Collaborating Specialist Carlos Lemos 2018 Book Description: This Brief revisits and extends Epstein’s classical agent-based model of civil violence by considering important mechanisms suggested by social conflict theories. Among them are: relative deprivation as generator of hardship, generalized vanishing of the…
Executive Director Wesley Wildman, Research Associate LeRon Shults and Co-Author Proceedings of the 2017 Winter Simulation Conference December 2017 Abstract: Human simulation (applying Modeling and Simulation (M&S) to topics in the humanities, the interpretative social sciences, and the arts) is a…
Doctoral Fellow Kate Stockly & Post-Doctoral Fellow Stephanie Arel and Research Associate Megan DeFranza Conference on Evolution of Religion II: How Biology, Psychology and Culture Interact November 14, 2017 Abstract: One of the most perpetually puzzling questions about religion is: why…
Post-Doctoral Fellow Khatera Alizada & Executive Director Wesley Wildman The Pardee School Initiative on Forced Migration and Human Trafficking at Boston University, Boston MA USA October 27, 2017 Workshop Summary: The Initiative on Forced Migration and Human Trafficking (FMHT), a research initiative…
Research Associates Jose Padilla, Ross Gore and Saikou Diallo, Collaborating Specialist Christopher Lynch Simulation October 24, 2017 Abstract: This paper reports on a survey capturing modelers’ perspectives of Modeling and Simulation (M&S). The survey was completed by a total of 283…
Research Associate LeRon Shults Social Simulation Conference 2017 September 28, 2017 Conference Summary: The Social Simulation Conference 2017 was held in the O’Brien Centre in UCD, Dublin on 25 – 29 September, 2017 – Social Simulation for a Digital Society. This is…
Post-Doctoral Fellow Justin Lane Chapter in Religion Explained?: The Cognitive Science of Religion After Twenty-Five Years September 21, 2017 Book Summary: With contributions from founders of the field, including Justin Barrett, E. Thomas Lawson, Robert N. McCauley, Paschal Boyer, Armin Geertz and…
Research Associates F. LeRon Shults and Ross Gore, Executive Director Wesley J. Wildman, Post-Doctoral Fellow Justin Lane and Co-Authors 2017 Social Simulation Conference in Dublin, Ireland September 2017 Abstract: Empirical findings from psychology and social science suggest that both individual and…
This article was originally published at Patheos and has been reprinted with permission. Religion and self-regulation: a model (and a trip to Norway)
The MODRN team is meeting this August to touch base about the rapid progress of the project and collaborate on further research. Check out this video preview of what they’ll be up to today at the colloquium!
Research Associates LeRon Shults and Uffe Schjodt International Association for the Psychology of Religion: Culture, Context and Existential Challenges August 23, 2017 Conference Summary: The International Association for the Psychology of Religion (IAPR) holds bi-annual conferences that serve as a meeting…
This article was originally published at Patheos and has been reprinted with permission. Religion builds self-control and excludes outsiders – simultaneously
Research Associate Ross Gore, Collaborating Specialist Christopher Lynch and Co-Authors Conference Paper at Swarmfest 2017: 21st Annual Meeting on Agent Based Modeling and Simulation August 2017 Abstract: Verification and validation (V&V) techniques commonly require modelers to collect and statistically analyze large…
This article was originally published at Patheos and has been reprinted with permission. Supernatural punishment and the evolution of cooperation
Post-Doctoral Fellow Justin Lane Religion, Brain and Behavior June 29, 2017 Introduction: God is Watching You presents a comprehensive overview of the supernatural punishment hypothesis (SPH). In brief, the SPH posits that human behavior is influenced by the fear of punishment…
The MODRN team will be meeting to develop models and analyze findings in Lesbos Greece this coming May. Here’s a video preview of their work there!
This article was originally published at Patheos and has been reprinted with permission. A computer model of atheism?
Executive Director Wesley Wildman, Research Associates LeRon Shults and Saikou Diallo, Post-Doctoral Fellow Justin Lane and Co-Authors Religion, Brain and Behavior March 16, 2017 Abstract: This article outlines the development – and reports on the experimental findings – of two…
Post-Doctoral Fellow Justin Lane Religion, Brain and Behavior March 13, 2017 Abstract: Given events such as 11 September, the 2013 Boston Bombing, and the 2015 Paris attacks it is becoming increasingly apparent that religious extremism has great potential to negatively…
Research Associate LeRon Shults Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research Opening March 2017 Summary: Using Multi-Agent Artificial Intelligence Models to Simulate Social Policy Learn More