Events
Past Event
Wednesdays@NICO Seminar: Moving Past Rational Behavior: A Game Theory Experiment
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
12:00 PM
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Lower Level Chambers Hall
Details
Moving Past Rational Behavior: A Game Theory Experiment
Wednesdays@NICO | 12:00-1:00 PM, March 2, 2016 | Chambers Hall, Lower Level
Julia Poncela-Casasnovas, Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems
Abstract
Both in real life situations and behavioral experiments alike, people often behave against game-theoretical predictions. However, little is known about whether or not individuals display consistency when facing various games, or, if they do, what would be a possible classification of these different-but-consistent behaviors. I present the results of a lab-in-the-field experiment, with individuals playing multiple games under different incentives, with different, anonymous partners. Then, by running a robust clustering algorithm on the data, I am able to classify the subjects in distinct, well-defined groups (–phenotypes–) according to their actions in the different scenarios presented to them. I identify these phenotypes as Trustful, Pessimist, Envious, Optimist, and Clueless. None of these phenotypes correspond to the expected behavior from the Nash equilibria, however, I am able to clearly infer their behavioral rules, and also to connect them with a measure of risk-aversion. My classification is applicable in contexts beyond social dilemmas, and opens the door for more realistic modeling of human behavior, along with practical applications: from business management and human resources, to global policy making.
Bio
I work with Professor Brian Uzzi at NICO, studying the emergence of scientific fields, collaboration dynamics at institutions, and how errors propagate in networks. I received my BS, MS, and PhD in Physics from the University of Zaragoza, where I studied how complex network topologies affect game theoretic outcomes. Since then I have expanded my research interests into the social sciences, studying how medical innovations are adopted and how an individual's network of contacts could help achieve weight-loss goals.
Time
Wednesday, March 2, 2016 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location
Lower Level Chambers Hall Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
WED@NICO SEMINAR: Todd Florin and Nelson Sanchez-Pinto, Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago "Transforming Research and Innovation for Acutely Ill Children"
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
12:00 PM
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Lower Level, Chambers Hall
Details
Speakers:
Todd Florin, MD, MSCE, Associate Division Head for Academic Affairs & Research, Division of Emergency Medicine, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago; Professor of Pediatrics (Emergency Medicine), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
L. Nelson Sanchez-Pinto, MD, MBI, Attending Physician, Critical Care, Ann & Robert Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago; Associate Professor of Pediatrics (Critical Care) and Preventive Medicine (Health and Biomedical Informatics), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Title:
Transforming Research and Innovation for Acutely Ill Children
Abstract:
We will present an overview of the new Center for Pediatric Acute and Critical Care Research and Innovation (PACCRI) at Lurie Children's Hospital and its goal of fostering and facilitating ambitious, high-risk/high-reward research collaboration between clinicians and engineers, computer scientists, and data scientists. We will present two areas of active research by PACCRI faculty that may overlap with NICO faculty expertise: (1) predicting pneumonia in the emergency department, and (2) modeling hospital strain and resource allocation to prevent patient deterioration.
Speaker Bios:
Dr. Todd Florin is a founding co-director of the Center for Pediatric Acute and Critical Care Research and Innovation (PACCRI). He is a pediatric emergency medicine physician-scientist with interests in pediatric respiratory infections and expertise in clinical and molecular epidemiology, predictive analytics, and large-scale, multicenter clinical trials in the acute care setting. He is committed to generating and implementing the best evidence to allow for precision care tailored to each patient.
Dr. Nelson Sanchez-Pinto is a founding co-director of the Center for Pediatric Acute and Critical Care Research and Innovation (PACCRI). He is a pediatric critical care medicine physician-scientist with interests in sepsis and expertise in data science and clinical informatics. His goal is to develop, test, and operationalize AI-enabled predictive and prognostic enrichment strategies that can help clinicians provide more personalized and targeted care to critically ill children.
Location:
In person: Chambers Hall, 600 Foster Street, Lower Level
Remote option: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/92586384543
PW: NICO26
About the Speaker Series:
Wednesdays@NICO is a vibrant weekly seminar series focusing broadly on the topics of complex systems, data science and network science. It brings together attendees ranging from graduate students to senior faculty who span all of the schools across Northwestern, from applied math to sociology to biology and every discipline in-between. Please visit: https://bit.ly/WedatNICO for information on future speakers.
Time
Wednesday, February 25, 2026 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location
Lower Level, Chambers Hall Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
WED@NICO SEMINAR: Ágnes Horvát, Northwestern School of Communication
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
12:00 PM
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Lower Level, Chambers Hall
Details
Speaker:
Ágnes Horvát, Associate Professor, Department of Communication Studies, Northwestern School of Communication
Title:
TBA
Abstract:
TBA
Speaker Bio:
Ágnes Horvát is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Studies, (by courtesy) the Computer Science Department of the McCormick School of Engineering, and (also by courtesy) the Department of Management and Organizations of the Kellogg School of Management.
Her research seeks to measure, understand, and forecast the collective behaviour of networked crowds in large-scale socio-technical systems. On the one hand, her current projects investigate the impact of network embeddedness and diversity on scholarly communication. On the other hand, she works on identifying expressions of collective intelligence and opportunities for innovation in crowdsourcing communities. Her research group also develops empirical and theoretical methods to support creativity and predict success in culture industries. This work lies at the intersection of computational social science and social computing. It uses an interdisciplinary data-driven approach that builds on techniques from network science, machine learning, and statistics.
Location:
In person: Chambers Hall, 600 Foster Street, Lower Level
Remote option: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/96701776160
PW: NICO26
About the Speaker Series:
Wednesdays@NICO is a vibrant weekly seminar series focusing broadly on the topics of complex systems, data science and network science. It brings together attendees ranging from graduate students to senior faculty who span all of the schools across Northwestern, from applied math to sociology to biology and every discipline in-between. Please visit: https://bit.ly/WedatNICO for information on future speakers.
Time
Wednesday, March 4, 2026 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location
Lower Level, Chambers Hall Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
WED@NICO SEMINAR: Steven Franconeri, Northwestern University "Point Taken: A gamified Intervention that Creates Enlightened Disagreements"
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
12:00 PM
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Lower Level, Chambers Hall
Details
Speaker:
Steven Franconeri, Professor of Psychology, Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences; Professor of Management and Organizations, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
Title:
Point Taken: A gamified Intervention that Creates Enlightened Disagreements
Abstract:
Should we drop standardized testing for college or Ph.D. admissions? Allow athletes to join teams based on gender identity? When organizational and public policies bind behavior, human coexistence requires a way to determine that collective policy. Because individuals and like-minded groups have incomplete information, constrained strategies, and biased perspectives, thoughtful debate on those policies is critical. Unfortunately, those debates too often degrade into chaotic fights.
Point Taken provides a scalable solution by translating best practices in conflict resolution and critical thinking into a structured dialogue that can be learned and played in 30 minutes. In this interactive session, you'll play a short game to feel its effects.
Players replace persuasion with a common goal of discovering why they disagree. Dialogue then unfolds thoughtfully and calmly, through chains of short written reasons and responses. We've tested the game extensively in schools and organizations, and conducted a formal pilot study. All show powerful improvements in the tone and quality of debate, across longstanding and strongly-held disagreements. I’ll give background on best practices for enlightened disagreement, show how they translate to the game, ask you to play a game, and then ask for your advice on next steps.
Speaker Bio:
Steven Franconeri is leading scientist, teacher, and speaker on visual thinking, visual communication, and the psychology of data visualization. He is a Professor of Psychology in the Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences at Northwestern, Director of the Northwestern Cognitive Science Program, as well as a Kellogg Professor of Management and Organizations by Courtesy. He is the director of the Visual Thinking Laboratory, where a team of researchers explore how leveraging the visual system - the largest single system in your brain - can help people think, remember, and communicate more efficiently.
His undergraduate training was in computer science and cognitive science at Rutgers University, followed by a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from Harvard University, and postdoctoral research at the University of British Columbia. His work on both Cognitive Science and Data Visualization has been funded by the National Science Foundation, as well as the Department of Education, and the Department of Defense. He has received a prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER award, given to researchers who combine excellent research with outstanding teaching, and he has received a Psychonomic Society Early Career award for his research on visual thinking.
Location:
In person: Chambers Hall, 600 Foster Street, Lower Level
Remote option: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/97198523514
PW: NICO26
About the Speaker Series:
Wednesdays@NICO is a vibrant weekly seminar series focusing broadly on the topics of complex systems, data science and network science. It brings together attendees ranging from graduate students to senior faculty who span all of the schools across Northwestern, from applied math to sociology to biology and every discipline in-between. Please visit: https://bit.ly/WedatNICO for information on future speakers.
Time
Wednesday, March 11, 2026 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location
Lower Level, Chambers Hall Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)