Abstract
Many agent-based models (ABMs) try to explain large-scale phenomena by reducing them to behaviors at lower scales. At these scales in social systems are functional groups such as households, religious congregations, coops and local governments. The intra-group dynamics of functional groups often generate inefficient or unexpected behavior that cannot be predicted by modeling groups as basic units. We introduce a framework for modeling intra-group decision-making and its interaction with social norms, using the household as our focus. We select phenomena related to women’s empowerment in agriculture as examples influenced by both intra-household dynamics and gender norms. Our framework proves more capable of replicating these phenomena than two common types of ABMs. We conclude that it is not enough to build multi-scale models; explaining social behaviors entails modeling intra-scale dynamics.
Highlights
Many agent-based models (ABMs) try to explain large-scale phenomena by reducing them to behaviors at lower scales
In addition to treating household members as homogeneous, unitary household-based ABMs overlook the different effects of social norms on household members; for example, gender norms in agricultural households contribute to production inefficiency that is not predicted by the unitary view of the h ousehold[8]
The qualitative findings presented here show that individual-based model” (IM) and unitary household-based model” (UM) cannot replicate IHM results either on a basic level or through emergent behaviors
Summary
Many agent-based models (ABMs) try to explain large-scale phenomena by reducing them to behaviors at lower scales. The conflict and negotiation inherent in intra-group decision-making can generate unexpected or inefficient outcomes at the group scale These outcomes can spread to other social structures and influence social norms at larger scales; for example, if one community center minimizes the importance of COVID-19 testing, so might another, which might spread regional beliefs that COVID-19 is a hoax. If one wants to predict and explain how large-scale social dynamics emerge from behaviors at multiple scales, one needs to model behavior between scales (e.g. how social norms interact with community decisions) and within scales (e.g. how community members decide whether to host a testing center) This entails modeling functional groups, but intra-group dynamics. In addition to treating household members as homogeneous, unitary household-based ABMs overlook the different effects of social norms on household members; for example, gender norms in agricultural households contribute to production inefficiency that is not predicted by the unitary view of the h ousehold[8]
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