Marie Michael

• Social Cognition and its Biological Foundations 
• Cross-Cultural and Developmental Perspectives 
• Olfaction 
• Effective Data Visualisation 

My current projects focus on the concept of baby-schema. This theory suggests that certain facial and body features universally elicit human caregiving behaviors. These features, found in both human and non-human individuals, and even in abstract stimuli, elicit characteristic reactions that are believed to be universal. However, most research on this topic has been conducted within communities of the Global North.

To broaden our understanding and incorporate diverse perspectives, I will be conducting cross-cultural studies in Malaysia. This research will involve the Batek and Temiar indigenous peoples as well as participants from an urban Malaysian university. Our goal is to identify the specific features that constitute baby-schema and to uncover the robust psychophysiological signatures associated with reactions to these features.

By understanding baby-schema, we can gain insights into how interactions between infants and others are optimized to promote infants’ exceptional socio-cognitive development. This research not only aims to investigate the universality of baby-schema but also to enrich our knowledge of human caregiving across different cultures.

• German – Mother Tongue
• English – C1
• Malay – Basic
• Danish – Basic
• Spanish - Basic