I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology (Organizational Psychology section).

I studied at the University of Cologne (B.Sc. Social Sciences) and the University of St Andrews (MRes Psychology) before completing my PhD at Tilburg University in 2020. My dissertation focused on the consequences of first impressions and was awarded cum laude. You can find my complete CV and a list of publications on my personal website.

My research focuses on three topics.

First impressions

Despite the old maxim to not “judge a book by its cover”, people are very quick in judging others based on their looks. My research explores the antecedents and consequences of first impressions. How do we form impressions of others? Which facial features make a person look trustworthy or competent? How accurate are our first impressions? How do first impressions influence our decisions? Why is the influence of first impressions so persistent and difficult to suppress? How can we reduce the influence of first impressions?

To answer these questions, I analyze data from the lab and the field, using a variety of methods such as face morphing, face classification algorithms, machine learning, and economic games (you can watch a 10-minute video on this topic here).

The psychology of effective altruism

Individuals, companies, governments, and intergovernmental organizations spend vast amounts of money to improve social welfare. But how should this money be spent? Effective altruism takes a rational and data-driven perspective to figure how we can do the most good with limited resources. For example, charities differ substantially in their effectiveness (e.g., the number of lives saved or illnesses cured per dollar donated). Donating to the most effective causes can dramatically influence how much others’ welfare is improved.

I study why people often donate to ineffective charities and how effective giving can be promoted. In general, my goal is to understand how we can reduce suffering in the world - no matter where it occurs, when it occurs, or who experiences it. For example, a tremendous amount of suffering is experienced by non-human animals. I investigate how people reason about the moral standing of animals and how we can reduce meat consumption. You can listen to an introduction to effective altruism, featuring some of my research, here.

Meta-science and research methods

The social and behavioral sciences are undergoing a fundamental change at the moment. Many published research findings fail to replicate, questioning established theories and their practical usefulness. A critical examination of how we do science shows that questionable research practices (e.g., p-hacking) are common and serious methodological shortcomings (e.g., small sample sizes) are widespread. My goal is to understand and improve the way we do science. I contribute to projects that aim to promote collaboration, test the (cross-cultural) replicability of important theories, or understand how the outcomes of studies are shaped by differences in study design and differences in analytic approaches.

Links

Personal website

Google scholar

Twitter

LinkedIn

Research Gate

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