THE ANTHROPIC PRINCIPLE IN PSYCHOLOGY AND HUMAN CHOICE

Abstract

We introduce a model of a subject facing a choice of an alternative out of a set. The model ties together three aspects of human activity: behavioral, mental, and neural-computational. Parameters of this model cannot be estimated experimentally. Thus, a problem arises of determining them by means of theoretical considerations. Similar problems appeared in cosmology as well: the values of the fundamental constants necessary for constructing models of the Universe cannot be determined empirically. One possible solution is to use the "anthropic principle," that is, an abstract statement which allows narrowing the number of combinations of values. We show that a similar methodological gambit can be used in psychology. We formulate an abstract statement and find the parameters of the model with its help. Here we establish the relation of this model to other theories of choice and to experimental psychology. Then we demonstrate that our model is formally isomorphic to the process of gradual minimization of work lost by a heat engine system. The existence of such an isomorphism supports a hypothesis that mental phenomena are related to macro-characteristics of an ensemble of neuron states. KEYWORDS: choice; computation; decision theory; ethical cognition; mathematical psychology; model building; parameter estimation; probability; rationality.

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