Testing Contextuality in Cyclic Psychophysical Systems of High Ranks

The Contextuality-by-Default (CbD) theory allows one to separate contextuality from context-dependent errors and violations of selective influences (aka "no-signaling" or "no-disturbance" principles). This makes the theory especially applicable to behavioral systems, where violations of selective influences are ubiquitous. For cyclic systems with binary random variables, CbD provides necessary and sufficient conditions for noncontextuality, and these conditions are known to be breached in certain quantum systems. We apply the theory of cyclic systems to a psychophysical double-detection experiment, in which observers were asked to determine presence or absence of a signal property in each of two simultaneously presented stimuli. The results, as in all other behavioral and social systems previous analyzed, indicate lack of contextuality. The role of context in double-detection is confined to lack of selectiveness: the distribution of responses to one of the stimuli is influenced by the state of the other stimulus.

[1]  Jan-Åke Larsson,et al.  Necessary and Sufficient Conditions for an Extended Noncontextuality in a Broad Class of Quantum Mechanical Systems. , 2014, Physical review letters.

[2]  J. S. BELLt Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Paradox , 2018 .

[3]  Ehtibar N. Dzhafarov,et al.  Proof of a Conjecture on Contextuality in Cyclic Systems with Binary Variables , 2015, 1503.02181.

[4]  Arthur Fine,et al.  Joint distributions, quantum correlations, and commuting observables , 1982 .

[5]  Ehtibar N. Dzhafarov,et al.  Probabilistic Contextuality in EPR/Bohm-type Systems with Signaling Allowed , 2014, 1406.0243.

[6]  Ru Zhang,et al.  Is there contextuality in behavioural and social systems? , 2015, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences.

[7]  Matt Jones,et al.  On contextuality in behavioural data , 2016, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences.

[8]  Ehtibar N. Dzhafarov,et al.  Generalizing Bell-type and Leggett-Garg-type Inequalities to Systems with Signaling , 2014, 1407.2886.

[9]  A. Fine Hidden Variables, Joint Probability, and the Bell Inequalities , 1982 .

[10]  Ehtibar N. Dzhafarov,et al.  A Qualified Kolmogorovian Account of Probabilistic Contextuality , 2013, QI.

[11]  A. Shimony,et al.  Proposed Experiment to Test Local Hidden Variable Theories. , 1969 .

[12]  Jan-AAke Larsson,et al.  Contextuality in Three Types of Quantum-Mechanical Systems , 2014, 1411.2244.

[13]  Ehtibar N. Dzhafarov,et al.  Contextuality-by-Default: A Brief Overview of Ideas, Concepts, and Terminology , 2015, QI.

[14]  J. Bell On the Problem of Hidden Variables in Quantum Mechanics , 1966 .

[15]  Ehtibar N. Dzhafarov,et al.  Embedding Quantum into Classical: Contextualization vs Conditionalization , 2013, PloS one.

[16]  Ehtibar N. Dzhafarov,et al.  Contextuality is about identity of random variables , 2014, 1405.2116.

[17]  Garg,et al.  Quantum mechanics versus macroscopic realism: Is the flux there when nobody looks? , 1985, Physical review letters.

[18]  M. A. Can,et al.  Simple test for hidden variables in spin-1 systems. , 2007, Physical review letters.