Daniel Oberfeld-Twistel

Prof. Daniel Oberfeld-Twistel is an Associate Professor at the Department of General Experimental Psychology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. His academic career includes a PhD from TU Berlin (2005) and Habilitation (2011) at Mainz, leading to his appointment as extraordinary professor in 2020. His research focuses on perception and cognition in traffic scenarios, time-to-contact estimation, auditory and visual integration, and the effects of color on emotion and spatial perception. He collaborates widely with institutions like Rice University and Fraunhofer ITWM, exploring topics such as electric vehicle safety, loudness modeling, and virtual reality applications. His methods include psychophysical experiments, Monte Carlo simulations, and statistical modeling. He has led DFG-funded projects on auditory cognition and spatial perception, and his teaching spans cognitive psychology, perception, and applied statistics.

Research highlights include studies on pedestrians’ interaction with autonomous vehicles, audiovisual integration in traffic scenarios, and the influence of environmental factors (e.g., color, light) on perception and decision-making. He has contributed to over 50 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, with recent work on temporal weighting in loudness perception and user acceptance of autonomous public transport. His work bridges fundamental research and applied contexts, addressing real-world challenges in traffic safety and urban design.