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Topics in Cognitive Science

Quantum Cognition: Key Issues and Discussion

Jerome R. Busemeyer, Zheng Wang

Published Jan 1, 2014• 26 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Quantum cognition is an emerging field that uses mathematical principles of quantum theory to help formalize and understand cognitive systems and processes. The topic on the potential of using quantum theory to build models of cognition (Volume 5, issue 4) introduces and synthesizes its new development through an introduction and six core articles. The current issue presents 14 commentaries on the core articles. Five key issues surface, some of which are interestingly controversial and debatable as expected for a new emerging field.

DOI
10.1111/tops.12074

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Quantum cognition is an emerging field that uses mathematical principles of quantum theory to help formalize and understand cognitive systems and processes. The topic on the potential of using quantum theory to build models of cognition (Volume 5, issue 4) introduces and synthesizes its new development through an introduction and six core articles. The current issue presents 14 commentaries on the core articles. Five key issues surface, some of which are interestingly controversial and debatable as expected for a new emerging field.
Quantum cognition research applies abstract, mathematical principles of quantum theory to inquiries in cognitive science. It differs fundamentally from alternative speculations about quantum brain processes. This topic presents new developments within this research program. In the introduction to this topic, we try to answer three questions: Why apply quantum concepts to human cognition? How is quantum cognitive modeling different from traditional cognitive modeling? What cognitive processes have been modeled using a quantum account? In addition, a brief introduction to quantum probability theory and a concrete example is provided to illustrate how a quantum cognitive model can be developed to explain paradoxical empirical findings in psychological literature.
The emergence of quantum computing has prompted researchers to examine potential parallels between quantum mechanical principles and human cognitive processes. This article explores the theoretical framework of quantum cognition, examining how concepts from quantum mechanics, including superposition, entanglement, and measurement, might inform our understanding of human decision-making, memory, and consciousness. While quantum computing operates on fundamentally different physical principles than biological neural networks, the mathematical formalisms of quantum mechanics offer novel perspectives on cognitive phenomena that classical probability theory struggles to explain. This review critically examines the current state of quantum cognition research, its applications in computational modeling, and the ongoing debates regarding the validity of quantum mechanical analogies in psychological theory. The analysis reveals both promising theoretical insights and significant limitations in applying quantum principles to human cognition, highlighting the need for empirical validation and careful distinction between mathematical analogy and physical reality.
Quantum consciousness concerns both the possible role that quantum mechanicshas for understanding consciousness as well as the role that consciousnesshas for interpreting quantum physics. Quantum brain theorieshypothesize that quantum physical processes occur within and between theneurons of the brain and have important effects on cognition as well as consciousness.Quantum cognition is a growing new field in cognitive scienceconcerned with the application of the mathematical principles of quantumtheory to human judgment and decision-making behavior. What do all thesetheories have to do with each other? Quantum theories of consciousness havemore to say about quantum physics than cognitive psychology and consciousexperiences. Quantum brain theories have not been sufficiently “scaled up”to provide clear implications for how quantum physical processes generatemore complex cognition. Quantum cognition theories have avoided addressingfundamental issues about consciousness and have remained agnostic withrespect to the quantum brain hypothesis. This article will address the problemof connecting these ideas together by connecting quantum cognition tothe other two topics.
Quantum consciousness concerns both the possible role that quantum mechanicshas for understanding consciousness as well as the role that consciousnesshas for interpreting quantum physics. Quantum brain theorieshypothesize that quantum physical processes occur within and between theneurons of the brain and have important effects on cognition as well as consciousness.Quantum cognition is a growing new field in cognitive scienceconcerned with the application of the mathematical principles of quantumtheory to human judgment and decision-making behavior. What do all thesetheories have to do with each other? Quantum theories of consciousness havemore to say about quantum physics than cognitive psychology and consciousexperiences. Quantum brain theories have not been sufficiently “scaled up”to provide clear implications for how quantum physical processes generatemore complex cognition. Quantum cognition theories have avoided addressingfundamental issues about consciousness and have remained agnostic withrespect to the quantum brain hypothesis. This article will address the problemof connecting these ideas together by connecting quantum cognition tothe other two topics.
Recently, mathematical models based on quantum formalism have been developed in cognitive science. The target articles in this special issue of Topics in Cognitive Science clearly illustrate how quantum theoretical formalism can account for various aspects of human judgment and decision making in a quantitatively and mathematically rigorous manner. In this commentary, we show how future studies in quantum cognition and decision making should be developed to establish theoretical foundations based on physical theory, by introducing Taketani's three-stage theory of the development of science. Also, implications for neuroeconomics (another rapidly evolving approach to human judgment and decision making) are discussed.
Quantum consciousness concerns both the possible role that quantum mechanicshas for understanding consciousness as well as the role that consciousnesshas for interpreting quantum physics. Quantum brain theorieshypothesize that quantum physical processes occur within and between theneurons of the brain and have important effects on cognition as well as consciousness.Quantum cognition is a growing new field in cognitive scienceconcerned with the application of the mathematical principles of quantumtheory to human judgment and decision-making behavior. What do all thesetheories have to do with each other? Quantum theories of consciousness havemore to say about quantum physics than cognitive psychology and consciousexperiences. Quantum brain theories have not been sufficiently “scaled up”to provide clear implications for how quantum physical processes generatemore complex cognition. Quantum cognition theories have avoided addressingfundamental issues about consciousness and have remained agnostic withrespect to the quantum brain hypothesis. This article will address the problemof connecting these ideas together by connecting quantum cognition tothe other two topics.