Quantum-like generalization of the Bayesian updating scheme for objective and subjective mental uncertainties

In this paper we develop a general quantum-like model of decision making. Here updating of probability is based on linear algebra, the von Neumann–Lüders projection postulate, Born’s rule, and the quantum representation of the state space of a composite system by the tensor product. This quantum-like model generalizes the classical Bayesian inference in a natural way. In our approach the latter appears as a special case corresponding to the absence of relative phases in the mental state. By taking into account a possibility of the existence of correlations which are encoded in relative phases we developed a more general scheme of decision making. We discuss natural situations inducing deviations from the classical Bayesian scheme in the process of decision making by cognitive systems: in situations that can be characterized as objective and subjective mental uncertainties. Further, we discuss the problem of base rate fallacy. In our formalism, these “irrational” (non-Bayesian) inferences are represented by quantum-like bias operations acting on the mental state.     

How (not) to think about mental action

I examine Galen Strawson's recent work on mental action in his paper, ‘Mental Ballistics or The Involuntariness of Spontaneity’. I argue that his account of mental action is too restrictive. I offer a means of testing tokens of mental activity types to determine if they are actional. The upshot is that a good deal more mental activity than Strawson admits is actional.     

Generic statements require little evidence for acceptance but have powerful implications

Generic statements (e.g., "Birds lay eggs") express generalizations about categories. In this paper, we hypothesized that there is a paradoxical asymmetry at the core of generic meaning, such that these sentences have extremely strong implications but require little evidence to be judged true. Four experiments confirmed the hypothesized asymmetry: Participants interpreted novel generics such as "Lorches have purple feathers" as referring to nearly all lorches, but they judged the same novel generics to be true given a wide range of prevalence levels (e.g., even when only 10% or 30% of lorches had purple feathers). A second hypothesis, also confirmed by the results, was that novel generic sentences about dangerous or distinctive properties would be more acceptable than generic sentences that were similar but did not have these connotations. In addition to clarifying important aspects of generics' meaning, these findings are applicable to a range of real-world processes such as stereotyping and political discourse.     

Compatibilism and Doxastic Control

Sharon Ryan has recently argued that if one has compatibilist intuitions about free action, then one should reject the claim that agents cannot exercise direct voluntary control over coming to believe. In this paper I argue that the differences between beliefs and actions make the expectation of direct voluntary control over coming to believe unreasonable. So Ryan's theory of doxastic agency is untenable.

Behavioral ecology meets motor behavior: choosing between walking and reaching paths

Behavioral ecology is a field in which scientists try to predict behavioral choices, typically by estimating costs of behavioral alternatives even though those costs may involve different currencies. Researchers interested in motor behavior often have similar concerns, though the connections between these two fields have been largely unnoticed. The authors pursued a study of motor behaviors involving different currencies: walking over different distances and reaching over different distances. They found that the cost of reaching was much greater than the cost of walking. They also found that walking paths took into account hand preferences. The present study extends previous research on the neglected topic of the coordination of reaching and walking and provides a simple method that can be applied in other contexts.