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Colloquium: August H. Nilsson

When

2:30 – 4 p.m., Nov. 18, 2025

Where

Psychology 323

Announcing:

August H. Nilsson

Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway

Language-Based Assessments in Psychology

 

Language-based AI (e.g., ChatGPT) is taking the normal and scientific world by storm. In psychology, language-based assessments, that is assessments that use modern AI techniques for measuring constructs such as well-being and personality, are beginning to revolutionize the field. In this talk, I will present research illustrating two of the most vital advantages of language-based assessments: accuracyand insights. Regarding accuracy, when predicting the corresponding rating scale or other ground truth, language assessments have yielded correlations approaching (and sometimes exceeding) typical scale reliabilities (r = .70+), for outcomes including well-being, depression, and implicit motives, and have excelled in predicting external criteria. However, accuracy is only half the story. By understanding the language features (e.g., specific words, groups of words or predicted valence of the language) that drive a relationship or differentiate between groups, we get deeper insights into why a psychological association or phenomenon exists. For example, language features of resilience, sociality and implicit need for affiliation in Reddit posts predict well-being. The talk will close with a discussion on how we are moving into an era of optimizing language-based assessments to help approaching true states, moving beyond simple convergence with rating scales.

Please Note: 

This colloquium will be offered in person.  

You can also join via Zoom.

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