Welcome!
I am a resistance researcher specializing in psychological reactance in the fields of political communication and health communication. In my work, I study what happens when people feel that their freedom is being threatened and how this sense of threat leads to resistance, defense, and counteraction.
My research focuses on understanding why people push back against persuasive messages and what happens when freedom of action, thought, opinion, or identity is challenged. These reactions are not merely individual but deeply social and communicative. Understanding them helps explain why debates become polarized, why persuasive messages fail, and how dialogue and behavioral change can be fostered in times of social tension and mistrust in expert advice.
In my habilitation project, I redefine how we measure psychological reactance and apply reactance theory to contemporary conflicts around bodily autonomy, for example, in the context of vaccine hesitancy, the My Body My Choice movement, or Stop the Stigma campaigns. More broadly, my work examines wicked problems in which freedoms and moral values collide between different groups in society. If you are interested in learning more about this line of work, I invite you to visit my Reactance Research Hub, where I share insights and findings from my bidt-funded project, ‘Rethinking and Measuring Psychological Reactance in Times of Wicked Problems’.
Within this framework, I also study persuasive communication and prevention strategies in health contexts. One strand of this research explores social media challenges, particularly how young people use these trends on platforms such as TikTok. While much of the existing research focuses on risks and harmful effects, I highlight how such challenges can also generate positive social outcomes, from building community spirit and supporting good causes to alleviating social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. This line of work connects to my broader interest in designing interventions and communication strategies that reduce resistance and promote constructive engagement in public health and social change campaigns.
Beyond my theoretical work, I am deeply committed to computational transparency and methodological innovation. I have built the R-Curriculum and Statistics Help Desk at the Department of Media and Communication at LMU Munich and I co-developed the R package tidycomm with Julian Unkel and Mario Haim. The package helps standardize data workflows in communication research and makes advanced computational methods more accessible for students and scholars. I also design open educational resources, including tutorials and a “teach-the-teachers” program that supports educators in integrating R-based methods into their courses.
I hold a double BA in Communication Sciences, German Literature, and Law, as well as a Master’s in Communication Science from LMU Munich. I completed my PhD at the University of Zurich, where I examined how people react when exposed to opposing political viewpoints and how these reactions influence political participation. My earlier work on the diffusion of the term “lying press” from the PEGIDA movement into mainstream media received the Best Thesis Award from LMU Munich.
Currently, I am a Visiting Professor at the Hanover University of Music, Drama, and Media (HMTMH) and will join the University of Zurich in April 2025 as a Lecturer in Digital Health Communication. Across all my projects, my goal is to deepen our understanding of resistance dynamics in complex societies and to translate this knowledge into more effective, reflective, and empathetic forms of communication.
Feel free to learn more about my professional experience, education, teaching, presentations and publications.