Information integration theory was proposed by
Norman H. Anderson
Norman Henry Anderson (July 23, 1925 — August 29, 2022) was an American social psychologist and the founder of Information integration theory.
Anderson was a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of California, San Diego, where he ...
to describe and model how a person integrates information from a number of sources in order to make an overall judgment. The theory proposes three
functions.
The ''valuation function''
is an
empirically
In philosophy, empiricism is an epistemological theory that holds that knowledge or justification comes only or primarily from sensory experience. It is one of several views within epistemology, along with rationalism and skepticism. Empir ...
derived mapping of
stimuli
A stimulus is something that causes a physiological response. It may refer to:
* Stimulation
** Stimulus (physiology), something external that influences an activity
** Stimulus (psychology), a concept in behaviorism and perception
* Stimulus (eco ...
to an
interval scale
Level of measurement or scale of measure is a classification that describes the nature of information within the values assigned to variables. Psychologist Stanley Smith Stevens developed the best-known classification with four levels, or scal ...
. It is unique up to an
interval exchange transformation
In mathematics, an interval exchange transformation is a kind of dynamical system that generalises circle rotation. The phase space consists of the unit interval, and the transformation acts by cutting the interval into several subintervals, and ...
(
).
The ''integration function''
is an
algebraic function In mathematics, an algebraic function is a function that can be defined
as the root of a polynomial equation. Quite often algebraic functions are algebraic expressions using a finite number of terms, involving only the algebraic operations additi ...
combining the subjective values of the information. "Cognitive algebra" refers to the class of functions that are used to model the integration process. They may be adding,
averaging
In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...
,
weighted averaging, multiplying, etc.
The ''response production function''
is the process by which the internal impression is translated into an overt response.
Information integration theory differs from other theories in that it is not erected on a consistency principle such as balance or
congruity
Congruence may refer to:
Mathematics
* Congruence (geometry), being the same size and shape
* Congruence or congruence relation, in abstract algebra, an equivalence relation on an algebraic structure that is compatible with the structure
* In mod ...
but rather relies on algebraic
models
A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure.
Models c ...
.
The theory is also referred to as functional measurement, because it can provide validated scale values of the stimuli.
An elementary treatment of the theory, along with a
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
program for carrying out functional measurement analysis, is provided in the textbook by David J. Weiss.
[Weiss, D. J. (2006). ''Analysis of variance and functional measurement: A practical guide.'' New York: Oxford University Press.
]
Integration models
There are three main types of algebraic models used in information integration theory: adding, averaging, and multiplying.
Adding models
reaction/overt behavior
contributing factors
(Condition 1)
(Condition 2)
Typically an experiment is designed so that:
, and
, so that