Abstract
Quantum and Markov random walk models are proposed for describing how people evaluate stimuli using rating scales. To empirically test these competing models, we conducted an experiment in which participants judged the effectiveness of public health service announcements from either their own personal perspective or from the perspective of another person. The order of the self versus other judgements was manipulated, which produced significant sequential effects. The quantum and Markov models were fitted to the data using the same number of parameters, and the model comparison strongly supported the quantum over the Markov model.
Highlights
One of the paradoxes explained by quantum mechanics is that the sequence of measurements affects the final observed results
When this concept is imported into psychology, it means that psychological measures, such as judgements, often require one to take different perspectives, which have to be taken sequentially, and the context generated by the first measure influences subsequent ones
Much more research in psychology is needed before we can firmly establish whether the compatibility of a pair of questions can vary across people, or even change with a person based on past experience with the pair of questions
Summary
One of the paradoxes explained by quantum mechanics is that the sequence of measurements affects the final observed results. Some physical variables, such as position and momentum, are non-commutative and classified as incompatible. We developed and tested a quantum probability model for question order effects obtained. We develop new quantum and Markov models for describing how people assign ratings to stimuli, and we empirically test and compare the two competing models by examining sequences of measurements
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