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Behavioural Insights
Thoughtful analysis of how psychology shapes financial behaviour, spending habits, and long term decision making, translating academic research into practical insights that help individuals make smarter, more intentional financial choices.
On the Hunt for System 3 – Is it Real?
As Daniel Kahneman continues to stay in the spotlight, one of the theories mainly attributed to him (whether appropriately so or not),...
Merle van den Akker
Jul 8, 202110 min read
Frustration to Motivation!
Frustration, to me, is a form of anger. It’s an accumulation of emotions very often targeted at one specific thing or person. As such,...
Merle van den Akker
Jun 3, 20216 min read
Teaching Kids About Behavioural Finance
I love writing about a variety of things - but I do like to write whilst having done the research! One topic I find immensely fascinating...
Merle van den Akker
May 27, 20217 min read
Things Behavioural Science Cannot Do
Not too long ago I had an Instagram Live with the Masterclass Initiative. For context: this is an African initiative that invites experts...
Merle van den Akker
May 20, 20215 min read
PARAnormal To Do Lists
There’s been a lot of “to do” about to-do-lists recently (forgive me the pun). And because I’m an optimization junkie, I have tried most...
Merle van den Akker
May 13, 20216 min read
Economics – According to Your Genes
Genoeconomics is an interdisciplinary field, combining molecular genetics and economics. It’s based on the idea that economic indicators...
Merle van den Akker
May 6, 20216 min read
Does Nudge Need to Budge?
Nudge. If there’s one keyword to summarise a lot of behavioural science based interventions it would be this one. Whether we like or not....
Merle van den Akker
Apr 29, 20214 min read
Do You Really Need a Degree in Behavioural Science?
Through putting myself and my opinions out in the world (read: blogging without privacy settings), a lot of people have reached out to me...
Merle van den Akker
Apr 22, 20215 min read
The Law of Attraction
There is this phenomenon which has been around for a long time now. It’s had the entire media-hype-circus and I’m sure there’s courses on...
Merle van den Akker
Apr 15, 20215 min read
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