Agent based modeling to inform the design of multiuser systems

Abstract

Agent Based Modeling studies group activity by simulating the individuals in it and allowing group-level phenomena to emerge. It can be used to integrate theories to inform designs of technology for groups. Researchers use theories as the basis of the rules of how individuals behave (e.g., what motivates users to contribute to an online community). They can run virtual experiments by changing parameters of the model (e.g., the topical focus in an online community) to see what collective behaviors emerge.