IDSC Social and Behavioral Data Science (SBDS) is dedicated to a computational understanding of interaction with the ultimate goal of facilitating human functioning. Global social networks integrating the behavior of billions of individuals unite us, and sometimes divide us. Uniting big data in fields from psychology to physics, and from neuroscience to law. SBDS encompasses computational neuroscience, machine learning of behavior, and the social networks that characterize modern life. Research extends from the deep learning of audio environments to social network analysis. It includes the impact of data science on social processes, such as applications of facial identification technology. SBDS is committed to the ethical collection, storage, and analysis of big behavioral data. The program is committed to using data science to combat inequity and pursue social justice (Gigabytes for Good).
Daniel Messinger, PhD
Director, IDSC Social and Behavioral Data Science
Dr. Daniel Messinger is a professor and Director of the Child Division in the Department of Psychology at the University of Miami where he has secondary appointments in Pediatrics and Music Engineering. He is the Program Director of Social and Behavioral Data Science at the Institute for Data Science and Computing—and Research Director of the Linda Ray Intervention Center. He is an Editor and Chief of Developmental Science and serves on the editorial board of Infancy. Dr. Messinger employs computational approaches to big behavioral data to understand social, language and emotional development. His research focuses on social and communicative development in typically developing children, children with hearing loss, children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and children whose communicative development is affected by prenatal drug exposure and poverty. This research has been continuously funded by the US federal government and private foundations for 25 years. It has resulted in both multi-investigator research collaborations and single investigator efforts that have yielded high impact publications (Google h-index=63). Dr. Messinger is the author of over 125 scientific publications appearing in high profile journals such as Science Reports, Developmental Science, and Molecular Autism. Dr. Messinger is an Editor in Chief at Developmental Science and is a member of Infancy’s editorial board.
Experts
Student Researchers
 Samantha Mitsven Student, AI + Machine Learning UM Early Play & Development Lab |
 Laura Vitale Student, IDSC AI + Machine Learning UM Early Play & Development Lab |
Recent Publications
- Understanding Dynamic Interactions | Games and Economic Behavior
- Emergence of Social Phases in Human Movement
- Unraveling the Peltzman Effect: The Significance of Agent’s Type
- Measuring Tree Complexity With Response Times
- Infant AFAR: Automated facial action recognition in infants
- Profiling Dynamic Decision Makers
- Beyond the familial: The development of emotional communication with mothers, fathers, and strangers
- Objective Measurement of Vocalizations in the Assessment of Autism Symptoms in Preschool-Age Children
- Computational Approaches to Understanding Interaction and Development
- Simulating COVID19 Transmission From Observed Movement
- Reciprocal patterns of peer speech in preschoolers with and without hearing loss
- Early Interaction: New Approaches
- Testing the Mid-Range Model: Attachment in a High-Risk Sample
- Objectively Measured Teacher and Preschooler Vocalizations: Phonemic Diversity is Associated with Language Abilities
- Phonemic Diversity Affects Language Development
- Vaccinating Teachers and Cutting Class Sizes in Half Could Help Curb COVID Spread
- Psychologists: Masks Do Not Impede Preschoolers’ Language Development
- Objectively Measured Interactions of Preschoolers With and Without Autism
- Continuous Measurement of Attachment Behavior: A Multimodal View of the Strange Situation Procedure
- Audio-Based Group Detection for Classroom Dynamics Analysis