An Automata-Based Method to Formalize Psychological Theories: The Case Study of Lazarus and Folkman’s Stress Theory

Alain Finkel, Gaspard Fougea, Stéphane Le Roux

2025

Abstract

Formal models are important for theory-building, enhancing the precision of predictions and promoting collaboration. Researchers have argued that there is a lack of formal models in psychology. We present an automata-based method to formalize psychological theories, i.e. to transform verbal theories into formal models. This approach leverages the tools of theoretical computer science for formal theory development, for verification, comparison, collaboration, and modularity. We exemplify our method on Lazarus and Folkman’s theory of stress, showcasing a step-by-step modeling of the theory.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Finkel A., Fougea G. and Roux S. (2025). An Automata-Based Method to Formalize Psychological Theories: The Case Study of Lazarus and Folkman’s Stress Theory. In Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Model-Based Software and Systems Engineering - Volume 1: MODELSWARD; ISBN 978-989-758-729-0, SciTePress, pages 204-215. DOI: 10.5220/0013175400003896

in Bibtex Style

@conference{modelsward25,
author={Alain Finkel and Gaspard Fougea and Stéphane Roux},
title={An Automata-Based Method to Formalize Psychological Theories: The Case Study of Lazarus and Folkman’s Stress Theory},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Model-Based Software and Systems Engineering - Volume 1: MODELSWARD},
year={2025},
pages={204-215},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0013175400003896},
isbn={978-989-758-729-0},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Model-Based Software and Systems Engineering - Volume 1: MODELSWARD
TI - An Automata-Based Method to Formalize Psychological Theories: The Case Study of Lazarus and Folkman’s Stress Theory
SN - 978-989-758-729-0
AU - Finkel A.
AU - Fougea G.
AU - Roux S.
PY - 2025
SP - 204
EP - 215
DO - 10.5220/0013175400003896
PB - SciTePress