METAREALITY
REVIEW
Quantum Models of
Cognition and Decision
by Jerome R. Busemeyer and Peter D. Bruza
While scientists have assumed that classical probability theory and
logic was the best way to comprehend human cognition, research
studies have found numerous aspects of cognition and decision to
behave differently.
T
he new field of Quantum Cognition presents us with new ways of
thinking about cognition that better match observations of actual
human behavior, and Quantum
Models of Cognition and Decision
presents an outstandingly clear
and thorough overview of this exciting new field.
Busemeyer and Bruza do an outstanding job of incorporating key concepts and ideas from quantum
theory, showing how aspects of quantum phenomena and behavior can provide valuable insights
into human cognitive processes. Thanks to their
observation that some puzzling results in the field
of psychology are similar to aspects of quantum
mechanics, Busemeyer and Bruza demonstrate
through utilization of mathematical models, how
one of the larger contributions of a working theory
of quantum cognition is the way it allows for people
to experience ‘indefinite’ states, or superposition
states. The authors argue that “the wave nature
of an indefinite state captures the psychological
experience of conflict, ambiguity, confusion, and
uncertainty; the particle nature of a definite state
captures the psychological experience of conflict
resolution, decision, and certainty.”
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