dr. Thorsten Erle

Bio

I am an Assistant Professor at the Department of Social Psychology at Tilburg University. My research focuses on psychological processes that help us to understand others, in particular processes involved in the experience of empathy such as taking the perspective of another person. In my work, I have shown how these processes work, and what their consequences are, for example, for social and economic decision-making, or for mental health & well-being.

I am also keenly interested in various other areas of inquiry, for example, in aesthetics and visual perception (how does perception contribute to the experience of pleasure?), or interoception (what is the role of body perception for social psychological processes?).

Feel free to approach me, should you have any questions about research in these areas or my publications (see below).

Expertise

I mainly conduct experimental research using behavioral and psychophysiological methods to uncover the mechanisms underlying social cognitions, behaviors, and decisions.

My research has been funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), the European Association for Social Psychology (EASP), and Prolific Academic. I am also a member of a research network sponsored by the DFG that investigates processes involved in understanding others. To follow our activities, visit us here: https://www.understandingothers.net/

For example, we are currently guest editing a special issue on the topic of "Understanding others in moments of crisis" for the journal Social Psychology,  see: https://econtent.hogrefe.com/doi/full/10.1027/1864-9335/a000440

Teaching

At Tilburg University, I have taught courses in the Work Group Psychology, Experimental Research Design, and Social Cognition.

At my previous institutions, I have taught courses on Implicit Social Cognition, Attitudes and Persuasion, Research Methods, Empathy & Perspective-Taking, Intercultural Competence, and Communication & Rhetoric.

At all institutions, I have also supervised theses at all levels (Bachelor, Master, Research Master).

Courses

• Work Group Psychology
• Internship I Economic Psychology
• Thesis Work and Organization Psychology
• Thesis Economic Psychology
• Bachelor's Thesis: Work and Organizational Psychology
• Bachelor's Thesis: Economic Psychology
• Bachelor's Thesis: Social Psychology
• Social Cognition
• Master's Internship I Work and Organization Psychology

Recent publications

1. Emojis as social information in digital communication

   Erle, T. M., Schmid, K., Goslar, S. H., & Martin, J. D. (2022). Emojis as social information in digital communication. Emotion.

2. Did my heart just leap or sink? - The role of personality for the rel…

   Erle, T. M., Mitschke, V., & Schultchen, D. (2021). Did my heart just leap or sink? The role of personality for the relation between cardiac interoception and well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 170, [110493].

3. On the relationship of interoceptive accuracy and attention - A contr…

   Schultchen, D., Schneider, C., Berberich, G., Zaudig, M., Erle, T. M., & Pollatos, O. (2021). On the relationship of interoceptive accuracy and attention: A controlled study with depressed inpatients and a healthy cohort. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, [597488].

4. Towards theory formalization in (social) embodiment - A tutorial

   Szabelska, A., Dujols, O., Erle, T. M., Sparacio, A., & IJzerman, H. (2021). Towards theory formalization in (social) embodiment: A tutorial. In M. Robinson, & L. E. Thomas (Eds.), Springer handbook of embodied psychology: Thinking, feeling, and acting (pp. 339-356). Springer. ,

5. Reward strengthens action–effect binding

   Eder, AB., Erle, T. M., & Kunde, W. (2020). Reward strengthens action–effect binding. Motivation Science, 6(3), 297-302.