Interval and symmetry approaches to uncertainty — Pioneered by wiener — Help explain seemingly irrational human behavior: A case study

It has been observed that in many cases, when we present a user with three selections od different price (and, correspondingly, different quality), then the user selects the middle selection. This empirical fact - known as a compromise effect - seems to contradicts common sense. Indeed, when a rational decision-maker selects one of the two alternatives, and then we add an additional option, then the user will either keep the previous selection or switch to a new option, but he/she will not select a previously rejected option. However, this is exactly what happens under the compromise effect. If we present the user with three options a <; a\´ <; a", then, according to the compromise effect, the user will select the middle option a\´, meaning that between a\´ and a"the user will select a\´. However, if instead we present the user with three options a\´ <; a"<; a"\´, then, according to the same compromise effect, the use will select a previously rejected option a". In this paper, we show that this seemingly irrational behavior actually makes sense: it can be explained by an application of a symmetry approach, an approach whose application to uncertainty was pioneered by N. Wiener (together with interval approach to uncertainty).