Modeling self-deception within a decision-theoretic framework

Abstract Computational modeling of human belief maintenance and decision-making processes has become increasingly important for a wide range of applications. In this paper, we present a framework for modeling the human capacity for self-deception from a decision-theoretic perspective in which we describe an integrated process of wishful thinking which includes the determination of a desired belief state, the biasing of internal beliefs towards or away from this desired belief state, and the final decision-making process. Finally, we show that in certain situations self-deception can be beneficial.

Authors

• Jonathan Y. Ito
• David V. Pynadath Institute for Creative Technologies, University of Southern California
• Stacy C. Marsella

Keywords

• Self-deception
• Wishful thinking
• Decision theory
• Belief maintenance