Niklas Schulte

Niklas Schulte serves as a Researcher in the Department of Psychological Diagnostics, Differential and Personality Psychology within the Department of Education and Psychology at Free University of Berlin since 2022. Previously, he held a Researcher position in Work and Organizational Psychology at Ulm University (2019-2021) and co-founded a personnel selection consulting firm during 2020-2021.

Education:

• B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Psychology and Business Administration from University of Münster and Columbia University (2012-2017), funded by Cusanuswerk scholarship
• Ph.D. (Dr. rer. nat.) from University of Münster (2017-2021) under Prof. Heinz Holling, researching ‘Statistical Properties of Forced-Choice Questionnaires in Applicant Personality Measurement’, supported by Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes and Cusanuswerk scholarships

Research Focus: Dr. Schulte specializes in personality assessment under high-stakes conditions, with emphasis on forced-choice methodologies, faking resistance, and diversity impacts in personnel selection. His work bridges cognitive psychology and organizational behavior, investigating how socio-economic status correlates with psychological outcomes and how response formats affect measurement validity.

Publication Trends: Recent work (2022-2025) demonstrates increasing focus on innovative assessment techniques like graded paired comparisons as alternatives to forced-choice questionnaires, alongside meta-analyses of ethnicity-based biases in selection processes and exploration of core belief systems related to socio-economic status.

Scientific Recognition:

• Prize for Outstanding Teaching (Ulm University, 2020/21)
• Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes Doctoral Scholarship
• Cusanuswerk Scholarships (undergraduate and doctoral)

Academic Contributions: He has taught ‘Test Theory’ and ‘Foundations of Psychological Diagnostics’ lectures, supervised the ‘Millionaire’s Mindset’ student research group (2023), and chaired symposia at major conferences including the German Psychological Society Congress. His research integrates methodological rigor with practical personnel selection applications.

Research Environment: As part of Prof. Stefan Krumm’s team at FU Berlin, he contributes to cutting-edge diagnostics research while maintaining active collaborations across European institutions, particularly evident in his multi-institutional publications.