معرفی
Dr. Lena Wimmer serves as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Human-Computer-Media Institute of the University of Würzburg, holding dual appointments with both the Chair of Communication Psychology and New Media and the Chair of Psychology IV - Educational Psychology. She joined Würzburg in 2024 following her role as Acting Professor for General Psychology at the University of Kassel (2022-2023) and her position as Research Associate at the University of Freiburg's Department of Empirical Teaching and Learning Research (2020-2024).
Dr. Wimmer earned her Diploma in Psychology from the University of Bamberg (2004-2009), then progressed through research positions at Heidelberg University, University of Duisburg-Essen (where she completed her 2015 doctorate on The aesthetic paradox in the processing of fictional vs. non-fictional texts), Bangor University, and the University of Kent before returning to Germany for her current position.
Her research program centers on four interconnected domains: word processing mechanisms examining how readers comprehend fictional versus non-fictional materials; learning from texts and narratives investigating how narrative structures influence knowledge acquisition; educational psychology of autism focusing on category learning differences in autistic individuals; and the self-regulatory effects of mindfulness on cognitive functions and academic performance. Her work frequently employs meta-analytic approaches to synthesize evidence across multiple studies, particularly regarding fiction's cognitive impacts.
Dr. Wimmer's publication record shows consistent output with increasing methodological sophistication, moving from single-experiment studies to large-scale meta-analyses. Her recent work has expanded into examining disinformation processing while maintaining her core focus on narrative fiction's psychological effects. She demonstrates strong international collaboration patterns, working with researchers across Germany, the UK, and Switzerland.
Dr. Wimmer actively supervises student research projects and has secured funding for studies on mindfulness interventions in educational contexts and the cognitive effects of narrative fiction. Her methodological expertise spans experimental psychology, meta-analysis, and novel measurement development for assessing fiction exposure and processing.
At the University of Würzburg, Dr. Wimmer leads a research team investigating how narrative fiction influences social cognition and epistemic vigilance. Her laboratory brings together psychologists, educators, and media scholars to examine the cognitive and social impacts of media consumption, with current projects exploring how different fiction types affect cognitive processing and developing targeted mindfulness interventions for educational challenges.
