IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/jas/jasssj/2005-40-2.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How Can Social Networks Ever Become Complex? Modelling the Emergence of Complex Networks from Local Social Exchanges

Author

Abstract

Small-world and power-law network structures have been prominently proposed as models of large networks. However, the assumptions of these models usually lack sociological grounding. We present a computational model grounded in social exchange theory. Agents search attractive exchange partners in a diverse population. Agent use simple decision heuristics, based on imperfect, local information. Computer simulations show that the topological structure of the emergent social network depends heavily upon two sets of conditions, harshness of the exchange game and learning capacities of the agents. Further analysis show that a combination of these conditions affects whether star-like, small-world or power-law structures emerge.

Suggested Citation

  • Josep M. Pujol & Andreas Flache & Jordi Delgado & Ramon Sangüesa, 2005. "How Can Social Networks Ever Become Complex? Modelling the Emergence of Complex Networks from Local Social Exchanges," Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, vol. 8(4), pages 1-12.
    • Handle: RePEc:jas:jasssj:2005-40-2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.jasss.org/8/4/12/12.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Andreas Flache, 2001. "Individual Risk Preferences And Collective Outcomes In The Evolution Of Exchange Networks," Rationality and Society, , vol. 13(3), pages 304-348, August.
    2. Michael D. Cohen & Rick L. Riolo & Robert Axelrod, 2001. "The Role Of Social Structure In The Maintenance Of Cooperative Regimes," Rationality and Society, , vol. 13(1), pages 5-32, February.
    3. Todd, Peter M. & Gigerenzer, Gerd, 2003. "Bounding rationality to the world," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 143-165, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Marcel Ausloos & Herbert Dawid & Ugo Merlone, 2015. "Spatial Interactions in Agent-Based Modeling," Dynamic Modeling and Econometrics in Economics and Finance, in: Pasquale Commendatore & Saime Kayam & Ingrid Kubin (ed.), Complexity and Geographical Economics, edition 127, pages 353-377, Springer.
    2. Telcs, András & Csernai, Márton & Gulyás, András, 2013. "Load balanced diffusive capture process on homophilic scale-free networks," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 392(3), pages 510-519.
    3. Mooweon Rhee & Tohyun Kim, 2014. "Identity-based learning and segregation in social networks under different institutional environments," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 339-368, December.
    4. David O'Sullivan, 2009. "Changing Neighborhoods—Neighborhoods Changing," Sociological Methods & Research, , vol. 37(4), pages 498-530, May.
    5. Lynne Hamill & Nigel Gilbert, 2009. "Social Circles: A Simple Structure for Agent-Based Social Network Models," Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, vol. 12(2), pages 1-3.
    6. Enayat, Taha & Mehrani Ardebili, Mohsen & Reyhani Kivi, Ramtin & Amjadi, Bahador & Jamali, Yousef, 2022. "A computational approach to Homans Social Exchange Theory," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 597(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sergeeva, Anastasia & Bhardwaj, Akhil & Dimov, Dimo, 2021. "In the heat of the game: Analogical abduction in a pragmatist account of entrepreneurial reasoning," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(6).
    2. Cohen, Michael D. & Axelrod, Robert & Riolo, Rick, 2004. "Must there be human genes specific to prosocial behavior?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 49-51, January.
    3. Jaime Iranzo & Luis M Floría & Yamir Moreno & Angel Sánchez, 2012. "Empathy Emerges Spontaneously in the Ultimatum Game: Small Groups and Networks," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(9), pages 1-8, September.
    4. Mikhail Kunavin & Tatiana Kozitsina & Mikhail Myagkov & Irina Kozhevnikova & Mikhail Pankov & Ludmila Sokolova, 2021. "Bioelectrical brain activity can predict prosocial behavior," Papers 2105.14587, arXiv.org.
    5. Paulo Oliva & Philipp Zahn, 2018. "Sorting and filtering as effective rational choice procedures," Papers 1809.06766, arXiv.org, revised Sep 2021.
    6. José Ignacio Santos & María Pereda & Débora Zurro & Myrian Álvarez & Jorge Caro & José Manuel Galán & Ivan Briz i Godino, 2015. "Effect of Resource Spatial Correlation and Hunter-Fisher-Gatherer Mobility on Social Cooperation in Tierra del Fuego," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(4), pages 1-29, April.
    7. Wilson, James & Hill, J. & Kersula, M. & Wilson, C.L. & Whitsel, L. & Yan, L. & Acheson, J. & Chen, Y. & Cleaver, C. & Congdon, C. & Hayden, A. & Hayes, P. & Johnson, T. & Morehead, G. & Steneck, R. &, 2013. "Costly information and the evolution of self-organization in a small, complex economy," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 90(S), pages 76-93.
    8. Roger Waldeck, 2016. "Modeling criminality: the impact of emotions, norms and interaction structures," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 135-160, June.
    9. Laura Abrardi, 2019. "Behavioral barriers and the energy efficiency gap: a survey of the literature," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 46(1), pages 25-43, March.
    10. Levesque, Moren & Schade, Christian, 2005. "Intuitive optimizing: experimental findings on time allocation decisions with newly formed ventures," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 313-342, May.
    11. Carlos Sáenz-Royo, 2017. "A plausible Decision Heuristics Model: Fallibility of human judgment as an endogenous problem," Working Papers 2017/04, Economics Department, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón (Spain).
    12. Altman, Morris, 2014. "Insights from behavioral economics on how labor markets work," Working Paper Series 3466, Victoria University of Wellington, School of Economics and Finance.
    13. Nicholas Dew & Saras Sarasvathy, 2007. "Innovations, Stakeholders & Entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 74(3), pages 267-283, September.
    14. Daniele SCHILIRÒ, 2013. "Bounded Rationality: Psychology, Economics And The Financial Crises," Theoretical and Practical Research in the Economic Fields, ASERS Publishing, vol. 4(1), pages 97-108.
    15. M.A.L.M. van Assen & C.C.P. Snijders, 2010. "The effect of nonlinear utility on behaviour in repeated prisoner’s dilemmas," Rationality and Society, , vol. 22(3), pages 301-332, August.
    16. Giangiacomo Bravo & Lucia Tamburino, 2008. "The Evolution of Trust in Non-Simultaneous Exchange Situations," Rationality and Society, , vol. 20(1), pages 85-113, February.
    17. Muñoz-Herrera, Manuel & Dijkstra, Jacob & Flache, Andreas & Wittek, Rafael, 2021. "Collaborative production networks among unequal actors," Network Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(1), pages 1-17, March.
    18. Altman, Morris, 2014. "Insights from behavioral economics on how labor markets work," Working Paper Series 18843, Victoria University of Wellington, School of Economics and Finance.
    19. Annie Tubadji, 2020. "Value-Free Analysis of Values: A Culture-Based Development Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-17, November.
    20. Torsten Bornemann & Martin Klarmann & Martin Moosbrugger, 2020. "Verhaltenswissenschaftliche Forschung zum organisationalen Einkaufsverhalten: Überblick über die Marketingliteratur [Behavioral B2B Buying Research—An Overview of the Marketing Literature]," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 72(4), pages 447-478, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:jas:jasssj:2005-40-2. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Francesco Renzini (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.