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Library > Fact Sheets > AFOSR: Collective Behavior and Socio-Cultural Modeling
AFOSR: COLLECTIVE BEHAVIOR AND SOCIO-CULTURAL MODELING
Air Force Office of Scientific Research
Mathematics, Information and Life Sciences Directorate
Collective Behavior and
Socio-Cultural Modeling
Dr. Terence Lyons, Program Manager
We are interested in developing a basic research foundation for using computational and modeling approaches to study behavior of group and communities. This program seeks fundamental understanding of the interactions between demographic groups both to create understanding for technology developments for enhanced cooperation, such as operational decision making with coalition partners, and to explain and predict outcomes between competing factions within geographic regions.
This program encourages collaboration between social, behavioral, cognitive, and biological scientists with computational researchers in disciplines such as mathematics, computer science, modeling, artificial intelligence, control theory, and adaptive systems. Example topics include: (1) Exploring the structure of cultural knowledge, beliefs, and social norms either broadly, in factor models, or more narrowly, within the framework of a computational cognitive architecture; (2) Reasoning and decision-making processes in cultural context, including reasoning with uncertain information; (3) Self-organization and adaptation of culturally defined entities or groups, including models of group competitive and cooperative interactions; (4) Game-theoretic modeling of interactive agents with imperfect and incomplete information regarding other agents; (5) New approaches to automated reasoning about belief, knowledge, obligation, time, and preference; and (6) Characterization of interacting dynamics at multiple scales, from individual to nation-state. We are also interested in exploring the fundamental constraints and limits of socio-cultural prediction and rigorous mathematical approaches that will help us assess this. What is the appropriate data upon which to base such models? What are the theoretical justifications for the models proposed? What can such models reasonably be expected to accomplish? How can the different ontologies and models of the various relevant disciplines best be integrated? To predict group behavior do we need to understand the effects of individual level cognition on group decision making and neuroscience correlates of socio cultural behavior? Are multi-level approaches required? How generalizable are socio cultural models to other sub populations? How should we validate such models?
Contact:
Dr. Terence Lyons
AFOSR/NL
Tele: (703) 696-9542
DSN: 426-9542
FAX: (703) 696-8449
Email: terence.lyons@afosr.af.mil
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