Cognitive Foundations of Probability

Prediction is based on past cases. We assume that a predictor can rank eventualities according to their plausibility given any memory that consists of repetitions of past cases. In a companion paper, we show that under mild consistency requirements, these rankings can be represented by numerical functions, such that the function corresponding to each eventuality is linear in the number of case repetitions. In this paper we extend the analysis to rankings of events. Our main result is that a cancellation condition a la de Finetti implies that these functions are additive with respect to union of disjoint sets. If the set of past cases coincides with the set of possible eventualities, natural conditions are equivalent to ranking events by their empirical frequencies. More generally, our results may describe how individuals form probabilistic beliefs given cases that are only partially pertinent to the prediction problem at hand, and how this subjective measure of pertinence can be derived from likelihood rankings.Bayesian prior, case-based decision theory, qualitative probabilities

Extended Tensor Products and Generalization of the Notion of Entanglement

Motivated by the novel applications of the mathematical formalism of quantum theory and its generalizations in cognitive science, psychology, social and political sciences, and economics, we extend the notion of the tensor product and entanglement. We also study the relation between conventional entanglement of complex qubits and our generalized entanglement. Our construction can also be used to describe entanglement in the framework of non-Archimedean physics. It is also possible to construct tensor products of non-Archimedean (e.g., $p$-adic) and complex Hilbert spaces.Comment: Proceedings of AIP, conference Foundations of Probability and Physics 6, Vaxjo, Sweden, June 2011, volume 142

Applying Quantum Principles to Psychology

This article starts out with a detailed example illustrating the utility of applying quantum probability to psychology. Then it describes several alternative mathematical methods for mapping fundamental quantum concepts (such as state preparation, measurement, state evolution) to fundamental psychological concepts (such as stimulus, response, information processing). For state preparation, we consider both pure states and densities with mixtures. For measurement, we consider projective measurements and positive operator valued measurements. The advantages and disadvantages of each method with respect to applications in psychology are discussed.Comment: one of the aims of this review paper is to attract attention of experts in quantum information and probability (as well as in quantum foundations) to a new rapidly growing field of applications of quantum theory. The paper establishes the correspondence between concepts of quantum theory and concepts of cognitive science and psychology. Submitted to Physica Script

Cognitive Processes Involved in Solving Information Systems (IS) Design Problems

The author characterizes systems analysis and design as a cognitive problem-solving process and suggests that many implementations fail because Information Systems (IS) designers do not adequately understand the cognitive processes involved. The author explores problem understanding as well as the dynamic relationship between it and plan development and points to areas in which research will not only increase the probability of successful IS implementations but will also contribute to the theoretical foundations of IS

Operational Axioms for Quantum Mechanics

The mathematical formulation of Quantum Mechanics in terms of complex Hilbert space is derived for finite dimensions, starting from a general definition of "physical experiment" and from five simple Postulates concerning "experimental accessibility and simplicity". For the infinite dimensional case, on the other hand, a C*-algebra representation of physical transformations is derived, starting from just four of the five Postulates via a Gelfand-Naimark-Segal (GNS) construction. The present paper simplifies and sharpens the previous derivation in version 1. The main ingredient of the axiomatization is the postulated existence of "faithful states" that allows one to calibrate the experimental apparatus. Such notion is at the basis of the operational definitions of the scalar product and of the "transposed" of a physical transformation. What is new in the present paper with respect to quant-ph/0603011 is the operational deduction of an involution corresponding to the "complex-conjugation" for effects, whose extension to transformations allows to define the "adjoint" of a transformation when the extension is composition-preserving.Comment: New improvements have been made. Work presented at the conference "Foundations of Probability and Physics-4, Quantum Theory: Reconsideration of Foundations-3" held on 4-9 June at the International Centre for Mathematical Modelling in Physics, Engineering and Cognitive Sciences, Vaxjo University, Sweden. Also contains an errata to "How to Derive the Hilbert-Space Formulation of Quantum Mechanics From Purely Operational Axioms", quant-ph/060301

On the Foundations of the Brussels Operational-Realistic Approach to Cognition

The scientific community is becoming more and more interested in the research that applies the mathematical formalism of quantum theory to model human decision-making. In this paper, we provide the theoretical foundations of the quantum approach to cognition that we developed in Brussels. These foundations rest on the results of two decade studies on the axiomatic and operational-realistic approaches to the foundations of quantum physics. The deep analogies between the foundations of physics and cognition lead us to investigate the validity of quantum theory as a general and unitary framework for cognitive processes, and the empirical success of the Hilbert space models derived by such investigation provides a strong theoretical confirmation of this validity. However, two situations in the cognitive realm, 'question order effects' and 'response replicability', indicate that even the Hilbert space framework could be insufficient to reproduce the collected data. This does not mean that the mentioned operational-realistic approach would be incorrect, but simply that a larger class of measurements would be in force in human cognition, so that an extended quantum formalism may be needed to deal with all of them. As we will explain, the recently derived 'extended Bloch representation' of quantum theory (and the associated 'general tension-reduction' model) precisely provides such extended formalism, while remaining within the same unitary interpretative framework.Comment: 21 page