The challenges of implementing hybrid baselines for the interpretation of longitudinal behavioral data from individuals

Sandra Anna Just, Enrico Tedeschi, Einar Holsbø, Karl Øyvind Mikalsen, Lars Ailo Bongo, Philipp Homan & Brita Elvevåg | Published: 22 April 2026

Establishing whether observed behavioral differences reflect meaningful change in an individual necessitates baselines specific to the individual and task. Automated hybrid solutions combine adaptive baselines with fixed thresholds. Applying this approach to behavioral science harbors challenges: the pronounced gap between observable measurement and underlying construct means ground truth is typically unavailable. A stepwise framework is proposed to determine and evaluate the validity of baselines for longitudinal behavioral measurements.

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The TRUSTING project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101080251.

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