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The Theory is Predictive, but is it Complete? An Application to Human Perception of Randomness

Author

Listed:
  • Jon Kleinberg

    (Department of Computer Science, Cornell University)

  • Annie Liang

    (Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania)

  • Sendhil Mullainathan

    (Department of Economics, Harvard University)

Abstract

When testing a theory, we should ask not just whether its predictions match what we see in the data, but also about its “completeness†: how much of the predictable variation in the data does the theory capture? Deï¬ ning completeness is conceptually challenging, but we show how methods based on machine learning can provide tractable measures of completeness. We also identify a model domain—the human perception and generation of randomness—where measures of completeness can be feasibly analyzed; from these measures we discover there is signiï¬ cant structure in the problem that existing theories have yet to capture.

Suggested Citation

  • Jon Kleinberg & Annie Liang & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2017. "The Theory is Predictive, but is it Complete? An Application to Human Perception of Randomness," PIER Working Paper Archive 18-010, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania, revised 09 Aug 2017.
    • Handle: RePEc:pen:papers:18-010
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Daoud, Adel & Kim, Rockli & Subramanian, S.V., 2019. "Predicting women's height from their socioeconomic status: A machine learning approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 238(C), pages 1-1.
    3. Gisches, Eyran J. & Qi, Hang & Becker, William J. & Rapoport, Amnon, 2021. "Strategic retailers and myopic consumers: Competitive pricing of perishable goods," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    4. Daniel J. Benjamin, 2018. "Errors in Probabilistic Reasoning and Judgment Biases," NBER Working Papers 25200, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Isil Erel & Léa H Stern & Chenhao Tan & Michael S Weisbach, 2021. "Selecting Directors Using Machine Learning," NBER Chapters, in: Big Data: Long-Term Implications for Financial Markets and Firms, pages 3226-3264, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Pedro Bordalo & John Conlon & Nicola Gennaioli & Spencer Kwon & Andrei Shleifer, 2023. "How People Use Statistics," Working Papers 699, IGIER (Innocenzo Gasparini Institute for Economic Research), Bocconi University.

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