Computational  Sociology

The computational sociology analyzes the social phenomena using computationally intensive methods. This is a branch of sociology which tests the theories of complex social processes using a number of new analytic approaches and methods like social network analysis, artificial intelligence, computer stimulations and other complex statistical methods. The computational sociology also deals with the understanding of the social agents.

The effect of the interactions of the social agents on the social aggregate are dealt seriously with this computational sociology. The methodologies and the subject matter of the social science are quite different compared to that of the computer science and the natural science. The artificial intelligence and physics has been the origin for the social stimulation.

The computational sociology has also got connection with the social complexity where the non-linear interconnection between the micro and the macro process is dealt with. These social complexity concepts have crept into the computational sociology. A perfect example for this can be the artificial society through which the researchers analyzed a social system’s structure.

Vannevar Bush’s differtial analyser and Norbert Wiener’s cybernetics are some of the important works which has actively played on understanding the complexity involved in the technical systems. There were arguments by George Homans who strongly argued that the sociological theories are needed to be formalized into hierarchical structures. These structures are the base for the hypothesis to operationalized into empirical studies.

During the 1960s and 70s the Macro-simulation and the micro-simulation are given due consideration. The social scientists performed the macro-simulations using the highly available computer technology. These macro-simulations controlled the feedback processes which are carried in an organization, cities, and industries. Though due consideration was given to the simulations of the social system in the mid 70s, there were inflammatory conclusions which dishonored the field with its demonstration. This has resulted in the models to become highly sensitive to the specific quantitative assumptions.

In the computational sociology, the physicists and the mathematicians were busy during the 1970s and 1980s in modeling and analyzing the simplicity of the component units. The scientists used cellular automata to specify the systems that consisted of grid cell. In these cells, each cell engaged a finite states and this resulted in the change of the neighboring states. So, the change in a particular state is governed by the changes in the immediate neighbors. This artificial intelligence and the power of the microcomputer has been the base for the development of new theories like chaos theory and complexity theory.

Questions:

• What is the duty of computation sociology?
• What is the role of macro-simulations in the society?