Dr. Michael Rihs
Michael Rihs, PhD
Lab Manager
T +41 41 229 58 95 • Room 1.B12 • michael.rihs@unilu.ch
CV
Michael Rihs is lab manager and lecturer at the faculty of behavioural sciences and psychology since June 2025. He is interested in the underlying processes of autobiographical memory and how temporary thoughts – such as temporary awareness of mortality or limited time – shape human behavior and memory. Additionally, he is interested in human experiences and behavior in virtual reality, specifically how technical implementations (e.g., locomotion methods) influence perception and interaction in virtual environments.
He graduated in psychology in 2019 from the University of Bern (Switzerland), where he pursued a PhD under the supervision of Prof. Fred Mast. During his PhD, he investigated how thoughts about mortality affect human thinking, behavior, and memory. In 2022, he received his PhD in psychology and continued to teach methodological courses at the University of Bern. From 2023 to 2024, he worked as a researcher in the education and digital technologies research program at the Bern University of Teacher Education, where he gained further experience in research with virtual reality. Since 2024, he is postdoc at the faculty for psychology at UniDistance Suisse. In his various academic positions, Michael has gained substantial teaching experience. These teaching experiences include methodological foundation courses, scientific practice, and virtual world creation courses.
Publications
- Rihs, M., & Mast, F. (2025). Apocalypse now: Thoughts about human extinction under mortality salience increase death-thought accessibility but reduce worldview defense. Death Studies, 15, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18035957
- Rihs, M. (2025). Learning eco-friendly food choice using extended reality – an exploratory investigation. Frontiers in Virtual Reality, 0. https://doi.org/10.3389/frvir.2025.1498770
- Rihs, M. (2024). Comparison of teleportation and walking in virtual reality in a declarative learning task. Frontiers in Virtual Reality, 0. https://doi.org/10.3389/frvir.2024.1423911
- Rihs, M. (2022). God is up and devil is down: mortality salience increases implicit spatial-religious associations. Religion, Brain & Behavior, 12 (3), 271-283 ff. https://doi.org/10.1080/2153599X.2022.2035800
- Rihs, M. (7 September 2025). Once Upon a Time? Reminiscence Bumps for Music, Movies, Athletes, and Private Events, but not for Politicians and Public Events. Presented at the 18th Swiss Psychological Society (SPS) Conference, Crans-Montana. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20409945
- Rihs, M. (2024). Thoughts of Human Extinction under Mortality Salience Reduce Worldview Defense but Increase Death Thought Accessibility. Presented at the International Society for the Science of Existential Psychology (ISSEP) Preconference 2024.
- Rihs, M. (2022). Do we suppress thoughts of death? Suppression and rehearsal of death-related, negative and neutral words under mortality salience. Presented at the 22nd conference of the European Society for Cognitive Psychology.
- Rihs, M. (2019). Does Mortality priming increase religious thinking? Evidence from implicit spatial-religious associations. Presented at the 16th SPS SGP SSP Conference.
- Ertl, M., & Rihs, M. (2025). Bodily Self-Perception under Vestibular Galvanic Stimulation in Virtual Reality: A Replication and Extension of Karnath et al. (2019). Presented at the 18th Conference of the Swiss Psychological Society, Crans Montana.
- Rihs, M., & Ertl, M. (2025). Spatial Navigation in Virtual Reality - Does the Implementation of Motion Influence Navigation Strategy? Presented at the 18th Swiss Psychological Society (SPS) Conference, Crans Montana.
- Rihs, M., Fitze, D., Ertl, M., Wyssen, G., & Mast, F. (2022). 3D Models of 6dof Motion. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6035612
- Rihs, M. (2022). Research Using Virtual Reality: What are the Benefits, Challenges, and Potentials? https://doi.org/10.48350/177847
