Abstract
Developing cognitive models of algorithmic reasoning from behavioral data is a central problem in cognitive science that challenges current methods. Traditional approaches to cognitive modeling are interpretable and benefit from human expertise, but lack flexibility and scalability. Emerging techniques using large language models (LLMs) for de novo generation of cognitive models are scalable and flexible, but lack a role for human expertise and have mostly been applied to simpler tasks than algorithm recovery. We propose a hybrid system that treats discovery of cognitive algorithms as a program refinement problem. Human-created cognitive models are expressed as probabilistic programs and provided to a system of LLM agents with a mandate to: identify mismatches between model and behavior; propose code-level modifications within researcher-specified constraints; and verify structural fidelity. Revisions propagate to a probabilistic inference module that performs inference for latent variables and data likelihood computations. We evaluate the pipeline on human behavior in a problem-solving paradigm that exposes a variety of cognitive algorithms. Revised models consistently improve model fit relative to ancestral models and reveal a small set of recurring innovations that capture meaningful behavioral variability in this task.
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Publication details
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- Open access
- Green open access
Cite this article
APA 7
Yang, H. A., Ho, M. K., & Thompson, B. D. (2026). Hypothesis-guided discovery of cognitive algorithms via program refinement. https://omanscience.com/en/articles/hypothesis-guided-discovery-of-cognitive-algorithms-via-program-refinement
MLA 9
Yang, Huiwen Alex, et al. "Hypothesis-guided discovery of cognitive algorithms via program refinement." https://omanscience.com/en/articles/hypothesis-guided-discovery-of-cognitive-algorithms-via-program-refinement.
Chicago (author–date)
Yang, Huiwen Alex, Mark K. Ho, and Bill D. Thompson. 2026. "Hypothesis-guided discovery of cognitive algorithms via program refinement." https://omanscience.com/en/articles/hypothesis-guided-discovery-of-cognitive-algorithms-via-program-refinement.
Harvard
Yang, H. A., Ho, M. K. and Thompson, B. D. (2026) 'Hypothesis-guided discovery of cognitive algorithms via program refinement', Available at: https://omanscience.com/en/articles/hypothesis-guided-discovery-of-cognitive-algorithms-via-program-refinement.
Vancouver
Yang HA, Ho MK, Thompson BD. Hypothesis-guided discovery of cognitive algorithms via program refinement. https://omanscience.com/en/articles/hypothesis-guided-discovery-of-cognitive-algorithms-via-program-refinement
IEEE
H. A. Yang, M. K. Ho, and B. D. Thompson, "Hypothesis-guided discovery of cognitive algorithms via program refinement," https://omanscience.com/en/articles/hypothesis-guided-discovery-of-cognitive-algorithms-via-program-refinement.