Permanent link for A Look at Techfluence Talks with Dr. Ewa Maslowska on November 12, 2024

Dr. Ewa Maslowska, PhD, visited our students and staff this Wednesday, November 6th 2024 on Zoom with her presentation, Studying Attention To Media Content Across Devices: Implications for Advertising, the first of our Techfluence Talks guest speaker series in the Biometrics Lab.

About Dr. Ewa Maslowska

Ewa is an Associate Professor in the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She is also an Affiliate in the Institute of Communications Research, Informatics, and Center for Social and Behavioral Science. Ewa studies people and brands on digital platforms. She also uses experiments and trace data to investigate the effects of (algorithmic) personalization and eWOM on consumers’ attention, perceptions, and decision making. Her current projects are investigating dark patterns and fake online reviews. Ewa received her PhD in Communication from the University of Amsterdam and her MA in Psychology from the Jagiellonian University. 

Presentation Recap

Ewa’s presentation taught students about biometrics research techniques, history, and ethics. First, she explained various biometric research metrics including eye tracking, galvanic skin response, heart rate, and facial expression analysis. She went on to discuss her work specifically looking at eye tracking, including fixations, gaze points, time spent, heatmaps, areas of interest, and revisits. These measures help us to learn how people process information, and what they are engaged with on the screen. Her own work has focused on themes of e-commerce, information processing, preference formation, decision making, and learning. 

Ewa also discussed the evolution of digital media and biometrics technology. She shared fascinating insights, such as that people tend to focus on pictures in desktop ads, and headings on mobile devices. She expressed that there are cultural and behavioral differences in the way we express emotion, and it’s important to consider these factors when analyzing biometric data. Furthermore, she emphasized the importance of ethical use of biometrics in advertising, as it can potentially be invasive to the user.

After her thorough presentation, audience members asked thoughtful questions about using biometrics with surveys and interviews, the benefits of teaching advertising and public relations students about biometrics, and AI/privacy concerns with biometrics.

What’s Next for the Lab?

Stay tuned for Winter semester 2025, in which the AdPR Biometrics Lab will be hosting another guest speaker for Techfluence Talks. In the meantime, you can get updates from the lab through our website www.gvsu.edu/soc/biometrics and follow us on Instagram at @gvsubiometricslab. You can read more about Dr. Ewa Maslowska at University of Illinois Urbana Champaign's website.

Posted by Georgia Hessel on Permanent link for A Look at Techfluence Talks with Dr. Ewa Maslowska on November 12, 2024.