PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Jan Theeuwes

Jan Theeuwes is a cognitive psychologist whose work tests whether deep neural networks can predict eye movements and examines visual attention. After graduating cum laude in experimental psychology and ergonomics at Tilburg University, he conducted traffic-safety research at TNO from 1988 to 1998 and earned a VU PhD in 1992. He and Hans Godthelp proposed self-explaining roads in 1995, and he became a full professor at VU in 1999 before establishing an international Cognitive Neuropsychology master’s program in 2007. He joined KNAW in 2010, launched OpenSesame with students in 2012, received ERC Advanced Grants in 2013 and 2019, and founded iBBA in 2016. He is a full professor at VU Amsterdam and president of the European Consortium for Psychological Science through April 2029; he is also a visiting professor at CIMCYC and is scheduled to undertake research stays there in 2026 on attentional capture.

Now at
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, European Consortium for Psychological Science and Universidad de Granada
Born
1960
Works
891
Citations
35,306
h-index
89
Badges

Years link to their sources. Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 1988–1998

    TNO Human Factors and a PhD

    After graduating cum laude in experimental psychology and ergonomics at Tilburg University, he joins the traffic-behaviour group at TNO Human Factors in 1988 and conducts applied road-safety research through 1998. He earns a PhD cum laude at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in 1992 under adviser Andries F. Sanders.

  2. 1995

    Self-explaining roads

    In 1995, he and Hans Godthelp publish a paper proposing “self-explaining roads”: road layouts that help users know how to behave and what to expect.

  3. 1999–2007

    Professor and research master

    He becomes a full professor at VU Amsterdam in 1999 and builds a new research group. In 2007, he establishes an international two-year research master in Cognitive Neuropsychology.

  4. 2010–2013

    KNAW, OpenSesame and ERC grants

    He is elected to the Royal Dutch Academy of Science (KNAW) in 2010. With students Sebastiaan Mathôt and Daniel Schreij, he launches OpenSesame in 2012, an open-source graphical experiment builder. In 2013, he receives a €2.5 million ERC Advanced Grant for reward-processing research.

  5. 2016

    Founding iBBA

    In 2016, he founds the Institute for Brain and Behavior Amsterdam (iBBA), which brings psychological, neurological and cognitive research together.

  6. 2019

    A second ERC grant

    In 2019, he receives a second ERC Advanced Grant for research on attention and statistical learning.

  7. 2026

    Neural networks and attention

    His recent research tests the feasibility of predicting eye-movement behavior through deep neural networks. In 2026, he publishes a review of more than 35 years of the additional-singleton task and gives guidelines for its design.

  8. As of October 2026

    Professorships and ECPS presidency

    He is a full professor of cognitive psychology at VU Amsterdam and president of the European Consortium for Psychological Science through April 2029. He is also a visiting professor at CIMCYC; in 2026, he is scheduled to undertake research stays there with Juan Lupiáñez, David Richter, Francisco Garre and María Ruz on behavioral and neurobiological factors underlying attentional capture.

Career

  1. NowEuropean Consortium for Psychological SciencePresident
  2. Since 2026Universidad de GranadaVisiting Professor
  3. Since 1999Vrije Universiteit AmsterdamFull Professor
  4. 2021–2026ISPA - Instituto Universitário
  5. 2021–2026William James Center for Research
  6. From 2016Institute for Brain and Behavior AmsterdamFounder
  7. 1988–1998Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research

Education

  1. 1992Vrije Universiteit AmsterdamPhD
  2. Tilburg University

From the biography and OpenAlex affiliations (the years of papers that list the organization), so some years are approximate.

Most-cited works

  1. OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences2011 · Behavior Research Methods · 2,592 citations
  2. Perceptual selectivity for color and form1992 · Perception & Psychophysics · 1,646 citations
  3. Top-down versus bottom-up attentional control: a failed theoretical dichotomy2012 · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · 1,551 citations
  4. Top–down and bottom–up control of visual selection2010 · Acta Psychologica · 1,380 citations
  5. Exogenous and endogenous control of attention: The effect of visual onsets and offsets1991 · Perception & Psychophysics · 813 citations

From OpenAlex, as of 21 October 2026.

  1. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  2. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  3. Google has the highest combined h-index among AI organizationsIncludes Universidad de Granada. We estimate that Google holds the highest combined h-index at 8,016, while universities account for 73% of the deduplicated total across AI organizations.
  4. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Jan Theeuwes yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. JL Theeuwes - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam research.vu.nl. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. Details - Center for Advanced Studies - LMU Munich cas.lmu.de. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. Self-explaining roads: What does visual cognition tell us about designing safer roads? - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam research.vu.nl. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. Theeuwes Lab theeuweslab.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. 35+ years of the additional singleton task: Design features and guidelines - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam research.vu.nl. Checked 21 October 2026.
  6. Strengthening international excellence: The CIMCYC welcomes the 2026 Visiting Scholars - Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center cimcyc.ugr.es. Checked 21 October 2026.