Mind Modeling: A ToM-Based Framework for Personalization

2026-05-11

AI Summary

Traditional user modeling approaches implicitly handle psychological states, limiting their ability to accurately interpret behavior in long-term, socially interactive settings. This work proposes the Mind Modeling (M3) framework, which for the first time systematically integrates Theory of Mind (ToM) into user modeling by explicitly representing mental states such as beliefs, intentions, emotions, and knowledge. M3 employs an integrated perception–mentalization–action architecture that enables dynamic inference and continuous updating of these states. The approach significantly enhances the interpretability and cross-session consistency of personalized systems. Feasibility is demonstrated through embodied interaction trajectories, establishing M3 as a novel paradigm for next-generation personalization.

Abstract

User modeling has traditionally relied on inferring preferences, traits, or intents from observable behaviour. While effective in many adaptive systems, this paradigm treats behaviour as the primary object of modeling and leaves mental-state attribution implicit. This assumption becomes limiting in socially situated and longitudinal interaction, where behaviour must be interpreted in context and over time. We introduce mind modeling, a perspective in which user modeling is grounded in the explicit and revisable attribution of mental states, including beliefs, intentions, emotions, and knowledge. Drawing on Theory of Mind (ToM), this approach treats behaviour as evidence for hypotheses about internal states, supporting personalization that is more interpretable and coherent across interaction episodes. We present M3, a conceptual framework that integrates perception, mentalisation, and action within a unified structure, enabling the continuous update of mental-state hypotheses in embodied interaction. We further illustrate this perspective through an embodied interaction trace, providing an initial operationalization of mind modeling in practice.

Problem

• user modeling
• Theory of Mind
• mental states
• personalization
• longitudinal interaction

Innovation

• mind modeling
• Theory of Mind
• user modeling
• mental-state attribution
• embodied interaction