A Critical Deconstruction of Quantum Cognition and Usability in Psychology

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-294-1_3How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Quantum cognition; human cognition; decision making; complementarity; superposition; order effects; interference effects; critical analysis

Abstract

The paper “What Is Quantum Cognition, and How Is It Applied to Psychology?” by Busemeyer and Wang (2015) introduces the concept of quantum cognition as a framework for understanding human cognition in psychology. This critical analysis aims to evaluate the key arguments and contributions presented in the paper.

The authors propose quantum cognition as a research program that utilizes mathematical principles from quantum theory to explain various aspects of human cognition, such as judgment, decision-making, concepts, reasoning, memory, and perception. They emphasize that quantum cognition does not focus on whether the brain is a quantum computer, but rather utilizes quantum theory as a fresh conceptual framework and a set of formal tools for elucidating empirical findings in psychology.

The authors specifically highlight two quantum principles, complementarity, and superposition, to demonstrate the potential of quantum cognition as a theoretical direction for psychology. Complementarity suggests that some psychological measures need to be made sequentially, where the context generated by the first measure can influence responses to the next one, leading to measurement order effects. Superposition suggests that certain psychological states cannot be defined by definite values, but rather encompass a range of potential expressions.

This critical review will analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments presented by Busemeyer and Wang, evaluate the evidence supporting their claims, and discuss the implications of quantum cognition for the field of psychology.

Copyright

© 2023 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Arinjoy Bhattacharjee
AU  - Jhuma Mukherjee
PY  - 2023
DA  - 2023/11/17
TI  - A Critical Deconstruction of Quantum Cognition and Usability in Psychology
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Advances in Nano-Neuro-Bio-Quantum (ICAN 2023)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 21
EP  - 29
SN  - 2468-5739
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-294-1_3
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-294-1_3
ID  - Bhattacharjee2023
ER  -