Modeling Cultural Transmission of Rituals in Silico: The Advantages and Pitfalls of Agent-Based vs. System Dynamics Models
Authored by Vojtech Kase, Tomas Hampejs, Zdenek Pospisil
Date Published: 2018
DOI: 10.1163/15685373-12340041
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Abstract
This article introduces an agent-based and a system-dynamics model
investigating the cultural transmission of frequent collective rituals.
It focuses on social function and cognitive attraction as independently
affecting transmission. The models focus on the historical context of
early Christian meals, where various theoretically inspiring trends in
cultural transmission of rituals can be observed. The primary purpose of
the article is to contribute to theorizing about cultural transmission
of rituals by suggesting a clear operationalization of their social
function and cognitive attraction. Furthermore, the article challenges
recent trends in the field by providing a theoretically feasible model
for how, under certain conditions, cognitive attraction can influence
the transmission to a relatively greater extent than social function. In
the system dynamics model we reproduce the results of our agent-based
model while putting some of our basic operational assumptions under
scrutiny. We consider approaching social function and cognitive
attraction in isolation as a preliminary but necessary step in the
process of creating more complex models of the cultural selection of
rituals, where the two aspects will be combined to produce ritual forms
with greater correspondence to real-world religious rituals.
Tags
Agent-based model
Cultural Transmission
Beliefs
system dynamics model
Protocol
Synchrony
Ritual
Social function
Cognitive attraction
Goal-demotion