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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.
Learning to Teach
Teaching. I always thought it would take me decades to ever reach the goal of professor. Now, it might still take me decades to...
Merle van den Akker
Oct 19, 20184 min read
Prominence of Price
As part of my PhD (1+3), I had to complete another one year master. The master was an MA in Social Science Research. The last part of...
Merle van den Akker
Oct 16, 20185 min read
Ego Depletion
We make resolutions. We set ourselves targets. At the beginning of each year. And at the beginning of each following month, because we...
Merle van den Akker
Oct 13, 20185 min read
Stress.... Is it always a Villain?
Earthquakes, wars, forced migration, deadly diseases, they are all stressful life-threating events that human nature would naturally try...
Merle van den Akker
Oct 10, 20186 min read
Productive Procrastination
We prefer doing fun things now, and not-so-fun things later. But there are people who procrastinate to the extent that will do ANYTHING...
Merle van den Akker
Oct 8, 20185 min read
Emotional Decision-Making
I have emphasized the strength of type 1 reasoning – the beast within - especially when it came to one of the most basic instincts....
Merle van den Akker
Oct 4, 20186 min read
In the Heat of the Moment
In the previous post I outlined type 1 and type 2 reasoning. I emphasized the strength of type 1, as it is much faster and rather salient...
Merle van den Akker
Oct 1, 20185 min read
The Beast Within
A baseball bat and a ball cost €1,10 together. The bat is €1,00 more expensive than the ball. How much does the ball cost? If you have...
Merle van den Akker
Sep 28, 20184 min read
At the Conference
An integral part of doing a PhD is going out to conferences. They are a way of finding out what people in your area of study are up to,...
Merle van den Akker
Sep 25, 20184 min read
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