Fachgebiet Cognitive and Developmental Psychology

Dr. Ann-Kathrin Beck

SENIOR RESEARCH SCIENTIST
Scientific Coordinator of the Center for Cognitive Science
Representative for Diversity and Inclusion

Phone+49 (0)631 / 205 5038
Emailakbeck(at)rptu.de 
Building57, Room 524
Office hoursOn Wednesdays, from 18:00 to 19:00.

Areas of Interest

  • Neurocognitive mechanisms of visual categorization
  • Semantic–episodic memory interactions in autism
  • Neurodiversity and individual differences in cognition
  • Electrophysiological markers of perception, memory, and cognitive control
  • Higher cognition in applied and social contexts

Publications

Allison, C., Huettig, F., Beck, A. K., Allen, S., & Lachmann, T. (2026). Are visuospatial working memory influences on prediction in speech contingent on the co-presence of a relevant visual world? An ERP study. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience, 1-12. Advance online publication here 

Eymann, V., Beck, A. K., Lachmann, T., Jaarsveld, S., & Czernochowski, D. (2026). Reconsidering divergent and convergent thinking in creativity–a neurophysiological index for the convergence-divergence continuum. Creativity research journal, 38(1), 129-136. Download here

Beck, A. K., Souza, C., Garrido, M. V., Barahona‑Correa, J. B., Carmo, J. C., Lachmann, T., & Czernochowski, D. (2025). Neural correlates of semantic typicality during episodic memory retrieval in autism spectrum disorder. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 32577. Download here

Ebrahimi, Z., Beck, A. K., Bergstršm, K., Jaarsveld, S., & Lachmann, T. (2025). The Maze of Creative Thinking Pathways of Traits, States, and Intelligence in Shaping Creativity. In Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society (Vol. 47). Download here

Ronft, S., Beck, A.-K., & Lachmann, T. (2025). Human-centric virtual lighting: Effects of color temperature and daylight simulation in virtual environments. Applied Ergonomics, 129, 104601. Download here

Plueckebaum, H., Czernochowski, D., Lachmann, T., & Beck, A. (2025). Too early for inhibitory control? ERP evidence for social jetlag in evening chronotypes across three domains of distraction. Biological Psychology, 198, 109042. Download here

Plueckebaum, H., Lachmann, T., & Beck, A. K. (2024). Visual Global and Local Processing in the Broader Autism Phenotype Depends on the Stimulus Material. International Society for Psychophysics, 103.

Eymann, V., Lachmann, T., Beck, A. K., & Czernochowski, D. (2024). EEG oscillatory evidence for the temporal dynamics of divergent and convergent thinking in the verbal knowledge domain. Intelligence, 104, 101828. DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2024.101828

Herbst, J., Petershans, J., Rüb, M., Lipps, C., Beck, A. K., Carmo, J. C., ... & Schotten, H. D. (2023, October). Inception Based Deep Learning: Biometric Identification Using Electroencephalography (EEG). In 2023 International Symposium on Networks, Computers and Communications (ISNCC) (pp. 1-7). IEEE. DOI: 10.1109/ISNCC58260.2023.10323854

Plueckebaum, H., Meyer, L., Beck, A.-K., & Menn, K. H. (2023). The Developmental Trajectory of Functional Excitation-Inhibition Balance Relates to Language Abilities in Autistic and Allistic Children. Autism Research, 16(9), 1681-1692. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2992

Ronft, S.&Beck, A.-K. (2023). Understanding psychological mechanisms to improve virtual spaces and Metaverse events. LiveCom-LAB Conference Proceedings, 1. DOI: 10.25716/thm-223

Beck, A.-K.* , Czernochowski, D.*, Lachmann, T., Barahona-Correa, B., & Carmo, J. C. (2022). Is the dolphin a fish? ERP evidence for the impact of typicality during early visual processing in ultra-rapid semantic categorization in autism spectrum disorder. Journal of neurodevelopmental disorders, 14(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1186/s11689-022-09457-7

Eymann, V.*, Beck, A.-K.*, Jaarsveld, S., Lachmann, T., & Czernochowski, D. (2022). Alpha oscillatory evidence for shared underlying mechanisms of creativity and fluid intelligence above and beyond working memory-related activity. Intelligence ,91, 101630. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2022.101630 (IF: 3.0; Q1 Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous))

Beck, A.-K.,Berti, S., Czernochowski, D., & Lachmann, T. (2021). Do categorical representations modulate early automatic visual processing? A visual mismatch-negativity study. Biological Psychology, 108139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108139 

Beck, A.-K., Czernochowski, D., Lachmann, T., & Berti, S. (2021). Do categorical representations modulate early perceptual or later cognitive visual processing? An ERP study. Brain and Cognition, 150, 105724. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2021.105724 

Nikolaev, A. R.*, Beck, A.-K.*, Theobald, S., Lachmann, T., & van Leeuwen, C. (2020). Factoring in the spatial effects of symbolic number representation. Biological Psychology, 149, 107782. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2019.107782

Conference presentations

TALKS

Beck, A.-K. (2025). Making Sense of the Visual World: Individual Variability in Task-Driven and Automatic Global–Local Information Processing. Research Colloquium “BioCog - Cognitive and Biological Psychology”, University of Leipzig, Leipzig (Germany).

Ebrahimi, Z., Beck, A.-K., Bergström, K., Czernochowski, D., Lachmann, T., & Jaarsveld., S. (2025). The Role of Working Memory on Intelligence and Creativity. 67th Conference of the Tagung experimentell arbeitender Psychologen (TeaP), Frankfurt am Main (Germany).

Beck, A.-K., Lachmann, T., & Kimura, M. (2025). Investigating Cultural Influences on Automatic Processing of Task-Irrelevant Global and Local Visual Information. 7th annual meeting of the society for the cognitive science of culture (SCSC), Zurich (Switzerland).

Beck, A.-K., Lachmann, T., & Kimura, M. (2024). A new psychophysiological method to assess automatic visual processing of task-irrelevant global and local information. 46th European Conference on Visual Perception, Aberdeen (Scotland).

Beck, A.-K., Lachmann, T., & Kimura, M. (2024). Investigating the contribution of visual MMN to posterior negativity in processing geometrical shape deviants. 10th Mismatch Negativity Conference, Salamanca (Spain).

Beck, A.-K., Lachmann, T., & Kimura, M. (2024).Investigation of Inidividual and Cultural Influences on Automatic Change Detection of Task-Irrelevant Global and Local Visual Information. 2024 Doctoral Symposium on Cognitive Science: Beyond Averages - Individual Differences in Cognition, Diemerstein (Germany).

Basten, U., Plueckebaum, H., Beck, A.-K., De la Fuente, D., Heyer, H., Schmuck, F., Shafir, R., & Karbach, J. (2024). Short-Term Effects of Emotion Regulation on Brain Activation: Distraction More Effectively Reduces the EEG-Response to High-Intensity Negative Stimuli Than Reappraisal. 3rd Deutschen Psychotherapie Kongress (DPK), Berlin (Germany).

Eymann, V., Czernochowski, D., Beck, A., Jaarsveld, S., & Lachmann, T. (2024): Reconsidering divergent and convergent thinking? Evidence for the convergence-divergence continuum. Virtual BlitzTalk, 9th Meeting of the Society for the Neuroscience of Creativity (SfNC), Toronto (Canada).

Beck, A.-K. (2023). Neural mechanisms of semantic categorization in autistic and neurotypical adults. Research Colloquium “Medical psychology and medical sociology”, Institute of Medical Psychology and Medial Sociology at the University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel (Germany).

Beck, A.-K., Andrey R. Nikoleav, Cees van Leeuwen, Thomas Lachmann (2023). Exploring the neural basis of symbolic number processing: insight from behavioral and event related potentials study. 39th Meeting of the International Society of Psychophysics (FechnerDay), Assisi (Italy).

Beck, A.-K. (2022). Can categorical information modulate the visual mismatch-negativity?. 9th Mismatch Negativity Conference, Fukushima (Japan).

Ronft, S., and Beck, A.-K. (2022). Understanding psychological mechanisms to improve virtual spaces and Metaverse events. LiveCom-LAB Conference, Giessen (Germany).

Beck, A.-K. (2022). Neural mechanisms of semantic categorization. Brain and Cognition research seminar, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium).

Beck, A.-K. (2022). Factors which can implicitly affect detailedness of information processing for semantic categorization using EEG. Biological psychology research seminar, University of Koblenz-Landau in Landau (Germany).

Beck, A.-K. (2022). Event-history analysis application: an advanced strategy to deal with behavioral inter-subject variability. BEC – Behavior, Emotion & Cognition research group, ISCTE - Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (Portugal).

Eymann, V., Beck, A.-K., Jaarsveld, S., Lachmann, T., and Czernochowski, D. (2022). Neural correlates of divergent and convergent problem-solving indicate common mechanisms beyond shared working memory-related activity. 64th Tagung experimentell arbeitender Psychologen, Online.

Beck, A.-K., Carmo, J.C., Czernochowski, D., and Lachmann, T (2019) Typicality in rapid object categorization in individuals with and without autism spectrum disorder. 21th Conference of the European Society for Cognitive Psychology, Tenerife (Spain).

Beck, A.-K., Carmo, J.C., Czernochowski, D., and Lachmann, T (2019) Malfunctioning feedback loop during ultra-rapid item categorization in individuals with autism spectrum disorder. 61th Conference of the Tagung experimentell arbeitender Psychologen, London (United Kingdom).

Beck, A.-K., Berti, S., Czernochwski, D., Christmann, C., and Lachmann T. (2018) Same Stimulus – Different Constellation: The visual mismatch negativity investigated with Garner’s patterns. 34th Meeting of the International Society of Psychophysics, Lüneburg (Germany).

 

POSTERS

Grazt, L., Beck, A.-K., Souza, C., Ennahli, K., Garrido, M.V., & Lachmann, T. (2025). Linking Personality Traits to Distinct Stages of Aesthetic Processing in the Evaluation of Visual Art. 57th Annual meeting of cognitive and experimental psychologists (HExKoP), Trier(Germany). 

Beck, A.-K.*, Souza, C.*, Garrido, M.V., Barahona-Correa, J.B., Carmo, J.C., Czernochowski, D., & Lachmann, T. (2025). Neural Dynamics of Recognition Memory in Autism: ERP Evidence for Differential Engagement of Familiarity and Recollection. International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON), Porto (Portugal).

Beck, A.-K.*, Souza, C.*, Garrido, M.V., Barahona-Correa, J.B., Carmo, J.C., Czernochowski, D., & Lachmann, T. (2025). Typicality, Encoding, and Neurodivergence in Recognition Memory: Cognitive Strategies in Autism vs. Neurotypical Adults. 24th Conference of the European Society for Cognitive Psychology (ESCOP), Sheffield (United Kingdom).

Beck, A.-K., Plueckebaum, H., & Lachmann, T. (2025). Beyond the Embedded Figures Test: Investigating the Relationship Between Autistic-Like Traits and Visual Processing Styles Across Tasks. 47th European Conference on Visual Perception (ECVP), Mainz (Germany).

Ebrahimi, Z., Beck, A.-K., Bergström, K., Jaarsveld, S., & Lachmann, T. (2025). The Maze of Creative Thinking Pathways of Traits, States, and Intelligence on Shaping Creativity. 47th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society (CogSci), San Francisco (United States of America).

Beck, A.-K., Czernochowski, D., Lachmann, T. & Hering, A. (2024). The effect of working memory demands on the neural correlates of prospective memory. 46th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, Rotterdam (Netherlands).

Shoushtari, S. S. Z., Beck, A.-K., Czernochowski, D., Schmidt, T., and Lachmann, T. (2022). A systematic review of functional magnetic resonance imaging studies of flanker and response priming effects. 18th Annual Conference of the Italian Association of Cognitive Science, Trento (Italy).

Lipps, C., Herbst, J., Petershans, J., Beck, A.-K., Lachmann, T., and Schotten, H. D. (2022). You cannot Hide Behind Your Thoughts: EEG-based Biometric Identification. 16th International Conference on Cyber Warfare and Security, Cooksville (United States of America).

Beck, A.-K., Carmo, J.C., and Lachmann, T. (2022). The role of feedforward and recurrent processing during ultra-rapid natural and man-made object image categorization: A distributional response time study. 38th Meeting of the International Society of Psychophysics, Lund (Sweden).

Czernochowski, D. and Beck, A.-K. (2022). Retrieving item and feature information from episodic memory following deep or shallow encoding: Complementary oscillatory and ERP evidence from young and older children as compared to young adults. 10th International Congress for Integrative Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, Paris (France).

Eymann, V., Beck, A.-K., Jaarsveld, S., Lachmann, T., and Czernochowski, D. (2022). Higher fronto parietal upper alpha synchronization in divergent as compared to convergent thinking beyond the impact of working memory. 47th joint annual meeting Psychology and the Brain, Freiburg (Germany).

Eymann, V., Beck, A.-K., Jaarsveld, S., Lachmann, T., and Czernochowski, D. (2022). Upper alpha oscillatory activity reflects sub- processes of creating, but not solving geometric matrices. Virtual Forum of the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies, Paris (France).

Beck, A.-K., Berti, S., Czernochowski, D., and Lachmann T. (2021). Does perceptual categorization affect early perceptual visual processing or not? Two ERP studies using Bayesian statistics. 43th European Conference on Visual Perception, Online.

Beck, A.-K., Czernochowski, D., Lachmann T., and Berti, S. (2021). Categorical representations in early perceptual and late cognitive visual processing: Combined oddball and delayed memory paradigm. 46th joint annual meeting Psychology and the Brain, Online.

Czernochowski, D. & Beck, A.-K. (2020) EEG oscillations distinguish age invariant subsequent memory effects of shallow encoding of perceptual features and distinct signatures of deep semantic encoding in young and older elementary school children and young adults. Flux Virtual Congress from The Society for Developmental Cognitive Neurosceince, Online.

Beck, A.-K., Souza C., Garrido, M.V., Czernochowski, D., and Lachmann, T., and Carmo, J.C. (2020) Episodic deficits in ASD as reflected in atypical theta oscillatory activity: the oscillatory old-new effect. Virtual Forum of the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies, Online.

Beck, A.-K., Carmo, J.C., Czernochowski, D., and Lachmann, T. (2019) Malfunctioning feedback loop during ultra-rapid item categorization in individuals with autism spectrum disorder. 12th Autism-Europe International Congress, Nice (France).

Beck, A.-K., Panis, S., Carmo, J.C., and Lachmann, T. (2019) Influence of typicality on the time course of responses in adults with ASD: Event history analysis of ultra-rapid object categorization.
Poster presented at the 35th Meeting of the International Society of Psychophysics, Antalya (Turkey).

Czernochowski, D., Beck, A.-K., and Haese, A. (2019) The role of semantic elaboration and perceptual binding for episodic encoding: ERP and oscillatory subsequent memory effect in children, adolescents and young adults. 7th International Congress for Integrative Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, New York (United States of America).

Beck, A.-K., Berti, S., Czernochwski, D., Christmann, C., and Lachmann T. (2018) Same Stimulus – Different Constellation: The visual mismatch negativity investigated with Garner’s patterns. 51th Germany Psychological Society Congress, Frankfurt (Germany).

Beck, A.-K., Berti, S., Czernochwski, D., Christmann, C., and Lachmann T. (2018) Same Stimulus – Different Constellation: The visual mismatch negativity investigated with Garner’s patterns. 8th Mismatch Negativity Conference, Helsinki (Finland).