A quantum cognition model for bridging stated and revealed preference

Despite increasingly abundant data on revealed travel behaviors, stated preference surveys still play an indispensable role in analyzing and predicting human behaviors in hypothetical scenarios. Recent needs for forecasting travel behaviors in the era of autonomous vehicles and more prevalent sharing economy are examples. However, it is well known that the framing effect in surveys could be significant when asking the same question with different modes, instruments, and wordings. Moreover, systematic deviation is observed when stated preference and revealed preference are compared, per a growing body of studies, due to the framing effect, the change of decision context, and the altered mental states of participants. These situations resemble two prevalent quantum phenomena – measurement influences the state of a system, and different observation sequences on a system render different results. This paper proposes a quantum cognition model consistent with quantum logic and demonstrates its usefulness in the quantitative study of stated and revealed preference. Examples show how to calibrate the model and forecast revealed preference when only stated preference is available. Although the proposed model is not limited to the number of questions, the examples focus on single-question scenarios. This paper takes a utilitarian perspective on quantum mechanics and demonstrates how it could improve survey designs and prediction on revealed preference.