Theses

The research focus of the Clinical Psychology group is pain research and thus most of the theses are in this topic area.

Please send your request for a thesis exclusively to the following e-mail: 

thesis_klinpsych(at)hhu.de

Your request should include the following documents/informations:

We review all complete application documents only after the application periods and will then provide you with feedback on whether your application will be further considered.

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.

Here you will find a brief overview of the topics/projects for which final theses can currently be offered.

Detailed descriptions of the projects can be found further down on the website.

We are recruiting a Masters’ student to help on a new project. The project aims at understanding mechanisms underlying functional disability in chronic pain. This project includes two studies. In the first study, the effect of potentially positive and negative factors on the relationship between resilience and functional disability will be evaluated. In the second study, brain mechanisms of functional disability will be studied using MRI. The role includes participants’ recruitment, testing, and data analyses. 

Supervisor: Marie-Eve Hoeppli 

Language: both English and German are required for this project

Note: Start of Modul C in March 2026.

The perception of pain stimuli can vary significantly, even when the physical intensity remains constant. This so-called endogenous pain modulation differs not only between individuals but also within individuals, for example, depending on their daily condition. This project investigates the factors that play a key role in the variation of pain modulation. This includes, for example, the study of “stress-induced analgesia.”

Supervisor: Dr. Martin Löffler

Language: German or English

Specific requirements: No fear of statistics/programming code

This project addresses existing research gaps in pain research with regard to LGBTQIA+ and gender-diverse populations. Empirical findings show that transgender and non-binary individuals are more frequently affected by chronic pain than cisgender individuals; at the same time, they have so far been significantly underrepresented in pain-related studies.

While previous research has primarily focused on biological sex differences in pain perception and processing, there is still limited knowledge about how gender identity beyond sex assigned at birth and sexual orientation are related to pain.

The project examines the extent to which gender diversity and sexual orientation—both independently and in interaction with each other—influence the development, processing, and perception of pain.

Supervisor: Dr. Katrin Lübke

Language: German or English

Specific requirements: Personal life or research experience in an LGBTQIA+ context is valued as a relevant perspective but is not a prerequisite. Students who bring diversity sensitivity, openness, and a non-judgmental attitude toward queer populations are equally welcome.

Mitochondriopathies comprise a group of heterogeneous clinical pictures whose common feature is genetic damage or dysfunction of the mitochondria. Due to the special role of mitochondria in cellular metabolic processes, mitochondriopathies primarily affect cells with high energy requirements, which can manifest itself in a variety of symptoms. For a long time hardly noticed, but known for many years, is that many of those affected also suffer from severe, persistent pain. Despite their obvious relevance, pain phenomena in connection with mitochondriopathies still appear to be "under-researched", particularly with regard to the pathogenetic mechanisms. However, knowledge of this is essential for the development and application of suitable therapeutic measures. The aim of our research is therefore to characterise these mechanisms and thus ultimately contribute to the necessary scientific basis for appropriate therapeutic interventions.

Supervisor: Benjamin Dickmann

Language: German or English

In the peripheral nervous system, different types of nerve fibers are involved in the development of pain. However, their contribution to different pain sensations and the functions of pain has not yet been thoroughly researched. In this project, we will first investigate in non-clinical participants how the activation of different nerve fibers is related to pain-related learning processes.

Supervisor: Dr. Annette Löffler (RWTH Aachen University Hospital), aloeffler@ukaachen.de

Location: RWTH Aachen University Hospital (preparatory work possible in Düsseldorf)

Special features: Demanding methodology/statistics

The aim of this bachelor’s thesis is to investigate the influence of gender and sexual orientation on facial mimicry. Facial mimicry, understood as the unconscious imitation of other people’s facial expressions, plays a central role in social interactions and emotional communication. This thesis examines whether the extent and patterns of facial mimicry differ depending on gender and sexual orientation. To this end, mimetic reactions to standardized emotional facial expressions were recorded using physiological measurements and will now be compared across different groups.

Supervisor: Dr. Katrin Lübke

Language: German or English

Specific requirements: No fear of processing physiological data

Note: Bachelor’s thesis only!

The aim of this bachelor’s thesis is to investigate the influence of female sexual orientation and individual sexual experiences on the perception of male body odor. Body odor is an important factor in social and sexual attractiveness and is influenced by biological, psychological, and social processes. The thesis will examine whether and to what extent evaluations of male body odor differ depending on sexual orientation (e.g., heterosexual, lesbian, bisexual) as well as previous sexual experiences. For this purpose, subjective odor ratings from an existing dataset will be related to information on sexual orientation and sexual experience.

Supervisor: Dr. Katrin Lübke

Language: German or English

Specific requirements: no fear of statistics

Note: Bachelor’s thesis only!

Dieses Projekt beschäftigt sich mit der frühzeitigen Intervention von psychischen Belastungen bei Jugendlichen. Dabei wird im Rahmen von Between The Lines eine Online-Community entwickelt, die als geschützter Raum für Austausch dienen soll. Psychische Belastungen sollen damit enttabuisiert und Empowerment durch einen Peer-to-Peer-Ansatz gezielt gefördert werden. Ergänzend werden validierte Informationen für Jugendliche bereitgestellt um niedrigschwellig den Zugang zu passenden Hilfsangeboten zu ermöglichen. Ein zentraler Bestandteil des Projekts ist die wissenschaftliche Evaluation. Ziel ist es, wissenschaftlich zu untersuchen, welche Effekte die Online Community auf die psychische Belastung der Jugendlichen hat und inwiefern sie die Bereitschaft erhöht, aktiv nach Hilfe zu suchen.

Ansprechpartnerin: Darleen Zumbruch, darleen(at)between-the-lines.info

Ort: Die Zusammenarbeit wird hauptsächlich Remote stattfinden. Es besteht jedoch die Option Montags und Mittwochs nach Solingen ins Office zu kommen.

Sprache: Deutsch

Weitere Infos zum zugrundeliegenden Projekt: https://about.between-the-lines.de/

Hinweis: In diesem Projekt werden nur Masterarbeiten angeboten.

Psychosomatic complaints or somatoform disorders (ICD-10: F45) affect around 10% of the population in Germany and are often associated with a significant reduction in quality of life as well as high utilization of medical services. Despite strong evidence for psychotherapeutic treatment approaches, there is currently no comprehensively validated digital therapy that provides structured, everyday support for this patient group.

Kaarlo is a digital, app-based therapy for psychosomatic complaints based on evidence-based psychotherapeutic methods, in particular cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). The current focus is on the clinical evaluation of the application as part of a scientific study.

In the context of this clinical study, we offer master’s theses. Tasks include contributing to the implementation and analysis of the clinical study (including data collection and statistical analysis), recruitment and support of study participants with psychosomatic complaints / somatoform disorders, and the scientific evaluation of digital therapeutic interventions in the field of psychosomatic medicine.

Supervisor: Dr. Felix Sümpelmann, felix@kaarlo.de

Language: German or English

More information: https://www.kaarlo.de

Note: A start in the summer semester 2026 with Module C is possible. Only master’s theses are offered in this project.

Additionally, we occasionally offer literature-based theses. These can either cover topics from our research areas or, in exceptional cases, take into account your own topic proposals. If you are interested, please indicate this accordingly in your list of preferences.

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.

Supervisor: Dr. Simon Desch

Language: German or English

Specific requirements: not afraid of statistics/program code

Note: There are currently no bachelor’s or master’s theses available in this project.

Expectations play a central role in the perception of pain and are shaped by various factors such as learning experiences or suggestions. They can strengthen or weaken our perception of pain and thus have a considerable influence on our individual experience. This research project is dedicated to the question of how expectations and previous learning experiences influence the perception of pain. The aim is to identify the underlying mechanisms and influencing factors in order to develop a deeper understanding of the dynamics of expectations and pain perception.

Supervisor: Lisa Garcia

Language: German or English

Note: There are currently no bachelor’s or master’s theses available in this project.