Function: Soft-Max Function

The softmax function describes a probabilistic choice rule. It implies that options with higher subjective values are chosen with a greater probability, rather than deterministic. This probability of choosing the higher-valued option increases with the parameter tau. A higher tau indicates greater sensitivity to value differences, making choices more deterministic.

Usage

func_tau(
  i,
  L_freq,
  R_freq,
  L_pick,
  R_pick,
  L_value,
  R_value,
  var1 = NA,
  var2 = NA,
  LR,
  try,
  tau = 1,
  alpha,
  beta
)

Arguments

i

The current row number.

L_freq

The frequency of left option appearance

R_freq

The frequency of right option appearance

L_pick

The number of times left option was picked

R_pick

The number of times left option was picked

L_value

The value of the left option with bias (if pi != 0)

R_value

The value of the right option with bias (if pi != 0)

var1

[character] Column name of extra variable 1. If your model uses more than just reward and expected value, and you need other information, such as whether the choice frame is Gain or Loss, then you can input the 'Frame' column as var1 into the model.

default: var1 = "Extra_Var1"

var2

[character] Column name of extra variable 2. If one additional variable, var1, does not meet your needs, you can add another additional variable, var2, into your model.

default: var2 = "Extra_Var2"

LR

Are you calculating the probability for the left option or the right option?

try

If the choice was random, the value is 1; If the choice was based on value, the value is 0.

tau

[vector] Parameters used in the Soft-Max Function. `prob_func` representing the sensitivity of the subject to the value difference when making decisions. It determines the probability of selecting the left option versus the right option based on their values. A larger value of tau indicates greater sensitivity to the value difference between the options. In other words, even a small difference in value will make the subject more likely to choose the higher-value option.

$$ P_L = \frac{1}{1+e^{-(V_L-V_R) \cdot \tau}}; P_R = \frac{1}{1+e^{-(V_R-V_L) \cdot \tau}} $$

e.g., tau = c(0.5)

alpha

[vector] Extra parameters that may be used in functions.

beta

[vector] Extra parameters that may be used in functions.

Value

The probability of choosing this option

Note

When customizing these functions, please ensure that you do not modify the arguments. Instead, only modify the `if-else` statements or the internal logic to adapt the function to your needs.

Examples

if (FALSE) { # \dontrun{
func_tau <- function(
  # Trial number
  i,
  # Number of times this option has appeared
  L_freq,
  R_freq,
  # Number of times this option has been chosen
  L_pick,
  R_pick,
  # Current value of this option
  L_value,
  R_value,
  # Extra variables
  var1 = NA,
  var2 = NA,
  
  # Whether calculating probability for left or right choice
  LR,
  # Is it a random choosing trial?
  try,
  
  # Free parameter
  tau = 1,
  # Extra parameters
  alpha,
  beta
){
  if (!(LR %in% c("L", "R"))) {
    stop("LR = 'L' or 'R'")
  }
############################### [ value-based ] #############################
  else if (try == 0 & LR == "L") {
    prob <- 1 / (1 + exp(-(L_value - R_value) * tau))
  }
  else if (try == 0 & LR == "R") {
    prob <- 1 / (1 + exp(-(R_value - L_value) * tau))
  }
################################# [ random ] ################################
  else if (try == 1) {
    prob <- 0.5
  }
  else {
    prob <- "ERROR" # Error check
  }

  return(prob)
}
} # }