Research Seminars @ Illinois

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Tailored for undergraduate researchers, this calendar is a curated list of research seminars at the University of Illinois. Explore the diverse world of research and expand your knowledge through engaging sessions designed to inspire and enlighten.

To have your events added or removed from this calendar, please contact OUR at ugresearch@illinois.edu

Modeling Subjective Preferences

Event Type: Lecture
Sponsor: Psychology -- Attention & Perception area
Location: 815 Psychology Building
Date: Apr 15, 2025 2:00 - 3:20 pm
Speaker: Daniel Albohn, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Chicago Booth School of Business
Originating Calendar: Psychology General Calendar; Human preferences are inherently subjective—individuals have their preferred types of artwork, shoes to wear, and who they find attractive. However, much of what is known about human preference comes from aggregated data that essentially treat idiosyncratic differences as noise. A holistic understanding of human preference requires building individualized models. In this talk, Dr. Albohn will demonstrate that while some judgments exhibit shared patterns across individuals, others are highly idiosyncratic and difficult to statistically model. Using generative artificial intelligence, Dr. Albohn showcases a novel method to visualize and quantify individual differences in perception, creating valid, robust, and photorealistic representations of how people perceive their world. These findings have significant implications for understanding the influence of individual variation on diverse domains, including visual stereotypes, consumer behavior, and clinical interventions.

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