Superstition in the Cognitive Model: Modelling Ritualised Behaviour as Error Management
摘要
Skinner found that superstitious behaviour in pigeons results from accidental operant conditioning. We use a simple cognitive model based upon reinforcement learning to show that ritualisation of behaviour arises in analogous conditions. This makes it possible to model the creation of ritual traditions using minimal means in agent-based models, thereby opening a novel and potentially highly fruitful approach to the study of this highly significant human behaviour.