Since Oct. 2019
Post-Doc position, Department of Cognitive Psychology, Prof. Dr. Christian Frings, University of Trier

Oct. 2019
PhD,  University of Trier
Title of the dissertation: "When the (irrelevant) location matters: An investigation in the processing of vision and touch."
Grade: summa cum laude.
Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Christian Frings, University of Trier & Prof Charles Spence, PhD, University of Oxford

May 2018 - Aug. 2018
Academic visitor, Crossmodal Research Laboratory, Prof. Charles Spence, PhD, University of Oxford

Oct. 2016 - Oct. 2019
PhD student, Department of Cognitive Psychology, University of Trier
Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Christian Frings, University of Trier & Prof Charles Spence, PhD, University of Oxford

Feb. 2016 - Apr. 2016
Internship, Department of Educational Psychology, Prof. Dr. Michael Schneider, University of Trier

Oct. 2014 - Sep. 2016
Master of Science in Psychology, University of Trier
Supervisors of Master’s Thesis: Prof. Dr. Christian Frings & Dr. Birte Moeller, University of Trier

Mar. 2014 - Apr. 2014
Internship, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Institute of Flight Guidance, Braunschweig

Jan. 2013 - Sep. 2016
Research Assistant, Department of General Psychology I, Prof. Dr. Christian Frings, University of Trier

Oct. 2012 - Mar. 2013
Internship, Department of General Psychology I, Dr. Nadine Nett, University of Trier

Oct. 2011 - Feb. 2015
Bachelor of Science in Psychology, University of Trier
Supervisors of Bachelor’s Thesis: Prof. Dr. Christian Frings & Dr. Frank Mast, University of Trier

• Object localization
• Perceptual biases of dynamic object
• Multisensory perception
• Multisensory selection

Journal articles (peer reviewed)

Jensen, A., Merz, S., Spence, C., & Frings, C. (2020). Interference of irrelevant information in multisensory selection depends on attentional set. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 82, 1176--1195. 10.3758/s13414-019-01848-8.

Jensen, A., Merz, S., Spence, C., & Frings, C. (2020). Perception it is: Processing level in multisensory selection. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 82, 1391-1406. 10.3758/s13414-019-01830-4 .

Merz, S., Frings, C., Spence, C (2020). When irrelevant information helps: Extending the Eriksen-flanker task into a multisensory world. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 1-14. 10.3758/s13414-020-02066-3  pdf (Open Access)

Merz, S./Jensen, A., Burau, C., Spence, C., & Frings, C. (2020). Higer-order cognition does not affect multisensory distractor processing. Multisensory Research. (Advanced online publication; shared first authorship). 10.1163/22134808-bja10013.

Merz, S., Meyerhoff, H.S., Frings, C., & Spence, C. (2020). Representational Momentum in vision and touch: Visual motion information biases tactile spatial localization. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics. 10.3758/s13414-020-01989-1.  pdf (Open Access).

Frings, C., Merz, S., & Hommel, B. (2019).The impact of stimulus uncertainty on attentional control. Cognition,183, 208-212. 10.1016/j.cognition.2018.10.017.

Jensen, A., Merz, S., Spence, C., & Frings, C. (2019). Overt spatial attention modulates multisensory selection. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 45(2), 174-188. 10.1037/xhp0000595.

Merz, S., Deller, J., Meyerhoff, H.S., Spence, C., & Frings, C. (2019). The contradictory influence of velocity: Representational momentum in the tactile modality. Journal of Neurophysiology. 121, 2358-2363. 10.1152/jn.00128.2019.pdf (Open Access)

Merz, S., Jensen, A., Spence, C., & Frings, C. (2019). Multisensory distractor processing is modulated by spatial attention. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 45, 1375-1388. 10.1037/xhp0000678 .

Merz, S., Meyerhoff, H.S., Spence, C., & Frings, C. (2019). Implied tactile motion: Localizing dynamic stimulations on the skin. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 81 (3), 794-808. 10.3758/s13414-018-01645-9.

Meyerhoff, H.S., Merz, S., & Frings, C. (2018). Tactile stimulation disambiguates the perception of visual motion paths. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review. 10.3758/s13423-018-1467-0.

Schneider, M., Merz, S., Stricker, J., De Smedt, B., Torbeyns, J., Verschaffel, L., & Luwel, K. (2018). Associations of number line estimation with mathematical competence: A meta-analysis. Child Development, 89(5), 1467-1484. 10.1111/cdev.13068.

Schneider, M., Beeres, K., Coban, L., Merz, S., Schmidt, S., Stricker, J., & De Smedt, B. (2017). Associations of non‐symbolic and symbolic numerical magnitude processing with mathematical competence: a meta‐analysis. Developmental science, 20, e12372. 10.1111/desc.12372.

Talks / Posters

Merz, S., Deller, J., Meyerhoff, H. S., Spence, C., & Frings, C. (2019). Tactile Representational Momentum: the contradictory influence of velocity. Talk at the 8th Doktorandenworkshop der Allgemeinen Psychologie (A-Dok), July 25th - 28th , Mannheim, Germany.

Jensen, A., Merz, S., Spence, C., & Frings, C. (2019). Processing level of distractor interference in multisensory selection. Talk at the 61th Tagung experimentell arbeitender Psychologen (TeaP), April 15th-17th, London, UK.

Jensen, A., Merz, S., Spence, C., & Frings, C. (2018). Overt spatial attention modulates multisensory selection. Poster at the IMRF (International Multisensory Research Forum) Annual Meeting, June 14th-17th, Toronto, Canada.

Jensen, A., Merz, S., Spence, C., & Frings, C. (2018). Processing single features in multisensory selection. Talk at the 7th Doktorandenworkshop der Allgemeinen Psychologie(A-Dok), July 12th - 15th , Mainz, Germany.

Merz, S., Meyerhoff, H. S., Spence, C., & Frings, C.(2018). Implied tactile motion: Localizing dynamic stimulations on the skin. Poster at the 19th Annual International Multisensory Research Forum (IMRF), June 14th-17th, Toronto, Canada

Merz, S., Meyerhoff, H. S., Spence, C., & Frings, C.(2018). Implied tactile motion: Localizing dynamic stimulations on the skin. Talk at the 60th Tagung experimentell arbeitender Psychologen (TeaP), March 12th-14th, Marburg, Germany

Jensen, A., Merz, S., Spence, C., & Frings, C. (2018). It’s just a matter of focus: distractor processing in a multisensory flanker task is modulated by gaze. Talk at the 60th Tagung experimentell arbeitender Psychologen (TeaP), March 12th-14th, Marburg, Germany.

Merz, S., Meyerhoff, H. S., Spence, C., & Frings, C.(2017). Dynamic objects in the tactile modality: An investigation of systematic mislocalizations. Talk at the 50th Herbsttreffen experimentelle Kognitionspsychologie (HexKoP), November 3rd-5th, Ulm, Germany.

Jensen, A., Merz, S., Spence, C., & Frings, C. (2017). It’s just a matter of focus: distractor processing in a multisensory flanker task is modulated by gaze. Talk at the 50th Herbsttreffen experimentelle Kognitionspsychologie (HexKop), Nov 3rd-5th, Ulm, Germany.

Frings, C., Merz, S., & Hommel, B. (2017). Context modulates feature weighting. Talk at the 59th Tagung experimentell arbeitender Psychologen (TeaP), March 27th-29th, Dresden, Germany.

Merz, S., Meyerhoff, H. S., Spence, C., & Frings, C.(2017). Tactile localization is modulated by implied motion. Talk at the 59th Tagung experimentell arbeitender Psychologen (TeaP), March 27th-29th, Dresden, Germany.

Meyerhoff, H. S., Merz, S., & Frings, C.(2017). Tactile stimulation disambiguates the perception of visual motion paths. Talk at the 59th Tagung experimentell arbeitender Psychologen (TeaP), March 27th-29th, Dresden, Germany.

Merz, S., Frings, C., & Mast, F. (2015). The construction plan for top-down sets: The task environment modulates contingent capture. Poster at the 57th Conference of Experimental Psychologist, March 08 - 11, 2015. Hildesheim, Germany.

Merz, S., Nett, N., Hennrichs, J., May, L., Partetzke, T., & Wachtmeister, W. (2013). Social vibration! Rhythm as the base of the Social Simon Effect. Poster at the 55th Conference of Experimental Psychologist, March 24 - 27, 2013. Vienna, Austria.