BICA and Sex Differences: We Need to Understand Potential Sex Differences when Developing Computational Models of Human Behavior

Validating computational models of human behavior typically involves statistically comparing human data collected during an experiment to predictions made by the model. However, these models very rarely attempt to represent sex, despite the growing indication that there are sex-based differences in neural and behavioral responses to some external stimuli. We make a case for a stronger presence of male and female models of behavior in biologically inspired cognitive architectures, an area of research that is especially susceptible to physiological differences that can cause bottom-up behavioral differences. We conclude with discussion of previous data collected that highlight the importance of providing more focus on sex-based differences