A dual process theory of optimistic cognition
Date
2014-07
Authors
Sunehag, Peter
Hutter, Marcus
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Cognitive Science Society
Abstract
Optimism is a prevalent bias in human cognition including variations like self-serving beliefs, illusions of control and overly positive views of one's own future. Further, optimism has been linked with both success and happiness. In fact, it has been described as a part of human mental well-being which has otherwise been assumed to be about being connected to reality. In reality, only people suffering from depression are realistic. Here we study a formalization of optimism within a dual process framework and study its usefulness beyond human needs in a way that also applies to artificial reinforcement learning agents. Optimism enables systematic exploration which is essential in an (partially) unknown world. The key property of an optimistic hypothesis is that if it is not contradicted when one acts greedily with respect to it, then one is well rewarded even if it is wrong.
Description
Keywords
Rationality, Optimism, Optimality, Reinforcement Learning
Citation
Collections
Source
Type
Conference paper
Book Title
36th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society (CogSci 2014): Cognitive Science Meets Artificial Intelligence: Human and Artificial Agents in Interactive Contexts