The use of face masks has received quite some attention during the coronavirus pandemic. Denise de Ridder suggests in the Dutch Newspaper NRC that face masks can have an important role besides preventing the transmission of the corona virus. Face masks signal that you act in the interest of others. Read more here.

The new green-roofed bus shelters in Utrecht caught the attention of many people and media across the globe. These bus shelters also inspired Denise de Ridder for her latest column in the Dutch newspaper NRC, suggesting that we should not make people scared to move them towards a greener future, but inspire them and provide…

Stream Institutions and Behavior Event Seminar on Socially Situated Nudges with Sander van der Linden, Cambridge University November 20-21, 2019 In this two-day seminar, we aim to bring together scholars, policy makers and practitioners to discuss when and how the concept of nudges that are often aimed at increasing citizen personal benefit can be extended…

During the WINK conference on 19-20 June, 2019 in Utrecht (winknudgingandbeyond.com), psychologist Denise de Ridder, public administration scientist Lars Tummers, and industrial design scientist Caroline Hummels presented their new perspective on social nudging to engage citizens with the common good by making a call on their empathy with others that allows them to decide autonomously….

In her column in the Dutch newspaper NRC, Denise de Ridder argues that making it easier for people to vaccinate their children will increase the vaccination rates. This is because most people are not strong opponents of vaccination, but have other (practical) reasons for not vaccinating. Read more here.

On 12th of April 2019 Erik Hans Klijn discussed the tension between what happens on the front stage and the back stage in governance processes dealing with complex issues, for a group of practitioners and researchers at Wellington University in New Zealand. Complex issues like vaccination, organ donation and for instance issues about environmental behavior…

The Schiphol urinal fly is an iconic nudge ever since Thaler and Sunstein named it in their book Nudge (2008) as a prototypical subtle way to influence behavior without forbidding the alternative option: people seem to understand right away what nudges are about when they have been told about the fly. Unfortunately, the fly is no longer…

More than 70 scientists from a variety of disciplines as well as academics involved in public policy advisory bodies came together to attend the first seminar of the Prompted Rationality network in the Utrecht University Hall. Denise de Ridder, professor of psychology at Utrecht University and leader of the network, gave an opening speech by…

On March 22, 2019 Denise de Ridder participated in a hearing organized by the Vaccination Committee of Dutch parliament on measures to address the concerns of parents who are worried about the presence of unvaccinated children in Kindergarten. De Ridder explained why a vaccination obligation for young children in Kindergarten is not a good strategy…

In the past months, the DUB (Digitaal Universiteitsblad, an independent news and opinion website from the Utrecht University) published a series of articles on patronising behaviour at the Utrecht University. It appears that some students and employees don’t feel free to say what they want, while others are actually happy that people at the university…