Connectionists: Master Thesis: Information Under Fire:, POMDP Models of Information Seeking in VR Threat Environments

[Sara Ershadmanesh]

*Master thesis: *

*Information Under Fire:***

*POMDP Models of Information Seeking in VR Threat Environments*

**

**Responsible co-supervisor:*Sara Ershadmanesh*

Formal supervisor:*Peter Dayan*

Supervising Collaborator:*Dominik Bach (Bonn)*

**

The Department of Computational Neuroscience at the Max Planck Institute 
for Biological Cybernetics focuses on building and testing theories and 
computational models of neural processing, with a particular emphasis on 
decision-making, learning, and representation.

In dangerous or unpredictable environments, humans must decide whether 
to keep collecting rewards (e.g., food) or to seek information that 
helps them stay safe. In this project, you will analyse how people plan 
under threat and how they trade off explicit reward against 
information-seeking for safety. We have build a scenario in which 
biological agents forage for food and must stay clear of threats. We 
have also collected data from humans performing this task in virtual 
reality. The goal of the project is to develop computational models 
based on Partially Observable Markov Decision Processes (POMDPs). These 
models characterize belief formation about a threat‘s distance and 
speed, and how these beliefs guide planning in this situation. We will 
study both optimal behavior and heuristics computational strategies that 
may explain individual differences in this experiment.

*What is available:*

  * Behavioral dataset from a VR experiment
  * Collaboration with researchers at the University of Bonn (VR
    expertise and behavioral analyses)
  * The active and rich environment at the Computational Neuroscience
    lab (supervised by Peter Dayan), where you are expected to
    participate in group activities as well as pursue your Master’s project.

*Q**ualifications**/Experience:*

  * Strong programming skills are essential (Python or R)
  * Knowledge of POMDPs and experience implementing related models (more
    experience is a plus)

*Student tasks:*

  * Improve and clean existing code
  * Extend POMDP model to generate optimal behavior
  * Compare model predictions to human behavior
  * Writethe Master thesis

Remuneration is based on qualifications and professional experience. The 
Max Planck Society is an equal opportunity employer: Handicapped 
individuals are strongly encouraged to apply, and so are women in areas 
in which they are underrepresented. The Max Planck Society strives for 
gender and diversity equality. We welcome applications from all 
backgroundsand aim for a fair hiring process—so applicants should not 
include a photo in their application documents.

Max-Planck-Institut für biologische Kybernetik
Max-Planck-Ring 8
72076 Tübingen
www.kyb.mpg.de <http://www.kyb.mpg.de/>



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