Brunswik’s fundamental principle explained
A diffusion lens model of vicarious functioning
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21640237 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Florian Scholten (0009-0004-8296-1442, University of Tübingen, corresponding author), Lukas Schumacher (0000-0003-1512-8288, University of Basel), Paul Kelber (0000-0003-4164-0007, University of Tübingen) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 61-61 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Psychonomic Bulletin & Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1069-9384 • E-ISSN: 1531-5320 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.3758/s13423-025-02764-9 |
| PMID | 41703174 |
| OpenAlex | W7129413443 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 74 |
In Egon Brunswik’s theory of probabilistic functionalism, human prediction is conceptualized as an inductive inference process, in which cues are utilized as a lens to predict the probabilistically associated criterion in the environment. Dynamic cognitive adjustment, driven by the uncertainty of the individual and the substitutability of the environment, is based on vicarious functioning, the principle of learning from the frequency of co-occurrences. However, previous models of vicarious functioning, the multiple-regression lens and the fast-and-frugal lens, fail to explain how the individual reduces uncertainty while learning ecological cue validities. We therefore developed a diffusion lens model of vicarious functioning that captures dynamic cognitive adjustment to environments with multiple probabilistic and substitutable cues. A superstatistics approach allowed us to account for uncertainty reduction over time by an increasing sensitivity of the drift rate to the ecological validity of the cues. Additionally, the non-decision time is assumed to increase linearly with the number of presented cues to account for cue substitutability in the environment. The resulting model was validated by successfully fitting it to response time and choice data previously collected across multiple-cue probability learning tasks in diverse environments and scenarios. This suggests that the diffusion lens model can explain cognitive adjustment from an initial absence of knowledge to a near-perfect approximation of the probabilistic environment
Bayesian inference · Cognition · Diffusion · Inference · Probabilistic logic · Through-the-lens metering · Uncertainty reduction theory · Child and Animal Learning Development · Embodied and Extended Cognition · Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
Organismic achievement and environmental probability.
Diffusion Models in Experimental Psychology
The priority heuristic
Monitoring one's own knowledge during study
Diffusion Decision Model
Probabilistic mental models
Reasoning the fast and frugal way
A theory of memory retrieval.
Representative design and probabilistic theory in a functional psychology.
Bounded Rationality
Social Judgment Theory
The robust beauty of improper linear models in decision making
Why do lie-catchers fail? A lens model meta-analysis of human lie judgments
The Role of Representative Design in an Ecological Approach to Cognition
Determinants of linear judgment
| Highly cited | No |
|---|