Acknowledgements🔗

Declare the past,
diagnose the present,
foretell the future.

– Hippocrates of Kos

La probabilità non esiste
se non per me in funzione del grado d’ignoranza
in cui momentaneamente mi trovo.

– de Finetti, Probabilismo

This dissertation would not have been possible without the support of my peers, colleagues, and mentors. I am deeply grateful to many people who have helped me along the way, and I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge a few of them.

First and foremost, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to Stefan Leucht, for the immense trust placed in me by supervising this dissertation project. Stefan, I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to join your brilliant team, for your unwavering dedication, and for generously sharing your profound wisdom and expertise.

I also want to thank Pim Cuijpers, for his mentorship and support over the years, even during challenging moments. Pim, I continue to be inspired by your wisdom, relentless optimism, and bold vision for the field. My gratitude also goes to the entire Amsterdam team, especially my friends, colleagues, and supervisors Clara Miguel, Marketa Ciharova, Yves Plessen, Eirini Karyotaki, Wouter van Ballegooijen, and Annemieke van Straten. Working with all of you is a blessing and a constant source of inspiration for me.

I want to thank my friend, colleague and mentor Claudia Buntrock, for supporting me across almost my entire academic life. Claudia, I deeply admire your joyfulness and fierce intellect, and I am enormously thankful for all your dedication and the trust you invested in me. In the same vein, I want to thank Toshi Furukawa and Ron Kessler for sharing some of their towering expertise with me over the years, for which I feel truly honored.

I would like to thank several current and former student assistants with whom I had the pleasure of working, and who have since grown into remarkable researchers themselves: Antonia Sprenger, Paula Kuper, Marie Feiler, Lea Schuurmans, and Susan Illing. It has been an honor to share my knowledge with you, and it brings me immense joy to see each of you thrive within and beyond academia.

I also want to thank many of the wonderful people at HelloBetter, but especially Elena Heber and Ludwig Küster. Elena, Ludwig, I am continually inspired by your passion, creativity, and intelligence, and I feel truly honored having you on my side during this journey.

Lastly, I want to express my deep gratitude to my father, mother, and sister. This dissertation is dedicated to them.