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Human Rationality
1Centre for Cognition, Computation, and Modelling, Birkbeck College, University of London, London, United Kingdom;
Annual Review of Psychology
|October 17, 2025
Summary
Human rationality research is interdisciplinary, requiring normative frameworks to interpret empirical findings on judgment, reasoning, and decision-making. Understanding what we ought to do is key to understanding what we actually do.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Behavioral Economics
- Philosophy of Mind
Background:
- Human rationality research is inherently interdisciplinary, drawing from economics, education, communication, computer science, and philosophy.
- Descriptive research on human behavior necessitates reference to normative standards of rationality.
- Psychological training alone is insufficient to fully grasp the scope of rationality research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide a critical overview of the diverse research landscape on human rationality.
- To introduce relevant normative frameworks for understanding rationality.
- To survey empirical findings across key domains of rationality.
Main Methods:
- Literature review and synthesis of interdisciplinary research on human rationality.
- Introduction of normative frameworks (e.g., probability theory, logic).
- Survey of empirical studies on judgment, reasoning, decision-making, and argumentation.
Main Results:
- Human rationality research integrates descriptive findings with normative considerations.
- Empirical research spans probability judgment, reasoning, decision-making, and argumentation.
- Key themes include individual vs. collective rationality and real-world applications.
Conclusions:
- Understanding human rationality requires integrating normative principles with empirical observations.
- The interdisciplinary nature of rationality research presents unique challenges and opportunities.
- Bridging theoretical insights with practical concerns remains a critical frontier.
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