Ivar Vermeulen is an associate professor in Communication Science, specializing in persuasion research. He obtained his PhD in 2003 at the Institute for Logic, Language, and Information (University of Amsterdam). Most of his current research is experimental in nature and focuses on the role of trust, biases, and affective cues (such as music) in persuasion processes. Other projects involve applications of computer-assisted research methods such as automated content analysis, network analysis of Web data, and formal modelling.

• Persuasion: Everything to do with changing people’s attitudes, beliefs, and behavior. Studies in advertising, priming, branding, biases, etc.
• Online reviews: What makes one online review more influential than another? Factors such as reviewer expertise or similarity, valence, heterogeneity, language use, subject matter, and receiver biases are considered.
• Music and persuasion: Music affects (consumer) behavior in many different ways, through, e.g., conditioning, priming, synchronization, and affect induction. The aim of this project is to further sophisticate the use of music in a persuasive context.
• Social science research methods: Working on several projects aiming to make quantitative social science research more rigorous and sound.
• Experiences in Interactive Storytelling environments: Interactive Storytelling (IS) is a new type of computer-based entertainment, enabling users to influence the course of an unfolding dramatic storyline. The aim of this project is to capture meaningful IS user experiences.
• Online trust: As Web2.0 increasingly facilitates transactions, collaborations, and information exchange between individual (as opposed to institutionalized) agents, peer-to-peer trust becomes pivotal. Projects study trust cues, the relationship between disclosure and trust, transitivity of trust, and propagation of trust through networks.
• Neuropsychological testing online: The aim of these projects is to develop a time and cost efficient method to validly assess cognitive functioning in cognitive risk groups in a cancer context (and possibly beyond).

No ancillary activities

Ancillary activities are updated daily

• Marketing- en Persuasieve Communicatie (BA)
• Marketingcommunicatie 2.0 (BA)
• Current Issues in Communication Science (MA)
• Supervision BA theses
• Supervision MA theses