Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of Behavioural Data Science
- Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology
- Reviews
- The Cambridge Handbook of Behavioural Data Science
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Introduction
- Part IIntroduction to Behavioural Data Science
- Part IIHuman Behaviour
- Part IIIAlgorithmic Behaviour
- Part IVSystems and Culture
- 19Systems, Culture and Human–Machine Teaming
- 20Cognitive Networks as Models of Cognition and Behaviour
- 21Agent-Based Modelling in Social Networks
- 22Modelling Context-Dependent Behaviour
- 23A Short Primer on Historical Natural Language Processing
- 24Behavioural Data in Complex Economic and Business Systems
- 25Applications of Statistical Mechanics and Cyber-Physical Systems to Behaviour
- 26Systems Behaviour for Sustainable AI
- 27Systems Behaviour and Experimentation
- 28Quantum Mechanics of Human Perception, Behaviour and Decision-Making
- Part VApplications
- Part VIConcluding Remarks
- Main Abbreviations and Acronyms
- Glossary
- References
22 - Modelling Context-Dependent Behaviour
from Part IV - Systems and Culture
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 May 2026
Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of Behavioural Data Science
- Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology
- Reviews
- The Cambridge Handbook of Behavioural Data Science
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Introduction
- Part IIntroduction to Behavioural Data Science
- Part IIHuman Behaviour
- Part IIIAlgorithmic Behaviour
- Part IVSystems and Culture
- 19Systems, Culture and Human–Machine Teaming
- 20Cognitive Networks as Models of Cognition and Behaviour
- 21Agent-Based Modelling in Social Networks
- 22Modelling Context-Dependent Behaviour
- 23A Short Primer on Historical Natural Language Processing
- 24Behavioural Data in Complex Economic and Business Systems
- 25Applications of Statistical Mechanics and Cyber-Physical Systems to Behaviour
- 26Systems Behaviour for Sustainable AI
- 27Systems Behaviour and Experimentation
- 28Quantum Mechanics of Human Perception, Behaviour and Decision-Making
- Part VApplications
- Part VIConcluding Remarks
- Main Abbreviations and Acronyms
- Glossary
- References
Summary
Context-dependent behaviour is a central feature of human and algorithmic decision-making. Unlike context-free models, which assume stable preferences or uniform mechanisms across environments, context-dependent models account for how behaviour shifts depending on external, social, temporal or emotional surroundings. This chapter reviews conceptual frameworks and computational techniques used to capture context-dependence in behavioural data science. We explore psychological theories such as framing and cue-dependence, formal models including multi-level regression, contextual bandits and conditional generative models and the role of context in real-world domains such as health, finance and human–machine interaction. We provide a taxonomy of modelling approaches, examine challenges in data acquisition and generalisability and present a worked example using environmental nudges in energy consumption. The chapter concludes with future directions for context-sensitive modelling, highlighting its importance for ethical, fair and adaptive behavioural data systems.
Keywords
Information
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge Handbook of Behavioural Data Science , pp. 396 - 406Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
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