Talk from the A*STAR symposium on "Social Interactions in Virtual Worlds" in Singapore (2009) on "Challenges in Modeling Believable Social Agents"

1. Challenges in Modeling Believable Social Agents Social Interactions in Virtual Worlds IHPC - A*STAR, Singapore April 14-15, 2009 Eva Hudlicka Psychometrix Associates Blacksburg, VA [email_address] psychometrixassociates.com

21. Coherence Across Multiple Contexts INDIVIDUAL SOCIAL CULTURAL

33. Cognitive-Affective Agent Architecture SEE RECALL IMAGINE THINK EXPRESS DO

34. Cognitive-Affective Agent Architecture SEE RECALL IMAGINE THINK EXPRESS DO FEEL THINK

35. Core Processes of Emotions Generation of Emotions (via cognitive appraisal) Effects of Emotions (on cognition & behavior) Cognitive-Affective Architecture Situations Expectations Goals Cognitive Appraisal Emotions Stimuli

36. Emotion Generation via Appraisal Stimuli Appraisal Variables Recalled Perceived Imagined Appraisal Process Emotions Existing emotions, moods, traits (personality) Goals (desires, values, standards) Beliefs, Expectations

38. STIMULI Novelty Valence Goal relevance Outcome probability Urgency Goal congruence Agency Coping potential Norms high high v. high low other low low high FEAR www.firstpeople.us

41. Modeling Emotion Effects on Cognition Effects of Emotions (on cognition) Cognitive-Affective Architecture Situations Expectations Goals Cognitive Appraisal Emotions Stimuli

43. Modeling Methodology: Overview Individual Differences individual behavior influenced by ... ‘ Movie’ vs. ‘ Prepare Talk’ vs. ‘ think about it’ Architecture Parameter Calculation Cognitive-Affective Architecture Cognitive-Affective Architecture Parameters architecture processing controlled by..... Behavior Outputs different individual profiles manifested in terms of different

44. MAMID Cognitive-Affective Architecture Action Selection Cues: State of the world ( “growling dog”, “approaching”) Situations: Perceived state ( “aggressive dog” ) Expectations: Expected state (“dog will attack”, “bite wound”) Goals: Desired state (“protect self”) Actions: to accomplish goals (“climb tree”) Affective state & emotions: Negative valence High anxiety Low happiness Cues Actions Attention Situation Assessment Expectation Generator Affect Appraiser Goal Manager

46. Personality & Emotions As Parameters Traits Extraversion Stability Conscientiousness Aggressiveness STATES / TRAITS Processing Structural Module Parameters Construct parameters Architecture topology Long-term memory speed, capacity Cue selection & delay …. Data flow among modules Content & structure Affective States Anxiety Anger Sadness Joy COGNITIVE ARCHITECTURE Attention Action Selection Situation Assessment Goal Manager Expectation Generator Affect Appraiser ARCHITECTURE PARAMETERS

47. Modeling Threat Bias Processing Parameters - Cue selection - Interpretive biases ... Process Threat cues Process Threatening interpretations Traits Low Stability MAMID TRAITS / EMOTIONS COGNITIVE ARCHITECTURE PARAMETERS COGNITIVE ARCHITECTURE Attention Action Selection Situation Assessment Goal Manager Expectation Generator Emotion Generation Emotions Higher Anxiety / Fear Predisposes towards Preferential processing of Threatening stimuli Threat constructs Rated more highly

52. Thank you Questions?