I received my Bachelors and Research Masters degrees in social psychology from Tilburg University in 2006 and 2008. In 2011, I completed my PhD degree at the University of Limerick, investigating the psychological signature and consequences of boredom, followed by a post as lecturer (assistant professor) in psychology . In April 2013, I joined the School of Psychology of the University of Southampton as Research Fellow.

My research mainly concerns social cognition, emotion, and experimental existential psychology. A major focus of my research involves the study of nostalgia and boredom, and how these experiences affect phenomena such as aggression, intergroup processes, memory, creativity, and prosocial behavior. A reoccurring theme throughout this research is the notion that emotions such as nostalgia and boredom form an important part of the self-regulatory processes associated with people's attempts to find meaning in their life and behaviors.

In addition to the above, I am also involved in research on loneliness, life and mortality salience, problem solving, and temporal discounting.

Primary Interests:

Emotion, Mood, Affect
Judgment and Decision Making
Motivation, Goal Setting
Self and Identity
Social Cognition

Emotion, Mood, Affect
Judgment and Decision Making
Motivation, Goal Setting

Self and Identity
Social Cognition

Journal Articles:

Van Tilburg, W. A. P., & Igou, E. R. (in press). On the meaningfulness of behavior: An expectancy x value approach. Motivation and Emotion. DOI: 10.1007/s11031-012-9316-3
Van Tilburg, W. A. P., & Igou, E. R. (2012). On boredom: Lack of challenge and meaning as distinct boredom experiences. Motivation and Emotion, 36, 181-194.
Van Tilburg, W. A. P., & Igou, E. R. (2011). On boredom and social identity: A pragmatic meaning-regulation approach. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37, 1679-1691.
Van Tilburg, W. A. P., & Igou, E. R. (2011). On the meaningfulness of existence: When life salience boosts adherence to worldviews. European Journal of Social Psychology, 41, 740-750.
Van Tilburg, W. A. P., Igou, E. R., & Sedikides, C. (in press). In search of meaningfulness: Nostalgia as an antidote to boredom. Emotion.

Other Publications:

Igou, E. R., Van Dongen, F., & Van Tilburg, W. A. P. (2012). Preferences. In V. S. Ramachandran (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Human Behavior (Vol. 3, pp. 152-159). Academic Press.

Courses Taught:

Advanced Research Methods
Cognitive Psychology and Psycholinguistics
Economic Psychology
Empirical Psychology
Major Research Project Coordinator (i.e., Masters Thesis)
Psychology and Everyday Life
Research Methods

Advanced Research Methods
Cognitive Psychology and Psycholinguistics
Economic Psychology
Empirical Psychology

Major Research Project Coordinator (i.e., Masters Thesis)
Psychology and Everyday Life
Research Methods

Wijnand A. P. Van Tilburg
School of Psychology
University of Southampton
Southampton SO17 1BJ
United Kingdom