I am an Associate Professor in Communication at the Department of Communication Science at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
My research centers on biased information processing: people often evaluate information through the lens of existing beliefs and attitudes rather than through neutral or fully analytical reasoning. A preference for cognitive styles, cognitive capacities and situational factors such as limited time, motivation, or cognitive resources often lead individuals to rely on fast, intuitive processes shaped by feelings, assumptions, and social context.
A dual-processing perspective, combined with insights from cognitive reflection, social identity theory, motivated reasoning, confirmation bias, and social-judgment theory, informs my analysis of how judgments are formed on the basis of incomplete information.
Earlier work examined how relative anonymity in computer-mediated communication influences impression formation, trust, and cooperation. Later studies focused on online health communication, online support groups, cyberchondria, and misinformation, consistently showing reliance on heuristic shortcuts rather than systematic evaluation.
Recent research on source verification, perceived credibility on social media, and beliefs about “health hacks” (e.g., superfoods) indicates that users often conflate authenticity with reliability.
Overall, this line of work offers an account of how social and cognitive mechanisms shape information processing and, in turn, influence trust, beliefs, and judgment across online and offline contexts.
My teaching responsibilities include involvement in the organization and coordination of education at various levels, along with curriculum design and participation in educational policy discussions.
My guiding approach is autonomy-supportive education, inspired by self-determination theory. I try to focus on learning environments that foster autonomy, competence, and relatedness to support self-directed learning, intrinsic motivation, and engagement.
Key elements include providing meaningful choices, encouraging independent perspectives, and promoting reflection on societal roles. In line with autonomy supportive education, "scaffolding" is reduced as students gain competence, following the principle of moderate discrepancy: maintaining comfort and motivation while offering sufficient challenge.
