Dr. habil.Astrid Carolus

Vita

PD Dr. habil. Astrid Carolus studied psychology at Saarland University, focusing on media and organizational psychology, psychological assessment, evaluation, clinical psychology, and social psychology, with business administration as a minor. Even during her studies, she combined both worlds: working at the university while also gaining practical experience in a personnel and management consulting firm. After earning her diploma, she became a research associate at Saarland University.

In 2010, she joined the newly established Institute for Human-Computer-Media at the Julius-Maximilians-University of Würzburg. She completed her PhD (Dr. phil.) there in 2012 with distinction. In 2016, she was appointed as Academic Councillor (Akademische Rätin), and in 2022, as Senior Academic Councillor (Akademische Oberrätin). In 2025, she was granted the venia legendi (teaching authorization) in the field of psychology. Alongside her academic career, she continues to work as a freelance consultant and coach. Astrid Carolus is also an internationally certified coder for the Facial Action Coding System (FACS)  used to analyze facial expressions.

In both her research and teaching, Astrid Carolus explores human thought, emotion, and behavior in the context of media use. Her central questions are: What do people do with media and technologies? And: What do media and technologies do to people?

 

Interests and research focus

A psychological perspective on humans in interaction with media and digital technologies, particularly AI-based systems. The focus lies on analyzing the use of these technologies, which are heuristically conceptualized as encounters with a social counterpart. In such interactions, not only (technical) skills but also psychological dimensions play a crucial role. Based on the identification of key success factors for the competent, autonomous, and reflective use of these technologies, innovative teaching and learning settings are developed, implemented, and evaluated—settings that foster not only AI competencies but also what may be termed an AI Mindset.

Research Objectives

1. Identifying the prerequisites for competent use of digital and AI-based technologies through the conceptualization, operationalization, and measurement of AI-related competencies.

2. Expanding the understanding of AI competencies by integrating psychological dimensions and deriving success factors that support competent, autonomous, and reflective engagement with such technologies.

3. Developing and analyzing innovative teaching and learning settings aimed at fostering digital and AI-related competencies, including both technical skills and the psychological foundation often referred to as AI Mindset.