Prof. Dr. Ben Eppinger

Chair of Developmental and Educational Psychology

Room: 405
office hours: on demand
Tel.: +49 (0)3834 420 3750
ben.eppingeruni-greifswaldde

Curriculum Vitae (PDF)

 

 

Research interests

I study developmental differences in learning and decision-making behavior, as well as the underlying psychological and neurobiological processes across the lifespan.  

My research program has three sub-areas:  

(1) Development of adaptive behavior; 

(2) Development of learning and decision-making strategies; 

(3) Development of social learning and decision-making processes. 

 

The aim of my research is to develop normative, neurobiologically plausible theories of developmental differences in learning and decision-making by combining experimental, computational, and neuroscientific methods. In doing so I would like to pave the way for for theory- and evidence-based interventions in the fields of education and health.  

Curriculum Vitae

2024-2026 Managing director, Department of Psychology, University of Greifswald
Since May 2022 Full professor (W3) for Developmental and Educational Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Greifswald
2021-2022 Visiting Professor, Department of Education andPsychology, Freie Universität Berlin
2019-2022 Associate Professor of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, CA (tenured)
2017-2022 Tier 2 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in cognitive neuroscience of decision making in healthy aging
2016-2019 Associate Professor of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, CA
2013-2016 Assistant professor for neurocognitive development of motivational mechanisms, TU Dresden
2010-2012 Research Scientist, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin
2007-2010 Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University
2007 PhD, Department of Psychology, Saarland University
2004 Diploma in psychology, Department of Psychology, Saarland University

Recent publications:

Eppinger B., Ruel A., & Bolenz F. (2025).  Diminished State Space Theory of Human Aging. Perspect Psychol Sci, 220(2), 325-339. https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916231204811

Bruckner, R., Nassar, M. R., Li, S.-C., & Eppinger, B. (2025). Differences in learning across the lifespan emerge via resource-rational computations.Psychological Review, 132(3), 556–580. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000526

Devine, S., Germain, N., Ehrlich, S., Eppinger, B. (2024). Changes in the prevalence of muscular, but not thin bodies, bias young men’s judgments about body size, Psychology of Men & Masculinities

Rodriguez-Buritica, J. M., Eppinger, B., Heekeren, H. R., Crone, E.A., & van Duijvenvoorde, A., C., K. (2024). Observational Reinforcement Learning in children and young adults. Nature Science of Learning

Eppinger, B., Ruel, A., & Bolenz, F. (2023). Diminished state space theory of human aging. Perspectives on Psychological Science

Devine, S., Neuman, C., Levari, D.E., & Eppinger, B. (2022) Human ageing is associated with more rigid concept spaces, Psychonomic Bulletin & Review.

Ruel, A., Bolenz, F., Li, S.-C., Fischer, A. G., & Eppinger, B. (2022). Neural evidence for age-related deficits in the representation of state spaces. Cerebral Cortex.

Devine, S., Germain, N., Ehrlich, S., & Eppinger, B. (2022). Changes in the prevalence of thin bodies biases young women’s judgements about body size. Psychological Science, 33, 1212-1225. 

Link to LDMlab website