Daniel Benjamin, Ph.D.

Daniel Benjamin is Assistant Professor of Decision Sciences at the J. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship at Nova Southeastern University. Dr. Benjamin researches how complexity influences judgment and decision-making, particularly how humans interact with model output and technology. He applies decision theory to solve problems in policy-relevant settings including geopolitical prediction, meta-research in social and biomedical sciences, perceptions of climate change, and expert judgment.

Dr. Benjamin’s background is in quantitative psychology with expertise in decision theory and behavioral methodology. He received his PhD in 2015 in Psychometrics and Quantitative Psychology from Fordham University. Prior to NSU, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Southern California in the Information Sciences Institute with a joint appointment in the Neely Center for Ethical Leadership and Decision Making and in the Biomedical Ethics Unit at McGill University.

Dr. Benjamin’s work has been supported by DAPRA, IARPA, NSF, CIHR, Genome Canada, and BioCanRx, among others. His paper, "Can cancer researchers accurately judge whether preclinical reports will reproduce?," was covered by NPR, Nature, et al., and was named one of PLoS Biology’s Top Media Hits of 2018.

Sethi, R., Morstatter, F., Benjamin, D. M., Seager, J., and Cai, J. (2021), Models, Markets, and
the Forecasting of Elections. 41st International Symposium on Forecasting.

Sethi, R., Morstatter, F., Benjamin, D. M., Seager, J., and Cai, J. (2021), Models, Markets, and
the Forecasting of Elections. DIMACS Workshop on Forecasting: From Forecasts to Decisions.

Benjamin, D. (2022). Principal investigators over-optimistically forecast scientific and operational outcomes for clinical trials. PLoS One, 17(2), 1-17.

Benjamin, D. M., Mandel, D. R., Barnes, T., Krzyzanowska, M., Leighl, N., Tannock, I., & Kimmelman, J. (2021), Can oncologists predict the efficacy of treatments in randomized trials? The Oncologist, 26, 56-62. doi: 10.1634/theoncologist.2020-0054

Kane, P. B., Benjamin, D. M., Barker, R. A., Lang, A., Sherer, T., & Kimmelman, J. (2020), Comparison of patient and expert perceptions of the attainment of research milestones in Parkinson’s disease. Movement Disorders. doi: 10.1002/mds.28319

Abeliuk, A., Benjamin, D. M., Morstatter, F., & Galstyan, A. (2020), Quantifying machine influence on human forecasters. Nature Scientific Reports, 10(1), 1-14. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020072690-4

Kane, P. B., Benjamin, D. M., Barker, R. A., Lang, A., Sherer, T., & Kimmelman, J. (2020), Forecasts for the attainment of major research milestones in Parkinson's disease. Journal of Parkinsons Disease, 10(3):1047-1055. doi: 10.3233/JPD-201933

Atanasov, P., Diamantaras, A., MacPherson, A., Vinarov, E., Benjamin, D.M., Shrier, I., Paul, F., Dirnagl, U., & Kimmelman, J. (2020), Wisdom of the expert crowd prediction of response for three neurology randomized trials. Neurology, 95(5), e488-e498. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000009819

Benjamin, D. & Budescu, D. (2018), The role of type and source of uncertainty from climate model projections. Frontiers in Psychology. Special research topic: Judgment and decision making under uncertainty: Descriptive, normative, and prescriptive perspectives, 9(403). doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00403

Benjamin, D., Mandel, D., & Kimmelman, J. (2017), Can cancer researchers accurately judge whether preclinical reports will reproduce? PLoS Biology, 15(6). doi: e2002212.

Benjamin, D. & Kimmelman, J. (2017), The research optimist’s defense. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, 59(4), 491-506. doi: 10.1353/pbm.2016.0043.

Benjamin, D., Por, H. & Budescu, D. (2016). Climate change vs. global warming: Who is susceptible to the framing of climate change? Environment and Behavior, 49(7), 745-770. doi: 10.1177/0013916516664382

Benjamin, D., & Budescu, D. (2015). Abstract: Local sensitivity drives estimates of conflicting and imprecise forecasts. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 50(6), 739. doi:10.1080/00273171.2015.1121128.

Benjamin, D., & Budescu, D. (2015). Advice from experience: Communicating incomplete information incompletely. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 28, 36-49. doi:10.1002/bdm.1825.