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Welcome to the Official Website of Gerd Gigerenzer
Discover the work of Gerd Gigerenzer, a leading psychologist and internationally acclaimed expert in decision-making, risk literacy, and bounded rationality. With decades of groundbreaking research, Gerd Gigerenzer has reshaped how we understand human intuition, heuristics, and the ways people make decisions under uncertainty.
On this website, you will find an overview of his publications, current projects, and media appearances. Whether you're a researcher, policymaker, educator, or simply curious about the science of decision-making, this platform offers valuable insights into how we can make smarter, more informed choices in an increasingly complex world.
Gerd Gigerenzer, long-time director at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, is currently director of the Harding Center for Risk Literacy at the University of Potsdam and vice-president of the European Research Council (ERC). He is former Professor of Psychology at the University of Chicago and John M. Olin Distinguished Visiting Professor, School of Law at the University of Virginia. Gigerenzer has received the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) award for the best journal article in the behavioral sciences, the German Psychology Prize, and the Communicator Prize. He has trained managers, doctors, and U.S. federal judges in dealing with risks and uncertainties. Switzerland’s prestigious Duttweiler Institute has named Gigerenzer one of the 100 most influential thinkers in the world. Read More
Explore. Learn. Decide.
Welcome to a world where intuition meets intelligence.
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Public Talks
November, 13 2025 at 1 pm, Paris
Talk and roundtable discussion on “How to stay smart in a smart world”
Is more data always better? When do algorithms outperform human judgment—and when don’t they? How does machine intelligence differ from human intelligence? And are we, perhaps, sleepwalking into surveillance? Exploring these questions is essential if we want to stay in control in an increasingly automated world. To frame possible answers, I introduce the stable-world principle, the adapt-to-AI principle, and the Russian tank fallacy. Now more than ever, we need to equip ourselves with knowledge about how to make better decisions in the digital age.
Curie Campus
BDD amphitheater
11 Rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005 Paris
Campus map
November, 24 2025 at 8 pm, Maastricht
Joan Muysken Lecture: Homo Heuristicus: Decision Making in an Uncertain World
Can less be more? In a world characterised by uncertainty, simple rules — known as heuristics — often lead to better decisions than complex algorithms. These heuristics are not only more efficient but also easier to understand and apply. This talk explores the concept of the adaptive toolbox (the repertoire of heuristics available to individuals or organisations) and examines its ecological rationality — how these heuristics leverage the structure of the environment to achieve effective outcomes. Gerd Gigerenzer will demonstrate when less can be more, and why.
Auditorium
Minderbroedersberg 4-6
6211 LK Maastricht, The Netherlands
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December, 1 2025 at 3 pm, Rome
Keynote: Bounded Rationality
The talk will be based on the following paper:
Gigerenzer, G. (2024). From bounded rationality to ecological rationality. In Elgar Companion to Herbert Simon (pp. 149-175). Edward Elgar Publishing. PDF
SALA DELLE COLONNE
LUISS CAMPUS AT VIALE POLA 12
ROME
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Interesting News
Reformation of science publishing: the Stockholm Declaration
One of the greatest threats to the integrity of science today is the exponentially increasing number of studies and data fabricated with the help of AI and published for commercial profit, which has become a lucrative industry. In June 2025, I was one of the invited participants in a workshop on the problem, held at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm. Our resulting statement and call to action (the Stockholm Declaration) can be found here:
New article: Two kinds of bias (Gigerenzer, 2025)
I distinguish two meanings of the term bias in the social sciences. In the first, biases are functional: they are necessary, and simultaneously enable and constrain perception and cognition. In the second, biases are viewed as errors and ideally should be reduced to zero. In the functional view, bias is value-neutral, neither good nor bad. This pragmatic perspective accepts that cognition must operate under conditions of uncertainty (rather than the certainty of a “small world”) and intractability (where the optimal solution cannot be calculated). Read More (PDF)
What is bias? And why are we biased?
Check out my talk from 7 November 2025, which I gave at the Paris Institute for Advanced Studies on “What is bias? And why are we biased?”