Study Guide

Question 1

What is emergence?

Answer 1

The action of the whole is more that the sum of the parts

Question 2

What are the defining characteristics of agents?

Question 3

What are the defining characteristics of multi-agent systems?

Question 4

What are agent-based models?

Question 5

What are the advantages of ABM in comparison to equation based modeling

Question 6

What are the disadvantages of ABM in comparison to equation based modelling?

Question 7

What are the advantages of ABM in comparison to laboratory experiments?

Question 8

What are the disadvantages of ABM in comparison to laboratory experiments?

Question 9

When is an AMB a useful methodological tool?

Answer 9

• When cognitive function depends on the actions of other agents/environments
• When there is heterogeneity (diversity) within and between groups
• When time is a factor (change over time)
• When there is a spatial distribution

Question 10

What are the uses of CogSci in ABMs?

Answer 10

• Calibration (provides parameterization)
• Validation (test predictions)
• Longitudinal question (e.g. evolution - culture - social norms)
• Ethical questions (scenarios that are not “ethical” to manipulate in real-life)

Question 11

What are the 3 different approaches in Computational Social Science?

Answer 11

• Deductive (explain social science phenomena with math/computer science/logic-game theory)
• Generative (Generate theory and test it with data)
• Complex (combine complex systems methods with data science, machine learning etc.)

Question 12

Under what circumstances are cognitive models developed?

Answer 12

Often developed based on cognition in isolation (lab experiments, surveys, settings with high control)

Question 13

What is a generative model?

Answer 13

Generate a theory of behaviour by understanding the mechanisms that generates behaviour

Question 14

What do generative models require?

Answer 14

• External mechanisms (environmental and social)
• Internal mechanisms (behavioural/ cognitive mechanisms)

Question 15

What is a cognitive model?

Answer 15

Approximation of one or more cognitive processes in humans or other animals for the purposes of comprehension and prediction.

Question 16

What is the aim of generative models?

Answer 16

Aims at finding the general mechanisms yielding the wide spectrum of behaviors of relatively autonomous systems.

Question 17

What is the difficulty of cognitive models?

Answer 17

Difficult to control the innter validity and calibration so it reflects the real-world system without also complex real-world data collection