Bibliography
Some Useful Resources (for the Seriously Curious)
If you are interested in the course topic and would like to explore it more deeply on your own, the following list offers a few helpful places to start. Most of these works can be obtained via LUC’s library. If you have difficulty locating any of them, send me an email (jlarson4@luc.edu) and I will help you get what you are looking for.
For a non-technical introduction to computer simulation, consider reading the chapter by Larson (2012). It gives a brief history of computer simulation, and describes several specific simulations of problem-solving and decision-making groups that I have developed. More sophisticated readers who are curious about the details of those simulations can find them in Larson (1997) and Larson (2007), and the papers by Larson et al. (1996, 1998) and Larson and Egan (in press) describe research on the real-world group phenomenon (real people in real groups!) that is modeled in Larson (1997). Larson (1997) is also the basis for the NetLogo example shown here.
Another good starting point is the chapter by Smith & Beasley (2015). It introduces agent-based modeling (ABM)—the form of computer simulation used in this course—as an approach to theory building. It provides an example, some background, key definitions, and descriptions of several areas of social-psychological research in which ABMs either have been or can be developed. And it highlights the strengths and weaknesses of this approach to theory building vis-à-vis other more traditional methods.
Finally, the the two books marked with (*) will likely be required reading for this course. So these might be a another good place for the seriously curious to begin.
Cioffi-Revilla, C. (2014). Introduction to Computational Social Science: Principles and Applications. London: Springer-Verlag.
Epstein, J. (2006). Generative Social Science. Studies in agent-based computational modeling. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Epstein, J. (2013). Agent Zero: Toward neurocognitive foundations for generative social science. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Gelfert, A. (2016). How to do science with models: A philosophical primer. NY: Springer International.
Larson, J. R., Jr. (1997). Modeling the entry of shared and unshared information into group discussion: A review and BASIC language computer program. Small Group Research, 28, 454-479.
Larson, J. R., Jr. (2007). Deep diversity and strong synergy: Modeling the impact of variability in members' problem-solving strategies on group problem-solving performance. Small Group Research, 38, 413-436.
Larson, J. R., Jr. (2012). Computer simulation methods for groups: From formula translation to agent-based modeling. In A. B. Hollingshead & M. S. Poole (Eds.), Research methods for studying groups and teams: A guide to approaches, tools, and technologies (pp. 79-104). NY: Taylor & Francis/Routledge.
Larson, J. R., Jr., Christensen, C., Abbott, A. S., & Franz, T. M. (1996). Diagnosing groups: Charting the flow of information in medical decision making teams. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 315-330.
Larson, J. R., Jr., Christensen, C., Franz, T. M., & Abbott, A. S. (1998). Diagnosing groups: The pooling, management, and impact of shared and unshared case information in team-based medical decision making. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 93-108.
Larson, J. R., Jr., & Egan, A. C. (in press). Information sharing within groups in organizations: Situational and motivational influences. In J. M. Levine & L. Argote (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Organizational Learning. London: Oxford University Press.
*Railsback, S. F., & Grimm, V. (2012). Agent-based and individual-based modeling: A practical introduction. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Smith, E. R., & Beasley, A. (2015). Agent-based modeling. In B. Gawronski and G. V. Bodenhausen (Eds.), Theory and Explanation in Social Psychology (390-407). NY: Guilford Press.
*Weisberg, M. (2013). Simulation and similarity: Using models to understand the world. NY: Oxford University Press.
Wilensky, U. & Rand, W. (2015). An Introduction to Agent-Based Modeling: Modeling Natural, Social, and Engineered Complex Systems with NetLogo. Cambridge MA: MIT Press.