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Quantum Structure in Cognition: Fundamentals and Applications

Authors:
Diederik Aerts
Liane Gabora
Sandro Sozzo
Tomas Veloz

Keywords: quantum mechanics; quantum cognition; decision theory; information retrieval

Abstract:
Studies in cognitive science show that the ways in which people combine concepts and make decisions cannot be described by classical logic and probability theory. This has serious implications for applied disciplines such as information retrieval, artificial intelligence and robotics. Inspired by a mathematical formalism that generalizes quantum mechanics we have constructed a contextual framework for both concept representation and decision making, together with quantum models that are in strong alignment with experimental data. The results can be interpreted by assuming the existence in human thought of a double-layered structure, a 'classical logical thought' and a 'quantum conceptual thought', the latter being responsible of the above non-classical effects. The presence of a quantum structure in cognition is relevant, for it shows that quantum mechanics provides not only a useful modeling tool for experimental data but also supplies a structural model for human and artificial thought processes. This approach has strong connections with theories formalizing meaning, such as semantic analysis, and has also a deep impact on computer science, information retrieval and artificial intelligence. More specifically, the links with information retrieval are discussed in this paper.

Pages: 57 to 62

Copyright: Copyright (c) IARIA, 2011

Publication date: August 21, 2011

Published in: conference

ISSN: 2308-3530

ISBN: 978-1-61208-151-9

Location: Nice/Saint Laurent du Var, France

Dates: from August 21, 2011 to August 27, 2011