A probabilistic framework for analysing the compositionality of conceptual combinations

DOI10.1016/J.JMP.2015.06.002zbMATH Open1354.91136arXiv1305.5753OpenAlexW2762742850WikidataQ62037369 ScholiaQ62037369MaRDI QIDQ899153FDOQ899153

P. D. Bruza, K. Kitto, L. Sitbon, B. Ramm

Publication date: 21 December 2015

Published in: Journal of Mathematical Psychology (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: Conceptual combination performs a fundamental role in creating the broad range of compound phrases utilized in everyday language. This article provides a novel probabilistic framework for assessing whether the semantics of conceptual combinations are compositional, and so can be considered as a function of the semantics of the constituent concepts, or not. While the systematicity and productivity of language provide a strong argument in favor of assuming compositionality, this very assumption is still regularly questioned in both cognitive science and philosophy. Additionally, the principle of semantic compositionality is underspecified, which means that notions of both "strong" and "weak" compositionality appear in the literature. Rather than adjudicating between different grades of compositionality, the framework presented here contributes formal methods for determining a clear dividing line between compositional and non-compositional semantics. In addition, we suggest that the distinction between these is contextually sensitive. Utilizing formal frameworks developed for analyzing composite systems in quantum theory, we present two methods that allow the semantics of conceptual combinations to be classified as "compositional" or "non-compositional". Compositionality is first formalised by factorising the joint probability distribution modeling the combination, where the terms in the factorisation correspond to individual concepts. This leads to the necessary and sufficient condition for the joint probability distribution to exist. A failure to meet this condition implies that the underlying concepts cannot be modeled in a single probability space when considering their combination, and the combination is thus deemed "non-compositional". The formal analysis methods are demonstrated by applying them to an empirical study of twenty-four non-lexicalised conceptual combinations.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1305.5753

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zbMATH Keywords

quantum cognitionconceptual combinationsemantic compositionality

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Cognitive psychology (91E10) Psychophysics and psychophysiology; perception (91E30) Contextuality in quantum theory (81P13) Linguistics (91F20)

Cites Work

• Introduction to the special issue on quantum cognition
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• Theoretical framework underlying contextual system of measurements in cognitive domain
• Advanced tools and concepts for quantum cognition: a tutorial
• Is there contextuality in behavioural and social systems?
• Data fusion using Hilbert space multi-dimensional models
• Modelling contextuality by probabilistic programs with hypergraph semantics
• Conceptual combination with PUNC
• Quantum Mathematics in Artificial Intelligence
• True contextuality in a psychophysical experiment
• Quantum entanglement and encoding algorithm
• Quantum-like dynamics applied to cognition: a consideration of available options
• How images combine meaning: quantum entanglement in visual perception
• Using fringes for minimal conceptual decomposition of binary contexts
• Quantum-theoretic modeling in computer science. A complex Hilbert space model for entangled concepts in corpuses of documents
• Quantum cognition and decision theories: a tutorial
• Compositional models for credal sets
• Preparation and measurement in quantum memory models
• Advanced analysis of quantum contextuality in a psychophysical double-detection experiment
• A note on the relation between the contextual fraction and \(\mathrm{CNT}_2\)
• A Compositional Distributional Inclusion Hypothesis
• Composition systems

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