Multi-dimensional Preference Alignment by Conditioning Reward Itself
On the map: Diffusion models → Diffusion and flow policies for robotics
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Abstract (arXiv)
Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback has emerged as a standard for aligning diffusion models. However, we identify a fundamental limitation in the standard DPO formulation because it relies on the Bradley-Terry model to aggregate diverse evaluation axes like aesthetic quality and semantic alignment into a single scalar reward. This aggregation creates a reward conflict where the model is forced to unlearn desirable features of a specific dimension if they appear in a globally non-preferred sample. To address this issue, we propose Multi Reward Conditional DPO (MCDPO). This method resolves reward conflicts by introducing a disentangled Bradley-Terry objective. MCDPO explicitly injects a preference outcome vector as a condition during training, which allows the model to learn the correct optimization direction for each reward axis independently within a single network. We further introduce dimensional reward dropout to ensure balanced optimization across dimensions. Extensive experiments on Stable Diffusion 1.5 and SDXL demonstrate that MCDPO achieves superior performance on benchmarks. Notably, our conditional framework enables dynamic and multiple-axis control at inference time using Classifier Free Guidance to amplify specific reward dimensions without additional training or external reward models.
Key facts. Cited by 1 paper in the map (data through 7 Oct 2026). Placed in Diffusion and flow policies for robotics, one of 14 directions in Diffusion models. Builds on 27 of its 33 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 11 Dec 2025.
Builds on
27 of 33 references.
Closest ancestors · 5
Same direction, newest first
- 2025Calibrated Multi-Preference Optimization for Aligning Diffusion Models4 Feb
- 2024Margin-aware Preference Optimization for Aligning Diffusion Models without Reference10 Jun
- 2024Aligning Diffusion Models by Optimizing Human Utility6 Apr
- 2023Diffusion Model Alignment Using Direct Preference Optimization21 Nov
- 2023Training Diffusion Models with Reinforcement Learning22 May
Other references · 22
- 2021Learning Transferable Visual Models From Natural Language Supervisioncited by 33,456
- 2020Denoising Diffusion Probabilistic Modelscited by 20,851
- 2021High-Resolution Image Synthesis with Latent Diffusion Modelscited by 18,694
- 2022Training language models to follow instructions with human feedbackcited by 15,712
- 2020Score-Based Generative Modeling through Stochastic Differential Equationscited by 8,964
- 2023Direct Preference Optimization: Your Language Model is Secretly a Reward Modelcited by 7,916
- 2022Classifier-Free Diffusion Guidancecited by 5,717
- 2023SDXL: Improving Latent Diffusion Models for High-Resolution Image Synthesiscited by 4,290
- 2023IP-Adapter: Text Compatible Image Prompt Adapter for Text-to-Image Diffusion Modelscited by 1,439
- 2022Scaling Autoregressive Models for Content-Rich Text-to-Image Generationcited by 1,287
- 2023Pick-a-Pic: An Open Dataset of User Preferences for Text-to-Image Generationcited by 950
- 2018Adafactor: Adaptive Learning Rates with Sublinear Memory Costcited by 896
10 more
- 2023Human Preference Score v2: A Solid Benchmark for Evaluating Human Preferences of Text-to-Image Synthesiscited by 847
- 2023Aligning Text-to-Image Models using Human Feedbackcited by 418
- 2024Rewards-in-Context: Multi-objective Alignment of Foundation Models with Dynamic Preference Adjustmentcited by 171
- 2024Provably Robust DPO: Aligning Language Models with Noisy Feedbackcited by 133
- 2024Learning Multi-dimensional Human Preference for Text-to-Image Generationcited by 102
- 2024β-DPO: Direct Preference Optimization with Dynamic βcited by 89
- 2024Conditional Language Policy: A General Framework for Steerable Multi-Objective Finetuningcited by 42
- 2024SPO: Multi-Dimensional Preference Sequential Alignment With Implicit Reward Modelingcited by 21
- 2025Robust Preference Optimization via Dynamic Target Marginscited by 13
- 2025ParetoHqD: Fast Offline Multiobjective Alignment of Large Language Models using Pareto High-quality Datacited by 4
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Citing papers per year: 2026: 1.
1 paper.
- 2026DreamWorld: Unified World Modeling in Video Generationcited by 6
- 2026DreamWorld: Unified World Modeling in Video Generation28 Feb 2026
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