Vera M. Hesslinger

Vera M. Hesslinger is a Researcher at the Department of General Psychology and Methodology, Faculty of Human Sciences, Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg. She earned her PhD in Experimental Psychology from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, supervised by Univ.-Prof. Dr. Heiko Hecht. Her work focuses on the perception and experience of art, cognitive maps, and social perception dynamics.

• Research Interests: Art perception, cognitive processing of visual ambiguity, social factors in aesthetics, and psychophysical analysis of color and depth perception.
• Key Contributions: Co-authored studies on the Mona Lisa’s 3D implications, #TheDress color perception, and social conformity in aesthetic judgments. Explored semantic instability in art and cognitive mapping.
• Recent Trends: Her 2022-2023 publications examine analytic vs. synthetic art perception and cross-cultural emptiness in architecture, reflecting a blend of experimental psychology and applied aesthetic research.
• Teaching: Conducts seminars on perception and observation exercises for BSc Psychology students, emphasizing empirical methods.
• Contact: Located at Markusplatz 3, Bamberg; office hours by appointment via email vera.hesslinger@uni-bamberg.de.