Incompletely Known Sample Spaces: Models and Human Intuitions

Abstract

This paper surveys models and human intuitions about incompletely known “sample spaces” ($\Omega$). Given that there are very few guidelines for how best to form such beliefs when $\Omega$ is incompletely known, and there is very little research on the psychology behind beliefs about $\Omega$, this survey is preliminary and brings in ideas and models from probability and statistics, biology, and psychology. Pilot experimental studies of how people estimate the cardinality of $\Omega$ when given sample information from it are presented, demonstrating that to a surprising extent their estimates correspond with those produced by normative statistical models. The paper concludes by outlining future directions for a research program on this topic.

Cite

Text

Smithson. "Incompletely Known Sample Spaces: Models and Human Intuitions." Proceedings of the Eleventh International Symposium on Imprecise Probabilities: Theories and Applications, 2019.

Markdown

[Smithson. "Incompletely Known Sample Spaces: Models and Human Intuitions." Proceedings of the Eleventh International Symposium on Imprecise Probabilities: Theories and Applications, 2019.](https://mlanthology.org/isipta/2019/smithson2019isipta-incompletely/)

BibTeX

@inproceedings{smithson2019isipta-incompletely,
  title     = {{Incompletely Known Sample Spaces: Models and Human Intuitions}},
  author    = {Smithson, Michael},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of the Eleventh International Symposium on Imprecise Probabilities: Theories and Applications},
  year      = {2019},
  pages     = {367-376},
  volume    = {103},
  url       = {https://mlanthology.org/isipta/2019/smithson2019isipta-incompletely/}
}