dr. Alexandra Hering

Bio

My name is Alexandra Hering. I am working as an assistant professor at the department of Developmental Psychology at Tilburg University. Before coming to Tilburg, I worked at the University of Geneva as lecturer and research group leader. I studied Psychology at the Technische Universität Dresden in Germany. Before doing my PhD in Geneva, I spent six months at the Rotman Research Institute in Toronto, Canada. I am interested in lifespan development, goal-directed behaviour and why I always forgot to feed my fish at home  (aka prospective memory).  

Expertise

My research is driven by the aims to understand (1) how goal-directed behaviour changes from childhood to older age, (2) how these changes are influenced by other cognitive functions like working memory and context factors such as emotions and mood, and (3) how goal-directed behaviour can be promoted by cognitive trainings to counteract age-related challenges across the lifespan. To do so, I combine behavioural and electrophysiological measures (i.e., EEG) to better understand the brain mechanisms underlying our behaviour. 

Courses

• Development and Developmental Problems in Childhood
• Thesis Forensic Psychology
• Developmental Disorders

Recent publications

1. Do executive functions explain older adults’ health-related quality o…

   Laera, G., Joly-Burra, E., Zuber, S., Ballhausen, N., Künzi, M., Ihle, A., Da Silva Coelho, C., Haas, M., Mikneviciute, G., Tinello, D., Kliegel, M., & Hering, A. (2023). Do executive functions explain older adults’ health-related quality of life beyond event-based prospective memory? Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 30(2), 135-149.

2. The Padua PM task - A new high-quality video-based prospective memory…

   Mioni, G., Hering, A., Cantarella, A., Kliegel, M., Bisiacchi, P. S., & Borella, E. (2023). The Padua PM task: A new high-quality video-based prospective memory assessment in younger and older adults. Current Psychology.

3. EPELI - A novel virtual reality task for the assessment of goal-direc…

   Seesjärvi, E., Puhakka, J., Aronen, E. T., Hering, A., Zuber, S., Merzon, L., Kliegel, M., Laine, M., & Salmi, J. (2023). EPELI: A novel virtual reality task for the assessment of goal-directed behavior in real-life contexts. Psychological Research.

4. Higher levels of neuroticism in older adults predict lower executive …

   Da Silva Coelho, C., Joly-Burra, E., Ihle, A., Ballhausen, N., Haas, M., Hering, A., Kunzi, M., Laera, G., Mikneviciute, G., Tinello, D., Kliegel, M., & Zuber, S. (2022). Higher levels of neuroticism in older adults predict lower executive functioning across time: The mediating role of perceived stress. European Journal of Ageing, 19(3), 633-649.

5. The sounds of memory - Extending the age-prospective memory paradox t…

   Haas, M., Mehl, M. R., Ballhausen, N., Zuber, S., Kliegel, M., & Hering, A. (2022). The sounds of memory: Extending the age-prospective memory paradox to everyday behavior and conversations. The Journals Of Gerontology. Series B, Psychological Sciences And Social Sciences, 77(4), 695-703.