Modelling Animal Behaviour Based on Interpretation of Another Animal's Behaviour

For certain animals, the capability to interpret and anticipate on another animal’s behaviour may be crucial for survival. To this end, as is often claimed informally, an animal may apply a Theory of Mind to estimate what the other animal has on its mind. This paper uses a formal BDI-based agent model for Theory of Mind to formalise and simulate such a situation. The model uses BDI-concepts to describe a form of metacognition: a cognitive process of an agent about the cognitive process of another agent, which is also based on BDI-concepts. This paper explores whether this formal model is applicable to certain animal species. A specific case study is addressed, which involves the scenario of a prey that manipulates the behaviour of a predator. For this scenario, simulation experiments have been performed, and their results are discussed.

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