Recasting a biologically motivated computational model within a Fechnerian and random utility framework.

The selective integration model of Tsetsos et al. (2016a) is a biologically motivated computational framework that aims to model intransitive preference and choice. Tsetsos et al. (2016a) concluded that a noisy system can lead to violations of transitivity in otherwise rational agents optimizing a task. We show how their model can be interpreted from a Fechnerian perspective and within a random utility framework. Specifically, we spell out the connection between the selective integration model and two probabilistic models of transitive preference, weak stochastic transitivity and the triangle inequalities, tested by Tsetsos et al. (2016a).