Fred van Raaij

Career sketch

Fred van Raaij is Professor of Economic Psychology at Tilburg University. He studied Organizational Psychology and Data-Analysis at Leiden University and he achieved a PhD at Tilburg University in 1977. In 2006 he achieved a honorary degree from the Helsinki School of Economics. His research focuses on practical applications of IT for consumers, investors and entrepreneurs, especially financial and on marketing communication and media use by consumers.

(Ir)rational financial behaviour

The presentation is about the rationality of financial behaviour of consumers and investors. First the classical economic approach of (subjective) expected utility, but mainly the role of emotions, heuristics and nonconscious preferences. Next to the reasoned, mainly cognitive system 2 is the nonconscious, intuitive system 1. Another type of rationality exists which includes nonconscious preferences. Examples are from financial behaviour of consumers and investors.