Behavioral Science Workshops

Invited guests, faculty, and students present current research in decision-making and judgment in our workshop series. The emphasis of our workshop series is on behavioral implications of decision and judgment models.

Workshop Details

• Where: Chicago Booth Harper Center, Classroom C06. Workshops will be offered IN-PERSON ONLY.
• When: Mondays 10:10–11:30 a.m. (unless otherwise noted)
• Who can attend: Workshops are open to Roman Family Center faculty, researchers, staff, and students, plus invited guests. Additional requests to attend the workshop are handled on a case-by-case basis. Please email yui.ito@chicagobooth.edu if you’d like to attend.
• Archive: For a full list of presenters 2004-present, see our workshop archive.

 

Winter Workshop Series 

Note: some titles and abstracts are forthcoming. Check back soon for updates. 

 

Monday, January 25, 2025

David Melnikoff
Stanford University

“A Computational Theory of Flow”

Flow is a coveted psychological state characterized by deep immersion and engagement in an activity. While its benefits for productivity and health are well-documented, a formal, mechanistic understanding of the flow-generating process remains elusive. In this talk, I will present a solution: a mathematical model of flow's computational substrates—the first of its kind—supported by empirical tests of its core predictions. At the heart of the model lies the concept of mutual information, a fundamental quantity in information theory that quantifies the strength of association between two variables. The central claim is that the mutual information between desired end states and means of attaining them, or I(M;E), gives rise to flow. I will substantiate this claim with behavioral experiments demonstrating that, across multiple activities, increasing I(M;E) increases flow and has important downstream benefits, including enhanced attention, enjoyment, and skilled performance.

 

Monday, February 3, 2025

Kentaro Fujita
Ohio State University