MIND & SOCIETY
Cognitive Studies in Economics and Social Sciences |
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| 2, 2011, Mind&Society, vol.10 |
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Articles
Herbert Gintis
The Future of Behavioral Game Theory
Abstract
Behavioral economics has rejuvenated economic theory and deepened the bonds between economic theory and the other social sciences. Neoclassical economics does not depend on individual preferences being self-regarding. Moreover, in market contexts, laboratory experiments indicate that traditional theory works well. Behavioral economic findings are thus enriching and expanding neoclassical economics rather than undermining it. In particular, social norms are an emergent property of human sociality, and exist as macrosocial structures that are not reducible to the preferences of individuals.
Behavioral economists are not theorists, but rather experimentalists. With few exceptions, they do not provide, nor aim to provide, cogent models for the phenomena they discover. Far from downplaying "inconvenient facts," as is the practice of traditional economic theory, behavioral economists relish finding new, previously undocumented, forms of individual decision-making and strategic behavior.
Flavia Santoianni
Educational models of knowledge prototypes development - Connecting text comprehension to spatial recognition in primary school
Abstract
May implicit and explicit collaboration influence text comprehension and spatial recognition interaction? Visuospatial representation implies implicit, visual and spatial processing of actions and concepts at different levels of awareness. Implicit learning is linked to unaware, nonverbal and prototypical processing, especially in the early stages of development when it is prevailing. Spatial processing is studied as knowledge prototypes, conceptual and mind maps.
According to the hypothesis that text comprehension and spatial recognition connecting processes may also be implicit, this paper analyzes the possibility to identify and to define implicit non verbal criteria for organizing concepts into spatial representation.
The focus of the research question is if prototypical processing (mainly implicit, but also explicit) criteria of conceptual organization may be model based. According to Thinking Prototypes Theory, explicit knowledge could be supported by implicit models of basic processing. On implicit side, conceptual development could be the resultant of the increasing complexity of prototypical implicit models interaction during individual lifespan, as in conceptual change research explicit conceptual development may be dependent on correlation.
Unlike Theory Theory in Thinking Prototypes Theory implicit processing may collaborate with explicit knowledge without transforming itself from implicit to explicit. Prototypical implicit processing is considered as an entanglement of basic functions operating synergically in a complex way. Prototypical implicit processing units may be classified as far as they concern different basic thinking operations (add, chain, each, compare, focus and link). The experimental design was developed with primary school students of third and fifth class in Naples.
Hugo Mercier
What good is moral reasoning?
Abstract
The role of reasoning in our moral lives has been increasingly called into question by moral psychology. Not only are intuitions guiding many of our moral judgments and decisions, with reasoning only finding post-hoc intuitions, but reasoning can sometimes play a negative role, by finding excuses for our moral violations.
The observations fit well with the argumentative theory of reasoning (Mercier H, Sperber D in press, Why do humans reason? Arguments for an argumentative theory. Behav Brain Sci), which claims that reasoning evolved to find and evaluate arguments in dialogic contexts.
This theory explains the strong confirmation bias that reasoning displays when it produces arguments, which in turn explains its tendency to rationalize our decisions. But this theory also predicts that people should be able to evaluate arguments felicitously and that, as a result, people should reason better in groups, when they are confronted with other people’s arguments.
Groups are able to converge on better moral judgments. It is argued that reasoning and argumentation play an important role in our everyday moral lives, and a plea for the value of reasoning for moral change is made.
Tinna Laufey Asgeirsdottir • Gylfi Zoega
On the Economics of Sleeping
Abstract
Sleep is a form of rejuvenation, which can be treated as a source of energy. This energy is available in limited quantities and individuals must decide when it should be renewed and when it should be consumed. Sleeping involves investing in energy and alertness but also a sacrifice of time. We derive and solve the inter-temporal utility-maximization problem on the length of sleep to obtain optimality conditions for the length of sleep.
Several applications emerge from the analysis. These include the effects of labor-market opportunities on sleep patterns; the effect of having children; the consequences of decreased division of labor within the household; and the relationship between sleep deprivation and obesity. When data allows, those outcomes are tested using panel data from Iceland.
The empirical results are consistent with the predictions of the theoretical model.
Symposium on: “Collective representations of quality”
Camille Roth • Dario Taraborelli • Nigel Gilbert
Introductory article
Abstract
Collective representations of the quality of artifacts are produced by human societies in a variety of contexts. These representations of quality emerge from a broad range of social interactions, from the uncoordinated behaviour of large collectives of individuals, to the interaction between individuals and organizations, to complex socio-technical processes such as those enabled by online peer production systems.
This special issue brings together contributions from sociology, social psychology and social simulation to shed light on the nature of these representations and the social processes that produce them.
Bruce Edmonds
Disaggregating quality judgements
Abstract
The notion of quality is analysed for its functional roots as a social heuristic for reusing others’ quality judgements and hence aiding choice. This is applied to the context of academic publishing, where the costs of publishing have greatly decreased, but the problem of finding the papers one wants has become harder.
This paper suggests that instead of relying on generic quality judgements, such as those delivered by journal reviewers, that the maximum amount of judgemental information be preserved and then made available to potential readers to help them find papers that meet their particular needs.
The suggestion is that: multidimensional quality data be captured on review of papers, this information is stored on a database, and then used to filter papers according to the criteria set by the searcher – personalising the quality filter.
In other words the quality judgements and subsequent use are maintained in a disaggregated form, maintaining the maximum informational context of the judgements for future use. The advantages, disadvantages, challenges and possible variations of this proposal are discussed.
R. Alexander Bentley • Michael J. O’Brien • Paul Ormerod
Quality versus mere popularity: a conceptual map for understanding human behavior
Abstract
We propose using a bi-axial map as a heuristic for categorizing different dynamics involved in the relationship between quality and popularity. The east–west axis represents the degree to which an agent’s decision is influenced by those of other agents.
This ranges from the extreme western edge, where an agent learns individually (no outside influence), to the extreme eastern edge, where an agent is influenced by a large number of other agents.
The vertical axis represents how easy or difficult it is for an agent to discern the relative quality of available choices. When a case study is located on the map, it becomes easier to select the range of tools to use for understanding and predicting the relation between quality and popularity.
Andrzej Nowak • Katarzyna Samson • Karolina Lisiecka • Michal Ziembowicz
Lovely weather, isn’t it? On the social dynamics of quality judgment
Abstract
Quality is usually considered to be an attribute of an object, its degree of excellence or, more subjectively, fitness for use. Stemming from this point of view, the goal of most ranking systems is to find efficient ways of discovering, or rather uncovering, the quality of specific products or services.
However, from a social psychological perspective it seems that the notion of quality belongs predominantly to the realm of social relationships.
We argue that quality exists mainly between the users of an object, not within the object itself, and its functions are predominantly social, i.e. promoting interactions, creating a shared reality, or building social relationships.
Quality is constructed in social interactions and used as a token therein. In the present paper we outline the social functions of quality, and discuss the implications of this perspective for designing more useful recommendation systems.
Riccardo Boero
Food quality as a public good: cooperation dynamics and economic development in a rural community
Abstract
The present work deals with an initiative that aims at creating and promoting rural development through high quality. It is called “Presidia”, it has been started by the Slowfood movement, and it relies on an approach to rural economies different from the standard spreading of industrialization.
The phenomenon on focus is based upon the cooperative dynamics of several small producers, and thus some criticalities typical of social dilemmas have emerged in the case-based study on the field: they deal with the role played by cooperation-supporting institutions. Through an empirically grounded agent-based model which allows what-if analysis of some policy suggestions, different mechanisms for promoting cooperation among producers are thus investigated.
Simulation results outline how single altruistic actions are not capable of sustaining a positive aggregate while single selfish choices can determine very negative outcomes, and how only the strong commitment of most central actors can protect the system from random fluctuations in cooperation levels.
Two main results are finally discussed: informal control mechanisms do not ensure the desired level of cooperation and high quality; interaction structure codetermines the outcome.
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