Validating human decision making in an agent-based land-use model

Validation of agents’ decision making is one of the central epistemological problems in
empirical agent-based model (ABM) simulations. This paper focuses on the need for reliable decisionmaking
models for land change science with direct relevance to modelling human-environmental systems for
policy implications and natural resources management. This paper presents a set of key issues or caveats that
affect the validation. At the same time, we present alternatives by providing examples of a more stakeholdercentric
way of parameterizing human behaviour and decision making, and a case study is described in the
light of critical multiplism.