Part of the Bristol and Bath Psychology seminar series jointly hosted by both the School of Psychological Science and the Department of Psychology, respectively.
Abstract: People higher in objective numeracy make better decisions and enjoy better life outcomes than those lower. Recent evidence points to the additional importance of numeric self-efficacy (aka having confidence in one’s numeric ability). Although little considered in decision theories, numeric self-efficacy appears to be a major driver of behavior, persistence in the face of numeric obstacles, and engagement of objective numeric ability. Additionally, it may alter heuristic processes. I argue that future research should incorporate numeric self-efficacy into theories and interventions in addition to objective numeracy.
Bio: Dr. Ellen Peters is the Philip H. Knight Chair and Director of the Center for Science Communication Research in the School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Oregon. She studies the basic building blocks of human judgment and decision making and their links with effective communication techniques. She is particularly interested in how affective, intuitive, and deliberative processes help people perceive risks and make decisions. She has published more than 160 peer-reviewed papers in outlets such as PNAS, JAMA, Annual Review of Public Health, Psychological Science, and Nature Climate Change. She also authored the book Innumeracy in the Wild, published by Oxford University Press. She is former President of the Society for Judgment and Decision Making and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Association for Psychological Science, the American Psychological Association, and the Society for Experimental Social Psychology. She has worked extensively with federal agencies to advance decision and communication sciences in health and health policy, including being Chair of FDA’s Risk Communication Advisory Committee and member of the NAS’s Science of Science Communication committee. She has received an NIH Group Merit Award and was the first American to win the Jane Beattie Scientific Recognition Award. She has received extensive funding from the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health.
Hosted on Zoom: Please email Psych-School@bristol.ac.uk for details.