Tutorial: The Cognitive Science of the Ranking Game

Comparison, ranking and even rating is a fundamental feature of human nature. The
goal of this tutorial to explain the integrative aspects of the evolutionary, psychological,
institutional and algorithmic aspects of ranking.
Since we humans (1) love lists; (2), are competitive and (3), are jealous of other
people, we like ranking. The practice of ranking is studied in social psychology and
political science, the algorithms of ranking in computer science. Initial results of the
possible neural and cognitive architectures behind rankings are also reviewed.