Ivo Vlaev joined Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, as a professor of Behavioural Science in 2014. Professor Vlaev received his doctorate (D.Phil.) in Experimental Psychology from the University of Oxford. He was formerly a Research Fellow at University College London and a Senior Lecturer in Behavioural Sciences at Imperial College London.

A complete list of publications and professional roles and activities is available HERE.

Research Interests

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).

In 2010, Professor Vlaev co-authored the Mindspace report published by the UK Cabinet Office, advising local and national policymakers on how to effectively use behavioural insights in their policy setting. Since then, he has helped public and private organisations develop and apply lessons from behavioural science.