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arXiv:0906.4952 · Open Systems & Information Dynamics

Mental States Follow Quantum Mechanics During Perception and Cognition of Ambiguous Figures

Elio Conte, Andrei Yu. Khrennikov, Orlando Todarello, Antonio Federici, Leonardo Mendolicchio, Joseph P. Zbilut

Published Mar 1, 2009• 151 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Processes undergoing quantum mechanics exhibit quantum interference effects. In this case, quantum probabilities result to be different from classical ones because they contain an additional so-called quantum interference term. We use ambiguous figures to analyse if during perception-cognition by human subjects we can observe violation of the classical probability field and the presence of quantum interference. The experiments, conducted on a group of 256 subjects, evidence that we indeed have such a quantum effect. Therefore, mental states, during perception and cognition of ambiguous figures, appear to follow quantum mechanics.

DOI
10.1142/s1230161209000074

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Processes undergoing quantum mechanics exhibit quantum interference effects. In this case, quantum probabilities result to be different from classical ones because they contain an additional so-called quantum interference term. We use ambiguous figures to analyse if during perception-cognition by human subjects we can observe violation of the classical probability field and the presence of quantum interference. The experiments, conducted on a group of 256 subjects, evidence that we indeed have such a quantum effect. Therefore, mental states, during perception and cognition of ambiguous figures, appear to follow quantum mechanics.
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My discussion is articulated under the neurological as well as the psychological profile. I insist in particular on the view that mental events arise in analogy with quantum probability fields. I review some results obtained on quantum cognition discussing in detail those that we obtained on quantum interference in mental states during perception-cognition in ambiguous figures. Frequently, I use the approach to quantum mechanics by Clifford algebra. I insist in particular on two recent results. The first is the justification that I obtain of the von Neumann postulate on quantum measurement and the second relates my Clifford demonstration on the logical origins of quantum mechanics and thus on the arising feature that quantum mechanics relates conceptual entities. The whole discussion aims me to support the conclusion that we think in a quantum probabilistic manner.
For the first time we perform an experiment to test the possibility of Bell's inequality violation in mental states, during perception-cognition in humans. We study under a theoretical and experimental framework, a Bell-type test for human perception-cognition of ambiguous figures. It is performed a detailed analysis which demonstrates that, although we have not yet been able to violate Bell's inequality in the present performed experiment, there are strong theoretical arguments supporting our expectation to violate it by a simple articulation of the same experiment. In this framework we introduce for the first time what we retain to represent quantum cognitive observables. We consider that our analysis provides a solid ground for further investigations on quantum behaviour of cognitive systems. Therefore we reaffirm that quantum mechanics is a Giano Bifronte theory (two-faced Giano, a mythological God of the past), looking from one hand to physical reality and from the other hand to the sphere of mental reality and cognitive dynamics.
Uncertainty is an intrinsic part of life; most events, affairs, and questions are uncertain. A key problem in behavioral sciences is how the mind copes with uncertain information. Quantum probability theory offers a set of principles for inference, which align well with intuition about psychological processes in certain cases: cases when it appears that inference is contextual, the mental state changes as a result of previous judgments, or there is interference between different possibilities. We motivate the use of quantum theory in cognition and its key characteristics. For each of these characteristics, we review relevant quantum cognitive models and empirical support. The scope of quantum cognitive models encompasses fallacies in decision-making (such as the conjunction fallacy or the disjunction effect), question order effects, conceptual combination, evidence accumulation, perception, over-/underdistribution effects in memory, and more. Quantum models often formalize psychological ideas previously expressed in heuristic terms, allow unified explanations of previously disparate findings, and have led to several surprising, novel predictions. We also cast a critical eye on quantum models and consider some of their shortcomings and issues regarding their further development.