Forum
What is DR@W Forum?
DR@W Forum is an interdisciplinary discussion series which focuses on theoretical and empirical research about decision making.
The usual structure of the forum is a 30 - 45 minute introduction of the topic/working paper, with ample additional time for discussion.
The audience prefers discussing work-in-progress topics as opposed to finished papers. We meet on Thursdays between 2:30 and 3:45pm during term time, with streaming via Zoom. Contact John Taylor (John.Taylor[at]wbs.ac.uk) if you would like to suggest a speaker for a future event. Notifications of upcoming DR@W Forum events along with other decision research related activities can be obtained by registering with the moderated Behaviour Spotlight email listLink opens in a new window.
Note that several talks during the 2024/25 academic year are being hosted and organised by the Economics department. This is indicated in the calendar entries. These talks will all take place in the Social Studies building. If you require further details regarding these sessions, please contact Matthew Ridley (Matthew.Ridley[at]Warwick.ac.uk) in the Economics department.
WBS Distinguished Seminar Series: Mirta Galesic (Santa Fe Institute)
Beliefs in individual minds are related and can be represented as networks. The structure and dynamics of these networks can be studied on both individual and collective levels. I will present the related ongoing research in our group. First, I will describe analogies that have been used to describe and model belief dynamics, along with their conceptual mileage an baggage (Olsson & Galesic, 2024, TICS). Second, I will describe a model of belief dynamics based on the analogy with systems studied in statistical physics (Dalege et al., 2025, Psychological Review). Third, I will describe two extensions of this model, one providing a framework for a unified model of psychological processes involved in belief dynamics, such as ego projection, social influence, authenticity, and conformity (Zimmaro & Olsson, 2025, arXiv:2502.14362); and the other describing a plausible mechanism for link updating in belief networks (Steiglechner et al., in prep). Finally, I will describe two novel paradigms for collecting empirical data about belief networks, one using natural language processing to extract individual and collective belief networks from comments on news sites (Barolo et al., in prep; Ha et al., 2025, arXiv:2504.08152); and the other using LLM-assisted interviewing and a visual interface to elicit self-reported belief networks (Poulsen et al., in prep). Ultimately, these and related efforts should help us understand and adapt our belief networks to ongoing societal challenges from climate change to intergroup conflicts.