Duo-Interview: Perspectives on Social Coordination

People tend to coordinate their actions, feelings, and thoughts with others in social situations. But how does this work? We asked two experts of our department, Dr. Ralf Cox (Developmental Psychology) and Dr. Pontus Leander (Organizational Psychology), who examine this intriguing topic from two different perspectives.

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Finding and filling gaps in psychological theory: The case of building a career choice model

A major challenge in psychology is to build theory on individual change, and to find the tools to do so systematically. For answering questions on individual behavioral change, building a theoretical simulation model can be a powerful tool. By collaborating with theoretical biology, psychologists can enter a whole new realm of formalizing theory.

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“If you want them to HEAR it, you talk. If you want them to LEARN it, THEY TALK.”

The language that is used to verbalize thoughts about scientific concepts is more complex and sophisticated than the language we use in our daily conversations. Science and technology lessons provide excellent opportunities for children to be introduced to this sophisticated form of language, whereby teachers play a crucial role.

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Can we crack the secrets of talent and excellence?

The origins of talent and excellence have been debated since the end of the 19th century. Why are individuals such as Bill Gates, Stephen Hawking, and Epke Zonderland able to demonstrate exceptional levels of performance in their domain? Our Psychology students may help crack the secrets of talent and excellence in the years to come…

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Career choice, study drop out and identity development: The gains of the opportunity to change majors for students and society

As all university students and teachers will have noticed by now, the Dutch government aims to reduce the student drop out in higher education. In this blog post, it is argued that blocking the possibility to change majors in university is detrimental for individual’s identity development, and in the long run for society as well.

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