of the egoistic, materialistic type. However, there is ample evidence that human beings tend to behave in ways which may at first look seem altruistic. Are they really, or do they instead arise from a regard for the individual advantages that may be attached to them? TILEC researcher Sigrid Suetens has recently been awarded a Dutch Science Foundation (NWO) Veni grant of € 208.000 for her research on 'The (limited) rationality of altruism out of self-interest'. This research project looks into the altruistic behavior of people and the rationality of it. In a series of laboratory experiments, Sigrid will examine to what extent altruistic behavior is selfless or stems from self-interest and, when it stems from self-interest, whether it is based on rational calculations or rather follows a certain rule-of-thumb. Sigrid's research has so far focused on the application of experimental techniques to market behavior or behavior in so-called social dilemmas, where individual incentives conflict with what is preferable for the group as a whole.
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