New trends in decision-making: decision as inference?

How best to describe the cognitive process by which we categorize sensory stimuli, evaluate our options and anticipate the future? This single-day, single-track symposium will gather a group of researchers interested in the computational characterization of decision-making in terms of an inference process, from different perspectives. The symposium will be divided into four sessions of two talks, each session focusing on a particular aspect of the decision process.

The symposium is funded by Inserm and the Agence Nationale de la Recherche.

Time and location

Tuesday June 19, 09:00-16:30
Amphithéatre Jaurès, Bâtiment Jaurès, underground floor
Département d'Etudes Cognitives, Ecole Normale Supérieure

Entrance at 24 rue Lhomond, 75005 Paris, follow the “accès au bâtiment Jaurès” signs
Registration is free but mandatory
Breakfast and coffee breaks will be set in Espace Curie, ground floor

Registration : https://www.eventbrite.fr/e/billets-new-trends-in-decision-making-decision-as-inference-42535978256?utm-

Program

09:00-09:15 - Welcome breakfast

Session A: decision as subjective inference?
Even the most canonical perceptual decisions are influenced by subjective variables of the decision-maker. Claire and Catherine will show how consciousness and interoceptive signals shape perceptual decisions.
09:20-09:55 - Claire Sergent, Université Paris Descartes
09:55-10:30 - Catherine Tallon-Baudry, Ecole Normale Supérieure

10:30-10:45 - Coffee break

Session B: decision as predictive inference?
Perceptual systems actively predict upcoming input based on internal models of the environment. Floris and Rufin will present neural evidence in favor of such predictive inference for decision-making.
10:50-11:25 - Floris de Lange, Radboud University Nijmegen
11:25-12:00 - Rufin VanRullen, Institut des Sciences du Cerveau de Toulouse

12:00-13:45 - Lunch break (not provided)

Session C: decision as value-based inference?
Decision-making is deeply influenced by the subjective valuation of possible courses of action. Stefano and Mathias will characterize some of the computations underlying such effects on the decision process.
13:50-14:25 - Stefano Palminteri, Ecole Normale Supérieure
14:25-15:00 - Mathias Pessiglione, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Épinière

15:00-15:15 - Coffee break

Session D: decision as metacognitive inference?
Virtually every decision is accompanied by a feeling of confidence - often theorized as its expected accuracy. Vincent and Pascal will show how to study and model this canonical metacognitive process.
15:20-15:55 - Vincent de Gardelle, Centre d’Economie de la Sorbonne
15:55-16:30 - Pascal Mamassian, Ecole Normale Supérieure