PD Dr. phil. habil. Kerstin Fröber

Academic education

• 2020 Habilitation in Psychology (University of Regensburg)

• 2013 Doctoral degree in Psychology (Promotion) (University of Regensburg)

• 2009 Diplom in Psychology (University of Regensburg)

• 2005 Vordiplom in Psychology (University of Regensburg)

Professional employment history

• 10/2023-03/2025 Temporary professor (University of Cologne)

• 2020-present Senior lecturer (University of Regensburg)

• 2013-2020 PostDoc researcher (University of Regensburg)

• 09/2018-02/2019 Research stay at the University of Oregon in Prof. Mayr's Cognitive Dynamics Lab (Feodor Lynen Research Fellowship, Humboldt Foundation)

• 2009-2013 Research associate (University of Regensburg)

• 2009 Research assistant, Lehrstuhl für Kunstgeschichte (Prof. Wagner), University of Regensburg

• 2009 Research assistant, Lehrstuhl für Allgemeine Psychologie I (Prof. Greenlee), University of Regensburg

• 2008-2009 Research assistant, Lehrstuhl für Sozialpsychologie (Prof. Hammerl), University of Regensburg

Ad hoc peer review activities (* for international grants)

• Acta Psychologica
• Advances in Cognitive Psychology
• Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics
• Biological Psychology
• Brain Research
• Cerebral Cortex
• Cognition
• Cognition & Emotion
• Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Neuroscience
• Collabra: Psychology
• Communications Psychology
• Emotion
• Experimental Brain Research
• Experimental Psychology
• Frontiers (seit 2021 Review Editor für Frontiers in Cognition)
• In.Mind: The Inquisitive Mind
• International Journal of Mental Health Promotion
• International Journal of Psychophysiology
• *Israel Science Foundation (Israel)
• Journal of Cognition
• Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
• Journal of Cognitive Psychology
• Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance
• Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition
• Journal of Personnel Psychology
• Journal of Psychophysiology
• Memory & Cognition
• Motivation and Emotion
• Motivation Science
• *National Science Center (Poland)
• NeuroImage
• *Österreicher Wissenschaftsfond FWF (Austria)
• Personality and Individual Differences
• PloS ONE
• Psychological Research
• Psychological Science
• Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts
• Psychonomic Bulletin and Review
• Pscyhophysiology
• Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology
• Royal Society Open Science
• Scientific Reports
• Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience

Professional Memberships

• European Society for Cognitive Psychology (ESCoP)

• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Psychologie (DGPS)

• Psychonomic Society

• Society for Cognitive Studies of the Moving Image (SCSMI)

• Women in Cognitive Science (WiCS+)

• Women+ in (Cognitive) Control

• Fröber, K., Abel, M., Bäuml, K.-H., Dreisbach, G., Kliegl, O., Köster, M., Lingnau, A., Volberg, G., & Götz, F. J. (eds.). (2024). TeaP 2024 Regensburg. 66th Conference of Experimental Psychologists. Book of Abstracts. Pabst Science Publishers. download
• Fröber, K. (2022). [Review of the book Movies on Our Minds: The Evolution of Cinematic Engagement, by J. E. Cutting]. Journal für Kunstgeschichte, 26(4), 368-374.
• Fröber, K. (2019). Cognitive Control as a dynamic balance between stability and flexibility. Habilitationsschrift, Universität Regensburg.
• Fröber, K. (2013). How positive affect modulates cognitive control: New insights into the specificity of positive affect effects. Dissertation, Universität Regensburg. download

Articles (peer-reviewed)

• Becker, D., Bijleveld, E., Braem, S., Fröber, K., Götz, F. J., Kleiman, T., Körner, A., Pfister, R., Reiter, A. M. F., Saunders, B., Schneider, I. K., Soutschek, A., van Steenbergen, H., & Dignath, D. (2024). An integrative framework of conflict and control. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 28(8), 757–768. doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2024.07.002

• Mendl, J., Fröber, K., & Dreisbach, G. (2024). Flexibility by Association? No Evidence for an Influence of Cue-Transition Associations on Voluntary Task Switching. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 50(3), 313-328. doi.org/10.1037/xhp0001186

• Weber, T., Fröber, K., & Schuch, S. (2024). Reward-based modulation of task-switching performance: a diffustion model analysis. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 86, 680-706. doi.org/10.3758/s13414-023-02711-7 full text

• Fröber, K., & Dreisbach, G. (2023). You Can(’t) Always Get What You Want: When Goal Persistence Requires Flexibility. Motivation Science, 9(3), 193-204. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/mot0000297

• Fröber, K., & Lerche, V. (2023). Performance-contingent reward increases the use of congruent distracting information. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 85, 905-929. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-023-02682-9 full text

• Fröber, K., Jurczyk, V., & Dreisbach, G. (2022). Keep flexible - keep switching? Boundary conditions of the influence of forced task switching on voluntary task switching. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 48(9), 1249-1262. https://doi.org/10.1037/xlm0001104

• Fröber, K., Jurczyk, V., Mendl, J., & Dreisbach, G. (2021). Investigating anticipatory processes during sequentially changing reward prospect: An ERP study. Brain and Cognition, 155, 105815. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2021.105815

• Fröber, K., & Thomaschke, R. (2021). In the dark cube: Movie theater context enhances the valuation and aesthetic experience of watching films. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 15(3), 528-544. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000295

• Jurczyk, V., Fröber, K., & Dreisbach, G. (2021). Bottom-up influences on voluntary task switching in different reward contexts? Acta Psychologica, 217, 103312. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2021.103312  full text

• Jurczyk, V., Mittelstädt, V., & Fröber, K. (2021). Does temporal predictability of tasks influence task choice? Psychological Research, 85, 1066-1083.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-020-01297-1  full text

• Fröber, K., & Dreisbach, G. (2021). How sequentially changing reward prospect modulates meta-control: Increasing reward prospect promotes cognitive flexibility. Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Neuroscience, 21, 534-548. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-020-00825-1  full text

• Chiu, Y.-C., Fröber, K., & Egner, T. (2020). Item-specific priming of voluntary task switches. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 46(4), 434-441. https://doi.org/10.1037/xhp0000725

• Fröber, K., Pittino, F., & Dreisbach, G. (2020). How sequential changes in reward expectation modulate cognitive control: Pupillometry as a tool to monitor dynamic changes in reward expectation. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 148, 35-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2019.12.010

• Fröber, K., Pfister, R., & Dreisbach, G. (2019). Increasing reward prospect promotes cognitive flexibility: Direct evidence from voluntary task switching with double registration. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 72(8), 1926-1944. https://doi.org/10.1177/1747021818819449

• Dreisbach, G., Fröber, K., Berger, A. & Fischer, R. (2019). Unexpected conflict signals loom larger in a positive context: Evidence from context specific control adjustments. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 45(8), 1398-1409. https://doi.org/10.1037/xlm0000662

• Dreisbach, G., & Fröber, K. (2019). On how to be flexible (or not): Modulation of the flexibility-stability balance. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 28(1), 3-9. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721418800030 full text

• Jurczyk, V., Fröber, K., & Dreisbach, G. (2019). Increasing reward prospect motivates switching to the more difficult task. Motivation Science, 5(4), 295-313. https://doi.org/10.1037/mot0000119

• Fischer, R., Fröber, K., & Dreisbach, G. (2018). Shielding and relaxation in multitasking: Prospect of reward counteracts relaxation of task shielding in multitasking. Acta Psychologica, 191, 112-123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2018.09.002

• Mendl, J., Fröber, K., & Dolk, T. (2018). Are you keeping an eye on me? The influence of competition and cooperation on joint Simon task performance. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 1361. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01361  full text

• Czaczkes, T, Koch, A., Fröber, K., & Dreisbach, G. (2018). Voluntary switching in an invertebrate. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Learning and Cognition, 44(3), 247-257. https://doi.org/10.1037/xan0000171

• Fröber, K., Raith, L., & Dreisbach, G. (2018). The dynamic balance between cognitive flexibility and stability: the influence of local changes in reward expectation and global task context on voluntary switch rate. Psychological Research, 82(1), 65-77. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-017-0922-2 full text

• Fröber, K., Stürmer, B., Frömer, R., & Dreisbach, G. (2017). The role of affective evaluation in conflict adaptation: An LRP study. Brain and Cognition, 116, 9-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2017.05.003

• Fröber, K., & Dreisbach, G. (2017). Keep flexible – keep switching! The influence of forced task switching on voluntary task switching. Cognition, 162, 48-53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2017.01.024

• Fröber, K., & Dreisbach, G. (2016). How performance (non-)contingent reward modulates cognitive control. Acta Psychologica, 168, 65-77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2016.04.008

• Fröber, K., & Dreisbach, G. (2016). How sequential changes in reward magnitude modulate cognitive flexibility: Evidence from voluntary task switching. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 42, 285-295. https://doi.org/10.1037/xlm0000166

• Fröber, K., & Dreisbach, G. (2014). The differential influences of positive affect, random reward, and performance-contingent reward on cognitive control. Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Neuroscience, 14, 530-547. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-014-0259-x full text

• Fröber, K., & Dreisbach, G. (2012). How positive affect modulates proactive control: Reduced usage of informative cues under positive affect with low arousal. Frontiers in Psychology, 3, 265. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00265 full text

Invited talks

• Fröber, K. (2024). Der Einfluss von freier Wahl auf das Gedächtnis. Department of Psychology, Learning and Memory Meeting, Universität zu Köln, Köln, 27.05.2024.
• Fröber, K. (2024). On the (in-)dependence of cognitive stability and flexibility: Evidence from voluntary task switching research. Institut für Psychologie, RWTH Aachen, Aachen, 22.04.2024.
• Fröber, K. (2023) How to survive in academia. Keynote at the 12. Doktoranden-Workshop Allgemeine Psychologie (ADok), University of Greifswald, Greifswald, 23.06.2023.
• Fröber, K. (2023). On the (in-)dependence of cognitive stability and flexibility: Evidence from voluntary task switching research. Georg-Elias-Müller-Institute of Psychology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, 23.05.2023.
• Fröber, K. (2023). Wie man flexibel wird (oder auch nicht): Was wir aus Studien zum (freiwilligen) Aufgabenwechsel über das Flexibilitäts-Stabilitäts-Gleichgewicht gelernt haben. Cognitive Psychology Unit, Universität Trier, Trier, 09.01.2023.
• Fröber, K. (2022). What is stabilized by remaining high reward prospect? Joint Cognitive Control Colloquium, Universities of Greifswald and Regensburg, virtual meeting, 25.10.2022.
• Fröber, K. (2022). Cognitive stability and flexibility vs. maintenance and updating in working memory - Same same or different?. Joint Cognitive Control Colloquium, Universities of Greifswald and Regensburg, virtual meeting, 28.06.2022.
• Fröber, K., & Dreisbach, G. (2022). On how to be flexible (or not): modulation of the stability-flexibility balance. International Symposium and Meeting of the DFG Priority Program SPP 1772 "Multitasking", Aachen, 17.03.2022.
• Fröber, K. (2021). How reward modulates cognitive control: It's a matter of contingency. Joint Cognitive Control Colloquium, Universities of Greifswald and Regensburg, virtual meeting, 20.04.2021.
• Fröber, K. (2019). In the black box: Cinema context enhances the valuation and aesthetic experience of watching films. Experimental Psychology Unit, Helmut-Schmidt-University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg, Hamburg, 11.06.2019.
• Fröber, K. (2019). Mein Leben am Broadway - Im Gleichgewicht zwischen Stabilität und Flexibilität. Netzwerktagung der Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung, Leipzig, 05.04.2019.
• Fröber, K. (2018). Conflict, control adaptations, and affect. Cognitive Dynamics Lab, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA, 22.10.2018.
• Fröber, K., Jurczyk, V., & Dreisbach, G. (2018). The influence of sequentially changing reward prospects on cognitive flexibility during (voluntary) task switching. International Symposium and Meeting of the DFG Priority Program SPP 1772 "Multitasking", Gießen, 24.04.2018.
• Fröber, K. (2017). How sequential changes in reward prospect modulate cognitive control. Department of Psychology, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg. 04.12.2017.
• Fröber, K., Dignath, D., Dreisbach, G., Kiesel, A., Manzey, D., Poljac, E., & Schubert, T. (2017). Challenges and opportunities of voluntary task switching paradigms. International Symposium and Resume Meeting of the DFG Priority Program SPP 1772 "Multitasking", Aachen, 20.06.2017.
• Fröber, K. (2016). Der Einfluss sequenziell wechselnder Belohnungserwartung auf Flexibilität beim (freiwilligen) Aufgabenwechsel. Department of General Psychology, Universität Ulm, Ulm, 17.06.2017.

Conference Presentations (first Authorship only, * as chair of an international symposium)

• Fröber, K. (2024). Increasing reward prospect promotes cognitive flexibility: Further evidence from a cued global-local task. 45. Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society (CogSci), Rotterdam (The Netherlands), 27.07.2024. [poster]

• *Fröber, K., & Lerche, V. (2024). Performance-contingent reward increases the use of context information in a conflict task. 66. Tagung experimentell arbeitender Psychologen (TeaP), Regensburg, 19.03.2024. [talk]

• Fröber, K., & Lerche, V. (2023). Performance-contingent reward increases the use of congruent distracting information. 8. Motivational and Cognitive Control Conference (MCC), Lyon (France), 13.10.2023. [poster]

• Fröber, K., & Lerche, V. (2023). Performance-contingent reward increases the use of congruent distracting information. 23. Conference of the European Society for Cognitive Psychology (ESCoP), Porto (Portugal), 07.09.2023. [poster]

• Fröber, K., & Pastötter, B. (2023). The influence of free choice on recognition memory in the face of distraction. 23. Annual Summer Interdisciplinary Conference (ASIC), Kranjska Gora (Slovenia), 03.07.2023. [talk]

• *Fröber, K., & Pastötter, B. (2023). The influence of free choice on recognition memory. 65. Tagung experimentell arbeitender Psychologen (TeaP), Trier, 29.03.2023. [talk]

• Fröber, K., & Pastötter, B. (2022). The influence of free choice on recognition memory. 54. Herbsttreffen experimentelle Kognitionspsychologie (HexKop), Greifswald, 07.10.2022. [poster]

• *Fröber, K., & Dreisbach, G. (2022). You can('t) always get what you want: When goal persistence requires flexibility. 22. Conference of the European Society for Cognitive Psychology (ESCoP), Lille (France), 01.09.2022. [talk]

• Fröber, K., & Dreisbach, G. (2022). Keep flexible - keep switching? The influence of forced task switching on voluntary task switching. Control Processes 2022, virtual meeting, 20.05.2022. [talk]

• *Fröber, K., & Dreisbach, G. (2022). You can('t) always get what you want: When goal persistence requires flexibility. 64. Tagung experimentell arbeitender Psychologen (TeaP), Köln (virtual meeting), 23.03.2022. [talk]

• Fröber, K. (2021). Verhaltenskontingente Belohnung verstärkt die Nutzung kongruenter, aufgabenirrelevanter Informationen. 53. Herbsttreffen experimentelle Kognitionspsychologie (HexKop), Würzburg, 08.10.2021. [talk]

• Fröber, K., Mendl, J., Jurczyk, V., & Dreisbach, G. (2021). Investigating anticipatory processes during sequentially changing reward prospect: An ERP study. 5. International conference of the European Society for Cognitive and Affective Neuoscience (ESCAN), Budapest (virtual meeting), 26.06.2021. [talk]

• Fröber, K., & Dreisbach, G. (2021). You can’t always get what you want: When persistence in task choice requires increased flexibility. 63. Tagung experimentell arbeitender Psychologen (TeaP), Ulm (virtual meeting), 15.03.2021. [talk]

• Fröber, K., & Dreisbach, G. (2020). Carrot or Stick: Cognitive Flexibility Increases with Increasing Loss or Reward Prospect. 61. Annual Meeting of the Psychonomic Society, virtual meeting, 20.11.2020. [poster]

• Fröber, K., & Dreisbach, G. (2019). Increasing reward prospect promotes cognitive flexibility: More evidence from task switching with three tasks. 7th International Symposium on Motivational and Cognitive Control (MCC), Berlin, 16.09.2019. [poster]

• Fröber, K., & Thomaschke, R. (2019). In the black box: Cinema context enhances the valuation and aesthetic experience of watching films. Annual Meeting of the Society for Cognitive Studies of the Moving Image (SCSMI), Hamburg, 12.06.2019. [poster]

• Fröber, K., Pfister, R., & Dreisbach, G. (2019). Increasing reward prospect promotes cognitive flexibility: Direct evidence from voluntary task switching with double registration. 61. Tagung experimenteller arbeitender Psychologen (TeaP), London (UK), 17.04.2019. [talk]

• Fröber, K., Stürmer, B., Frömer, R., & Dreisbach, G. (2018). The role of affective evaluation in conflict adaptation: An LRP study. 59. Annual Meeting of the Psychonomic Society, New Orleans (USA), 17.11.2018. [poster]

• *Fröber, K., & Dreisbach, G. (2018). Voluntary task switching as a tool to investigate the flexibility-stability balance. 4. International conference of the European Society for Cognitive and Affective Neuoscience (ESCAN), Leiden (Netherlands), 21.07.2018. [talk]

• Fröber, K., Pittino, F., & Dreisbach, G. (2018). How sequential changes in reward expectation modulate cognitive control: pupillometry as a tool to monitor dynamic changes in reward expectation. 60. Tagung experimentell arbeitender Psychologen (TeaP), Marburg, 13.03.2018. [talk]

• Fröber, K., Stürmer, B., Frömer, R., & Dreisbach, G. (2017). The role of affective evaluation in conflict adaptation: An LRP study. 50. Herbsttreffen experimentelle Kognitionspsychologie (HexKop), Ulm, 04.11.2017. [poster]

• *Fröber, K., & Dreisbach, G. (2017). Voluntary switch rate as an indicator of flexibility versus stability. 20th Meeting of the European Society for Cognitive Psychology (ESCoP), Potsdam, 05.09.2017. [talk]

• Fröber, K., & Dreisbach, G. (2017). Keep flexible - keep switching! The influence of forced task switching on voluntary task switching. 59. Tagung experimentell arbeitender Psychologen (TeaP), Dresden, 29.03.2017. [talk]

• Fröber, K., & Dreisbach, G. (2016). Keep flexible - keep switching! 57. Annual Meeting of the Psychonomic Society, Boston (USA), 18.11.2016. [poster]

• Fröber, K., & Dreisbach, G. (2016). Keep flexible - keep switching! The influence of forced task switching on voluntary task switching. 49. Herbsttreffen experimentelle Kognitionspsychologie (HexKop), Tübingen, 05.11.2016. [poster]

• Fröber, K., & Dreisbach, G. (2016). How positive affect and performance (non-)contingent reward modulate cognitive control. International Meeting of the Psychonomic Society, Granada (Spain), 08.05.2016. [talk]

• Fröber, K., Pfister, R., & Dreisbach, G. (2016). How sequential changes in reward magnitude modulate cognitive flexibility: More direct evidence for increased flexibility under increased reward prospect. 58. Tagung experimentell arbeitender Psychologen (TeaP), Heidelberg, 22.03.2016. [talk]

• *Fröber, K., & Dreisbach, G. (2015). How sequential changes in reward magnitude modulate cognitive flexibility: Evidence from voluntary task switching. 19th Meeting of the European Society for Cognitive Psychology (ESCoP), Paphos (Cyprus), 20.09.2015. [talk]

• Fröber, K., & Dreisbach, G. (2015). How sequential changes in reward magnitude modulate cognitive flexibility: Evidence from voluntary task switching. 57. Tagung experimentell arbeitender Psychologen (TeaP), Hildesheim, 09.03.2015. [talk]

• Fröber, K. (2014). Antagonistische Anforderungen an kognitive Kontrolle: Flexibilität und Stabilität. 47. Herbsttreffen experimentelle Kognitionspsychologie (HexKop), Trier, 09.11.2014. [talk]

• Fröber, K., & Dreisbach, G. (2014). The differential influence of positive affect, random reward, and performance-contingent reward on cognitive control. 56. Tagung experimentell arbeitender Psychologen (TeaP), Gießen, 02.04.2014. [talk]

• Fröber, K., & Dreisbach, G. (2013). Increased novelty bias under positive affect. 55. Tagung experimentell arbeitender Psychologen (TeaP), Wien (Austria), 25.03.2013. [poster]

• Fröber, K. (2012). Affektive Modulation kognitiver Kontrolle. Doktoranden-Workshop Allgemeine Psychologie, Würzburg, 15.6.2012. [talk]

• Fröber, K., & Dreisbach, G. (2012). How positive affect modulates cognitive control: Reduced reliance on informative cues. 54. Tagung experimentell arbeitender Psychologen (TeaP), Mannheim, 4.4.2012. [talk]

• Fröber, K., & Dreisbach, G. (2011). Affective modulation of cognitive flexibility. 17th Meeting of the European Society for Cognitive Psychology (ESCoP), San Sebastian (Spain), 1.10.2011. [talk]

• Fröber, K., & Dreisbach, G. (2011). Affektive Modulation der Aufmerksamkeit: Der Einfluss von affektiven Bildern auf endogene Aufmerksamkeitssteuerung. 53. Tagung experimentell arbeitender Psychologen (TeaP), Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, 16.03.2011. [talk].