Independent Researcher, Berlin, Germany.
Franz Mechsner is a neurobiologist by education, with a dissertation on a theoretical model of the cerebellum. Subsequently, he investigated human movement under the guiding idea that movements are organized directly on a psychological level, namely as intended perceptions. Franz Mechsner conducted research and taught at Max Planck Institute of Psychological Research (Munich, Germany), Hanse Institute for Advanced Study (Delmenhorst/Bremen, Germany), and Northumbria University (Newcastle upon Tyne, UK).
He also has worked as a science journalist for quality German magazines and newspapers. At UC Berkeley, he cooperates with Dor Abrahamson on the nature of human movements as perceptual-cognitive events. Emphasis is placed on movements that result from and depend on solving mathematical problems in pedagogical contexts, following a recent co-authored paper.
Indicative publications:
Mechsner, F., Kerzel, D., Knoblich, G. & Prinz, W. (2001) Perceptual basis of bimanual coordination. Nature, 414(6859), 69-73.
Abrahamson, D., Mechsner, F. (2022). Toward synergizing educational research and movement sciences: A dialogue on learning as developing perception for action. Educational Psychology Review, 34(3), 1813-1842.