Leendert van Maanen

Floor Bontje, Felix van Waveren, Leendert van Maanen et al.

Evidence accumulation models provide a formal framework for studying decision making as a dynamic process unfolding over time. While these models have been extensively developed and reviewed in laboratory paradigms, their structured application in complex, ecologically valid domains has received comparatively little attention. Road traffic is a particularly relevant context for studying sustained, embodied perception action behavior, where decisions unfold under time pressure and involve continuous control and ongoing perception-action coupling. Examining how EAMs have been applied in this domain may therefore offer insights beyond discrete laboratory tasks toward decision making in real-world behavior. This semi-systematic review synthesizes 28 studies (2014-2026) applying EAMs to traffic-related behavior. We organize the literature along two dimensions: 1) modelling level, distinguishing models at the level of discrete decision-making and models at the level of continuous action control, and 2) model architecture, distinguishing evidence accumulation as either a stand-alone decision model or an embedded component within broader perception-action or interaction frameworks. These distinctions are associated with systematic differences in model architecture, parameterization, data usage, and validation strategies, reflecting task specific demands. By providing a structured overview of these patterns, this review clarifies how EAMs are currently instantiated in traffic contexts and highlights methodological challenges and future directions both in traffic modelling and in modelling of decision-making more broadly. Promising directions include laboratory work on evidence accumulation in sustained and time-varying tasks, interactive multi-individual decision-making, and the use of neurophysiological measures to identify the perceptual evidence underlying complex perception-action behavior.

Oskar van der Wal, Dominik Bachmann, Alina Leidinger et al.

As Large Language Models and Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology rapidly develop and spread into daily life, it becomes crucial to anticipate how their use could harm people. One problem that has received a lot of attention in recent years is that this technology has displayed harmful biases, from generating derogatory stereotypes to producing disparate outcomes for different social groups. Although a lot of effort has been invested in assessing and mitigating these biases, our methods of measuring the biases of NLP models have serious problems and it is often unclear what they actually measure. In this paper, we provide an interdisciplinary approach to discussing the issue of NLP model bias by adopting the lens of psychometrics -- a field specialized in the measurement of concepts like bias that are not directly observable. In particular, we will explore two central notions from psychometrics, the construct validity and the reliability of measurement tools, and discuss how they can be applied in the context of measuring model bias. Our goal is to provide NLP practitioners with methodological tools for designing better bias measures, and to inspire them more generally to explore tools from psychometrics when working on bias measurement tools.

Rick den Otter, Gabriel Weindel, Sjoerd Stuit et al.

Understanding the sequence of cognitive operations that underlie decision-making is a fundamental challenge in cognitive neuroscience. Traditional approaches often rely on group-level statistics, which obscure trial-by-trial variations in cognitive strategies. In this study, we introduce a novel machine learning method that combines Hidden Multivariate Pattern analysis with a Structured State Space Sequence model to decode cognitive strategies from electroencephalography data at the trial level. We apply this method to a decision-making task, where participants were instructed to prioritize either speed or accuracy in their responses. Our results reveal an additional cognitive operation, labeled Confirmation, which seems to occur predominantly in the accuracy condition but also frequently in the speed condition. The modeled probability that this operation occurs is associated with higher probability of responding correctly as well as changes of mind, as indexed by electromyography data. By successfully modeling cognitive operations at the trial level, we provide empirical evidence for dynamic variability in decision strategies, challenging the assumption of homogeneous cognitive processes within experimental conditions. Our approach shows the potential of sequence modeling in cognitive neuroscience to capture trial-level variability that is obscured by aggregate analyses. The introduced method offers a new way to detect and understand cognitive strategies in a data-driven manner, with implications for both theoretical research and practical applications in many fields.