Theses
The research focus of the Clinical Psychology II group is pain research and thus most of the theses are in this topic area.
Application procedure
Please send your request for a thesis exclusively to the following e-mail: thesis_klinpsych@hhu.de
Your request should include a current CV, a transcript of records (if grades are available), preferred topics and/or preferred supervisors, and your timeline (including start date and when you need the grade). Only complete applications can be considered.
Bachelor theses:
The application period for SoSe24 is already closed. Applications for WS24/25 will be collected until 05.05.2024 at 23:59.
Master's theses:
The regular application period for Master's theses starting with Module C in WS24/25 starts in our department after the presentation event on 29.01.2024 and ends on 18.02.2024 at 23:59.
We will only review all complete documents after the application periods and then give you feedback as to whether we will continue to consider your application.
External master thesis
If you would like to write an external Master's thesis with supervision from our working group, please contact us as early as possible so that you can be assigned a supervisor and take part in our Module C colloquium. Please also note that participation in our bi-weekly research colloquium as well as giving two presentations in said colloquium is mandatory.
Development of the DiGA 'Somate': digital therapy for people with somatoform disorders
Despite the high level of suffering and severe impairment in everyday life, the approximately 2,200,000 people affected in Germany wait an average of over five months for an appropriate therapy place. Somate solves these problems by enabling therapeutic treatment via an app that creates a medically sound understanding of the disease and accompanies patients in their everyday lives.
In the context of this project, various sub-areas are available for Master's theses. These range from the development of specific digital therapy content based on cognitive behavioral therapy to the integration of gamification and other factors to increase user loyalty.
Contact person:
Language: German or English
Theses are available for WS23/24, a short-term start is possible, Master's theses only.
Endogenous pain modulation and dopamine in Parkinson's disease.
Reward can induce endogenous pain inhibition, with this being modulated by the neurotransmitter dopamine. However, the exact underlying mechanisms are still unclear. In this project, this issue will be investigated in patients with Parkinson's disease as a model disorder at the UKD. The project includes a combination of behavioral measures, pharmacological interventions and magnetoencephalography (MEG).
Contact person:
Language: English
Specific requirements: not afraid of statistics/program code, very good knowledge of English - written and spoken
There are no more master theses to be assigned in this project for WS23/24.
Perception and interaction of visual and somatosensory stimuli
This project investigates how the presentation of visual stimuli influences the individual perception and processing of electrical and thermal pain stimuli. In particular, the role of psychological factors, such as learning processes, will be investigated.
Contact person:
Language: German or English
There are no more master theses to be assigned in this project for WS23/24.
Reward, prediction error, and learning in the context of pain.
Exploitation and exploration are two possible behaviors in dealing with a decision-making problem. Exploitation describes the decision for a previously used or learned behavior, which represents the optimal decision based on the previous state of knowledge. Exploration, on the other hand, describes the decision to try out a new or untested behavior, which is based on the fact that the previous state of knowledge is not sufficient to make an optimal decision. While this decision is more risky, it also provides the opportunity to discover better behaviors. In this project, the exploration-exploitation dilemma is related to learning by prediction error and the fear-avoidance model in pain.
Contact:
Language: German or English
Specific requirements: not afraid of statistics/program code
There are no more master theses to be assigned in this project for WS23/24.
Differences and individual variation in endogenous pain modulation.
The perception of pain stimuli can vary greatly while the physical intensity remains constant. This so-called endogenous pain modulation varies not only between different individuals, but also within individuals, e.g., depending on the daily form. In the context of this project, we will investigate which factors play an important role in the variation of pain modulation. This includes for example the investigation of "stress-induced analgesia".
Contact:
Language: German or English
Specific requirements: not afraid of statistics/program code
There are no more master theses to be assigned in this project for WS23/24.