We are pleased to welcome two talented researchers who have joined the Wise Judgment Consortium for the summer to support data analysis for Project 1A.
Will M. Jettinghoff is a PhD student in Social and Personality Psychology at the University of British Columbia, co-advised by Drs. Kristin Laurin and Azim Shariff. His research explores motivated cognition—how our beliefs are shaped not only by facts but also by our emotions, identities, and social goals. Will investigates how people use values to guide belief formation and how these beliefs are communicated within and across social networks, especially in online discourse. With a strong background in digital data analysis and social psychological theory, Will brings valuable expertise to the WJC’s efforts to understand wise judgment in complex social environments.
Dr. Vinita Vader is a behavioral scientist with a PhD in Personality Psychology. Her work focuses on leveraging AI and machine learning to identify psychological patterns and cultural dynamics in human behaviour. She specializes in developing culturally sensitive, bias-minimizing models that capture both universal and culture-specific elements of thought, emotion, and action. Vinita combines advanced analytics with user-centered research to generate insights that can be translated into impactful strategies—skills that will greatly enrich our analytical work this summer.
We’re excited to have Will and Vinita on board and look forward to their contributions in advancing our understanding of wise judgment across cultures and contexts.