Carlos Alos-Ferrer
@alosferrer.bsky.social
Helping people make better decisions. Chair Professor of Economics, Lancaster University. Decision scientist. Bird enthusiast. Co-Editor in Chief, Journal of Economic Psychology. Web: alosferrer.github.io Blog: tinyurl.com/decisionsandthebrain
If you struggle with a decision, should you just toss a coin? Maybe not. My latest post in Psychology Today discusses my recent research on this, published in Management Science. #BehEcon #BehSci #psychology #decisionmaking www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/deci...
What Can You Learn From Your Indecision?
New research on how people decide suggests that indecision reveals less than you think about your hidden preferences.
psychologytoday.com
Air pollution hinders your thinking. It also hinders team performance. My latest post at Psychology Today reviews research published in the Journal of Economic Psychology using data from Escape Rooms in London. #BehEcon #BehSci #decisionmaking #psychology www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/deci...
Air Pollution Doesn't Just Dull Minds. It Dulls Teams
Escape rooms turn out to be a great source of data for studying teamwork. A recent study reveals that air pollution hinders team performance.
psychologytoday.com
Making (big) decisions is not a matter of gut feelings. Decision theory has firm results which tell you how to make decisions. At least, if you want to be consistent with yourself. #decisions #intuition #BehSci #BehEcon #psychology www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/deci...
How to Make Big Decisions
There is only one way to make important decisions consistently, and it asks you to evaluate options in themselves.
psychologytoday.com
Beware of laypeople's advice on "how to make better decisions." For big decisions, some intuitive ways to decide are simply wrong. #psychology #BehEcon #BehSci #decisions www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/deci...
How (Not) to Make Big Decisions
Important decisions are hard. Picking the wrong way to decide might make you vulnerable.
psychologytoday.com
If you are busy and in a hurry, you will make worse decisions. And fail at self-control. You can do better. #psychology #BehEcon #BehSci #intuition #decisions www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/deci...
How Intuition Affects Self-Control
In a hurry and a lot on your mind? You might be making a bad decision. But you don't need to.
psychologytoday.com
The #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Rocky. So here are four Black-Headed Gulls (two juveniles), two Mute Swans, a Great Crested Grebe, and a large rock at the Zurich Lake in #Switzerland. #birds
Another picture of an Appenzeller Spitzhauben, a rare Swiss chicken breed with forward-pointing head crest and spangled plumage ("polka dots"). Less majestic than yesterday's picture, but this one captures the characteristic dark bluish-gray legs ("rocky color"). #birds #chickens #Switzerland
LLMs have killed take-home exams. At University, we all know that. Sadly, all exams should be in-person now. Anything else is denial. #universities www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
Brown Professor Suspects Most of His Class Used AI to Cheat
Brown University leaders’ response to the alleged cheating incident has been “meek,” the professor said.
insidehighered.com
This Appenzeller Spitzhauben strolling around. A rare, Swiss breed of crested chicken native to the Alps, documented back to the 16th Century. #birds #Switzerland #addBirder
Trusting four gut can cost you a lot of money. This post at Psychology Today discusses The Intuition Trap. #psychology #BehEcon #BehSci #intuition #decisions www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/deci...
The Intuition Trap
Your gut instincts can save time on small decisions but cost you dearly on big ones. Learn when to trust your intuition and when to override it.
psychologytoday.com
This Great Cormorant drying its feathers after diving for fish in the #ConstanceLake, between Germany and Switzerland. #birds #Bodensee #Kreuzlingen #Konstanz
Are you an intuitive person? Sorry to hear that! Trusting your gut can be very dangerous. #psychology #BehEcon #BehSci #intuition #decisions www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/deci...
The Dangers of Intuition
Don't trust your gut.
psychologytoday.com
Have you made any major mistakes in important decisions? We all have. The good news is, decision-making is a skill that you can learn. #psychology #decisions #BehEcon #BehSci www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/deci...
Making Better Decisions
Are you happy with your decisions? What is your decision-making style? You can learn to make better decisions, and avoid common mistakes.
psychologytoday.com
Violence Clouds Your Brain. Recalling violent events, even as a bystander and even years after the events, can impair your thinking. My latest post in Psychology Today discusses the evidence and what we can learn from it. #psychology #BehEcon #BehSci www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/deci...
How Violence Clouds Your Brain
You don't need to be a victim of violence for it to cloud your thinking: Research finds that just recalling it can be enough to tax your brain.
psychologytoday.com
Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Quackers ("any Duck will do"), and the Alt theme is #Swans ("any Swan will do"). Here are a Red-crested Pochard and a Mute Swan, both at the #ConstanceLake between Switzerland and Germany. #birds #Bodensee.
We are all limited human beings with limited capacities. Having too much on your mind, or having to rush, leads to poor decisions. Psychologists speak of "cognitive load" and "time pressure." But some simple strategies can help. #psychology #BehEcon #BehSci www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/deci...
Lighten Your (Cognitive) Load
If you are always in a hurry and have too much on your mind, you might be setting yourself up for failure. Here is why and how to stop.
psychologytoday.com
The Guardian has recreated an audio landscape from across the past 50 years to try to portray the variety and plentitude of birdsong we have lost since tens of millions more birds were in full voice. #Birds #Ornithology #UKBirds www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Listen to Britain’s dawn chorus of 1976: the dramatic loss of birdsong in 50 years
Guardian recreates audio landscape of past filled by loud morning symphony before 73m wild birds were lost
theguardian.com
This Gray Heron's a model! Runway walk in #Kreuzlingen (Switzerland) near the #ConstanceLake. Same bird as in yesterday's post, same place, three months later... it's its favorite place. #birds #herons #heronkind #Bodensee #addBirder @chruezlinge.bsky.social
A gull deep in thought at the #ConstanceLake in #Kreuzlingen, Switzerland. #BirdOfTheDay #QuietReflection #birds
This Gray Heron preening itself in #Kreuzlingen near the #ConstanceLake. #birds #herons #heronkind @everyheron.bsky.social @chruezlinge.bsky.social
How do humans deal with computational complexity? Peter Bossaerts' excellent plenary talk at the 2026 IAREP conference in Castellón (@uji.es) is now available online. @econcam.bsky.social #economicpsychology #neuroeconomics #BehEcon #BehSci #BehavioralScience www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEXH...
Peter Bossaerts – Deciphering How Humans Deal with Computational Complexity | IAREP 2026
YouTube video by IAREP
youtube.com
Decision mechanisms in the deep brain: Birte Forstmann's very-illuminating plenary talk at the 2026 IAREP conference in Castellón (@uji.es) is now available online. #economicpsychology #neuroeconomics #BehEcon #BehSci #behavioralscience www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNV9...
Birte Forstmann – Decision mechanisms in the Deep Brain: A joint modelling approach | IAREP 2026
YouTube video by IAREP
youtube.com
Who benefits from behavioral interventions? Ellen Peters great plenary on "Numeracy and the Motivational Mind" at the 2026 IAREP conference (Castellón) is online. @ellenpeters.bsky.social @uji.es #behavioralscience #economicpsychology #BehEcon #behaviouraleconomics www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nya8...
Ellen Peters: Numeracy, Motivational Mind, and Who Benefits from Behavioral Interventions IAREP 2026
YouTube video by IAREP
youtube.com
Financial anxiety can impair your decision-making. Poverty does not lower IQs, but poorer or debt-ridden people make more (costly) mistakes when currently facing money-related worries. Timing decisions can meaningfully improve choices. #psychology #BehEcon www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/deci...
How Financial Anxiety Clouds Your Brain
A classic study on financial stress and cognitive function seemed to suggest that poverty reduces IQ, but that's not quite what the research found. The truth is more nuanced—and more useful.
psychologytoday.com
There are 9% more deaths in traffic accidents in hot days compared to cooler ones. Heat clouds your thinking and lowers impulse control. Behind the wheel, that can be a deadly combination. Safe driving in the #heatwave, everyone. #psychology #driving #BehEcon www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/deci...
Heat Can Make Driving Deadly
Heat can cloud your thinking and lower impulse control. Behind the wheel, that is a recipe for accidents.
psychologytoday.com
The economic costs of #heatwaves can be substantial for Europe. A study by Allianz Insurance projects a GDP loss of 5 to 7% for Europe in 2026-2030. Most affected countries are France, Germany, Italy, Spain. It's high time to start talking about heat adaptation. www.allianz.com/en/economic_...
Too hot to grow: The economic costs of extreme heat | Allianz
Extreme heat is emerging as a structural economic risk, with Europe highly exposed. Heat stress events have multiplied sevenfold since the 1980s while the average death toll per event has risen fivefo...
allianz.com
This couple of Gray Herons just chilling in #kreuzlingen at the #constancelake last January. #birds #bodensee
