Simon T. van Baal

PhD Candidate in Behavioural Science

Bio

I am currently studying manifestations of self-control and impulsivity. My project aims to identify ways to help individuals and groups improve their decision-making by controlling, or not controlling, their impulses in intertemporal, addictive, and prosocial choice contexts. 

I started my PhD in 2019 at Monash University and University of Warwick, funded by the Monash Warwick Alliance. I am passionate about creating research output that could help people in the general public and making my research as open and transparent as I can. 

My supervisors are Jakob Hohwy, Lukasz Walasek, and Antonio Verdejo-Garcia.

Before I came to Australia, I completed a Bachelor of Economics and Business Economics at Erasmus University Rotterdam, and a Master of Behavioural and Economic Science at the University of Warwick.

Highlighted Research Output

Impulsivity and Self-Control as Timeless Concepts

In this article, we argue that impulsivity and self-control are not straightforwardly implicated in intertemporal choice tasks. We pose questions such as "Can you use your self-control to do things that are only advantageous in the present?", and "Can you be future-oriented and impulsive simultaneously?". You can find the preprint here.

The Self-Isolation Game 

Together with my supervisors Lukasz Walasek and Jakob Hohwy, I developed a game that investigates the influence of social norms on decisions of self-isolation during the pandemic. Find the article here.

Covid Awareness - Exponential Growth.mp4
Covid Awareness - Empathy.mp4

Changing Pandemic Behaviour with a Chatbot

In a multi-industry collaboration between Monash Health, Monash Centre for Consciousness and Contemplative Studies, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Torus Games, and inGenious AI, we developed a chatbot with behavioural interventions designed to improve decision making during the pandemic. Find it here.

Risk perception and communication during the pandemic

We studied whether we could alter people's attitudes towards leaving the house during lockdown through simple communication prompts. Find it here.