Mobile Research Laboratory

• Subject Area: Psychology ; Neurosciences
• Term: Funded in 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 447246283

A better understanding of the development and maintenance of mental health and mental disorders over the life span is a central concern of research at the Mental Health Research and Treatment Center (MHRTC). Based on a biopsychosocial development model, factors that contribute to the development and maintenance of mental health and disorder in populations of different ages and at different risk for mental disorders are studied both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. The methodology used ranges from standardized surveys to behavioural observations and psychophysiological/cognitive studies conducted in inpatient laboratories. However, analyses of the representativeness of the samples examined show that participants with low socioeconomic status (SES), a risk group for mental disorders, are systematically underrepresented. In prospective longitudinal studies, the response rate for multiple laboratory examinations decreases with each laboratory examination, since participants shy away from the increased travel expenses. This selectivity of samples is an increasingly critically discussed phenomenon in psychology (see criticism of the dominance of "WEIRD" study participants). A more balanced composition of the samples with regard to SES, while at the same time keeping the time expenditure feasible and the cost-benefit ratio of the resources employed good, seems indispensable. Mobile laboratories represent an ideal strategy for implementing these points. The present proposal aims at the acquisition of a mobile laboratory that fully and compatibly reflects the existing stationary laboratory capacities. Studies can thus be carried out simultaneously in the stationary laboratories and the mobile laboratory. The gained spatial and temporal flexibility allows to address hard-to-reach target groups and to significantly accelerate time-consuming data collection for studies with high drop-out rates / low participation rates. The devices applied for comprise a peripheral physiological amplifier system (64 channels EEG, module for the recording of electrodermal activity, bipolar channels for the recording of the electrocardiogram and electromyogram, breathing belts), four height-adjustable dome cameras, designed for behavioural observations, including software for time-synchronous video recording, microphones for voice recording, an eye tracking system, and the computer and audio systems necessary for laboratory operation and stimulation. The use of a mobile research laboratory will help to examine groups of people who are hardly represented in psychological research and to reduce drop-out rates in longitudinal studies, thus making an important and necessary contribution to valid and representative psychological research.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Mobiles Forschungslabor
• Instrumentation Group: 3660 Psychologische Test- und Untersuchungsgeräte
• Applicant Institution: Ruhr-Universität Bochum
• Leader: Professorin Dr. Silvia Schneider