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Chapter 22 - Sampling Data, Beliefs, and Actions

from Part VI - Computational Approaches

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2023

By
Erik Brockbank ,
Cameron Holdaway ,
Daniel Acosta-Kane  and
Edward Vul
Edited by
Klaus Fiedler ,
Peter Juslin  and
Jerker Denrell
Klaus Fiedler
Affiliation:
Universität Heidelberg
Peter Juslin
Affiliation:
Uppsala Universitet, Sweden
Jerker Denrell
Affiliation:
University of Warwick
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Summary

Sampling – using a stochastically drawn subset of possibilities – has been at the core of many influential modeling frameworks of human decision making for the last half century. Although these frameworks all refer to their core operation as “sampling,” they differ dramatically in the behaviors and inferences they aim to account for. Here we review this landscape of sampling models under a unified expected utility framework which treats diverse sampling accounts as approximating different terms in the expected utility calculation. We show that a broad range of sample-based models in psychology are built around sampled data, beliefs, or actions and can therefore support downstream expected utility maximization. To compare these models on an even footing, our review focuses on how the number of samples and the sample distribution differ within each element of the expected utility calculation. This integrated summary allows us to identify opportunities for fruitful cross-pollination across sampling domains, and to highlight outstanding challenges for accounts that might aim to integrate these disparate models.

Keywords

samplingdatabeliefsactionsexpected utility
Type
Chapter
Information
Sampling in Judgment and Decision Making , pp. 513 - 548
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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