Dr. Tanja Gerlach

Competencies, Personality, Learning Environments | Personality

Vita

10/2024 – Today
Honorary Lecturer in Psychology, Queen´s University Belfast
09/2024 – Today
Head of Research Unit "Personality" at the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (Department 1: Competencies, Personality, Learning Environments)
04/2022– 07/2024
Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Personality and Social Psychology, Queen´s University Belfast
05/2019– 03/2022
Senior Researcher, Georg August University Göttingen (Department for Biological Personality Psychology and Psychological Assessment)
01/2014– 04/2019
"Akademische Rätin auf Zeit", Georg August University Göttingen (Department for Biological Personality Psychology and Psychological Assessment)
10/2013– 01/2014
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Georg August University Göttingen (Department for Biological Personality Psychology and Psychological Assessment)
09/2013
Doctoral degree (Dr. rer. nat.) in Psychology at Humboldt Universität zu Berlin (Personality Development Lab)
02/2012– 09/2013
Research Associate at the Technical University Darmstadt (Department for Psychological and Psychophysiological Methods)
04/2009– 01/2012
Internal fellow (stipend holder) International Max Planck Research School 'The Life Course: Evolutionary and Ontogenetic Dynamics' (LIFE), 02/2012-09/2013: External fellow
01/2008– 03/2009
Research Associate UniBW Munich (Department for Educational Psychology)
09/2007– 12/2007
Research Assistant with degree UniBW Munich (Department for Educational Psychology)
08/2007
Diploma in Psychology at the Technical University of Darmstadt
10/2000– 08/2007
Studies of Psychology at the Technical University Darmstadt, majoring in Educational and Clinical Psychology

Research interests

  • Personality and social relationships
  • Conceptualization and assessment of interindividual differences
  • Self-evaluative dispositions
  • Non-normative life paths and their link to major life outcomes/returns to education
  • Stereotypes
  • Survey methodology
  • Person-centred methods

    • Editorships

  • Editorial board member "Psychological Science" (seit 2024)
  • Editorial board member "Journal of Personality and Social Psychology" (since 2021)
  • Editorial board member "European Journal of Personality" (2016 - 2021)

    • Publications

    2026

    Bange, P. C., Botzet, L. J., Shea, A., Vitzthum, V. J., & Gerlach, T. M. (2026). What do asexual women want? A propensity score matching study of preferred relationship options and ideal partner preferences. Archives of Sexual Behavior. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-025-03365-2
    Crawford, O., McKenna-Plumley, P. E., Millar, R., & Gerlach, T. M. (2026). The social life of non-parents: A systematic review of social networks and social support among adults without children. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075261420845
    Hawrot, A., Steger, D., Wittmann, E., Schütz, A., & Gerlach, T. M. (2026). Big Five personality traits in Starting Cohorts 1-6 of the National Educational Panel Study: Theoretical background, measures, and measurement occasions (NEPS Survey Paper No. 127). Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories, National Educational Panel Study. https://doi.org/10.5157/NEPS:SP127:1.0

    2025

    Kuschel, L., Botzet, L. J., & Gerlach, T. M. (2025). Left or right? The link between political orientation and partner preferences in a multinational sample of single women. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 42(10), 3127-3151. https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075251359404

    2024

    Driebe, J. C., Stern, J., Penke, L., & Gerlach, T. M. (2024). Probing the predictive validity of ideal partner preferences for future partner traits and relationship outcomes across 13 years. European Journal of Personality, 38(4), 707-723. https://doi.org/10.1177/08902070231213797
    Driebe, J. C., Stern, J., Penke, L., & Gerlach, T. M. (2024). Stability and change of individual differences in ideal partner preferences over 13 years. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 50(8), 1263-1279. https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672231164757
    Humberg, S., Kuper, N., Rentzsch, K., Gerlach, T. M., Back, M. D., & Nestler, S. (2024). Investigating the effects of congruence between within-person associations: A comparison of two extensions of response surface analysis. Psychological Methods. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/met0000666
    Schleifenbaum, L., Stern, J., Driebe, J. C., Wieczorek, L. L., Gerlach, T. M., Arslan, R. C., & Penke, L. (2024). Ovulatory cycle shifts in human motivational prioritisation of sex and food. Hormones and Behavior, 162, Article 105542. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105542
    Welsh, C. A., Ferguson, L. M., McKeown, L., Gerlach, T. M., Doumas, M., Truhan, T. E., & Papageorgiou, K. A. (2024). Assessing dark tetrad traits: A COSMIN systematic review of measurement instruments available. Personality and Individual Differences, 217, Article 112431. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2023.112431

    2023

    Botzet, L. J., Shea, A., Vitzthum, V. J., Druet, A., Sheesley, M., & Gerlach, T. M. (2023). The link between age and partner preferences in a large, international sample of single women. Human Nature, 34, 539-568. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-023-09460-4
    Humberg, S., Gerlach, T. M., Franke-Prasse, T., Geukes, K., & Back, M. D. (2023). Is (actual or perceptual) personality similarity associated with attraction in initial romantic encounters? A dyadic response surface analysis. Personality Science, 4(1), Article e7551. https://doi.org/10.5964/ps.7551
    Weidmann, R., Chopik, W. J., Ackerman, R. A., Allroggen, M., Bianchi, E. C., Brecheen, C., Campbell, W. K., Gerlach, T. M., Geukes, K., Grijalva, E., Grossmann, I., Hopwood, C. J., Hutteman, R., Konrath, S., Küfner, A. C., Leckelt, M., Miller, J. D., Penke, L., Pincus, A. L., . . . Back, M. D. (2023). Age differences in narcissism: A comprehensive study across eight measures and over 250,000 participants. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 124(6), 1277-1298. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000463

    2022

    Grosz, M. P., Hartmann, I., Dufner, M., Leckelt, M., Gerlach, T. M., Rauthmann, J. F., Denissen, J. J. A., Küfner, A. C. P., & Back, M. D. (2022). A process × domain assessment of narcissism: The Domain-Specific narcissistic admiration and rivalry questionnaire. Assessment, 29(7), 1482-1495. https://doi.org/10.1177/10731911211020075
    Holzleitner, I. J., Driebe, J. C., Arslan, R. C., Hahn, A. C., Lee, A. J., O'Shea, K. J., Gerlach, T. M., Penke, L., Jones, B. C., & DeBruine, L. M. (2022). No increased inbreeding avoidance during the ovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle. Evolutionary Human Sciences, 4, e47. https://doi.org/10.1017/ehs.2022.41
    Rentzsch, K., Columbus, S., Balliet, D., & Gerlach, T. M. (2022). Similarity in situation perception predicts relationship satisfaction. Personality Science, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.5964/ps.8007
    Schleifenbaum, L., Driebe, J. C., Wieczorek, L. L., Gerlach, T. M., Arslan, R. C., & Penke, L. (2022). Men are not aware of and do not respond to their female partner's fertility status: Evidence from a dyadic diary study of 384 couples. Hormones and Behavior, 143, Article 105202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2022.105202

    2021

    Arslan, R. C., Driebe, J. C., Stern, J., Gerlach, T. M., & Penke, L. (2021). The evidence for good genes ovulatory shifts in Arslan et al. (2018) is mixed and uncertain. A reply to Gangestad & Dinh (2021). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 121(2), 441-446. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000390
    Arslan, R. C., Reitz, A. K., Driebe, J. C., Gerlach, T. M., & Penke, L. (2021). Routinely randomize potential sources of measurement reactivity to estimate and adjust for biases in subjective reports. Psychological Methods, 26(2), 175-185. https://doi.org/10.1037/met0000294
    Arslan, R. C., Schilling, K., Gerlach, T. M., & Penke, L. (2021). Using 26 thousand diary entries to show ovulatory changes in sexual desire and behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 121, 410-431. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000208
    Botzet, L. J., Gerlach, T. M., Driebe, J. C., Penke, L., & Arslan, R. C. (2021). Hormonal contraception and sexuality: Causal effects, unobserved selection, or reverse causality? Collabra: Psychology, 7(1), Article 29039. https://doi.org/10.1525/collabra.29039
    Reins, L. M., Arslan, R. C., & Gerlach, T. M. (2021). Assessing egocentered social networks in formr: a tutorial. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, 2021(4), 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1177/2515245920985467
    Rentzsch, K., Wieczorek, L. L., & Gerlach, T. M. (2021). Situation perception mediates the link between narcissism and relationship satisfaction: Evidence from a daily diary study in romantic couples. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 12(7), 1241-1253. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550620987419
    Schleifenbaum, L., Driebe, J. C., Gerlach, T. M., Penke, L., & Arslan, R. C. (2021). Women feel more attractive before ovulation: Evidence from a large-scale online diary study. Evolutionary Human Sciences, 3, e47. https://doi.org/10.1017/ehs.2021.44

    2020

    Stern, J., Gerlach, T. M., & Penke, L. (2020). Probing ovulatory cycle shifts in women’s preferences for men’s behaviors. Psychological Science, 31(4), 424-436. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797619882022
    Wieczorek, L. L., Tata, C., Penke, L., & Gerlach, T. M. (2020). Online implementation of an event history calendar with formr: A tutorial. Personal Relationships, 27, 176-208. https://doi.org/10.1111/pere.12305

    2019

    Gerlach, T. M., & Jünger, J. (2019). Ideal partner preferences. In J. J. Ponzetti Jr., M. Blankemeyer, S. M. Horan, H. Lyons, & A. Shigeto (Eds.), Macmillan encyclopedia of families, marriages, and intimate relationships (pp. 455-457). Macmillan Reference USA.
    Gerlach, T. M., Arslan, R. C., Schultze, T., Reinhard, S. K., & Penke, L. (2019). Predictive validity and adjustment of ideal partner preferences across the transition into romantic relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 116(2), 313-330. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000170
    Stern, J., Arslan, R. C., Gerlach, T. M., & Penke, L. (2019). No robust evidence for cycle shifts in preferences for men's bodies in a multiverse analysis: Commentary on Gangestad, Dinh, Grebe, Del Giudice and Emery Thompson (2019). Evolution and Human Behavior, 40(6), 517-525. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2019.08.005
    von Borell, C. J., Kordsmeyer, T. L., Gerlach, T. M., & Penke, L. (2019). An integrative study of facultative personality calibration. Evolution and Human Behavior, 40(2), 235-248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2019.01.002

    2018

    Gerlach, T. M., & Reinhard, S. K. (2018). Personality and romantic attraction. In V. Zeigler-Hill, & T. K. Shackelford (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_717-2
    Gerlach, T. M., Driebe, J. C., & Reinhard, S. K. (2018). Personality and romantic relationship satisfaction. In V. Zeigler-Hill, & T. K. Shackelford (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_718-1
    Jünger, J., Kordsmeyer, T. L., Gerlach, T. M., & Penke, L. (2018). Fertile women evaluate male bodies as more attractive, regardless of masculinity. Evolution and Human Behavior, 39(4), 412-423. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.03.007
    Leckelt, M., Wetzel, E., Gerlach, T. M., Ackermann, R. A., Miller, J. D., Chopik, W. J., Penke, L., Geukes, K., Küfner, A. C. P., Hutteman, R., Richter, D., Renner, K.-H., Allroggen, M., Brecheen, C., Campbell, W. K., Grossmann, I., & Back, M. D. (2018). Validation of the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Questionnaire short scale (NARQ-S) in convenience and representative samples. Psychological Assessment , 30(1), 86-96. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0000433
    Schultze, T., Gerlach, T. M., & Rittich, J. C. (2018). Some people heed advice less than others: Agency (but not communion) predicts advice taking. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 31(8), 430-445. https://doi.org/10.1002/bdm.2065

    2017

    Wurst, S. N., Gerlach, T. M., Dufner, M., Rauthmann, J. F., Grosz, M. P., Küfner, A. C. P., Denissen, J. J. A., & Back, M. D. (2017). Narcissism and romantic relationships: The differential impact of narcissistic admiration and rivalry. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 112(2), 280–306. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000113

    2016

    Grossmann, I., Gerlach, T. M., & Denissen, J. J. A. (2016). Wise reasoning in the face of everyday life challenges. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 7(7), 611-622. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550616652206
    Wetzel, E., Leckelt, M., Gerlach, T. M., & Back, M. D. (2016). Distinguishing subgroups of narcissists with latent class analysis. European Journal of Personality, 30(4), 374-389. https://doi.org/10.1002/per.2062

    2015

    Fatfouta, R., Gerlach, T. M., Schröder-Abé, M., & Merkl, A. (2015). Narcissism and lack of interpersonal forgiveness: The mediating role of state anger, state rumination, and state empathy. Personality and Individual Differences, 75, 36-40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.10.051

    2013

    Back, M. D., Küfner, A. C. P., Dufner, M., Gerlach, T. M., Rauthmann, J. F., & Denissen, J. J. A. (2013). Narcissistic admiration and rivalry: Disentangling the bright and dark sides of narcissism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 105(6), 1013-1037. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034431

    2012

    Gerlach, T. M., Agroskin, D., & Denissen, J. J. A. (2012). Forgiveness in close interpersonal relationships: A negotiation approach. In E. Kals, & J. Maes (Eds.), Justice and conflicts: Theoretical and empirical contributions (pp. 377-390). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-19035-3
    Gerlach, T. M., Allemand, M., Agroskin, D., & Denissen, J. J. A. (2012). Justice sensitivity and forgiveness in close interpersonal relationships: The mediating role of mistrustful, legitimizing, and pro-relationship cognitions. Journal of Personality, 85(5), 1373-1413. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2012.00762.x

    Selected presentations and lectures

    2025

    Gerlach, T. M. (2025, May 16). Unpacking the personality and individual differences portfolio of the National Educational Panel Study [Paper presentation]. 15th Annual Conference of the British Society for the Psychology of Individual Differences (BSPID 2025), Belfast, Northern Ireland. https://bspid.uk/bspid15
    Gerlach, T. M., Crawford, O., & McKenna-Plumley, P. (2025, September 21 - 24). Understanding the social lives of non-parents [Paper presentation]. 18th meeting of the section for Individual Differences, Personality Psychology and Psychological Assessment (DPPD) of the German Psychological Association, Kassel, Germany. https://dppd2025.de/
    Steger, D., Gerlach, T. M., & Schütz, A. (2025, November 10 - December 11). Recognizing personality development as an educational outcome: Exploring tolerance of ambiguity in adolescents [Paper presentation]. CIDER-LERN Conference - "Educational Success: Support, Measurement and Evaluation", Bamberg, Germany. https://www.lifbi.de/de-de/Start/Aktuelles-Medien/Veranstaltungen/_info_/details/47874/cider-lern-conference-2025

    Selected media contributions