Professor Ivo Vlaev
Senior Investigator
WBS Behavioural Science Group, University of Warwick
Telephone: 024 765 22945
Professor Vlaev is interested in human decision making and behaviour change. How does the brain integrate information in order to evaluate experiences and risks? How does it strike a balance between stability and context sensitivity in judgment and choice? What neural mechanisms underlie those fundamental cognitive abilities? This is the focus of the research aiming to advance understanding of human decision making, which is a convergence of disciplines (psychology, neuroscience, and economics) and a synergy of methods (experimentation, brain imaging, and quantitative modeling). In behaviour change, the research focuses on developing an integrated theory of behaviour change which combines principles from psychology, neuroscience, and economics. Testing the theory involves developing and evaluating behaviour change interventions in various domains such as health (influencing lifestyle risk factors such as dieting and physical activity; modifying patient behaviours such as medication adherence; changing professional practice such as safety and quality of care) and finance (motivating customers to manage their money more effectively; design of financial products).