., Lesch, K.-P. & Weyers, P. (2010). Early attentional deficits in an attention-to-prepulse paradigm in ADHD adults. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 119(3), 594–603. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019859
- Gerdes, A. B. M., Wieser, M. J., Mühlberger, A., Weyers, P., Alpers, G. W., Plichta, M. M., Breuer, F. & Pauli, P. (2010). Brain activations to emotional pictures are differentially associated with valence and arousal ratings. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 4(Article Nr. 175), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2010.00175
- Meyer-Marcotty, P., Alpers, G. W., Gerdes, A. B. M. & Stellzig-Eisenhauer, A. (2010). Editor's Summary and Q&A: Impact of facial asymmetry in visual perception: A 3-dimensional data analysis. American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics : AJO-DO, 137(2), 168–169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajodo.2009.09.005
- Meyer-Marcotty, P., Alpers, G. W., Gerdes, A. B. M. & Stellzig-Eisenhauer, A. (2010). How others perceive orthognathic patients: an eye-tracking study. World Journal of Orthodontics, 11(2), 153–159.
- Meyer-Marcotty, P., Alpers, G. W., Gerdes, A. B. M. & Stellzig-Eisenhauer, A. (2010). Impact of facial asymmetry in visual perception: A 3-dimensional data analysis. American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics : AJO-DO, 137(2), 168e1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajodo.2008.11.023
- Meyer-Marcotty, P., Gerdes, A. B. M., Stellzig-Eisenhauer, A., Reuther, T. & Alpers, G. W. (2010). Persons with cleft lip and palate are looked at differently. Journal of Dental Research : JDR, 89(4), 400–404. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022034509359488
2009
- Alpers, G. W., Gerdes, A. B. M., Lagarie, B., Tabbert, K., Vaitl, D. & Stark, R. (2009). Attention and amygdala activity: an fMRI study with spider pictures in spider phobia. Journal of Neural Transmission, 116(6), 747–757. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-008-0106-8
- Conzelmann, A., Mucha, R. F., Jacob, C. P., Weyers, P., Romanos, J., Gerdes, A. B. M., Bähne, C. G., Boreatti-Hümmer, A., Heine, M., Alpers, G. W., Warnke, A., Fallgatter, A. J., Lesch, K.-P. & Pauli, P. (2009). Abnormal Affective Responsiveness in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Subtype Differences. Biological Psychiatry, 65(7), 578–585. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2008.10.038
- Gerdes, A. B. M., Pauli, P. & Alpers, G. W. (2009). Toward and away from spiders: Eye-movements in spider fearful participants. Journal of Neural Transmission, 116(6), 725–733. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-008-0167-8
- Gerdes, A. B. M., Uhl, G. & Alpers, G. W. (2009). Spiders are special: fear and disgust evoked by pictures of arthropods. Evolution and Human Behavior, 30(1), 66–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2008.08.005
- Plichta, M. M. & Gerdes, A. B. M. (2009). Sammeln im Nordseeurlaub: Die Haifischzähne von Cadzand-Bad und Groede. Fossilien, 25(4), 210–213.
2008
- Alpers, G. W. & Gerdes, A. B. M. (2008). Emotional Pictures in Binocular Rivalry. In I. L. Nilsson (eds.), Visual Perception : New Research (S. 227–247). New York, NY: Nova Science.
- Gerdes, A. B. M. & Alpers, G. W. (2008). Auf einem Auge vorübergehend “blind”: Emotionale Bilder dominieren bei binokularer Rivalität. In W. Janke (eds.), Experimentelle Emotionspsychologie (S. 741–762). Lengerich [u. a.]: Pabst.
- Gerdes, A. B. M. & Alpers, G. W. (2008). Die große Angst vor den kleinen Achtbeinern: Entstehungshintergründe, Wahrnehmungsunterschiede und Behandlungs¬möglichkeiten bei Spinnenphobie. Deutsche Angst-Zeitschrift : daz, 43(3), 10–12.
- Gerdes, A. B. M., Alpers, G. W. & Pauli, P. (2008). When spiders appear suddenly: Spider phobic patients are distracted by task-irrelevant spiders. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 46(2), 174–187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2007.10.010
2007
- Alpers, G. W. & Gerdes, A. B. M. (2007). Here is looking at you: Emotional faces predominate in binocular rivalry. Emotion, 7(3), 495–506. https://doi.org/10.1037/1528-3542.7.3.495
2006
- Alpers, G. W. & Gerdes, A. B. M. (2006). Another look at ”look-alikes”: Can judges match belongings with their owners? Journal of Individual Differences, 27(1), 38–41. https://doi.org/10.1027/1614-0001.27.1.38
