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Foundations to the unified psycho-cognitive engine

Backus, George A.

This document outlines the key features of the SNL psychological engine. The engine is designed to be a generic presentation of cognitive entities interacting among themselves and with the external world. The engine combines the most accepted theories of behavioral psychology with those of behavioral economics to produce a unified simulation of human response from stimuli through executed behavior. The engine explicitly recognizes emotive and reasoned contributions to behavior and simulates the dynamics associated with cue processing, learning, and choice selection. Most importantly, the model parameterization can come from available media or survey information, as well subject-matter-expert information. The framework design allows the use of uncertainty quantification and sensitivity analysis to manage confidence in using the analysis results for intervention decisions.