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Modelling cultural evolution

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  • Jansson, Fredrik

Abstract

Formal modelling provides a toolkit for understanding cultural dynamics, from individual decisions to recurring patterns of change. This chapter explains what models are and why they matter. Using a precise, shared language, they aid thinking and communication by turning fuzzy assumptions into clear, comparable, testable claims. The chapter describes the modelling process, trading explanatory clarity against predictive specificity. Four families of models are surveyed, from the micro-level with optimising agents to macro-level dynamics with heuristic or even implicit agents, covering reasoning (Bayesian inference, game theory), adaptive updating (reinforcement learning, evolutionary games), mean-field approaches (compartmental models, population dynamics), and complex systems (agent-based models, social networks). Building on these, a general template for modelling cultural evolution is outlined that connects system states, cognitive processes, behaviour, and macro-level outcomes in dynamic loops, linking individuals, groups, institutions, and their environments. Taken together, these tools support a pluralist but coherent understanding of cultural change.

Suggested Citation

  • Jansson, Fredrik, 2026. "Modelling cultural evolution," SocArXiv h4xjs_v1, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:socarx:h4xjs_v1
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/h4xjs_v1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Duncan J. Watts & Steven H. Strogatz, 1998. "Collective dynamics of ‘small-world’ networks," Nature, Nature, vol. 393(6684), pages 440-442, June.
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