# Explaining versus Describing Human Decisions. Hilbert Space Structures in Decision Theory

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1904.02523 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1904.02523/

## Key facts

- Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 4 Apr 2019.

## Built on by (most cited first, 3 of 3)

- [Are Words the Quanta of Human Language? Extending the Domain of Quantum Cognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.04913/) (2021)
- [A Quantum-like Model for Predicting Human Decisions in the Entangled Social Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2111.13902/) (2021)
- [Representations of epistemic uncertainty and awareness in data-driven strategies](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.11482/) (2021)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Despite the impressive success of quantum structures to model long-standing human judgement and decision puzzles, the it quantum cognition research programme still faces challenges about its explanatory power. Indeed, quantum models introduce new parameters, which may fit empirical data without necessarily explaining them. Also, one wonders whether more general non-classical structures are better equipped to model cognitive phenomena. In this paper, we provide a it realistic-operational foundation of decision processes using a known decision-making puzzle, the it Ellsberg paradox, as a case study. Then, we elaborate a novel representation of the Ellsberg decision situation applying standard quantum correspondence rules which map realistic-operational entities into quantum mathematical terms. This result opens the way towards an independent, foundational rather than phenomenological, motivation for a general use of quantum Hilbert space structures in human cognition.