Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The National Science Foundation's Office of Multidisciplinary Activities awarded a $594,592 Project Grant to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) under the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences program (CFDA 47.075) beginning July 1, 2026 and concluding June 30, 2029. This award supports comparative research examining how humans and animal models make inferences under uncertainty, with a specific focus on the positive contingency bias—a cognitive phenomenon in which individuals assume hidden information remains present despite incomplete evidence. The project will deliver empirical research findings through matched computer-based and behavioral conditioning tasks designed to test inferential processes across multiple species, generating datasets and analytical outputs that advance understanding of core principles in reasoning and learning under conditions of uncertainty.

The research initiative will produce scientific knowledge with direct applications to artificial intelligence development and decision-making systems, while simultaneously delivering substantial educational outputs through hands-on training programs for high school, undergraduate, and graduate student researchers. Specific deliverables include experimental data examining the strength and variability of positive contingency bias across species, findings on how organisms learn from unobserved or imagined cues, and insights into whether separate imagined features can be combined to guide decision-making. These research products will contribute to fundamental brain science and support the preparation of AI-literate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professionals in the next generation workforce.