Nicole Huijts

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Nicole Huijts

PhD

 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3729-8392
Calculated based on number of publications stored in Pure and citations from Scopus
20052024

Research activity per year

Personal profile

Personal profile

I am Assistant Professor in the Psychology of Conflict, Risk and Safety Group at the University of Twente. My research focuses on human decision making in relation to potentially very beneficial technologies that at the same also bring (actual and/or perceived) new risks. I investigate this from a psychological perspective while taking into account contextial factors, such as the design, governance and geography of the technology, as well as ethical considerations. With my research, I generally aim to develop insights that aid in reducing the societal risks of potentially beneficial technologies. I am also the Past-President of the Benelux Chapter of the Society for Risk Analysis-Europe. Prior to working at the University of Twente, I have worked at the TU Eindhoven and TU Delft.

I have an MSc degree with honorable mention in Technology and Society from the Eindhoven University of Technology and a PhD degree from the Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management of the Delft University of Technology. I also have been a four months exchange student at the department of Engineering and Public Policy of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, USA, and a one year scholar at the Faculty of Philosophy, Theology and Religious studies of the Radboud University, Nijmegen.

Research interests

I am generally involved in psychological research related to risk, and am currently particularly interested in the following topics:

  1. Perceived privacy and security risks of smart home IoT, and effective interventions that increase protective action. 

  2. Causes of perceived (un)fairness and (non-)acceptance of sustainable energy projects, and interventions that can lead to more acceptable and accepted projects.

In line with topic 2, I developed the often-cited Technology Acceptance Framework.

In am currently active in the Benelux Chapter of the Society for Risk Analysis-Europe and the Utwente Energy Transition and Behavior group. I am also affiliated to the UU/TUe Fair Energy Transition Consortium and the 4TU Center for Ethics and Technology.

I am reviewing for a broad range of often interdisciplinary journals such as Energy Research and Social Science, Frontiers in Environmental Psychology, Energy Policy and Risk Analysis. 

Projects

I am PI together with Silvia De Conca, and collaborators Alex van der Zeeuw and Tijmen Wisman, in the VU-UT research project "The future of living in smart cities: privacy in the smart home at the crossroads of psychology and law"

I am daily supervisor of the PhD project of Michelle Walterscheid on "Perceived privacy and security risks of smart home devices", with promotor Marielle Stel and second supervisor Jeroen van der Ham-de Vos. 

Past research projects that I participated in as a postdoc were: 

  1. Emotion Psychology Meets Cyber-security at TU Eindhoven,
  2. Developing Socially Responsible Innovations: The role of Values and Moral Emotions at TU Delft. I was also a co-applicant of this project.
  3. Moral Emotions and Risk Politics at TU Delft.

Teaching

I am module manager of the course Psychology of Safety.

I currently teach as a lecturer, tutor or supervisor in the following psychology bachelor and master courses: 

  • Psychology of Safety
  • The Individual
  • Social Behavior
  • Psychology of Sustainability
  • BSc thesis
  • MSc thesis
  • Internships

I also teach in the Master Risk Management in the courses Risk Perception and Communication, and Resilience and Risk Management.

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 5 - Gender Equality
  • SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy
  • SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
  • SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities
  • SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • SDG 13 - Climate Action
  • SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
  • SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Goals

Transport Expert

  • Social / Human / Safety / Health / Behavior

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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

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  • 4 Invited talk
  • 3 Organising a conference, workshop, ...
  • 2 Membership of board
  • 1 Oral presentation
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