Prof. Dr. André MELZER

André Melzer is Assistant Professor in Psychology and study programme director of the Bachelor of Science in Psychology (BAP) at the University of Luxembourg. He received a doctoral degree in Psychology from the University of Trier (Germany) in 2002. Before he joined the University of Luxembourg in 2008, Dr. Melzer worked in departments of Psychology at the University of Trier and the Heinrich-Heine University Duesseldorf (Germany). He was also a research associate at the interdisciplinary Institute for Multimedia and Interactive Systems, a Computer Science department at the University of Luebeck (Germany).

Dr. Melzer’s research mainly focuses on the use and effects of interactive media, with a particular emphasis on video games and their implications. Based on theories of media psychology and social psychology, his fields of research cover video games and morality, gender roles and gender stereotypes in the media, children’s media use, and parental mediation. The latter aspect also includes issues of social engineering and the psychological aspects of data security. Dr. Melzer is head of MExLab (Media and Experimental Laboratory), where he also conducts most of his experimental studies.

Within the Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, Dr. Melzer is deputy head of the Institute of Health and Behaviour led by Prof. Georges Steffgen. Together, they led the PREVAMI research project (“Preventing violence and aggressive behaviour in children and adolescents using interactive media instruments”), an international research project aimed at the use and effects of violent video games and the prevention of violence and aggressive behaviour.

Since 2013, Dr. Melzer has led a series of research projects in close cooperation with the Luxembourgish Ministry for Equality between Women and Men (MEGA). From 2013 to 2015, Dr. Melzer led the SGM research project (“Stereotype Geschlechterrollen in den Medien”), which focused on the analysis of gender portrayals in the media, especially in video games and song lyrics. The research project aimed at the consequences of personal beliefs regarding “typical“ male and female gender roles in the media: How do media recipients perceive gender stereotypes? The 2018 research project analysed the use and effects of adolescents and young adults’ media use in Luxembourg, with a special emphasis on gender attitudes and beliefs related to media use. Since 2019, Dr. Melzer supervises the PhD project of Miriam-Linnea Hale “From stereotypes to hostile sexism – A psychological analysis of conceptions about gender” funded by MEGA.

Dr. Melzer has predominately published in the fields of interactive media use and media effects in children, adolescents and adults. He has also published on social psychological mechanisms in social engineering. His previous work on implicit and explicit memory focuses on, but is not limited to, memory for commercial information.

His teaching experiences at the University of Luxembourg include courses in Social Psychology , Introduction to the Study of Psychology , and Practical Training in Experimental Psychology within the BSc in Psychology. In the Master of Psychology: Track Psychological Intervention, Dr. Melzer teaches Media Psychology. In the professional Master in Information System Security Management, his course Human Risk was on the psychological aspects of data security, with humans as the weakest link in the security chain. Additional teaching experiences at other affiliations cover General Psychology (Perception and Cognition), Work Psychology, Hypermedia Systems, and Entertainment Computing.