Welmer E. Molenmaker is an Assistant Professor of Social, Economic, and Organisational Psychology. His main research interest is economic and social decision-making. Specifically, he focuses on cooperation in social dilemmas and people's responses to cooperative and selfish behaviors of others.

More information about Welmer Molenmaker

Short CV

Welmer E. Molenmaker is an Assistant Professor of Social, Economic, and Organisational Psychology. His main research interest is economic and social decision-making. Specifically, he focuses on cooperation in social dilemmas and people's responses to cooperative and selfish behaviors of others.

Welmer received his research master's degree in Psychology at the University of Amsterdam in 2011 and his PhD in Psychology at Leiden University in 2017. For his PhD, he studied the (un)willingness to reward and punish others in social dilemmas.

Research

Why do people cooperate?

The greatest challenge for groups and societies is to ensure and protect collective welfare. This challenge arises from the fact that the (long-term) interests of the collective do not necessarily coincide with the (short-term) self-interests of the individuals belonging to that collective.

Thus, on many occasions, people have to decide whether or not they cooperate by furthering the collective interest at the expense of their self-interest, or free-ride on others' cooperative efforts without contributing themselves. Welmer’s research is aimed at answering the question of when and why people are willing to cooperate in such social dilemma situations.

Teaching

• Negotiation and Social Decision Making (Master's Programme Social & Organisational Psychology)
• Master Thesis Supervision (Master's Programmes Social & Organisational Psychology and Economic & Consumer Psychology)
• Bachelor Thesis Supervision (undergraduate)

Tasks support staff

• Thesis Coordinator (Master's Programs Social & Organizational Psychology and Economic & Consumer Psychology)
• Teaching planner (Social, Economic, & Organizational Psychology unit)

Grants

• Postgraduate travel grant by the European Association of Social Psychology (2014)
• Leiden University fund grant (2014)

Awards

• Best Student Paper Award at the 16^th International Conference on Social Dilemmas, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (2016)
• Scholar Award by the Dispute Resolution Research Center at Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University (2014)

Publications