51³Ô¹Ï

UNI NOVA – Research Magazine of the 51³Ô¹Ï

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  Column

  Bolaño’s The Savage Detectives: An unflinching, urgent narrative.

  Text: Moisés Mayordomo / My book: The theologian Prof. Dr. Moisés Mayordomo recommends the 1998 published novel "Los detectives salvajes" by the Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño.

• 
  Dossier

  “Different people make different decisions.�

  Interview: Christoph Dieffenbacher / Research into human decision-making brings together the fields of psychology and economics. One of the first researchers to study this topic intensively at the 51³Ô¹Ï is Professor Jörg Rieskamp.

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  Dossier

  How our memory can trick us.

  Text: Martin Hicklin / When we have to make a choice, we often select the options that trigger the strongest memories. One reason for this is that weak memories tend to make us feel uncertain.

• Dossier

  How tossing coins can help.

  Text: David Herrmann / When faced with a difficult decision, flipping a coin can make things easier. You’re under no obligation to do as it says, but it could trigger feelings and thought processes.

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  Dossier

  “Risk can be positive, too.�

  Interview: Andreas W. Schmid / What determines our willingness to take risks? Cognitive psychologist Jana Jarecki tackles this question in her research at the 51³Ô¹Ï. Her studies show that risk is generally not an end in itself, but rather a means to the end of satisfying certain needs.

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  Dossier

  How we make decisions.

  Which is the best option to choose? Should I take a risk in doing so or rather avoid it? We make decisions throughout our lives – yet only few of these are made
  consciously.

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  Dossier

  If children held the purse strings.

  Text: Christoph Dieffenbacher / Investments are not always made in an entirely rational manner. However, an experiment by an economist at the 51³Ô¹Ï shows that children already have the capacity to evaluate simple probabilities.

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  Dossier

  Once a risk-taker, always a risk-taker.

  Text: Christoph Dieffenbacher / It is well known that some people are more inclined to engage in hazardous or risky behavior than others. Individual attitudes in this regard, however, seem to follow a clear pattern over the course of a lifetime – in a similar manner to intelligence. Psychologists in Basel are investigating how people’s attitudes to risk are formed.

• 
  Dossier

  On gut feelings and financial decisions.

  Text: Yvonne Vahlensieck / As much as we’d like to think that we make economic decisions rationally, that’s not always the case. It’s becoming increasingly clear that our emotions also play a major role.