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arXiv · 2509.14418

Theoretical Note: On the Practical Uses of Mathematical Theory for Attitude Research

Mark G. Orr·Emily S. Teti·Andrei Bura·Henning Mortveit
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Abstract

In attitude theory, formal theoretical predictions come largely from the simulation of computational models. We argue that to push attitude theory further, we should employ mathematical analysis/analytic methods alongside of computational simulation, something that other sciences and engineering consider standard practice. Our work first attempts to portray the complementary nature of mathematical analysis along side of computational simulation using as an example the Causal Attitude Network model of attitudes (Dalege et al., 2016). We then introduce a mathematical theory, Graph Dynamical Systems (GDS), as a broad theoretical framework for network models of attitudes. We illustrate the use of GDS, in the context of the Attitudes as Constraint Satistfaction (ACS) theory of attitude dynamics (Monroe & Read, 2008), as a generator of precise, quantitative theoretical predictions. We conclude by pointing out the value of improved attitude theory for the so-called replication crisis in psychology. KEYWORDS: attitudes, neural networks, dynamical systems, psychological networks

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Mark G. Orr, Emily S. Teti, Andrei Bura, Henning Mortveit. 2026-03-25. Theoretical Note: On the Practical Uses of Mathematical Theory for Attitude Research. https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.14418

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