Marcella Woud and Andre Pittig Recognized at the German Psychotherapy Congress in Berlin

At the 5th German Psychotherapy Congress, held in Berlin from June 8 to 12, 2026, the German Psychological Society (DGP) honored members for their outstanding contributions. The Junior Members of the Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy Section awarded Marcella Woud and Andre Pittig—associated CRC members—with first and second place in the 2026 Supervisor Award for their dedicated support of doctoral candidates. We’re delighted for Marcella and Andre and offer our heartfelt congratulations on this well-earned recognition

New Study Reveals Complex Visual Attention Patterns in Assamese Macaques

A new study by SFB PhD student Sofia Pereira, Julia Ostner, Oliver Schülke, and colleagues explores how wild Assamese macaques allocate their attention to social interactions among group members. The team found that social interactions are far more engaging than non-interactive social scenes. In particular, agonistic interactions—such as fights or threats—received more attention than friendly ones. These biases were even stronger, when the interactions involved individuals that were much higher in rank than the observer, or when they involved the observer’s close social bonds. For this project, Sofia and her colleagues spent ten months at the Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary field site in Thailand, analyzing nearly 1,000 social interactions among wild Assamese macaques. They examined how group members in the vicinity responded to these events. Their findings suggest that macaques integrate social knowledge from their past interactions into their observations of currently ongoing social interactions of others. The study, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, underscores the complexity of information integration from bottom-up and top-down processes in real time during social interactions in free-ranging primates.

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New Study Reveals Key Barriers to Communicating Animal Research

A systematic review published in Public Understanding of Science identifies the major challenges researchers and institutions face when communicating about animal experimentation. The study by SFB members Sebastian Löser, Susanne Bögeholz and colleagues analyzed 65 academic documents and found that the most significant barriers include the inherent complexity and ethical controversies of the research, public opposition and mistrust, and a dysfunctional discourse environment dominated by misinformation and polarization. These factors often lead to discouraged or very selective public engagement and debate. The authors argue that addressing these barriers—through greater transparency, proactive communication, and targeted strategies—is essential for fostering informed dialogue between science and society.

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