Why do people make choices that look “irrational”?
Date
From: Wednesday February 18, 2026, 12:30 pm
To: Wednesday February 18, 2026, 1:30 pm
Why do people so often make financial choices that look “irrational” — avoiding the stock market, struggling with complex offers, or freezing when there are too many options — even when they want to do better? Professor Tymula will share the research from her groups suggesting that many of these behaviours are not flaws in our character or preferences, but the predictable result of how a limited brain tries to navigate a complicated economic world.
Drawing on experimental data, large surveys, and brain imaging studies, Professor Tymula will show that what economists usually call “risk preferences” and “biases” are tightly linked to two things: the economic environment people face and their cognitive resources. The talk will discuss why the same person can look cautious in one environment and bold in another and illustrate why we need policies and decision aids that are matched to how people’s brains actually encode value.
Join us from 12.30 - 1.30pm at 123 Pitt Street (Level 24) or online via Microsoft Teams.
This is a free event for members and $10 for Non-Members
Registration and Joining this Webinar
To register please book online below. The link to join this event will be automatically generated and sent within your confirmation invoice.
The timing of this event is AEDT (SYD/CBR/MEL).
Professor Tymula is Professor in the School of Economics, University of Sydney where she also serves as Director of both the Experimental Economics Lab and the ARC Life Course Centre of Excellence. Her research integrates theory and empirical methods from economics, psychology, and neuroscience to better understand how people decide and how to help them become better decision-makers.
Professor Tymula has been awarded over 34 million in competitive research funding. She has held numerous leadership roles, including President and Board Member of the Society for Neuroeconomics, Co-Director of the Neuroeconomics Summer Institute, member of the Executive Committee of the Economic Science Association and the Editorial Board of Experimental Economics. Professor Tymula is the first Australian researcher to receive the Society for Neuroeconomics Award. She is also a recipient of the Young Economist Award from the Economic Society of Australia and Discovery Early Career Researcher Award from the Australian Research Council.
Click here to Book Online
Venue
Macquarie University City Campus
Level 24, 123 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000