Quantum Models of Cognition and Decision

Much of our understanding of human thinking is based on probabilistic models. This innovative book by Jerome R. Busemeyer and Peter D. Bruza argues that, actually, the underlying mathematical structures from quantum theory provide a much better account of human thinking than traditional models. They introduce the foundations for modelling probabilistic-dynamic systems using two aspects of quantum theory. The first, 'contextuality', is a way to understand interference effects found with inferences and decisions under conditions of uncertainty. The second, 'quantum entanglement', allows cognitive phenomena to be modeled in non-reductionist ways. Employing these principles drawn from quantum theory allows us to view human cognition and decision in a totally new light. Introducing the basic principles in an easy-to-follow way, this book does not assume a physics background or a quantum brain and comes complete with a tutorial and fully worked-out applications in important areas of cognition and decision.

Jerome R. Busemeyer is a Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Indiana University, Bloomington. His research includes mathematical models of learning and decision making and he has formulated a dynamic theory of human decision making called decision field theory. Professor Busemeyer has published over 100 articles in cognitive and decision science journals including Psychological Review and was Chief Editor of the Journal of Mathematical Psychology from 2005 to 2010.

Peter D. Bruza is a Professor in the Faculty of Science and Technology at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane. His research intersects information retrieval, cognitive science and applied logic. He is a pioneer and co-instigator of the field of quantum interaction (QI) and serves on the steering committee of the quantum interaction symposia. Professor Bruza also serves on the editorial boards of Information Retrieval, the Journal of Applied Logic, The Logic Journal of the IGPL and the Information Science and Knowledge Management book series.