The project aims at integrating research on the cognitive foundations of game theory with research on collective intentions for the attainment of common goals. Our starting hypothesis is that in many cases strategic interaction and coordination are facilitated by processes of ‘belief-less reasoning’. Instead of selecting the individually optimal action from a set of premises that include the mental states of other agents – as prescribed by standard rational choice theory – belief-less modes of reasoning derive mutual expectations about behaviour from the identification of an outcome (equilibrium) with salient characteristics. Team reasoning and solution thinking may be particular examples of this reasoning pattern. Our task in this project will be to generalise this insight, ground it in existing cognitive and developmental evidence, use it to generate new hypotheses, and run experiments to test it empirically.
Coordinators: Francesco Guala ; Camilla Colombo