In this paper, the authors apply models extracted from the Many-Body Quantum Mechanics to understand how knowledge production is correlated to the innovation potential of a work team. This study is grounded in key assumtpions. First, complexity theory applied to social science suggests that it is of paramount importance to consider elements of non-objectivity and non-determinism in the statistical description of socio-economic phenomena. Second, a typical factor of indeterminacy in the explanation of these phenomena lead to the need to apply the instruments of quantum physics to formally describe social behaviours. In order to experiment the validity of the proposed mathematic model, the research intends to: 1) model nodes and interactions; 2) simulate the network behaviour starting from specific defined models; 3) visualize the macroscopic results emerging during the analysis/simulation phases through a digital representation of the social network.Request access from your librarian to read this chapter's full text.
In this paper, the authors apply models extracted from the Many-Body Quantum Mechanics to understand how knowledge production is correlated to the innovation potential of a work team. This study is grounded in key assumtpions. First, complexity theory applied to social science suggests that it is of paramount importance to consider elements of non-objectivity and non-determinism in the statistical description of socio-economic phenomena. Second, a typical factor of indeterminacy in the explanation of these phenomena lead to the need to apply the instruments of quantum physics to formally describe social behaviours. In order to experiment the validity of the proposed mathematic model, the research intends to: 1) model nodes and interactions; 2) simulate the network behaviour starting from specific defined models; 3) visualize the macroscopic results emerging during the analysis/simulation phases through a digital representation of the social network.Request access from your librarian to read this chapter's full text.
In this paper, the authors apply models extracted from the Many-Body Quantum Mechanics to understand how knowledge production is correlated to the innovation potential of a work team. This study is grounded in key assumtpions. First, complexity theory applied to social science suggests that it is of paramount importance to consider elements of non-objectivity and non-determinism in the statistical description of socio-economic phenomena. Second, a typical factor of indeterminacy in the explanation of these phenomena lead to the need to apply the instruments of quantum physics to formally describe social behaviours. In order to experiment the validity of the proposed mathematic model, the research intends to: 1) model nodes and interactions; 2) simulate the network behaviour starting from specific defined models; 3) visualize the macroscopic results emerging during the analysis/simulation phases through a digital representation of the social network.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, a new interdisciplinary research movement has started, which aims at developing quantum math-like (or simply quantum-like) models to provide an explanation for a variety of socio-economic processes and human behaviour. By making use of mainly the probabilistic aspects of quantum theory, this research movement has led to many important results in the areas of decision-making and finance. In this article, we introduce a novel and more exhaustive approach, to analyze the socio-economic processes and activities, than the pure quantum math-like modelling approach, by taking into account the physical foundations of quantum theory. We also provide a plausibility argument for its exhaustiveness in terms of what we can expect from such an approach, when it is applied to, for example, a generic socio-economic decision process.
Quantum probability theory, originally developed in the context of quantum mechanics, has increasingly been applied to social sciences to explain decision-making, cognition, and collective behavior. Unlike classical probability models, which assume pre-existing and well-defined preferences, quantum models incorporate superposition, interference, and non-commutativity to capture the contextual dependence and measurement effects observed in human decisions. This paper systematically explores the theoretical foundations of quantum probability in social sciences, discusses model construction techniques, and reviews empirical findings supporting its application. By examining case studies in quantum cognition, quantum game theory, and quantum voting, we illustrate how quantum approaches provide alternative explanations for phenomena such as order effects, measurement-induced attitude shifts, and collective polarization. The paper also discusses the methodological challenges and limitations of quantum social science, emphasizing the need for rigorous experimental validation and interdisciplinary collaboration. Finally, we highlight the potential for integrating quantum probability models with emerging technologies such as quantum computing and artificial intelligence, opening new avenues for social science research and policy applications.
Written by world experts in the foundations of quantum mechanics and its applications to social science, this book shows how elementary quantum mechanical principles can be applied to decision-making paradoxes in psychology and used in modelling information in finance and economics. The book starts with a thorough overview of some of the salient differences between classical, statistical and quantum mechanics. It presents arguments on why quantum mechanics can be applied outside of physics and defines quantum social science. The issue of the existence of quantum probabilistic effects in psychology, economics and finance is addressed and basic questions and answers are provided. Aimed at researchers in economics and psychology, as well as physics, basic mathematical preliminaries and elementary concepts from quantum mechanics are defined in a self-contained way.
This concise and self-contained book opens completely novel areas of research by directly implementing concepts from quantum physics into areas of social science. It constructs compelling arguments originating from fundamental concepts in physics and the philosophy of science, including key developments in economics and finance, then surveys the important work which has been performed to date through applying the formalism of quantum mechanics to decision making and finance. The book is accessible to graduate students and researchers in social science and physics, as well as avid interdisciplinary readers. This title is part of the Flip it Open Programme and may also be available Open Access. Check our website Cambridge Core for details.
The basic concepts of classical probability, negative probability, fuzzy sets are considered with appropriate analogies of the quantum mechanical approach to create mathematical models for describing social phenomena. It also briefly describes the features of the application of the theory of intentionality, which uses the concept of institutionality for social phenomena. At the same time, institutionality is understood as a property of consciousness directed at objects and states of affairs in the real world. The concept of collective institutionality is singled out, which forms social facts arising from the collective impact of members of society. The concept of status is given, which denotes a set of characteristic values of a subject or object that determine its position in the system. The features and scope for fuzzy models are described, which are used for the mathematical description of linguistic terms and intentionality in estimating the probabilities of events in fuzzy set theory. In addition, the concept of negative probability and the possibility of using it to describe social events are described. The following is an example illustrating the concept of a complex-valued function and its use to measure the characteristics of socio-economic processes. In conclusion, the concept of status functions is introduced for comparison with membership functions and wave functions.