Dr. Gijs De Kuilen

Biography

Gijs van de Kuilen is a Professor at Tilburg University in the Department of Economics. His research focuses on understanding how people make decisions in uncertain environments, which is crucial for consumers, policymakers, and firms. His main goal is to develop accurate descriptive models of decision-making under uncertainty. Currently, he is particularly interested in the role of basic emotions in explaining anomalous risky decision-making as part of his NWO VIDI grant. Van de Kuilen employs laboratory methods to uncover causal relations and has shown that behavior can often be driven by an exaggerated sensitivity to losses from small probabilities, illustrated by consumer behavior in purchasing travel insurance. His academic pursuits are motivated by curiosity about decision-making processes and their economic implications. Van de Kuilen also enjoys engaging with students and views teaching as a means to shape future careers while continuously improving his own teaching skills. He draws inspiration from the work of prominent figures like Tversky and Kahneman, particularly their contributions to Prospect Theory, which links insights from psychology with economics.

Research Interests