Evaluating Theory of Mind and Internal Beliefs in LLM-Based Multi-Agent Systems
On the map: LLM agents and tool use → General LLM agent frameworks and benchmarks
Abstract (arXiv)
LLM-based MAS are gaining popularity due to their potential for collaborative problem-solving enhanced by advances in natural language comprehension, reasoning, and planning. Research in Theory of Mind (ToM) and Belief-Desire-Intention (BDI) models has the potential to further improve the agent's interaction and decision-making in such systems. However, collaborative intelligence in dynamic worlds remains difficult to accomplish since LLM performance in multi-agent worlds is extremely variable. Simply adding cognitive mechanisms like ToM and internal beliefs does not automatically result in improved coordination. The interplay between these mechanisms, particularly in relation to formal logic verification, remains largely underexplored in different LLMs. This work investigates: How do internal belief mechanisms, including symbolic solvers and Theory of Mind, influence collaborative decision-making in LLM-based multi-agent systems, and how does the interplay of those components influence system accuracy? We introduce a novel multi-agent architecture integrating ToM, BDI-style internal beliefs, and symbolic solvers for logical verification. We evaluate this architecture in a resource allocation problem with various LLMs and find an intricate interaction between LLM capabilities, cognitive mechanisms, and performance. This work contributes to the area of AI by proposing a novel multi-agent system with ToM, internal beliefs, and symbolic solvers for augmenting collaborative intelligence in multi-agent systems and evaluating its performance under different LLM settings.
Key facts. Cited by 5 papers in the map (data through 7 Oct 2026). Placed in General LLM agent frameworks and benchmarks, one of 16 directions in LLM agents and tool use. Builds on 23 of its 40 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 24 Feb 2026.
Builds on
23 of 40 references.
Closest ancestors · 11
Same direction, newest first
- 2025Synergizing Logical Reasoning, Knowledge Management and Collaboration in Multi-Agent LLM System2 Jul
- 2025MultiAgentBench: Evaluating the Collaboration and Competition of LLM agents3 Mar
- 2025Multi-Agent Collaboration Mechanisms: A Survey of LLMs10 Jan
- 2024Optima: Optimizing Effectiveness and Efficiency for LLM-Based Multi-Agent System10 Oct
- 2024Sibyl: Simple yet Effective Agent Framework for Complex Real-world Reasoning15 Jul
- 2024Scaling Large Language Model-based Multi-Agent Collaboration11 Jun
- 2024CoMM: Collaborative Multi-Agent, Multi-Reasoning-Path Prompting for Complex Problem Solving26 Apr
- 2024LLM Multi-Agent Systems: Challenges and Open Problems5 Feb
- 2024Large Language Model based Multi-Agents: A Survey of Progress and Challenges21 Jan
- 2023Theory of Mind for Multi-Agent Collaboration via Large Language Models16 Oct
- 2023MetaGPT: Meta Programming for A Multi-Agent Collaborative Framework1 Aug
Other references · 12
- 2023A Comprehensive Overview of Large Language Modelscited by 639
- 2023Logic-LM: Empowering Large Language Models with Symbolic Solvers for Faithful Logical Reasoningcited by 379
- 2023Evaluating Large Language Models in Theory of Mind Taskscited by 217
- 2024FinCon: A Synthesized LLM Multi-Agent System with Conceptual Verbal Reinforcement for Enhanced Financial Decision Makingcited by 112
- 2024HiAgent: Hierarchical Working Memory Management for Solving Long-Horizon Agent Tasks with Large Language Modelcited by 101
- 2024OpenR: An Open Source Framework for Advanced Reasoning with Large Language Modelscited by 92
- 2023The Robots are Here: Navigating the Generative AI Revolution in Computing Educationcited by 85
- 2023Coupling Large Language Models with Logic Programming for Robust and General Reasoning from Textcited by 59
- 2024OpenToM: A Comprehensive Benchmark for Evaluating Theory-of-Mind Reasoning Capabilities of Large Language Modelscited by 54
- 2024Advancing Healthcare Automation: Multi-Agent System for Medical Necessity Justificationcited by 10
- 2025ElliottAgents: A Natural Language-Driven Multi-Agent System for Stock Market Analysis and Predictioncited by 9
- 2021Modelling and Verifying BDI Agents with Bigraphscited by 1
Built on by
Citing papers per year: 2026: 5.
5 papers.
- 2026Rashomon Memory: Towards Argumentation-Driven Retrieval for Multi-Perspective Agent Memorycited by 2
- 2026CONCAT: Consensus- and Confidence-Driven Ad Hoc Teaming for Efficient LLM-Based Multi-Agent Systemscited by 1
- 2026Playing Along: Learning a Double-Agent Defender for Belief Steering via Theory of Mindcited by 0
- 2026Explainable Belief Harmonization under Dynamic Epistemic Partitionscited by 0
- 2026From Passive Delegates to Strategic Negotiators: Reinforcing Social Reasoning in Small Language Models with SocialRLcited by 0
- 2026From Passive Delegates to Strategic Negotiators: Reinforcing Social Reasoning in Small Language Models with SocialRL13 Aug 2026
- 2026Explainable Belief Harmonization under Dynamic Epistemic Partitions23 Jul 2026
- 2026CONCAT: Consensus- and Confidence-Driven Ad Hoc Teaming for Efficient LLM-Based Multi-Agent Systems28 May 2026
- 2026Playing Along: Learning a Double-Agent Defender for Belief Steering via Theory of Mind13 Apr 2026
- 2026Rashomon Memory: Towards Argumentation-Driven Retrieval for Multi-Perspective Agent Memory4 Apr 2026
Similar, not cited
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- 2023LLM-Coordination: Evaluating and Analyzing Multi-agent Coordination Abilities in Large Language Models
- 2025On the Importance of Task Complexity in Evaluating LLM-Based Multi-Agent Systems
- 2025Collaborative Belief Reasoning with LLMs for Efficient Multi-Agent Collaboration
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