Dr. Marcel Weber

My primary research interest lies in the social-psychological foundations of romantic relationships, love, and sexuality. Much of my work examines people’s intrinsic interest in sexual activity, often referred to as sexual motivation. Although sexual motivation is widely recognized as a core aspect of human sexuality, important questions remain about its conceptualization, measurement, and everyday dynamics. In particular, my research addresses the puzzle of gender differences in sexual motivation, which have been repeatedly observed in empirical studies yet questioned in terms of their validity. Beyond this focus, I am also interested in meta-scientific topics (e.g., trust in science, open science), self-regulation, and negotiations. To investigate these issues, I draw on a wide range of methods for data collection (e.g., experience sampling, item sum technique) and data analysis (e.g., multilevel modeling, SEM, meta-analysis).

Journal articles (peer-reviewed)

Weber, M., Kilger, H., & Friese, M. (2025). How valid are self-reports of sexual motivation? Using the item sum technique to examine socially desirable responding in online research. Motivation Science, 11(3), 246-258. https://doi.org/10.1037/mot0000399  pdf 

Petrowsky, H. M., Boecker, L., Escher, Y. A., Frech, M.-L., Friese, M., Galinsky, A. D., Gunia, B., Lee, A. J., Schaerer, M., Schweinsberg, M., Soliman, M., Swaab, R., Troll, E. S., Weber, M., & Loschelder, D. D. (2025). The power and peril of first offers in negotiations: A conceptual, meta-analytic, and experimental synthesis. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 191, 104448. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2025.104448   pdf

Toribio-Flórez, D., Altenmüller, M. S., Douglas, K. M., Gollwitzer, M., …, Weber, M., & Wojcik, A. D. (2025). Victims of conspiracies? An examination of the relationship between conspiracy beliefs and dispositional individual victimhood. European Journal of Social Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.70008 

Weber, M., & Friese, M. (2025). Sexual (double) standards revisited: Similarities and differences in the societal evaluation of male and female sexuality. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 16(5), 507-518. https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506241237288pdf

Cologna, V., Mede, N. G., Berger, S., Besley, J., Brick, C., Joubert, M., …, Weber, M., … & Zwaan, R. A. (2025). Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries. Nature Human Behaviour. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-02090-5

Frankenbach, J., Weber, M., Loschelder, D. D., Kilger, H., & Friese, M. (2025). Gender differences in sex drive: Reply to Conley and Yang. Psychological Bulletin, 150(8), 1011-1019. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000444

Weber, M., Reis, D., & Friese, M. (2024). Development and validation of the trait sexual motivation scale (TSMS). Journal of Personality Assessment, 106(2), 267-282. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223891.2023.2206896 pdf

Kohrs, F. E., Auer, S., Bannach-Brown, A., Fiedler, S., Haven, T. L., Heise, V., …, Weber, M., ... Weissgerber, T. L. (2023). Eleven strategies for making reproducible research and open science training the norm at research institutions. eLife, 12, e89736.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.89736 pdf

Frankenbach, J., Weber, M., Loschelder, D. D., Kilger, H., & Friese, M. (2022). Sex drive: Theoretical conceptualization and meta-analytic review of gender differences. Psychological Bulletin, 148(9–10), 621-661. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000366

Dissertation

Weber, M. (2025). Examining major threats to valid measurement of sexual motivation: from basic research to implications for society and science. SciDok. https://doi.org/10.22028/D291-44005 pdf

Weber, M., Kilger, H., & Friese, M. (2025, September). How valid are self-reports of sexual motivation? Using the Item Sum Technique to examine socially desirable responding in online research. Oral presentation at the 19th Conference of the German Social Psychology Section (FGSP), Bochum, Germany.

Weber, M. & Friese, M. (2023, July). The sexual double standard revisited: Inter- and intragender perspectives on sexual norms. Oral presentation at the 19th General Meeting of the European Association of Social Psychology (EASP), Kraków, Poland.

Weber, M. & Friese, M. (2022, September). The sexual double standard revisited: Inter- and intragender perspectives on sexual norms. Oral presentation at the 52nd Congress of the German Psychological Society (DGPs), Hildesheim, Germany.

Weber, M., Frankenbach, J., Hofmann, W., & Friese, M. (2019, September). Sexual experiences in everyday life: Antecedents, characteristics, and consequences. Oral presentation at the 17th Conference of the German Social Psychology Section (FGSP), Cologne (Köln), Germany.

Weber, M., Frankenbach, J., Hofmann, W., & Friese, M. (2018, September). Sexual experiences in everyday life: Antecedents, characteristics, and consequences. Oral presentation at the 51st Congress of the German Psychological Society (DGPs), Frankfurt/M., Germany.

Weber, M., Loschelder, D., & Friese, M. (2017, September). Numeric precision and anchoring: A meta-analysis. Oral presentation at the 16th Conference of the German Social Psychology Section (FGSP), Ulm, Germany.

Weber, M. (2016, September). Rebel parameters: a statistical revolt. Science slam presented at the 50th Congress of the German Psychological Society (DGPs), Leipzig, Germany.

Weber, M., Loschelder, D., & Friese, M. (2016, September). Numeric precision and anchoring: A meta-analysis. Oral presentation at the 50th Congress of the German Psychological Society (DGPs), Leipzig, Germany.

(Applied) Social Psychology

[Seminar] Interpersonal relationships: romantic partnerships & sexuality"
("Interpersonelle Beziehungen: Partnerschaft & Sexualität", WS 21/22, SoSe 22, WS 22/23, SoSe23, WS 23/24, SoSe 24, WS 24/25, SoSe 25)

[Seminar/Projektarbeit] Applied social psychology: project work I
("Projektarbeit I aus dem Bereich der Angewandten Sozialpsychologie", SoSe 24)

[Seminar/Projektarbeit] Applied social psychology: project work II
("Projektarbeit II aus dem Bereich der Angewandten Sozialpsychologie", WS 18/19, WS 19/20, WS 21/22, WS 22/23, WS 23/24, WS 24/25)

[Seminar/empirisches Projektmodul] "Social psychology: sexual (double) standards"
("Empiriepraktikum Sozialpsychologie: Sexuelle (Doppel-)Standards", WS 20/21, SoSe 21, WS 22/23, SoSe 23)

[Seminar] Method-critical reading of social psychological research literature
("Methodenkritisches Lesen sozialpsychologischer Forschungsliteratur", SoSe 20, SoSe 22, SoSe 23, SoSe 24, SoSe 25)

[Seminar] Classical studies in social psychology
("Klassische Studien der Sozialpsychologie", SoSe 18, SoSe 19)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

^a WS = Wintersemester (winter term);
^b SoSe = Sommersemester (summer term)