Welmer Molenmaker
Assistant professor
- Name
- Dr. W.E. Molenmaker
- Telephone
- +31 71 527 1440
- w.e.molenmaker@fsw.leidenuniv.nl
- ORCID iD
- 0000-0001-8306-2829
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.
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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 16th 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)
Assistant professor
- Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen
- Instituut Psychologie
- Soc., Econom. en Organisat Psych.
- Kwaadsteniet E.W. de, Vliet A. van der, Groos J. van, Molenmaker W.E., Lutjenhuis M. & Mors E. ter (2024), Belonen in de context van belastingen: experiment. KCPEG onderzoeksrapport in opdracht van de belastingdienst. . Leiden: KCPEG.
- Molenmaker W.E., Kwaadsteniet E.W. de, Ter Mors E., Nilsen J., Egelmeers T., Vliet A. van der & Dijk W.W. van (2023), De werking en effectiviteit van verzuimboetes: KCPEG onderzoeksrapport in opdracht van de Belastingdienst. Leiden: KCPEG.
- Molenmaker W.E., Vliek M.L.W, Groos J. van, Mors E. Ter, Egelmeers T. & Kwaadsteniet E.W. de (2023), De werking en effectiviteit van beloningen in de context van belastingen: literatuuronderzoek. KCPEG onderzoeksrapport in opdracht van de belastingdienst. . Leiden: KCPEG.
- Gross J., Méder Z.Z., Dreu C.K.W. de, Romano A., Molenmaker W.E. & Hoenig L.C. (2023), The evolution of universal cooperation, Science Advances 9(7): eadd8289.
- Molenmaker W.E., Gross J., Kwaadsteniet E.W. de, Dijk E. van & Dreu C.K.W. de (2023), Discriminatory punishment undermines the enforcement of group cooperation, Scientific Reports 13: 6061.
- Molenmaker W.E., Lelieveld G., Kwaadsteniet E.W. de & Dijk E. van (2022), Applying a logic of appropriateness to understand behavioral differences between common resource dilemmas and public good dilemmas, Journal of Behavioral Decision Making 35(1): e2243.
- Lelieveld G. & Molenmaker W.E. (2022), Are emotions the path to the dark side? . In: Ebner N. & Reynolds J.W. (Eds.), Star Wars and conflict resolution: there are alternatives to fighting: DRI Press. 61-72.
- Sun Q., Molenmaker W.E., Zhang Y., Liu Y. & Dijk E. van (2022), Procedural fairness facilitates cooperative behavior by enhancing cooperative expectations, Social and Personality Psychology Compass 16(12): e12711.
- Molenmaker W.E., De Kwaadsteniet E.W. & Van Dijk E. (2019), The effect of decision timing on the willingness to costly reward cooperation and punish noncooperation: sanctioning the past, the present, or the future, Journal of Behavioral Decision Making 32(3): 241-254.
- De Kwaadsteniet E.W., Kiyonari T., Molenmaker W.E. & Van Dijk E. (2019), Do people prefer leaders who enforce norms? Reputational effects of reward and punishment decisions in noisy social dilemmas, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 84: e103800.
- Molenmaker Welmer E. (19 January 2017), The (un)willingness to reward cooperation and punish non-cooperation (Dissertatie. Institute of Psychology, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Leiden University) Kurt Lewin Institute Dissertation Series no. 2016-12. Supervisor(s) and Co-supervisor(s): Dijk E. van, Kwaadsteniet E.W. de.
- Molenmaker Welmer E., De Kwaadsteniet E.W. & Van Dijk E. (2016), The impact of personal responsibility on the (un)willingness to punish non-cooperation and rewards cooperation, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 134: 1-15.
- Van Dijk E., Molenmaker W.E. & De Kwaadsteniet E.W. (2015), Promoting cooperation in social dilemmas: The use of sanctions, Current Opinion in Psychology 6: 118-122.
- Molenmaker Welmer E., De Kwaadsteniet E.W. & Van Dijk E. (2014), On the willingness to costly reward cooperation and punish non-cooperation: The moderating role of type of social dilemma, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 125(2): 175-183.
- Molenmaker Welmer E., De Kwaadsteniet E.W. & Van Dijk E. (2013), Kostbaar straffen en belonen in 'warme' versus 'koude' sociale dilemma's. In: Dotsch R., Papies E.K., Pronk T.M., Rutjens B.T., Toorn J. van der & Ufkes E.G. (Eds.), Jaarboek Sociale Psychologie 2013. Jaarboek Sociale Psychologie. Groningen Nederland: ASPO pers. 141-144.
- Molenmaker Welmer E., De Kwaadsteniet E.W. & Van Dijk E. (2012), Ik beloon je met meer dan alleen mijn trots: Altruïstisch belonen en de rol van trots in twee types sociale dilemma's. In: Strick M., Baas M., Dillen L. van, Dotsch R., Lakens D. & Vries M. de (Eds.), Jaarboek Socale Psychologie 2012. Groningen: ASPO pers. 147-150.