Dr. Benedikt Leichtmann
Research Associate
Office hours:
By appointment
Postal address:
Leopoldstraße 13
80802 Munich
Short Description
Dr. Benedikt Leichtmann has been a researcher and lecturer at the Department of Psychology at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich since late 2023. His transdisciplinary research focuses on human-machine interaction and the user-centered design of technological systems based on psychological insights – for example, in the use of robots in workplace environments or calibration of trust in artificial intelligence. Driven by a strong design ambition, his work aims to ensure that technologies are developed in ways that align with users’ needs, capabilities, and values. He teaches advanced courses in personality psychology and psychological assessment and is actively involved in science communication, making psychological perspectives on technology accessible to a broader public.
Research Interests
- Human-Robot Interaction
- Social Robotics
- Explainable AI (XAI)
- Acceptance of Automation
Background
- Since 2024
- Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Chair for Personality Psychology at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
- 2020 - 2023
- Post-Doctoral Researcher at the LIT Robopsychology Lab at Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, Austria
- 2018 - 2020
- PhD Candidate and research assistant at the Institute of Industrial Engineering and Ergonomics at RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- 2016 - 2018
- Research assistant at the Human Factors Institute at Bundeswehr University Munich, Munich, Germany
Selected Publications
- Leichtmann, B., Gollob, E., May, M., Paschmanns, A., & Mara, M. (2025). Lonely Minds and Robotic Bonds: Effects of Human Loneliness on the Anthropomorphization of Robots. International Journal of Social Robotics, 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-025-01210-z
- Leichtmann, B., Hinterreiter, A., Humer, C., Ventura, A., Streit, M., & Mara, M. (2024). Moral reasoning in a digital age: blaming artificial intelligence for incorrect high-risk decisions. Current Psychology, 43(41), 32412-32421. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-06658-2
- Leichtmann, B., Hinterreiter, A., Humer, C., Streit, M., & Mara, M. (2023). Explainable Artificial Intelligence improves human decision-making: Results from a mushroom picking experiment at a public art festival. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2023.2221605
- Leichtmann, B., Hartung, J., Wilhelm, O., & Nitsch, V. (2023). New short scale to measure workers’ attitudes toward the implementation of cooperative robots in industrial work settings: Instrument development and exploration of attitude structure. International Journal of Social Robotics, 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-023-00996-0
- Leichtmann, B., Humer, C., Hinterreiter, A., Streit, M., & Mara, M. (2023). Effects of Explainable Artificial Intelligence on trust and human behavior in a high-risk decision task. Computers in Human Behavior, 139, 107539. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107539
- Leichtmann, B., Nitsch, V., & Mara, M. (2022). Crisis ahead? Why human-robot interaction user studies may have replicability problems and directions for improvement. Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 9, 838116. https://doi.org/10.3389/frobt.2022.838116
- Leichtmann, B., Lottermoser, A., Berger, J., & Nitsch, V. (2022). Personal space in human-robot interaction at work: Effect of room size and working memory load. ACM Transactions on Human-Robot Interaction (THRI), 11(4), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1145/3536167
- Leichtmann, B., & Nitsch, V. (2020). How much distance do humans keep toward robots? Literature review, meta-analysis, and theoretical considerations on personal space in human-robot interaction. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 68, 101386. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2019.10138