The impact of peer pressure: extending Axelrod’s model on cultural polarisation

Culture represents the broad range of things over which people influence each other, and frequently contributes to the behaviour, interaction and outlook of groups. Although it has been studied in the context of humans, it is also relevant to future intelligent cognitive systems, that could have the capability to update their disposition and strategy based on the influence of others. In this work we transfer concepts from social sciences to the computing sciences and examine the effect of peer influence on culture. We consider the notion of “peer pressure”, being the combined effect from all an individual’s neighbours exerting influence at the same time, and also through influence flowing from indirect sources. This approach is derived using Social Impact Theory. We benchmark this against the cultural polarisation model from Axelrod, which involves influence being restricted to dyadic interactions between agents. We find that peer pressure provides complex contagion with a significant impact on cultural evolution. Greater cultural diversity is maintained, with indirect paths mitigating this by effectively forming disruptive weak links. This reaffirms that maintaining diversity in social ties, as well as a wide breadth, supports the mitigation of cultural isolation and polarisation. The model provides a platform to explore culture in a wide range of further scenarios, including electronic, coalition and organisational contexts

Breadth verses depth: the impact of tree structure on cultural influence

Cultural spread in social networks and organisations is an important and longstanding issue. In this paper we assess this role of tree structures in facilitating cultural diversity. Cultural features are represented using abstract traits that are held by individual agents, which may transfer when neighbouring agents interact through the network structure. We use an agent-based model that incorporates both the combined social pressure and influence from an agent's neighbours. We perform a multivariate study where the number of features and traits representing culture are varied, alongside the breadth and depth of the tree. The results reveal interesting findings on cultural diversity. Increasing the number of features promotes strong convergence in flatter trees as compared to narrower and deeper trees. At the same time increasing features causes narrower deeper trees to show greater cultural pluralism while flatter trees instead show greater cultural homogenisation. We also find that in contrast to previous work, the polarisation between nodes does not rise steadily as the number of traits increase but under certain conditions may also fall. The results have implications for organisational structures - in particular for hierarchies where depth supports cultural divergence, while breadth promotes greater homogeneity, but with increased coordination overhead on the root nodes. These observations also support subsidiarity in deep organisational structures - it is not just a case of communication length promoting subsidiarity, but local cultural differences are more likely to be sustained within these structures

Breadth verses depth: the impact of tree structure on cultural influence

Cultural spread in social networks and organisations is an important and longstanding issue. In this paper we assess this role of tree structures in facilitating cultural diversity. Cultural features are represented using abstract traits that are held by individual agents, which may transfer when neighbouring agents interact through the network structure. We use an agent-based model that incorporates both the combined social pressure and influence from an agent's neighbours. We perform a multivariate study where the number of features and traits representing culture are varied, alongside the breadth and depth of the tree. The results reveal interesting findings on cultural diversity. Increasing the number of features promotes strong convergence in flatter trees as compared to narrower and deeper trees. At the same time increasing features causes narrower deeper trees to show greater cultural pluralism while flatter trees instead show greater cultural homogenisation. We also find that in contrast to previous work, the polarisation between nodes does not rise steadily as the number of traits increase but under certain conditions may also fall. The results have implications for organisational structures - in particular for hierarchies where depth supports cultural divergence, while breadth promotes greater homogeneity, but with increased coordination overhead on the root nodes. These observations also support subsidiarity in deep organisational structures - it is not just a case of communication length promoting subsidiarity, but local cultural differences are more likely to be sustained within these structures

A computational framework for modelling inter-group behaviour using psychological theory

Psychological theories of inter-group behaviour offer justified representations for interaction, influence, and motivation for coalescence. Agent-based modelling of this behaviour, using evolutionary approaches, further provides a powerful tool to examine the implications of these theories in a dynamic context. In particular, this can enhance our understanding of the escalation of hostility and warfare, and its mitigation, contributing to policy and interventions. In this paper we propose a framework through which social psychology can be embedded in computation for the examination of inter-group behaviour. We examine how various social-psychological theories can be embedded in evolutionary models, and identify ways in which visualisation can support the objective assessment of emergent behaviour. We also discuss how real-world data can be used to parameterise scenarios on which modelling is conducted

The coevolution of social networks and cognitive dissonance

Cognitive dissonance is well-understood as a significant psychological motivator of behavior. It can be experienced vicariously when a member of one's social group acts inconsistently to expectations. In this article, we explore the network implications from individuals reconciling cognitive friction when their neighbors hold alternative views. Through agent-based modeling, we introduce a framework to explore the sensitivity of behavior on social network structure, in response to vicarious dissonance. The model allows us to understand how and why vicarious dissonance may contribute to polarization, both in terms of network structure and the convictions held by individuals. Alternative response behaviors are each found to be highly effective in reducing the cognitive dissonance felt across a population but with wide-ranging outcomes for the population as a whole. The results highlight the important role of neutrality and tolerance in retaining social cohesion while showing how easily this can be disrupted. The model presents a useful tool for further research, allowing bespoke scenarios to be investigated

The Network-Extended Mind

Whereas the traditional view in cognitive science has been to view mind and cognition as something that is the result of essentially inner, neural processes, the extended cognition perspective claims that at least some human mental states and processes stem from complex webs of causal influence involving extra-neural resources, most notably the resources of our social and technological environments. In this chapter, we explore the possibility that contemporary and near-future network systems are poised to extend and perhaps transform our human cognitive potential. We also examine the extent to which the information and network sciences are relevant to our understanding of various forms of cognitive extension, particularly with respect to the formation, maintenance and functioning of extended cognitive systems in network-enabled environments. Our claim is that the information and network sciences are relevant on two counts: firstly, they support an understanding of the mechanisms underpinning socially- and technologically-mediated forms of cognitive extension; secondly, they serve to guide and inform engineering efforts that strive to enhance and expand our cognitive capabilities. We discuss the relevance and applicability of these conclusions to current and future research exploring the contribution of network technologies to military coalition operations

Using ACT-R to Model Collective Sensemaking in Military Coalition Environments

Cognitive social simulations, enabled by cognitive architectures (such as ACT-R), are particularly well-suited for advancing our understanding of socially-distributed and socially-situated cognition. As a result, multi-agent simulations featuring the use of ACT-R agents may be important in improving our understanding of the factors that influence collective sensemaking. While previous studies demonstrate the feasibility of using ACT-R to model collective cognition, as well as sensemaking processes at the individual level, the development of an ACT-R model of collective sensemaking in a coalition environment presents a range of relatively novel methodological, technological and modeling challenges. Such challenges include the need to equip ACT-R agents with communication capabilities, the need to deal with highly dynamic information environments, the need to support intelligent information retrieval capabilities, and the need to represent inter-agent cognitive differences. These challenges shape the nature of research and development efforts to create a multi-agent simulation capability that can be used to explore the impact of different sociotechnical interventions on collective sensemaking processes. In this paper, we discuss the research efforts being undertaken to address these challenges in the context of the International Technology Alliance (ITA) research program. We also discuss the motivations for using ACT-R to model collective sensemaking processes and outline some opportunities for model application and empirical evaluation