Curriculum vitae

Professional appointments

Since 04/2013
Research Associate
Department of Psychology, University of Münster

Since 10/2012
Psych. Child Therapist
Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Rudolf Höffken, Duisburg

04/2011 – 06/2012
Graduate Assistant and Trainee (FARO Grant)
Department of Developmental Psychology and Education, Prof. Dr. Holodynski, University of Münster

2010 – 2011
Student Assistant and Trainee
Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Fr.Dr.med. Brigitte Zimmermann, Essen
Neuropsychology, Medical Clinic MediClin, Fachklinik Rhein-Ruhr, Essen

2008 – 2009
Traineeship in Event Management (ARGO Grant), IVAM GmbH, Dortmund

Education

2012 - 2013
Person-centred Play Therapy (based on Carl Rogers)
Sozialpädagogisches Bildungswerk, Münster
Training in creative education (based on Arno Stern)
Diraya Expresión, Bilbao

10/2006 – 06/2012
Master’s Degree in Psychology
Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Madrid

09/2003 – 06/2008
Master’s Degree in Business and Management
Universidad Complutense, Madrid
University of Applied Sciences, Jyväskylä (Finland)

Research interests

• Prosocial Behavior
• Child development from a cross-cultural approach
• Parental socialization and ethnotheories

Publications

Journal articles (peer-reviewed)

Giner Torréns, M., Coppens, A. D., Mantilla Salgado, J., & Kärtner, J. (2023). It’s mealtime! How parents and children collaborate during mealtime preparation in two cultural contexts: Cotacachi (Ecuador) and Münster (Germany). [Manuscript submitted for publication].

Giner Torréns, M., Wefers, H., & Kärtner, J. (2023). Der Einfluss von Kultur auf die Entwicklung in den ersten drei Lebensjahren. Zeitschrift für Entwicklungspsychologie und Pädagogische Psychologie, 55(1), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1026/0049-8637/a000271

Stengelin, R., Bohn, M., Sanchez-Amaro, A., Haun, D. B., Thiele, M., Daum, M. M., Felsche, E., Fong, F. T., Giner Torréns, M., Grueneisen, S., & others. (2023). Responsible Research is also concerned with generalizability: Recognizing efforts to reflect upon and increase generalizability in hiring and promotion decisions in psychology. [Manuscript submitted for publication].

Bohn, M., Vieira, W. F. da S., Giner Torréns, M., Kärtner, J., Itakura, S., Cavalcante, L., Haun, D., Köster, M., & Kanngiesser, P. (2022). Mealtime conversations between parents and their 2-year-old children in five cultural contexts. [Manuscript submitted for publication].

Köster, M., Giner Torréns, M., Kärtner, J., Itakura, S. & Kanngiesser, P. (2022). Parental teaching behavior in diverse cultural contexts. Evolution and Human Behavior, 43(5), 432–441. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2022.07.002

Giner Torréns, M., Dreizler, K., & Kärtner, J. (2021). Insight into toddlers’ motivation to help: From social participants to prosocial contributors. Infant Behavior and Development, 64, 101603. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infbeh.2021.101603

Kärtner, J., Giner Torréns, M. & Schuhmacher, N. (2021). Parental structuring during shared chores and the development of helping across the second year. Social Development, 30(2), 374–395. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12490

Kärtner, J., Schuhmacher, N. & Giner Torréns, M. (2020). Social-cognitive development across cultures. Progress in Brain Research, 254, 225–246. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.pbr.2020.06.011

Giner Torréns M. & Kärtner J. (2019). Affiliation motivates children’s prosocial behaviors: Relating helping and comforting to imitation. Social Development, 28(3), 501–513. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12357

Giner Torréns, M. (2018). Why do children help? Prosocial behavior in toddlerhood: Definition, motivation, and socialization. [Doctoral dissertation, University of Münster].

Giner Torréns, M., & Kärtner, J. (2017). Psychometric properties of the early prosocial behaviour questionnaire. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 14(5), 618-627. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2016.1259107

Giner Torréns, M., & Kärtner, J. (2017). The influence of socialization on early helping from a cross-cultural perspective. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 48(3), 353-368. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022117690451

Research Talks

Giner Torréns, M. & Kärtner, J. (2017, April). The early prosocial behavior questionnaire – assessing toddlers’ helping, sharing and comforting. In J. Beier & K. Dunfield (Chair), Varieties of prosocial behavior from a diversity of perspectives: what we’ve learned and where we’re going. Symposium conducted at the Biennal Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD), Austin, TX, US.

Giner Torréns, M. & Kärtner, J. (2017, April). The influence of socialization and temperament on helping, cooperating and comforting: A longitudinal study. In J. S. Dubas (Chair) & F. Warneken (Discussant), The early development of prosocial behavior: Motivations and contextual influences. Symposium conducted at the Biennal Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD), Austin, TX, US.

Giner Torréns, M., Chaudhary, N., & Kärtner, J. (2016, October). Der Einfluss von Sozialisationspraktiken auf das frühe prosoziale Verhalten in Münster und Delhi. In Köster, M. (Chair) & Giner Torréns, M. (Co-Chair), Der Einfluss von Kultur auf die Entwicklung in der frühen und mittleren Kindheit. Leipzig, Germany. Symposium conducted at the 50th Kongress der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Psychologie (DGPs), Lepizig, Germany

Giner Torréns, M., Chaudhary, N., & Kärtner, J. (2016, July). The influence of culture – Toddlers help more in Delhi than in Münster. In J. Kärtner (Chair), Situational, social, and cultural influences on the emergence of prosocial behavior. Symposium conducted at the 24th Biennial Meeting of the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development (ISSBD). Vilnius, Lithuania.

Giner Torréns, M., Schuhmacher, N., & Kärtner, J. (2015, September). Early helping and cooperation in Delhi and Münster, a cross-cultural study. Poster presented at the 22. Tagung der Fachgruppe Entwicklungspsychologie der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Psychologie (DGPs), Frankfurt, Germany.

Giner Torréns, M., Schuhmacher, N., & Kärtner, J. (2015, March). Situational constraints for early helping in a cross-cultural study. In N. Schuhmacher (Chair), Emerging Social and Situational Constraints of Children’s Altruistic and Mutualistic Behavior. Symposium conducted at the Biennal Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD), Philadelphia, PA, US.

Giner Torréns, M., Schuhmacher, N., & Kärtner, J. (2014, September). The influence of motivational constraints on early helping. Poster presented at the 49th Kongress der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Psychologie (DGPs), Bochum, Germany.

Giner Torréns, M., Schuhmacher, N., & Kärtner, J. (2014, July). Situational constraints for early helping. Poster presented at the 19th Biennal International Conference on Infant Studies (ICIS), Berlin, Germany.

Invited Talks

Giner Torréns, M. (2016, September). Why do children help? A cross-cultural study: Adapting methods for cross-cultural research. Department of Education, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH. Invited by Prof. Andrew Coppens (University of New Hamsphire).

Giner Torréns, M. (2016, November). Der Einfluss von Kultur auf die Entwicklung prosozialen Verhaltens. Fachtagung Kind und Moral, Chemnitz, Germany. Invited by Prof. Minkyung Kim (University of Chemnitz).

Teaching

In English:

• Culture, Morality and Development of Prosocial Behavior

In German:

• Culture, Morality and Development of Prosocial Behavior
• The development of Prosocial Behavior (with Prof. Joscha Kärtner)