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Table 1.
Overview of equilibria for 9 cases of parameter settings
0
0.5
1
β
2
eq. (1)
eq. (2)
f = 0
b =1
b = f
f = 1
b = 0
β
1
0
b = sf
b = f = 0 b = f = s =1
b = f = 0
b
=
s
b = s = 0
f = 1
b = f
and
s = 1
b = f = 0
0.5
b = (s + f)/2
b = s/2
f = 0
b = f = s =1
b = f = s
b = (s + 1)/2
f = 1
b = f = s = 0
1
1-b = (1-s)(1-f)
b
=
s
b = f =1
b = f = 1
b = f = 1
b = f = s =0
f = 0
b = s =1
b = f
and
s = 0
6 Discussion
In this paper an agent model was introduced incorporating the reciprocal interaction
between believing and feeling based on neurological theories that address the role of
emotions and feelings. A belief usually triggers an emotional response. Conversely, a
belief may not only depend on information obtained, but also on this emotional re-
sponse, as, for example, shown in literature such as (Eich et al., 2000; Forgas et al.,
2005; Forgas et al., 2009; Niedenthal, 2007;
Schooler and Eich, 2000). In the litera-
ture, this phenomenon has been studied informally but no formal computational mod-
els have been developed, as far as the authors know. Accordingly, this paper is an
attempt to develop a formal computational model of how a belief generates an emo-
tional response that is felt, and on the other hand how the emotion that is felt affects
the belief. For feeling the emotion, based on elements taken from (Damasio, 1999,
2004; Bosse, Jonker and Treur, 2008), a converging recursive body loop is included
in the model. As a second loop the model includes a converging feedback loop for the
interaction between feeling and belief. The causal relation from feeling to belief in
this second loop was inspired by the Somatic Marker Hypothesis described in (Dama-
sio, 1994, 1996; Bechara and Damasio, 2004), and may also be justified by a Hebbian
learning principle (cf. Hebb, 1949; Bi and Poo, 2001), as also has been done for the
functioning of mirror neurons; e.g., (Keysers and Perrett, 2004; Keysers and Gazzola,
2009). Both the strength of the belief and of the feeling emerge as a result of the dy-
namic pattern generated by the combination of the two loops. The model was speci-
fied in the hybrid dynamic modelling language LEADSTO, and simulations were
performed in its software environment; cf. (Bosse, Jonker, Meij, and Treur, 2007). A
mathematical analysis of the equilibria of the model was discussed. The model was
illustrated using an example scenario where beliefs are affected by negative and posi-
tive emotional responses.
References
1.
Bechara, A., Damasio, A.: The Somatic Marker Hypothesis: a neural theory of economic
decision. Games and Economic Behavior 52, 336-372 (2004)
2.
Bi, G.Q., Poo, M.M.: Synaptic Modifications by Correlated Activity: Hebb's Postulate
Revisited. Ann. Rev. Neurosci. 24, 139-166 (2001)
