The award recognises outstanding contributions by early-career researchers in the field of judgment and decision-making .

Recognising groundbreaking research

Vu was honoured for the paper Ignorance by Choice: A Meta-Analytic Review of the Underlying Motives of Wilful Ignorance and Its Consequences published in the journal Psychological Bulletin. The paper was co-authored with Ivan Soraperra (Max Planck Institute for Human Development), Margarita Leib (Tilburg University), and ASE researchers Joël van der Weele and Shaul Shalvi.
The study presents the first meta-analysis on wilful ignorance—situations in which individuals deliberately avoid information about the negative consequences of their actions in order to maximise personal outcomes.

What drives wilful ignorance?

Based on 33,603 decisions by 6,531 participants across 56 experimental settings, the research shows that avoiding information significantly reduces altruistic behaviour. The findings also suggest that actions that appear altruistic are not always motivated by genuine concern for others.

About the De Finetti Award

Named after Italian mathematician Bruno de Finetti, the award is presented to researchers whose work advances the understanding of judgement and decision-making.