Sociale netwerken spelen de rol van het bevorderen van die doelen, welke actoren nastreven. Het i... more Sociale netwerken spelen de rol van het bevorderen van die doelen, welke actoren nastreven. Het is aannemelijk dat individuele beslissingen over relaties en gedrag leiden tot selectieve keuzes met betrekking tot interactie-partners, gegeven wie zij zijn, resulterend in de inclusie van sommige actoren en de uitsluiting van anderen. Verder kan dit resulteren in diverse toegang tot voordelen en kansen, leidend tot ongelijkheid in de baten die geincludeerde actoren hebben, vergeleken met de baten verzameld door uitgesloten actoren. Overeenkomstig heeft dit proefschrift de totstandkoming van patronen van relaties, uitsluiting, en ongelijke mogelijkheden van toegang tot baten bestudeerd, als gevolg van de micro-processen tussen heterogene actoren, door zich te richten op de condities waaronder verschillen in individuele kenmerken tussen mensen leiden tot sociale uitsluiting. Wij hebben ons gericht op twee typen settings, waarin individuele verschillen een fundamentele rol spelen in het on...
Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, 2020
Strong demographic faultlines are a potential source of conflict in teams. To study conditions un... more Strong demographic faultlines are a potential source of conflict in teams. To study conditions under which faultlines can result in between-group bi-polarization of opinions, a computational model of persuasive argument communication has been proposed. We identify two hitherto overlooked degrees of freedom in how researchers formalized the theory. First, are arguments agents communicate influencing each other’s opinions explicitly or implicitly represented in the model? Second, does similarity between agents increase chances of interaction or the persuasiveness of others’ arguments? Here we examine these degrees of freedom in order to assess their effect on the model’s predictions. We find that both degrees of freedom matter: in a team with strong demographic faultline, the model predicts more between-group bi-polarization when (1) arguments are represented explicitly, and (2) when homophily is modelled such that the interaction between similar agents are more likely (instead of mor...
In this paper we compare two micro foundations for modelling human behaviour and decision making.... more In this paper we compare two micro foundations for modelling human behaviour and decision making. We focus on perfect strategic rationality on the one hand and a simple reinforcement mechanism on the other hand. Iterated prisoner’s dilemmas serve as the play ground for the comparison. The main lesson of our analysis is that in the space of all possible 2 × 2 PDs different micro foundations do matter. This suggests that researchers can not safely rely on the assumption that implementing simple models of decision making will yield the same results that may be obtained when more sophisticated decision rules are built into the agents.
Polarization between groups is a major topic of contemporary societal debate and research. Formal... more Polarization between groups is a major topic of contemporary societal debate and research. Formal models of opinion dynamics try to explain how intergroup polarization arises from simple first principles of social interaction. In existing models, intergroup attitudes affect social influence in the form of homophily or xenophobia, fixed tendencies of individuals to be more open to influence from ingroup members or distance themselves from attitudes of outgroup members. These models generate polarization between groups, but they neglect a central insight from empirical research. Intergroup attitudes are themselves subject to social influence in interactions with both in- and outgroup members. A model is proposed in which the attitude which is subject to social influence is also an intergroup attitude. It affects in turn the influence process itself. Furthermore, it is shown how this changes model predictions about process and conditions of polarization between groups. More complex pat...
This study aims to understand the consequences of competition between collaborating partners on t... more This study aims to understand the consequences of competition between collaborating partners on the emergence of solidarity relations. Previous research has suggested that peers engaging in successful economic exchanges, e.g. professional collaboration between independent workers, can develop expectations of social support that eventually give rise to mutual solidarity (Bianchi et al. 2017; see also Molm et al. 2007, 2009; Kuwabara 2011). This can occur via the formation of trust based on experiences of successful cooperation, which in turn fosters confidence in receiving social support. Yet, this mechanism may hinge upon the beneficial condition of absence of competition among partners, i.e., a complication that previous research has not yet explored theoretically. Here, we modelled a network of independent economic agents with a mix of incentives for competition and cooperation. Potential collaboration partners often compete over highest-skilled or most attractive partners, due to the unequal distribution of cognitive or material resources in a network. To understand if heterogeneity between actors may influence the structure of solidarity relations, we developed a computational model that derives the dynamics of network structure from interdependent actions of economic agents. We conducted experiments that vary heterogeneity of the distribution of both resource endowment and need for support between agents. To look at network dynamics, we are drawing on an adaptation of the computational modelling component of Snijders\u2019 Stochastic Actor-Based Model (1996; see also Snijders & Steglich 2015). Our model includes a multiplex network of interdependent dynamics of three types of networks, including relations of collaboration, trust and social support expectations. Our computational experiments allowed us to study effects of heterogeneity on the connectivity and integration of the emergent social support networks. Preliminary results show that competition in collaboration is detrimental for the connectivity of the emergent social support network if resource heterogeneity is sufficiently high. Moreover, the emergent networks are highly segregated along differences in resource levels. This gives rise to a core-periphery structure in which resource rich actors find the most attractive partners to relate to. However, once heterogeneity in need for support is added, the effect of resource heterogeneity is neutralized by a \u2018double-edge\u2019 effect of heterogeneity on social support relations. Resource poor but needy actors establish mutual help relations due to their stronger social activity in search for attractive partners, which makes them less peripheral in the emergent network than without heterogeneity in neediness. Finally, in our model resource inequality can also generate networks where the level of integration between high- and low-resource agents is similar to what is produced in absence of competition
Sociale netwerken spelen de rol van het bevorderen van die doelen, welke actoren nastreven. Het i... more Sociale netwerken spelen de rol van het bevorderen van die doelen, welke actoren nastreven. Het is aannemelijk dat individuele beslissingen over relaties en gedrag leiden tot selectieve keuzes met betrekking tot interactie-partners, gegeven wie zij zijn, resulterend in de inclusie van sommige actoren en de uitsluiting van anderen. Verder kan dit resulteren in diverse toegang tot voordelen en kansen, leidend tot ongelijkheid in de baten die geincludeerde actoren hebben, vergeleken met de baten verzameld door uitgesloten actoren. Overeenkomstig heeft dit proefschrift de totstandkoming van patronen van relaties, uitsluiting, en ongelijke mogelijkheden van toegang tot baten bestudeerd, als gevolg van de micro-processen tussen heterogene actoren, door zich te richten op de condities waaronder verschillen in individuele kenmerken tussen mensen leiden tot sociale uitsluiting. Wij hebben ons gericht op twee typen settings, waarin individuele verschillen een fundamentele rol spelen in het on...
Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, 2020
Strong demographic faultlines are a potential source of conflict in teams. To study conditions un... more Strong demographic faultlines are a potential source of conflict in teams. To study conditions under which faultlines can result in between-group bi-polarization of opinions, a computational model of persuasive argument communication has been proposed. We identify two hitherto overlooked degrees of freedom in how researchers formalized the theory. First, are arguments agents communicate influencing each other’s opinions explicitly or implicitly represented in the model? Second, does similarity between agents increase chances of interaction or the persuasiveness of others’ arguments? Here we examine these degrees of freedom in order to assess their effect on the model’s predictions. We find that both degrees of freedom matter: in a team with strong demographic faultline, the model predicts more between-group bi-polarization when (1) arguments are represented explicitly, and (2) when homophily is modelled such that the interaction between similar agents are more likely (instead of mor...
In this paper we compare two micro foundations for modelling human behaviour and decision making.... more In this paper we compare two micro foundations for modelling human behaviour and decision making. We focus on perfect strategic rationality on the one hand and a simple reinforcement mechanism on the other hand. Iterated prisoner’s dilemmas serve as the play ground for the comparison. The main lesson of our analysis is that in the space of all possible 2 × 2 PDs different micro foundations do matter. This suggests that researchers can not safely rely on the assumption that implementing simple models of decision making will yield the same results that may be obtained when more sophisticated decision rules are built into the agents.
Polarization between groups is a major topic of contemporary societal debate and research. Formal... more Polarization between groups is a major topic of contemporary societal debate and research. Formal models of opinion dynamics try to explain how intergroup polarization arises from simple first principles of social interaction. In existing models, intergroup attitudes affect social influence in the form of homophily or xenophobia, fixed tendencies of individuals to be more open to influence from ingroup members or distance themselves from attitudes of outgroup members. These models generate polarization between groups, but they neglect a central insight from empirical research. Intergroup attitudes are themselves subject to social influence in interactions with both in- and outgroup members. A model is proposed in which the attitude which is subject to social influence is also an intergroup attitude. It affects in turn the influence process itself. Furthermore, it is shown how this changes model predictions about process and conditions of polarization between groups. More complex pat...
This study aims to understand the consequences of competition between collaborating partners on t... more This study aims to understand the consequences of competition between collaborating partners on the emergence of solidarity relations. Previous research has suggested that peers engaging in successful economic exchanges, e.g. professional collaboration between independent workers, can develop expectations of social support that eventually give rise to mutual solidarity (Bianchi et al. 2017; see also Molm et al. 2007, 2009; Kuwabara 2011). This can occur via the formation of trust based on experiences of successful cooperation, which in turn fosters confidence in receiving social support. Yet, this mechanism may hinge upon the beneficial condition of absence of competition among partners, i.e., a complication that previous research has not yet explored theoretically. Here, we modelled a network of independent economic agents with a mix of incentives for competition and cooperation. Potential collaboration partners often compete over highest-skilled or most attractive partners, due to the unequal distribution of cognitive or material resources in a network. To understand if heterogeneity between actors may influence the structure of solidarity relations, we developed a computational model that derives the dynamics of network structure from interdependent actions of economic agents. We conducted experiments that vary heterogeneity of the distribution of both resource endowment and need for support between agents. To look at network dynamics, we are drawing on an adaptation of the computational modelling component of Snijders\u2019 Stochastic Actor-Based Model (1996; see also Snijders & Steglich 2015). Our model includes a multiplex network of interdependent dynamics of three types of networks, including relations of collaboration, trust and social support expectations. Our computational experiments allowed us to study effects of heterogeneity on the connectivity and integration of the emergent social support networks. Preliminary results show that competition in collaboration is detrimental for the connectivity of the emergent social support network if resource heterogeneity is sufficiently high. Moreover, the emergent networks are highly segregated along differences in resource levels. This gives rise to a core-periphery structure in which resource rich actors find the most attractive partners to relate to. However, once heterogeneity in need for support is added, the effect of resource heterogeneity is neutralized by a \u2018double-edge\u2019 effect of heterogeneity on social support relations. Resource poor but needy actors establish mutual help relations due to their stronger social activity in search for attractive partners, which makes them less peripheral in the emergent network than without heterogeneity in neediness. Finally, in our model resource inequality can also generate networks where the level of integration between high- and low-resource agents is similar to what is produced in absence of competition
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Papers by A. Flache