Dr E.H. Bijleveld (Erik)

*A general theory of fatigue*
Most people, whether in health or disease, are familiar with the feeling of fatigue. Despite its everyday familiarity, science has not yet culminated in a comprehensive, general theory of fatigue. I work towards such a theory. In my vision, a general theory of fatigue needs to take into account that fatigue is a highly individual, highly dynamic phenomenon: Fatigue waxes and wanes, within and across days, and these dynamics vary wildly between people.

*Empirical work on fatigue*
I use a combination of laboratory experiments and ESM/EMA to study fatigue. In the lab experiments, I aim to isolate specific aspects of fatigue dynamics (e.g., to examine how fatigue is shaped by workload, rewards, and distractors). With ESM/EMA, I track fatigue over time in people in their real lives.

*Open science*
In all my work, I try to prioritize transparency and rigor as much as I can. For example, I have preregistered all my confirmatory research (since ~2016), and I publicly share my data whenever this is legally possible. In my role as a member of the Scientific Rigor Committee of the BSI, I try to inspire colleagues to adopt OS practices, and to continue to develop and share their methodological skills. In our BSc psychology program, I am currently the design lead for a educational replication project, in which all psychology students contribute to a high-powered replication of a prior study (starting 2026-2027).

*Healthy Brain Study*
I am one of the project managers of the Healthy Brain Study, In that capacity, I manage an incredibly rich data resource with a wide range of measures taken from 905 healthy participants. This dataset can be used to study brain, cognition and behavior through a biopsychosocial lens.