Assessing the viability of crowd simulation and evolutionary algorithms for solving problems in the field of cognitive psychology

Abstract

Cognitive psychology is an interdisciplinary field which uses methods from many other scientific disciplines. In this thesis, the combination of crowd simulations and evolutionary algorithms is assessed as a new method for solving certain problems in the field of cognitive psychology. A proof of concept for this method is given by applying it to a token problem “Determine the optimal configuration of trash cans at De Uithof”, where “De Uithof” is part of the Utrecht University campus. The conclusion is that the method returned promising results and that it can be extended to solve many other problems in the field of cognitive psychology.