Brian Vickers

Behavioral Scientist, Statistical Consultant

Institute for Defense Analyses

About

Brian Vickers uses his expertise in decision making and statistics to help people understand and make use of data.

After graduating with a PhD from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor program in Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience, Dr. Vickers worked as a postdoctoral researcher. He was offered and attended a Data Science Fellowship by the Data Incubator in Washington, DC, which included topics for full-stack development processes. Since then he has professionally advised on structuring decision environments, system design and evaluation, and various aspects of the statistical modeling process.

Brian lives and works in the Washington, DC area with his wife and dog. He enjoys reading broadly, travelling, camping, and exploring the area.

For more details, feel free to investigate my resume.

Interests

Data intelligence, engineering, and journalism
Design processes
Application of statistical models to novel contexts
Hiking, kayaking, and the outdoors

Education

Data Science Fellow, 2018
The Data Incubator, Washington DC
PhD in Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience, 2015
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
MA in Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience, 2011
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
BA in Psychology, Philosophy, 2008
University of California, Santa Cruz

Skills

R

Exploration, munging, EDA

Python

Estimation, validation, production

Visualization

Creativity, transparency

Statistics

Model selection, inference

Communication

Applications, talks, reports

Databases

Server-side learning, big data, (No) SQL, APIs

Experience

Research Staff Member

Institute for Defense Analyses

May 2019 – Present Alexandria, Virginia

Scoping open-ended problems based on resources and constraints
Rapid deployment based on sponsor requests
Design, selection, and implementation of operations analyses
Advise on policy and applications of priorities
Data management, munging, and collaboration

Senior Decision Sciences Analyst

Maritz Motivation Solutions

Aug 2018 – May 2019 Saint Louis, Missouri

Custom tasking to auto clientelle with individual program ROIs up to $250M annually
Built pipelines to integrate data systems from multiple clients for faster, more generalizable insights
Unified shareholder interests by exploring back-ends with billions of transactions, > 300M people, 100s tables in schema, and prioritizing realistic projects
Perfomed a range of analyses for lifetime ROI, sales forecasting, incentive program planning, retention, program ROI, and custom requests

Postdoctoral Researcher (and various)

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

May 2018 – May 2019 Ann Arbor, MI

Conducted human-subjects research on decision making, how emotions influence choice, and their neural underpinnings
Consulted on a range of projects in psychology, neuroscience, information science, marketing, public health, medicine, and user experience.
Won a Graham Environmental Sustainabiilty Fellowship, ~$40k personally
Methods included:
- Experimental designs
- Physiological measurement including fMRI, structural neuroanatomy, electrocardiography, respiration, and electrodermal activity
- Emotional/affective elicitation and measurement
- Experience sampling methods and measurement, i.e., person-measurement via text message
- Millisecond-level reaction time
- Survey and structured interview methodologies
Research questions included:
- Can a quick, internet intervention decrease Ebola anxiety following cases landing in the USA?
- How does the way people talk online relate to people’s evolving emotional well-being?
- Can the way that we talk about causes increase charitable giving? Can that be tailored based on an individual’s background beliefs?
- How does time on Facebook impact students’ well-being, grades, and social connections?
- Are the values that people place on objects stable over time? What ways can they systematically shift?
- Are hoarders impulsive generally or is it driven by a desire for certain objects?

Associated Labs and Professors:

Emotion and Self-Control Lab, Dr. Ethan Kross
Ecological Neuroscience Lab, Dr. Stephanie Preston
Decision Lab, Dr. J. Frank Yates

Featured Publications

Ethan Kross, Brian Vickers, Ariana Orvell, Izzy Gainsburg, Tim Moran, Margaret Boyer, John Jonides, Jason Moser, Ozlem Ayduk

November 2017 Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, (9) 3, 387 - 409

Third-Person Self-Talk Reduces Ebola Worry and Risk Perception by Enhancing Rational Thinking

BACKGROUND. During the fall of 2014, the threat of an Ebola outbreak gripped the United States (Poll, 8–12 October 2014; see Harvard School of Public Health & SSRS, 2014), creating a unique opportunity to advance basic knowledge concerning how emotion regulation works in consequential contexts and translate existing research in this area to inform public health and policy. METHOD. We addressed these issues by examining whether third‐person self‐talk, a simple technique that promotes emotion regulation, could nudge people into reasoning about Ebola more rationally. In all, 1,257 people from across the United States were asked to write about their feelings about Ebola using their name or I (i.e. third‐person self‐talk vs. first‐person self‐talk) as concerns about Ebola swelled (24 October 2014–26 October 2014. RESULTS. Third‐person self‐talk led participants who scored high on Ebola worry at baseline to generate more fact‐based reasons not to worry about Ebola, which predicted reductions in their Ebola worry and risk perception. These findings held when controlling for several theoretically relevant covariates, highlighting their robustness. CONCLUSION. These results demonstrate how a simple linguistic technique can enhance rational thinking and quell worry about a pressing public health threat.

PDF DOI

Stephanie Preston, Brian Vickers

August 2014 In Preston, Kringelbach, & Knutson (Eds.), The Interdisciplinary Science of Consumption