Hello! I'm Mitchel Kappen, a Cognitive Psychologist
bridging the gap between Mental Health and Technology!

I utilize creativity and code to craft innovative solutions
to complex problems in everyday life.

About Me

Hi, I'm Mitchel Kappen, a cognitive psychologist with a passion for business development and a goal to leverage my skills in data analysis and problem-solving in innovative tech environments.

Born and raised in the Netherlands, I was always fascinated by the intricacies of the English language, which led me to attend a bilingual program in high school. This love for languages was just the beginning of my academic journey. I earned a Bachelor's degree in Cognitive and Neurobiological Psychology from Utrecht University, followed by a Master's degree in Applied Cognitive Psychology. Eventually, I pursued a PhD in Health Sciences from Ghent University in Belgium.

Throughout my academic journey, I've had the privilege to work and study at internationally renowned institutions like the University of Victoria in Canada and Stanford University in the United States. During my time there, I led numerous research projects, honing my skills in statistical analysis and experimental methodology.

When I'm not immersed in research, I can be found on the sports field, playing squash, padel, or volleyball. I'm also a board game enthusiast, always ready for a strategic challenge.

Over the years, I've developed the ability to think on my feet, navigate complex problems, and communicate effectively across disciplines. I am excited to apply these skills in my next venture. Check out my work and publications here to get a sense of what I can bring to the table.

Education

Explore my educational background below. For further details, visit my LinkedIn.

Year Education/Specialization School
2019 - 2023 PhD in Life Sciences
Thesis: The Sound of Stress: New Insights into Speech-based Assessment and Monitoring of Stress and Mental Health
Side project topics: PMS, NIBS, Rumination, Facial muscle behavior Professor: Marie-Anne Vanderhasselt 		Ghent University,
Ghent, BE
2022 Research stay
Professor: George M. Slavich 		Stanford University,
Stanford, US
2018 - 2019 MSc. Applied Cognitive Psychology
Thesis: Predicting Person-Organization and Person-Job Fit Objectively: Stress, motivation, and Nervousness During a Video-Based Pre-hire screening, grade: 9/10
Professor: Marnix M. Naber 		Utrecht University,
Utrecht, NL
2018 Research stay
Professor: Olav E. Krigolson 		University of Victoria,
Victoria, CA
2012 - 2018 BSc. Cognitive and Neurobiological Psychology
Thesis: Are Visuo-spatial Working Memory and Fragile Memory Qualitatively Different Memory Systems?, grade: 8.5/10
Supervisor: Paul Zerr 		Utrecht University,
Utrecht, NL
2006 - 2012 High School: Bilingual Education - Management and Organization Elde College,
Schijndel, NL

Work

For a detailed overview of the work I have done, check out my LinkedIn.

Publications

  • Kappen, M., Vanhollebeke, G., Van Der Donckt, J., Van Hoecke, S., & Vanderhasselt, M. (2023, March 29). Acoustic and Prosodic Speech Features Reflect Physiological Stress but not Isolated Negative Affect: A Multi-Paradigm Study on Psychosocial Stressors. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 5515.
  • Li, Z., Pulopulos, M., Allaert, J., De Smet, S., De Wandel, L., Kappen, M., ... & Vanderhasselt, M. A. (2024). Vagally‐mediated HRV as a marker of trait rumination in healthy individuals? A large cross‐sectional analysis. Psychophysiology, 61(2), e14448.
  • Van Der Donckt*, J., Kappen*, M., Degraeve, V., Demuynck, K., Vanderhasselt, M., & Van Hoecke, S. (2023, March 29). Ecologically Valid Speech Collection in Behavioral Research: The Ghent Semi-spontaneous Speech Paradigm (GSSP). Behavior Research Methods, 1-16.
  • Kuipers, M., Kappen, M., Naber, M. (2022). How nervous am I? How computer vision succeeds and humans fail in interpreting nervous facial behavior. Cognition and Emotion, 37(6), 1105-1115.
  • Li, Z., Pulopulos, M., Allaert, J., De Smet, S., Kappen, M., Puttevils, L., ... & Vanderhasselt, M. A. (2022). Resting HRV as a trait marker of rumination in healthy individuals? A large cross-sectional analysis. Society for Psychophysiology.
  • Vanhollebeke, G., Kappen, M., De Raedt, R., Baeken, C., van Mierlo, P., & Vanderhasselt, M. A. (2023). Effects of acute psychosocial stress on source level EEG power and functional connectivity measures. Sci Rep 13, 8807 .
  • Kappen, M., Vanderhasselt, M. A., & Slavich, G. M. (2023). Speech as a Promising Biosignal in Precision Psychiatry. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 105121.
  • De Smet, S., Ottaviani, C., Verkuil, B., Kappen, M., Baeken, C., & Vanderhasselt, M. A. (2023). Effects of non‐invasive vagus nerve stimulation on cognitive and autonomic correlates of perseverative cognition. Psychophysiology, e14250.
  • Razza, L. B., Luethi, M. S., Zanão, T., De Smet, S., Buchpiguel, C., Busatto, G., ... Kappen, M., ... & Brunoni, A. R. (2023). Transcranial direct current stimulation versus intermittent theta-burst stimulation for the improvement of working memory performance. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 23(1), 100334.
  • Kappen, M., Raeymakers, S., Weyers, S., & Vanderhasselt, M. A. (2022). Stress and Rumination in Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS): identifying stable and menstrual cycle-related differences in PMS symptom severity.
  • Kappen*, M., Van Der Donckt*, J., Vanhollebeke, G., Allaert, J., Degraeve, V., Madhu, N., ... & Vanderhasselt, M. A. (2022). Acoustic speech features in social comparison: how stress impacts the way you sound.
  • Xu, Y., Kappen, M., Peremans, K., De Bundel, D., Van Eeckhaut, A., Van Laeken, N., ... & Baeken, C. (2022). Accelerated HF-rTMS Modifies SERT Availability in the Subgenual Anterior Cingulate Cortex: A Canine [11C] DASB Study on the Serotonergic System. Journal of clinical medicine, 11(6), 1531.
  • Kappen, M., Hoorelbeke, K., Madhu, N., Demuynck, K., & Vanderhasselt, M. A. (2022). Speech as an indicator for psychosocial stress: A network analytic approach. Behavior Research Methods, 54(2), 910-921.
  • Kappen, M., & Naber, M. (2021). Objective and bias-free measures of candidate motivation during job applications. Scientific reports, 11(1), 1-8.
  • Zerr, P., Gayet, S., van den Esschert, F., Kappen, M., Olah, Z., & Van der Stigchel, S. (2021). The development of retro-cue benefits with extensive practice: Implications for capacity estimation and attentional states in visual working memory. Memory & Cognition, 1-14.
  • Van de Velde, N., Kappen, M., Koster, E. H., Hoorelbeke, K., Tandt, H., Verslype, P., ... & Vanderhasselt, M. A. (2020). Cognitive remediation following electroconvulsive therapy in patients with treatment resistant depression: randomized controlled trail of an intervention for relapse prevention–study protocol. BMC psychiatry, 20(1), 1-12.
  • Williams, C. C., Kappen, M., Hassall, C. D., Wright, B., & Krigolson, O. E. (2019). Thinking theta and alpha: Mechanisms of intuitive and analytical reasoning. NeuroImage, 189, 574-580.

    • Code

    You can access and explore the code I've developed and contributed to on my Github and OSF profiles.

    Media

    Libelle (2022, September 14). Wat vertelt je menstruele cyclus over je gezondheid? De expert legt uit. URL Link
    Goed gevoel, DPG media (2022, July 20). Had ik dat maar eerder geweten! Physical print.
    Knack (2021, January 6). Het premenstrueel syndroom is nog steeds een ongekende problematiek. URL Link
    EOS Wetenschap (2020, December 10). ‘Ik krijg vaak te horen dat ik overdrijf’. URL Link
    VRT Media, Radio 2 (2020, October 30). Wat doet een menstruatiecyclus met het hoofd van de vrouw? UGent onderzoekt het met gezichtsanalyse. URL Link

    Contact

    Get in touch and shoot me an email!
    mitchelkappen@gmail.com

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