2011 Ph.D. in Psychology, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Thesis title: Individual differences in emotion and decision. Supervisor: Professor Mircea Miclea, Ph.D.
2008 Honours Masters of Science in Clinical Psychology, Counseling and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca. Thesis title: Developmental and sex-related differences in preschoolers’ affective decision-making. Co-Supervisors: Associate Professor Oana Benga, Ph.D., Professor Mircea Miclea, Ph.D.
2006 Honours Bachelor of Science, Department of Psychology, Babes-Bolyai University. Thesis title: The effects of trait-anxiety, anxiety-neuroticism and sensation seeking on decision making in the ultimatum game and the Iowa gambling task. Supervisor: Professor Adrian Opre, Ph.D.
24
Scopus Publications
2344
Scholar Citations
15
Scholar h-index
20
Scholar i10-index
Scopus Publications
Gender and Pregnancy Discrimination in the Selection Process. Does It (Still) Exist? Mara Bria, Alina M. Cociş, Sabina R. Trif, Petru L. Curşeu, Oana C. Fodor, et al. Gender Work and Organization, 2026 Building on the social role theory of sex differences and the role congruity theories, we aim to test whether gender and pregnancy discrimination (still) emerge in individual and group decisions, alongside testing four explanatory mechanisms. A sample of 258 individuals (organized in 81 groups) read vignettes that manipulated the gender and the pregnancy condition of hypothetical applicants for a managerial position. Participants were asked to make several personnel selection decisions, first individually and then in groups. Results indicate that male were preferred in all the personnel decisions (intention to hire, salary offer, and competence ranking), both at the individual and group levels. Our results did not offer support for the hypothesis regarding the main effect of pregnancy, yet we found an interaction effect between gender and pregnancy in such a way that male with a pregnant spouse are seen as the most competent and the most preferred for hiring. In contrast, pregnant female are perceived as the least competent and the least preferred candidates for hiring. Our results did not show clear decision polarization tendencies in groups compared to individual choices. The impact of gender and pregnancy on personnel decisions is explained by expectations of counterproductive work behaviors, extra‐role performance behaviors, and perceived commitment. This study has valuable theoretical contributions by integrating social role theory and role congruity theory with group decision‐making models to explain, using perceived commitment and counterproductive work behaviors, how gender and pregnancy cues shape personnel selection outcomes. It addresses an underexplored intersection, namely, how group dynamics interact with parenthood cues to exacerbate or mitigate discriminatory tendencies in hiring decisions. This study offers valuable insights for building more inclusive organizations and promoting gender diversity in the upper organizational echelons.
Participants’ Utilitarian Choice Is Influenced by Gamble Presentation and Age Joseph Teal, Petko Kusev, Siana Vukadinova, Rose Martin, Renata M. Heilman Behavioral Sciences, 2024 No prior behavioral science research has delved into the impact of gamble presentation (horizontal or vertical) on individuals’ utilitarian behavior, despite evidence suggesting that such choices can be influenced by comparing attributes like probability and money in gambles. This article addresses this gap by exploring the influence of gamble presentation on utilitarian behavior. A two-factor independent measures design was employed to explore the influence of the type of gamble presentation and age on participants’ utilitarian decision-making preferences. The findings showed a reduced likelihood of participants choosing the non-utilitarian gamble with vertically presented gambles compared to horizontal ones. Consequently, participants’ utilitarian behavior was influenced by between-gamble comparisons of available attributes, with utilitarian choices (e.g., choosing Gamble A) being more prevalent in vertical presentations due to a straightforward comparison on the probability attribute. Furthermore, the results also revealed that older participants take more time than their younger counterparts when making utilitarian errors. We attribute this to their abundant knowledge and experience. Future research should explore the comparative psychological processing used by participants in risky decision-making tasks.
Problem gambling ‘fuelled on the fly’ Joseph Teal, Petko Kusev, Renata Heilman, Rose Martin, Alessia Passanisi, et al. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2021 Problem gambling is a gambling disorder often described as continued gambling in the face of increasing losses. In this article, we explored problem gambling behaviour and its psychological determinants. We considered the assumption of stability in risky preferences, anticipated by both normative and descriptive theories of decision making, as well as recent evidence that risk preferences are in fact ‘constructed on the fly’ during risk elicitation. Accordingly, we argue that problem gambling is a multifaceted disorder, which is ‘fueled on the fly’ by a wide range of contextual and non-contextual influences, including individual differences in personality traits, hormonal and emotional activations. We have proposed that the experience of gambling behaviour in itself is a dynamic experience of events in time series, where gamblers anchor on the most recent event—typically a small loss or rare win. This is a highly adaptive, but erroneous, decision-making mechanism, where anchoring on the most recent event alters the psychological representations of substantial and accumulated loss in the past to a representation of negligible loss. In other words, people feel better while they gamble. We conclude that problem gambling researchers and policy makers will need to employ multifaceted and holistic approaches to understand problem gambling.
Are impulsive decisions always irrational? An experimental investigation of impulsive decisions in the domains of gains and losses Renata M. Heilman, Petko Kusev, Mircea Miclea, Joseph Teal, Rose Martin, et al. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2021 Intertemporal choices are very prevalent in daily life, ranging from simple, mundane decisions to highly consequential decisions. In this context, thinking about the future and making sound decisions are crucial to promoting mental and physical health, as well as a financially sustainable lifestyle. In the present study, we set out to investigate some of the possible underlying mechanisms, such as cognitive factors and emotional states, that promote future-oriented decisions. In a cross-sectional experimental study, we used a gain and a loss version of an intertemporal monetary choices task. Our main behavioural result indicated that people are substantially more impulsive over smaller and sooner monetary losses compared to equivalent gains. In addition, for both decisional domains, significant individual difference predictors emerged, indicating that intertemporal choices are sensitive to the affective and cognitive parameters. By focusing on the cognitive and emotional individual factors that influence impulsive decisions, our study could constitute a building block for successful future intervention programs targeted at mental and physical health issues, including gambling behaviour.
A new look at the ultimatum game: Relational and individual differences underlying the division of gains and losses Behavioral Economics Trends Perspectives and Challenges, 2018
Gender and Pregnancy Discrimination in the Selection Process. Does It (Still) Exist? M Bria, AM Cociş, SR Trif, PL Curşeu, OC Fodor, RM Heilman Gender, Work & Organization 33 (1), 219-233 , 2026 2026
Measuring the semantic priming effect across many languages EM Buchanan, K Cuccolo, T Heyman, N Van Berkel, NA Coles, A Iyer, ... Nature human behaviour, 1-20 , 2025 2025 Citations: 11
Sex Differences in the Allocation of Positive and Negative Resources A Ursu, PL Curşeu, RM Heilman Cognition, Brain, Behavior 29 (1), 159-173 , 2025 2025
Expectations and social decision making: An investigation of gain and loss ultimatum games RM Heilman, A Ursu, SR Trif, P Kusev, R Martin, J Teal Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics 114, 102313 , 2025 2025 Citations: 2
Perspective-Taking Accessibility Informs Prosocial Judgments in Sacrificial Scenarios: Evidence Across Cognitive Priming Tasks R Martin, P Kusev, RM Heilman, S Vukadinova Decision 12 (4), 315-333 , 2025 2025
Participants’ Utilitarian Choice Is Influenced by Gamble Presentation and Age J Teal, P Kusev, S Vukadinova, R Martin, RM Heilman Behavioral sciences 14 (7), 536 , 2024 2024
On the relationship between valence and arousal in samples across the globe. M Yik, C Mues, INL Sze, P Kuppens, F Tuerlinckx, K De Roover, ... Emotion 23 (2), 332 , 2023 2023 Citations: 86
Problem gambling ‘fuelled on the fly’ J Teal, P Kusev, R Heilman, R Martin, A Passanisi, U Pace International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18 (16), 8607 , 2021 2021 Citations: 14
Are impulsive decisions always irrational? An experimental investigation of impulsive decisions in the domains of gains and losses RM Heilman, P Kusev, M Miclea, J Teal, R Martin, A Passanisi, U Pace International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18 (16), 8518 , 2021 2021 Citations: 9
A creative destruction approach to replication: Implicit work and sex morality across cultures Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 93, 1-18 , 2021 2021 Citations: 61
Are Personal Values Associated with Social Decisions? The Role of Self-Transcendence in Promoting Prosocial Outcomes R Heilman, P Kusev 61st Annual Meeting of the Psychonomic Society , 2020 2020
Personal values associated with prosocial decisions RM Heilman, P Kusev Behavioral Sciences 10 (4), 77 , 2020 2020 Citations: 37
Psychological Engagement in Choice and Judgment Under Risk and Uncertainty M Buontempo, P Kusev, V Baranova, R Heilman 58th annual meeting of the Psychonomic Society 23, 311-311 , 2019 2019
A new look at the Ultimatum Game: relational and individual differences underlying the division of gains and losses RM Heilman Behavioral Economics: Trends, Perspectives and Challenges , 2018 2018 Citations: 7
Emotions and preferences: risky choices and retrospective frequency judgments. R Heilman, P Kusev, P van Schaik Poster presented at the 34th Annual Conference of the Society for Judgment … , 2017 2017
The gender pay gap: Can behavioral economics provide useful insights? RM Heilman, P Kusev Frontiers in psychology 8, 95 , 2017 2017 Citations: 23
Understanding risky behavior: The influence of cognitive, emotional and hormonal factors on decision-making under risk P Kusev, H Purser, R Heilman, AJ Cooke, P Van Schaik, V Baranova, ... Frontiers in psychology 8, 102 , 2017 2017 Citations: 172
Effect of regulating anger and sadness on decision-making PL Szasz, SG Hofmann, RM Heilman, J Curtiss Cognitive behaviour therapy 45 (6), 479-495 , 2016 2016 Citations: 74
Emotion regulation and economic decision-making RM Heilman, AC Miu, D Houser Neuroeconomics, 113-131 , 2016 2016 Citations: 31
Risk seeking preferences: an investigation of framing effects across decisional domains. RM Heilman, M Miclea Cognitie, Creier, Comportament/Cognition, Brain, Behavior 20 (1) , 2016 2016 Citations: 16
MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS
Emotion regulation and decision making under risk and uncertainty. RM Heilman, LG Crişan, D Houser, M Miclea, AC Miu Emotion 10 (2), 257 , 2010 2010 Citations: 628
Anxiety impairs decision-making: Psychophysiological evidence from an Iowa Gambling Task AC Miu, RM Heilman, D Houser Biological psychology 77 (3), 353-358 , 2008 2008 Citations: 464
Reduced heart rate variability and vagal tone in anxiety: trait versus state, and the effects of autogenic training AC Miu, RM Heilman, M Miclea Autonomic Neuroscience 145 (1-2), 99-103 , 2009 2009 Citations: 368
Genetic contributions of the serotonin transporter to social learning of fear and economic decision making LG Crişan, S Pană, R Vulturar, RM Heilman, R Szekely, B Drugă, ... Social cognitive and affective neuroscience 4 (4), 399-408 , 2009 2009 Citations: 202
Understanding risky behavior: The influence of cognitive, emotional and hormonal factors on decision-making under risk P Kusev, H Purser, R Heilman, AJ Cooke, P Van Schaik, V Baranova, ... Frontiers in psychology 8, 102 , 2017 2017 Citations: 172
On the relationship between valence and arousal in samples across the globe. M Yik, C Mues, INL Sze, P Kuppens, F Tuerlinckx, K De Roover, ... Emotion 23 (2), 332 , 2023 2023 Citations: 86
Effect of regulating anger and sadness on decision-making PL Szasz, SG Hofmann, RM Heilman, J Curtiss Cognitive behaviour therapy 45 (6), 479-495 , 2016 2016 Citations: 74
A creative destruction approach to replication: Implicit work and sex morality across cultures Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 93, 1-18 , 2021 2021 Citations: 61
Personal values associated with prosocial decisions RM Heilman, P Kusev Behavioral Sciences 10 (4), 77 , 2020 2020 Citations: 37
Emotion-induced retrograde amnesia and trait anxiety. AC Miu, RM Heilman, A Opre, M Miclea Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 31 (6), 1250 , 2005 2005 Citations: 36
Developmental and sex-related differences in preschoolers' affective decision making RM Heilman, AC Miu, O Benga Child Neuropsychology 15 (1), 73-84 , 2008 2008 Citations: 34
Emotion regulation and economic decision-making RM Heilman, AC Miu, D Houser Neuroeconomics, 113-131 , 2016 2016 Citations: 31
The gender pay gap: Can behavioral economics provide useful insights? RM Heilman, P Kusev Frontiers in psychology 8, 95 , 2017 2017 Citations: 23
Behavioral effects of corpus callosum transection and environmental enrichment in adult rats AC Miu, RM Heilman, SP Paşca, CA Ştefan, F Spânu, R Vasiu, AI Olteanu, ... Behavioural brain research 172 (1), 135-144 , 2006 2006 Citations: 22
Risk seeking preferences: an investigation of framing effects across decisional domains. RM Heilman, M Miclea Cognitie, Creier, Comportament/Cognition, Brain, Behavior 20 (1) , 2016 2016 Citations: 16
The contributions of declarative knowledge and emotion regulation in the Iowa Gambling Task. RM Heilman, M Miclea Cognitie, Creier, Comportament/Cognition, Brain, Behavior 19 (1) , 2015 2015 Citations: 15
Problem gambling ‘fuelled on the fly’ J Teal, P Kusev, R Heilman, R Martin, A Passanisi, U Pace International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18 (16), 8607 , 2021 2021 Citations: 14
Have no fear, erythropoietin is here: erythropoietin protects fear conditioning performances after functional inactivation of the amygdala AC Miu, AI Olteanu, I Chiş, RM Heilman Behavioural brain research 155 (2), 223-229 , 2004 2004 Citations: 13
Measuring the semantic priming effect across many languages EM Buchanan, K Cuccolo, T Heyman, N Van Berkel, NA Coles, A Iyer, ... Nature human behaviour, 1-20 , 2025 2025 Citations: 11
The role of computer-based psychotherapy in the treatment of anxiety disorders RM Heilman, É Kállay, M Miclea Cognition, Brain, Behavior 14 (3), 209 , 2010 2010 Citations: 10
GRANT DETAILS
2018-2020 , The dual nature of fairness: relational and individual differences underlying the division of gains and losses (principal investigator)
2016-2017 GTC-31794-2016, Developing new connections between theory and practice: applications of economic psychology in resource allocation decisions in organizational settings, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj Napoca, Romania (principal investigator)
2015-2017 PN-II-RU-TE-2014-4-2111, Social networks and emotions: Implications for the rationality of entrepreneurship strategic decisions. PI: Dr. Oana Fodor (grant team member)
2011-2012 POSDRU/90/2.1/S/63100, Artistic training – the transition of the young artist towards employment (Vocational Counselor).
2008-2011 CNCSIS 2440/2008, Critical factors involved in computer-based psychotherapy of anxiety disorders. PI: Dr. Mircea Miclea (grant team member).
2008-2011 Ph.D. student fellowship, offered by National University Research Council of Romania.
2008-2008 CEEX, ANCS: A neurocognitive and developmental analysis of anxiety: Applications for diagnostics and therapy. PI: Dr. Mircea Miclea (grant team member).
