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Department of Psychology Psychology of Motivation, Volition, and Emotion

Katharina Bernecker

Katharina Bernecker, Dr. phil.

  • Senior Teaching and Research Assistant
Phone
+41 44 635 75 12
Room number
BIN 5.A.13

Research Focuses

•    Personal and contextual determinants of hedonic goal pursuit
•    Affective, cognitive, and motivational processes involved in successful self-regulation
•    Motivational processes and conflict behavior in romantic relationships

Curriculum Vitae

Publications

Peer-reviewed journal articles

Bernecker, K., Becker, D., Weitkamp, K., & Wehrli, F. (2024). Trait hedonic capacity correlates with sexual pleasure and motives for sexualized drug use in young adults. Current Psychology, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-06017-1 | PDF

Landolt., S. A., Impett, E. A., Weitkamp, K., Roth, M., Bernecker, K., & Bodenmann, G. (2024). Extradyadic stress as a barrier to sexual activity in couples? A Dyadic Response Surface Analysis. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075241255910

Becker, D. & Bernecker, K. (2024). Happy hour: The association between trait hedonic capacity and motivation to drink alcohol. Addictive Behaviors Reports, 19, 100537. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abrep.2024.100537 |PDF

Bernecker, K. (2023). Balancing desire and control. Nature Reviews Psychology, 2, 12, 722. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44159-023-00258-w

Becker, D., & Bernecker, K. (2023). Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater: Indulging in harmless pleasures can support self-regulation and foster cooperation. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 46, e295. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X23000456

Becker, D.*, & Bernecker, K.* (2023). The role of hedonic goal pursuit in self-control and self-regulation: Is pleasure the problem - or part of the solution? Affective Science. *shared first authorship https://doi.org/10.1007/s42761-023-00193-2 |PDF

Bernecker, K., Becker, D. & Guobyte, A. (2023). If the party is good, you can stay longer—effects of trait hedonic capacity on hedonic quantity and performance. Motivation and Emotion. Preprint

Kukowski, C. A., & Bernecker, K. (in press). Which factors shape public climate policy support? A social-motivational perspective. Green Ways – Perspectives on Environmental Psychology Research. German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation.

Scharinger, C., Prislan, L., Bernecker, K., & Ninaus, M. (2023). Gamification of an n-back working memory task – Is it worth the effort? An EEG and eye-tracking study. Biological Psychology, 179, 108545. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108545

Kukowski, C. A., Bernecker, K., Nielsen, K. S., Hofmann, W., & Brandstätter, V. (2023). Regulate me! Self-control dissatisfaction in meat reduction success relates to stronger support for behavior-regulating policy. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 85, 101922.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2022.101922

Sassenberg, K., Roesel, I., Sudeck, G., Bernecker, K., Durst, J., & Krauss, I. (2022). The relation of attitude toward technology and mastery experience after an app-guided physical exercise intervention: Randomized crossover trial. JMIR Formative Research, 6(2), e28913. https://doi.org/10.2196/28913

Kukowski, C. A., Bernecker, K., Von der Heyde, L., Boos, M., & Brandstätter, V. (2022). Climate policy support as a tool to control others (but not own) environmental behavior? Plos One, June, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269030

Brandstätter, V., & Bernecker (2022). Persistence and disengagemen in personal goal pursuit. Annual Review of Psychology, 73, 271-299.  https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-020821-110710

Greipl, S., Bernecker, K., & Ninaus, M. (2021). Facial and bodily expressions of emotional engagement: How dynamic measures reflect the use of game elements and subjective experience of emotions and effort. PACM in Human-Computer Interaction, 5, 240. https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3474667

Kukowski, C. A., Bernecker, K., & Brandstätter, V. (2021). Self-control and beliefs surrounding others' cooperation predict own health-protective behaviors and support for COVID-19 government regulations: Evidence from two European countries. Social Psychological Bulletin, 16(1), 1-28. https://doi.org/10.32872/spb.4391

Bernecker, K., & Becker, D. (2021). Beyond self-control: Mechanisms of hedonic goal pursuit and its relevance for well-being. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 47(4), 627-642. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167220941998

Bernecker, K. & Ninaus, M. (2021). No pain, no gain? Investigating motivational mechanisms of game elements in cognitive tasks. Computers in Human Behavior, 114, 106542. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106542

Bernecker, K., & Job, V. (2020). Too exhausted to go to bed: Implicit theories about willpower and stress predict bedtime procrastination. British Journal of Psychology, 111, 126-147. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12382

Ghassemi, M. G., Bernecker, K., & Brandstätter, V. (2020). “Take care, honey!”: People are more anxious about their significant others’ risk behavior than about their own. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 86, 103879. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2019.103879

Bernecker, K., & Kramer, J. (2019). Implicit theories about willpower are associated with exercise levels during the academic examination period. Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, 9(2), 216–231 https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/spy0000182

Bernecker, K., Ghassemi, M., & Brandstätter, V. (2019). Approach and avoidance relationship goals and couples’ nonverbal communication during conflict. European Journal of Social Psychology, 49(3), 622- 636. https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2379

Bernecker, K., Wenzler, M., & Sassenberg, K. (2019). Tweeted anger predicts county-level results of the 2016 United States presidential election. International Review of Social Psychology, 32(1), 6, 1–14.  https://doi.org/10.5334/irsp.256

Sieber, V., Flückiger, L., Mata, J., Bernecker, K., & Job, V. (2019). Autonomous goal striving promotes a nonlimited theory about willpower. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 45(8), 1295-1307. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167218820921

Bernecker, K., Job, V., & Hofmann, W. (2018). Experience, resistance, and enactment of desires: Differential relationships with trait measures predicting self-control. Journal of Research in Personality, 76, 92-101. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2018.07.007

Leuchtmann, L., Milek, A., Bernecker, K., Nussbeck, F. W., Backes, S., Martin, M., ... Bodenmann, G. (2018). Temporal dynamics of couples’ communication behaviors in conflict discussions: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 36(9), 2937–2960. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407518806582

Bernecker, K., & Job V. (2017). Implicit theories about willpower in resisting temptations and emotion control. Journal of Psychology, 225, 157-166. https://dx.doi.org/10.1027/2151-2604/a000292

Ghassemi, M., Bernecker, K., Herrmann, M., & Brandstätter, V. (2017). The process of disengagement from personal goals: Reciprocal influences between the experience of action crisis and appraisals of goal desirability and attainability. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 43(4), 524 – 537. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167216689052

Bernecker, K., Herrmann, M., Brandstätter, V., & Job, V. (2017). Implicit theories about willpower predict subjective well-being. Journal of Personality, 85(2), 136–150. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12225

Neysari, M., Bodenmann, G., Mehl, M.R., Bernecker, K., Nussbeck, F.W., Backes, S., Zemp, M., Martin, M., & Horn, A. (2016). Monitoring pronouns in conflicts: Temporal dynamics of verbal communication in couples across the lifespan. The Journal of Gerontopsychology and Geriatric Psychiatry, 29, 201-213. https://doi.org/10.1024/1662-9647/a000158

Job, V., Friese, M., & Bernecker, K. (2015). Effects of practicing self-control on academic performance. Motivation Science, 1(4), 219–232. http://doi.org/10.1037/mot0000024

Bernecker, K., & Job, V. (2015). Beliefs about willpower are related to therapy adherence and psychological adjustment in patients with type 2 diabetes. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 37(3), 188–195. http://doi.org/10.1080/01973533.2015.1049348

Bernecker, K., & Job, V. (2015). Beliefs about willpower moderate the effect of previous day demands on next day’s expectations and effective goal striving. Frontiers in Psychology, 6(1496), 1–10. http://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01496

Job, V., Walton, G. M., Bernecker, K., & Dweck, C. S. (2015). Implicit theories about willpower predict self-regulation and grades in everyday life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 108(4), 637– 647. http://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000014

Job, V., Bernecker, K., Miketta, S., & Friese, M. (2015). Implicit theories about willpower predict the activation of a rest goal following self-control exertion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 109, 694–706. http://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000042

Kuster, M., Bernecker, K., Backes, S., Brandstätter, V., Bradbury, T. N., Martin, M., Sutter-Stickel, D., & Bodenmann, G. (2015). Avoidance orientation and the escalation of negative communication in intimate relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Social Psychology, 109(2), 262–275. http://doi.org/10.1037/PSPI0000025

Job, V., Walton, G. M., Bernecker, K., & Dweck, C. S. (2013). Beliefs about willpower determine the impact of glucose on self-control. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 110(37), 14837–42. http://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1313475110

Job, V., Bernecker, K. & Dweck, C.S. (2012). Are implicit motives the need to feel certain affect? Motive– affect congruence predicts relationship satisfaction. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 38(12), 1552–1565. http://doi.org/10.1177/0146167212454920

Bernecker, K., & Job, V. (2011). Assessing implicit motives with an online version of the picture story exercise. Motivation and Emotion, 35(3), 251-266. http://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-010-9175-8

Book Chapters and Articles for Public Interest

Bernecker, K., & Job, V. (in press). Mindset Theorie [Mindset theory]. In K. Sassenberg & Vliek, M.L.W. (Eds.). Social Psychology in Action – Deutsche Fassung. Basel: Springer International Publishing.

Bernecker, K. (2022). Zwischen Spass und Verzicht. Spektrum der Wissenschaft: Gehirn&Geist, 1/2022, Titelthema. Zum Heft

Becker, D., & Bernecker, K. (2020). Wenn das Glas Wein am Abend der einzige Weg zur Entspannung ist. SuchtMagazin, 6, 19-23. https://www.suchtmagazin.ch/2020/articles/id-62020.html

Bernecker, K., & Job, V. (2019). Mindset theory. In K. Sassenberg & Vliek, M.L.W. (Eds.). Social Psychology in Action: Evidence-Based Interventions from Theory to Practice. Basel: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13788-5

Bernecker, K., & Job, V. (2017). Implicit theories about willpower and their implications for health and well-being. In D. T. D. DeRidder, M.A. Adriaanse, & K. Fujita (Eds). Routledge International Handbook of Self-Control in Health and Well-Being. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315648576

Conference Talks (*presenting author)

Guobyte, A.*, Becker, D., & Bernecker, K. (2023, March). Blending goals: Hedonic outcomes of multifinal means. ICPS Congress, Brussels, Belgium.

Bernecker, K.*, & Becker, D. (2023, February). Is pleasure the problem or part of the solution. Moderation of panel discussion, Motivation Science Pre-conference, SPSP Convention, Atlanta, USA.

Bernecker, K.*, Becker, D., Weitkamp, K. & Wehrli, F. (2022, September). Who Experiences Pleasure? Relationships Between Trait Hedonic Capacity, Sexual Pleasure, and Distracting Thoughts. 17th Annual Meeting Swiss Psychological Society 2022, Zurich.

Becker, D.* & Bernecker, K. (2022, September). “Happy Hour”: The relationship between hedonic capacity and motivation to drink alcohol. 17th Annual Meeting Swiss Psychological Society 2022, Zurich.

Guobyte, A., Becker, D., & Bernecker, K.  (2022, September). Blending goals: Hedonic outcomes of multifinal means. 17th Annual Meeting Swiss Psychological Society 2022, Zurich.

Bernecker, K.*, Becker, D., & Guobyte, A. (2022, July). If the party is good, you should stay longer—effects of trait hedonic capacity on hedonic quantity and performance. European Congress of Personality, Madrid, Spain.

Bernecker, K.*, & Becker, D. (2019, October). Beyond self-control: The ability to pursue hedonic goals. Motivationspsychologisches Kolloquium (MPK). Berlin, Germany.

Bernecker, K.*, & Becker, D., (2019, September).The ability to pursue hedonic goals - A necessary counterbalance to the concept of trait self-control? General Meeting of the Swiss Psychological Association (SGP). Bern, Switzerland.

Becker, D.*, & Bernecker, K. (2018, December). The ability to pursue hedonic goals - A necessary counterbalance to the concept of trait self-control? Associatie van Sociaal-Psychologische Onderzoekers (ASPO). Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

Becker, D.*, & Bernecker, K. (2018, September). The ability to pursue hedonic goals - A necessary counterbalance to the concept of trait self-control? European Social Cognition Network (ESCON). Köln.

Bernecker, K.*, & Becker, D.(2018, September). The ability to pursue hedonic goals - A necessary counterbalance to the concept of (trait) self-control? 51. Kongress der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Psychologie (DGPs). Frankfurt am Main.

Bernecker, K.*, & Becker, D. (2018, June). The ability to pursue hedonic goals - A necessary counterbalance to the concept of trait self-control? 30th Annual Meeting of the Association for Psychological Science (APS). San Francisco, USA.

Bernecker, K.*, Job, V. (2017, July). Beliefs about willpower and sleep procrastination. Preconference “The self-regulation of health”, 18th General Meeting of The European Association of Social Psychology, Granada, Spain.

Sieber, V.*, Flueckiger, L., Bernecker, K., Mata, J., & Job, V. (2017, July). Autonomous goal striving promotes a nonlimited belief about willpower. 18th General Meeting of The European Association of Social Psychology, Granada, Spain.

Brandstätter, V.*, Bernecker, K., & Ghassemi, M., (2016, September). Avoidance motivation, negative (non)verbal communication, and emotional experience in intimate relationships in younger and older age. 50th Congress of the German Psychological Association (DGPs), Leipzig, Germany.

Bernecker, K.*, Ghassemi, M., & Brandstätter, V. (2016, September). "Fahr vorsichtig, Schatz!" – Emotionale Auswirkungen von riskantem Verhalten in (Paar-)Beziehungen. 50th Congress of the German Psychological Association (DGPs), Leipzig, Germany.

Ghassemi, M.*, Bernecker, K., & Brandstätter, V. (2016, August). “Take care, honey”: People are more anxious about their partner's risk behavior than about their own. ESCON Transfer of Knowledge Conference, Lisbon, Portugal.

Bernecker, K., Job V., & Hofmann, W. (2016, August). Trait Measures of Self-Control and their Relationship to Experience, Resistance, and Enactment of Desires in Everyday Life. ESCON Transfer of Knowledge Conference, Lisbon, Portugal.

Ghassemi, M., Bernecker, K., Herrmann, M., & Brandstätter, V. (2016, May). The process of disengagement from personal goals. Paper presented at the 9th Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Motivation (SSM), Chicago, IL

Bernecker, K. *, Job, V, & Friese, M. (2016, February). Effects of Practicing Self-Control on Academic Performance. Self-Regulation Pre-Conference 17th SPSP Annual Convention, San Diego, CA, US.

Job, V., Bernecker, K.*, Herrmann, M., & Brandstätter, V. (2015, September). Implicit theories about willpower predict subjective well-being. SSP/SGP Conference, Geneva, Switzerland.

Ghassemi, M.*, Herrmann, M., Bernecker, K., & Brandstätter, V. (2015, September). Should I stop or should I go? Recent findings on the action crisis as a motivational conflict between goal pursuit and goal disengagement. Paper presented at the 14th Biannual Congress of the Swiss Psychological Society (SSP/SGP), Geneva, Switzerland.

Bernecker, K.*, Job, V., Dweck, C.S. & Walton, G.M. (2013, September). Veränderung von Impliziten Theorien über Willenskraft verbessert Selbstkontrolle unter Stress [Changing lay theories about willpower improves self-regulation under stress]. Fachgruppentagung Sozialpsychologie, Hagen, Germany.

Job, V.*, Bernecker, K., & Friese, M. (2013, September). “That was exhausting, I need a break!”: A limited theory of willpower predicts rest-goal-activation following self-control exertion. 13th Congress of the Swiss Psychological Society, Basel, Switzerland.

Bernecker, K.* & Job, V. (2013, August). Implicit theories about willpower predict preference for sugar after self-control exertion. Meeting of the European Social Cognition Network (ESCON), Vilnius, Lithuania.

Job, V.*, Walton, G. M., Bernecker, K., & Dweck, C. S. (2013, August). Beliefs about willpower determine the impact of glucose on self-control. European Social Cognition Network Meeting (ESCON), Vilnius, Lithuania.

Job, V.*, Bernecker, K., & Dweck, C. S. (2013, May). Are implicit motives the need to feel certain affect? Motive-affect congruence predicts relationship satisfaction. 6th Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Motivation (SSM), Washington, DC.

Job, V.*, Bernecker, K. & Friese, M. (2013, May). “That was exhausting, I need a break!”: A limited theory of willpower predicts rest-goal-activation following self-control exertion. 25th Annual convention of the Association for Psychological Science (APS), Washington, US.

Job, V.*, Walton, G. M., Bernecker K., & Dweck, C. S. (2012, October). Does glucose really boost willpower? Implicit theories vs. glucose as determinants of self-control. Annual Meeting of the Society of Experimental Social Psychology (SESP), Austin, US.

Bernecker, K.* & Job, V. (2012, September). Exploring the mechanism of implicit theories of willpower. Meeting of the European Social Cognition Network (ESCON), Estoril, Portugal.

Bernecker, K.*, Job, V., Dweck, C.S., & Walton, G.M. (2012, September). Veränderung von Impliziten Theorien der Willenskraft verbessert Selbstregulation unter Stress. [Change in willpower theories predicts better self-regulation under stress.] 48th Annual meeting of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Psychologie, e.V. (DGPs), Bielefeld, Germany.

Job, V.*, Walton, G. M., Bernecker K., & Dweck, C. S. (2012, September). Implizite Theorien vs. Glucose als Determinanten von Selbstkontrolle [Implicit theories vs. glucose as determinants of self-control]. 48th Annual meeting of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Psychologie, e.V. (DGPs), Bielefeld, Germany.

Bernecker, K.*, Job, V., Walton, G.M., & Dweck, C.S. (2012, January). Changing lay theories about willpower improves self-regulation under stress. 13thAnnual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP), San Diego, US.

Bernecker, K.* & Job, V. (2013, September). When Do People Want Sugar? 13th Congress of the Swiss Psychological Society, Basel, Switzerland.

Bernecker, K.* & Job, V. (2012, May). Implizite Theorien der Willenskraft verändern [Change implicit theories about willpower]. LiMaDoKo, Zurich, Switzerland.

Bernecker, K.*, Job, V., & Dweck, C.S. (2011, January). Explicit motives buffer ego-depletion. 12th Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP), San Antonio, US.

Bernecker, K.*, Schmidt, A.*, Wagner, S.*, & Rummer, R. (2011, March). Gibt es einen Testing-Effekt für handlungsbezogenes Wissen? [Is there a testing-effect in action-related knowledge?]. 53. Tagung experimentell arbeitender Psychologen (TeaP), Halle, Germany.

Bernecker, K.*, Job, V., & Dweck, C.S. (2010, January). Which emotions create relationship satisfaction? 11th Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP), Las Vegas, US.

Bernecker, K.*, Dressler, A.*, Feistel, P.*, & Kaufmann, M. (2008). Unterscheiden sich implizite und explizite Stereotype? [Do implicit and explicit stereotypes differ?]. 53. Tagung experimentell arbeitender Psychologen (TeaP), Marburg, Germany

Weiterführende Informationen

If the party is good, it's worth staying longer.

In our latest paper, we find that individuals who are good at following their momentary desires are not only happier, but also follow their desires more often in everyday life and still perform equally well as other individuals (at work and in their studies). These findings challenge the assumption that hedonism is harmful for long-term outcomes, such as achievement, and at the same time it seems to be good for well-being and mental health. However, our data also show that well-being is not influenced by the amount of hedonism, but by the quality of those moments. So if the party is good, it's worth staying.

Bernecker, K., Becker, D. & Guobyte, A. (in press). If the party is good, you should stay longer—effects of trait hedonic capacity on hedonic quantity and performance. Motivation and Emotion.

Hedonism is not as easy as we thought and as important for well-being as self-control

Our new article "Beyond self-control: Mechanisms of hedonic goal pursuit and its relevance for well-being" is now in press in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. We present five studies that show that, besides self-control, the capacity to pursue hedonic goals (trait hedonic capacity) is crucial for well-being. When trying to relax or enjoy, people with lower trait hedonic capacity experience more frequent thoughts about things they should actually be doing. These thoughts are detrimental to people's hedonic experience (e.g., relaxation).

Drive safe, honey, and let me know when you get there!

Do you often worry more about others than yourself? We have studied this phenomenon. Our article on perception of risks taken by significant others is now available online at the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. We find that people worry significantly more about other people's vs. their own risk behavior. This effect is stronger for close versus distant others and replicates across different risk scenarios and also in everyday live, where we studied the phenomenon in longer car drives without the partner.