M.Sc. Manuel Pöhlmann

• since 06/2026: PhD candidate, Chair of General and Applied Psychology (Prof. Gesine Dreisbach), University of Regensburg. Topic: “From representation to action: Uncovering how task representations shape voluntary task choice”.
• 10/2021 - 12/2025: M.Sc. in Cognitive Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, Friedrich Schiller University Jena. Thesis: "Effects of Mu Suppression Neurofeedback Training on Social Cognition in Autism Spectrum Disorder". 
• 10/2018 - 09/2021: B.Sc. in Psychology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena. Thesis: “The Effect of Acoustic Parameters on Perceived Naturalness and Emotion in Voices”.

• since 06/2026: Research Associate, Chair of General and Applied Psychology (Prof. Gesine Dreisbach), University of Regensburg.
• 03/2024 - 05/2026: Research Associate, Department for General Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience (Prof. Stefan R. Schweinberger), Friedrich Schiller University Jena. 
• 01/2022 - 02/2024: Academic Tutor, Department for General Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience (Prof. Stefan R. Schweinberger), Friedrich Schiller University Jena.
• 09/2023 - 12/2023: Research Assistant in a DFG-funded research project (PI: Dr. Sven Kachel), RPTU University of Kaiserslautern-Landau.
• 02/2022 - 06/2022: Research Assistant in a DFG-funded research project (PI: Dr. Sven Kachel), University of Koblenz and Landau. 
• 06/2021 - 01/2022: Student Assistant, Biomagnetic Center, University Hospital Jena.

• Role of mental representations for voluntary task switching
• Social cognition in autism spectrum disorder
• Voice perception

• Kachel, S., Pöhlmann, M., & Nussbaum, C. (2023). Queer Events, Relationships, and Sports: Does Topic Influence Speakers' Acoustic Expression of Sexual Orientation? In INTERSPEECH 2023 (p 4269-4273). ISCA. https://doi.org/10.21437/Interspeech.2023-2087
• Nussbaum, C., Pöhlmann, M., Kreysa, H., & Schweinberger, S. R. (2023). Perceived Naturalness of Emotional Voice Morphs. Cognition & Emotion, 37(4), 731-747. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2023.2200920

• Pöhlmann, M. (2025). Effects of Mu Suppression Neurofeedback Training on Social Cognition in Autism Spectrum Disorder - A Pilot Study [Master Thesis]. Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena.
• Pöhlmann, M. (2021). The Effect of Acoustic Parameters on Perceived Naturalness and Emotion in Voices [Bachelor Thesis]. Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena.

• Kachel, S., Pöhlmann, M., & Nussbaum, C. (2024, June). Straighter Voice Information Leads to Straighter Perceptions: Causal Implications for Sexual Orientation Perception Using a Voice-Morphing Approach. Panel contribution at the 18^th International Conference on Language and Social Psychology (ICLASP18:24), Talinn, Estonia. [Part of Panel: Fasoli, F., & Kachel, S. (2024). Voice-based perception of minority groups: Processes and consequences.]
• Kachel, S., Pöhlmann, M., & Nussbaum, C. (2023, August). Queer Events, Relationships, and Sports: Does Topic Influence Speakers' Acoustic Expression of Sexual Orientation? Poster Presentation at the 24^th INTERSPEECH Conference, Dublin, Ireland.
• Nussbaum, C., Pöhlmann, M., Kreysa, H., & Schweinberger, S. R. (2022, March). Percepved naturalness of emotional voice morphs. Talk at the 64^th Conference of Experimental Psychologists (TeaP), Cologne, Germany.

A central question in cognitive psychology is how mental representations influence behaviour, particularly when individuals navigate the everyday challenges of managing multiple tasks. Early task-switching research introduced the concept of a "task set" and largely focused on the mechanisms involved in switching tasks (e.g., Allport et al., 1995; Rogers & Monsell, 1995). However, these studies provided limited insights into how tasks are mentally represented and, conversely, how task representations influence task-switching behaviour. Others (e.g., Dreisbach, 2012; Gilbert & Shallice, 2002; Herd et al., 2014; Musslick & Cohen, 2021) have suggested that the way in which tasks are represented critically influences our ability to switch between tasks. Yet relatively little is known about how these representations emerge and how they shape our willingness to change tasks. In this project, we aim to close this gap by combining behavioural experiments with neural network modelling. This project investigates how task representations emerge and how they affect task choice. Additionally, we will examine how task representations, once established, are updated or modified in response to new stimuli that violate the established representation. Finally, we will explore how task representations are individually formed based on prior similarity judgments of stimuli. Each behavioural experiment will be complemented by computational simulations of a connectionist model, offering mechanistic accounts of how different patterns of behaviour emerge from varying representations of stimuli and tasks. Taken together, this project aims to elucidate the cognitive and computational mechanisms underlying the relationship between task representations and task switching behaviour, providing new insights into how people flexibly adapt to changing task demands and choose between tasks.

PI - Project 1 (behavioural studies): Prof. Dr. Gesine Dreisbach (University of Regensburg)
Ph.D. student: M.Sc. Manuel Pöhlmann (University of Regensburg)

PI - Project 2 (computational modelling): Prof. Dr. Sebastian Musslick (University of Osnabrück) (external link, opens in a new window)
Ph.D. student: M.Sc. Muhip Tezcan (University of Osnabrück) (external link, opens in a new window)

• OSF
• ORCID
• ResearchGate

• British Journal of Psychology