A Cognitive Framework for the Social Sciences
34 Pages Posted: 16 Nov 2018 Last revised: 16 Nov 2018
Date Written: November 1, 2018
Abstract
Using philosopher John Searle’s framework as developed by Guala and Hindriks and by Caton and López, we propose a cognitive framework for economic and social theory. Searle’s status function provides a grounding for a description of agent preferences. Agent preferences reflect valuations implied in the status function and are revealed as agents interact with the environment according to rules of behavior they have adopted. We consider how changes in belief, reflected in changes to status functions and rules, transform incentives and how incentives reinforce particular beliefs. We then apply the framework to an interpretation of history and to the construction and interpretation of an agent-based model comprised of agents who employ a dynamic structure of rules to guide interpretation and behavior.
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