I have conducted end-to-end research in cognitive psychology and neuroscience, studying how people make decisions and translate them into action. My work spans behavioral experimentation, neuroimaging, and computational modeling, from how the brain dynamically allocates effort based on changing demands and rewards, to how motivation shapes real-world behaviors like pro-environmental action.

 

I'm drawn to questions about the barriers and incentives that shape behavior, as well as the challenge of making these variables visible and actionable via operationalization and analysis.

Publications

 

Chai, M., Ikink, I., Mattioni, S., Benavides, R. A., Kukkonen, N., Senoussi, M., ... & Braem, S. (2026). Parallel control of conjunctive and compositional representations supports dynamic task preparation. bioRxiv, 2026-01. [preprint]

Kukkonen, N., Braem, S., Eayrs, J., Chai, M., Mattioni, S., Steendam, S., ... & Krebs, R. (2026). Distinct roles of anterior cingulate and subcortical regions supporting effort evaluation versus preparation. [preprint]

 

Kukkonen, N., Lange, F., Van den Bossche, C., & Krebs, R. M. (2025). Pro-environmental decisions are hampered by their opportunity costs – evidence from effort-based decision-making. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 102843. [article]

 

Kukkonen, N., Braem, S., Allaert, J., Eayrs, J. O., Prutean, N., Steendam, S. T., ... & Krebs, R. M. (2025). The cost of regulating effort: reward and difficulty cues with longer prediction horizons have a stronger impact on performance. Journal of Cognition, 8(1), 9. [article]

 

Eayrs, J. O., Kukkonen, N., Prutean, N., Steendam, S. T., Boehler, C. N., Wiersema, J. R., ... & Notebaert, W. (2024). Attentional set and explicit expectations of perceptual load determine flanker interference. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 50(7), 769. [article]

Prutean, N., Vermeylen, L., Kukkonen, N., Steendam, S. T., Eayrs, J. O., Krebs, R. M., ... & Notebaert, W. (2024). Mind the instructions: Reward cues are liked first, wanted later. Cognition, 251, 105885. [article]

Steendam, S. T., Prutean, N., Clybouw, F., Eayrs, J. O., Kukkonen, N., Notebaert, W., ... & Boehler, C. N. (2024). Compensating for the mobile menace with extra effort: A pupillometry investigation of the mere presence effect of smartphones. Biological Psychology, 193, 108893. [article]

 

Prével, A., Krebs, R. M., Kukkonen, N., & Braem, S. (2021). Selective reinforcement of conflict processing in the Stroop task. PloS one, 16(7), e0255430. [article]