A preliminary model of participation for small groups

Abstract

We present a small-group model that moderates agent behavior using several factors to illustrate the influence of social reflexivity on individual behavior. To motivate this work, we review a validated simulation of the Battle of Medenine. Individuals in the battle performed with greater variance than the simulation predicted, suggesting that individual differences are important. Using a light-weight simulation, we implement one means of representing these differences inspired in part by Grossman's (On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society. Little, Brown and Company, New York, 1995) participation formula. This work contributes to a general theory of social reflexivity by offering a theory of participation as a social phenomenon, independent of explicit agent knowledge. We demonstrate that our preliminary version of the participation model generates individual differences that in turn have a meaningful impact on group performance. Specifically, our results suggest that a group member's location with respect to other group members and observers can be an important exogenous source of individual differences.