The process of introducing new public policies is a complex one in
the sense that the behavior of society at the macro-level depends directly on the
individual behavior of the people in that society and ongoing dynamics of the environment.
It is at the micro-level that change is initiated, that policies effectively
change the behavior of individuals. Since macro-models do not suffice, science
has turned to develop and study agent-based simulations, i.e., micro-level models.
In correspondence with the good scientific practice of parsimony, current ABSS
models are based on agents with simple cognitive capabilities. However, the societies
being modeled in policy making relate to real people with real needs and
personalities, often of a multi-cultural composition. Those circumstances require
the agents to be diversified to accommodate these facts.
In this positioning paper, we propose an incrementally complex model for agent
reasoning that can describe the influence of policies or comparable external influences
on the behavior of agents. Starting from the BDI model for agent reasoning,
we discuss the effect when personality and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs are added
to the model. Finally, we extend the model with a component that captures the
cultural background and normative constitution of the agent.
In the paper we show how these extensions affect the filtering of the desires and
intentions of the agent and the willingness of the agent to modify its behavior in
face of a new policy. This way, simulations can be made that support the differentiation
of behaviors in multi-cultural societies, and thus can be made to support
policy makers in their decisions
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