Social complexity
Encyclopedia
In the discipline of sociology
, social complexity is a theoretical
construct
useful in the analysis
of society.
in the sciences
are found in relation to systems theory
, where a phenomenon
under study has many parts and many possible arrangements of the relationships between those parts. At the same time, what is complex and what is simple is relative and may change with time. Though current usage of the term "complexity" in the field of sociology typically refers specifically to theories of society as a Complex Adaptive System
(CAS), social complexity and its emergent
properties are central recurring themes throughout the historical development of social thought
and the study of social change
. The early founders
of sociological theory
, such as Ferdinand Tönnies
, Émile Durkheim
, Max Weber
, Vilfredo Pareto
, and Georg Simmel
, all examined the exponential growth and increasing interrelatedness of social encounters and exchanges
. This emphasis on the interconnectedness of social relationships and the emergence of new properties within society permeates theoretical thinking
in multiple areas of sociology. As a theoretical tool, social complexity theory serves as a basis for the connection of micro-
and macro
-level social phenomena, providing a meso-
level or middle-range
theoretical platform for hypothesis
formation. Methodologically
, the concept of social complexity is theory-neutral, meaning that it accommodates both local (micro
) and global (macro
) phenomena in sociological research.
carried on the work of the early founders mentioned above in his early (1937) work on action theory
. By 1951, Parsons places these earlier ideas firmly into the realm of formal systems theory
in The Social System. For the next several decades, this synergy between general systems thinking
and the further development of social system theories is carried forward by Parson's student, Robert K. Merton
, and a long line of others, in discussions of theories of the middle-range
and social structure and agency
. During part of this same period, from the late 1970s through the early 1990s, discussion ensues in any number of other research areas about the properties of systems in which strong correlation of sub-parts leads to observed behaviors variously described as autopoetic, self-organizing
, dynamical
, turbulent, and chaotic. All of these are forms of system behavior arising from mathematical complexity. By the early 1990s, the work of social theorists such as Niklas Luhmann
began reflecting these themes of complex behavior.
One of the earliest usages of the term "complexity", in the social and behavioral sciences, to refer specifically to a complex system
is found in the study of modern organizations
and management studies. However, particularly in management studies, the term often has been used in a metaphorical
rather than in a qualitative or quantiative
theoretical manner. By the mid-1990s, the "complexity turn" in social sciences begins as some of the same tools generally used in complexity science are incorporated into the social sciences. By 1998, the international, electronic periodical, Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation
, had been created. In the last several years, many publications have presented overviews of complexity theory within the field of sociology (see Further reading). Within this body of work, connections also are drawn to yet other theoretical traditions, including constructivist epistemology
and the philosophical positions of phenomenology, postmodernism
and critical realism
.
methods of early sociologists; obviously, this method is important in developing, defining, and refining the theoretical construct of social complexity. As complex social systems have many parts and there are many possible relationships between those parts, appropriate methodologies are typically determined to some degree by the research level of analysis differentiated
by the researcher according to the level of description or explanation demanded by the research hypotheses. At the most localized levels of analysis, ethnographic, participant-
or non-participant observation, content analysis
and other qualitative research
methods may be appropriate. More recently, highly sophisticated quantitative research
methodologies are being developed and used in sociology at both local and global levels of analysis. Such methods include (but are not limited to) bifurcation diagrams
, network analysis
, non-linear modeling, and computational
models including cellular automata
programming, sociocybernetics
and other methods of social simulation
.
analysis is used to study the dynamics of large, complex social networks. Dynamic network analysis
brings together traditional social network analysis, link analysis
and multi-agent systems within network science
and network theory
. Through the use of key concepts and methods in social network analysis, agent-based modeling, theoretical physics
, and modern mathematics
(particularly graph theory
and fractal geometry), this method of inquiry brought insights into the dynamics and structure of social systems. New computational methods of localized social network analysis are coming out of out of the work of Duncan Watts, Albert-László Barabási
, Nicholas A. Christakis
, Kathleen M. Carley
and others. New methods of global network analysis are emerging from the work of John Urry
and the sociological study of globalization, linked to the work of Manuel Castells
and the later work of Immanuel Wallerstein
. Since the late 1990s, Wallerstein increasingly makes use of complexity theory, particularly the work of Ilya Prigogine
. Dynamic social network analysis is linked to a variety of methodological traditions, above and beyond systems thinking
, including graph theory
, traditional social network
analysis in sociology, and mathematical sociology
. It also links to mathematical chaos
and complex dynamics
through the work of Duncan Watts and Steven Strogatz
, as well as fractal geometry through Albert-László Barabási
and his work on scale-free networks.
involves such scholars as Nigel Gilbert
, Klaus G. Troitzsch, Joshua M. Epstein
, and others. The foci of methods in this field include social simulation
and data-mining, both of which are sub-areas of computational sociology. Social simulation uses computers to create an artificial laboratory for the study of complex social systems; data-mining
uses machine intelligence to search for non-trivial patterns of relations in large, complex, real-world databases. The emerging methods of socionics
are a variant of computational sociology.
Computational sociology is influenced by a number of micro-sociological areas as wells as the macro-level traditions of systems science and systems thinking. The micro-level influences of symbolic interaction
, exchange, and rational choice
, along with the micro-level focus of computational political scientists, such as Robert Axelrod
, helped to develop computational sociology's bottom-up
, agent-based approach to modeling complex systems. This is what Joshua M. Epstein
calls generative science. Other important areas of influence include statistics
, mathematical modeling and computer simulation
.
integrates sociology with second-order cybernetics
and the work of Niklas Luhmann
, along with the latest advances in complexity science. In terms of scholarly work, the focus of sociocybernetics has been primarily conceptual and only slightly methodological or empirical. Sociocybernetics is directly tied to systems thought
inside and outside of sociology, specifically in the area of second-order cybernetics.
theoretical platform, social complexity can be applied to any research in which social interaction or the outcomes of such interactions can be observed, but particularly where they can be measured
and expressed as continuous
or discrete
data points. One common criticism often cited regarding the usefulness of complexity science in sociology is the difficulty of obtaining adequate data.. Nonetheless, application of the concept of social complexity and the analysis of such complexity has begun and continues to be a ongoing field of inquiry in sociology. From childhood
friendships and teen pregnancy to criminology
and counter-terrorism
, theories of social complexity are being applied in almost all areas of sociological research.
In the area of communications research and informetrics
, the concept of self-organizing systems appears in mid-1990s research related to scientific communications. Scientometrics
and bibliometrics
are areas of research in which discrete data are available, as are several other areas of social communications research such as sociolinguistics
. Social complexity is also a concept used in semiotics
.
In the first decade of the 21st century, the diversity of areas of application has grown as more sophisticated methods have developed. Social complexity theory is applied in studies of social cooperation
and public goods;altruism
; education
; collective action
and social movements
; social inequality
; workforce and unemployment
; policy analysis
; health care systems; and innovation
and social change
, to name a few.
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
, social complexity is a theoretical
Scientific theory
A scientific theory comprises a collection of concepts, including abstractions of observable phenomena expressed as quantifiable properties, together with rules that express relationships between observations of such concepts...
construct
Construct (philosophy of science)
A construct in the philosophy of science is an ideal object, where the existence of the thing may be said to depend upon a subject's mind. This, as opposed to a "real" object, where existence does not seem to depend on the existence of a mind....
useful in the analysis
Analysis
Analysis is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle , though analysis as a formal concept is a relatively recent development.The word is...
of society.
Overview
Contemporary definitions of complexityComplexity
In general usage, complexity tends to be used to characterize something with many parts in intricate arrangement. The study of these complex linkages is the main goal of complex systems theory. In science there are at this time a number of approaches to characterizing complexity, many of which are...
in the sciences
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
are found in relation to systems theory
Systems theory
Systems theory is the transdisciplinary study of systems in general, with the goal of elucidating principles that can be applied to all types of systems at all nesting levels in all fields of research...
, where a phenomenon
Phenomenon
A phenomenon , plural phenomena, is any observable occurrence. Phenomena are often, but not always, understood as 'appearances' or 'experiences'...
under study has many parts and many possible arrangements of the relationships between those parts. At the same time, what is complex and what is simple is relative and may change with time. Though current usage of the term "complexity" in the field of sociology typically refers specifically to theories of society as a Complex Adaptive System
Complex adaptive system
Complex adaptive systems are special cases of complex systems. They are complex in that they are dynamic networks of interactions and relationships not aggregations of static entities...
(CAS), social complexity and its emergent
Emergence
In philosophy, systems theory, science, and art, emergence is the way complex systems and patterns arise out of a multiplicity of relatively simple interactions. Emergence is central to the theories of integrative levels and of complex systems....
properties are central recurring themes throughout the historical development of social thought
Social philosophy
Social philosophy is the philosophical study of questions about social behavior . Social philosophy addresses a wide range of subjects, from individual meanings to legitimacy of laws, from the social contract to criteria for revolution, from the functions of everyday actions to the effects of...
and the study of social change
Social change
Social change refers to an alteration in the social order of a society. It may refer to the notion of social progress or sociocultural evolution, the philosophical idea that society moves forward by dialectical or evolutionary means. It may refer to a paradigmatic change in the socio-economic...
. The early founders
History of sociology
Sociology emerged from enlightenment thought, shortly after the French Revolution, as a positivist science of society. Its genesis owed to various key movements in the philosophy of science and the philosophy of knowledge. Social analysis in a broader sense, however, has origins in the common stock...
of sociological theory
Sociological theory
In sociology, sociological perspectives, theories, or paradigms are complex theoretical and methodological frameworks used to analyze and explain objects of social study. They facilitate organizing sociological knowledge...
, such as Ferdinand Tönnies
Ferdinand Tönnies
Ferdinand Tönnies was a German sociologist. He was a major contributor to sociological theory and field studies, best known for his distinction between two types of social groups, Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft...
, Émile Durkheim
Émile Durkheim
David Émile Durkheim was a French sociologist. He formally established the academic discipline and, with Karl Marx and Max Weber, is commonly cited as the principal architect of modern social science and father of sociology.Much of Durkheim's work was concerned with how societies could maintain...
, Max Weber
Max Weber
Karl Emil Maximilian "Max" Weber was a German sociologist and political economist who profoundly influenced social theory, social research, and the discipline of sociology itself...
, Vilfredo Pareto
Vilfredo Pareto
Vilfredo Federico Damaso Pareto , born Wilfried Fritz Pareto, was an Italian engineer, sociologist, economist, political scientist and philosopher. He made several important contributions to economics, particularly in the study of income distribution and in the analysis of individuals' choices....
, and Georg Simmel
Georg Simmel
Georg Simmel was a major German sociologist, philosopher, and critic.Simmel was one of the first generation of German sociologists: his neo-Kantian approach laid the foundations for sociological antipositivism, asking 'What is society?' in a direct allusion to Kant's question 'What is nature?',...
, all examined the exponential growth and increasing interrelatedness of social encounters and exchanges
Social exchange theory
Social exchange theory is a social psychological and sociological perspective that explains social change and stability as a process of negotiated exchanges between parties. Social exchange theory posits that all human relationships are formed by the use of a subjective cost-benefit analysis and...
. This emphasis on the interconnectedness of social relationships and the emergence of new properties within society permeates theoretical thinking
Social theory
Social theories are theoretical frameworks which are used to study and interpret social phenomena within a particular school of thought. An essential tool used by social scientists, theories relate to historical debates over the most valid and reliable methodologies , as well as the primacy of...
in multiple areas of sociology. As a theoretical tool, social complexity theory serves as a basis for the connection of micro-
Microsociology
Microsociology is one of the main branches of sociology, concerning the nature of everyday human social interactions and agency on a small scale. Microsociology is based on interpretative analysis rather than statistical or empirical observation, and shares close association with the philosophy of...
and macro
Macrosociology
Macrosociology is an approach to the discipline which emphasizes the analysis of social systems and populations on a large scale, at the level of social structure, and often at a necessarily high level of theoretical abstraction. Microsociology, by contrast, focuses on the individual social agency...
-level social phenomena, providing a meso-
Meso
Meso may refer to:*meso-, a prefix meaning middle or intermediate*Meso compound, a stereochemical classification in chemistry*Meso, the currency in the 2d online game MapleStory*Mesopotamia, the first major river civilization, known today as Iraq....
level or middle-range
Middle range theory (sociology)
Middle range theory, developed by Robert K. Merton, is an approach to sociological theorizing aimed at integrating theory and empirical research. It is currently the de-facto dominant approach to sociological theory construction, especially in the United States...
theoretical platform for hypothesis
Hypothesis
A hypothesis is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. The term derives from the Greek, ὑποτιθέναι – hypotithenai meaning "to put under" or "to suppose". For a hypothesis to be put forward as a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it...
formation. Methodologically
Social research
Social research refers to research conducted by social scientists. Social research methods may be divided into two broad categories:* Quantitative designs approach social phenomena through quantifiable evidence, and often rely on statistical analysis of many cases to create valid and reliable...
, the concept of social complexity is theory-neutral, meaning that it accommodates both local (micro
Microsociology
Microsociology is one of the main branches of sociology, concerning the nature of everyday human social interactions and agency on a small scale. Microsociology is based on interpretative analysis rather than statistical or empirical observation, and shares close association with the philosophy of...
) and global (macro
Macrosociology
Macrosociology is an approach to the discipline which emphasizes the analysis of social systems and populations on a large scale, at the level of social structure, and often at a necessarily high level of theoretical abstraction. Microsociology, by contrast, focuses on the individual social agency...
) phenomena in sociological research.
Theoretical background
The American sociologist Talcott ParsonsTalcott Parsons
Talcott Parsons was an American sociologist who served on the faculty of Harvard University from 1927 to 1973....
carried on the work of the early founders mentioned above in his early (1937) work on action theory
Action theory (sociology)
In sociology, action theory refers to the theory of social action presented by the American theorist Talcott Parsons.Parsons established action theory in order to integrate the study of social order with the structural and voluntaristic aspects of macro and micro factors...
. By 1951, Parsons places these earlier ideas firmly into the realm of formal systems theory
Systems theory
Systems theory is the transdisciplinary study of systems in general, with the goal of elucidating principles that can be applied to all types of systems at all nesting levels in all fields of research...
in The Social System. For the next several decades, this synergy between general systems thinking
Systems thinking
Systems thinking is the process of understanding how things influence one another within a whole. In nature, systems thinking examples include ecosystems in which various elements such as air, water, movement, plants, and animals work together to survive or perish...
and the further development of social system theories is carried forward by Parson's student, Robert K. Merton
Robert K. Merton
Robert King Merton was a distinguished American sociologist. He spent most of his career teaching at Columbia University, where he attained the rank of University Professor...
, and a long line of others, in discussions of theories of the middle-range
Middle range theory (sociology)
Middle range theory, developed by Robert K. Merton, is an approach to sociological theorizing aimed at integrating theory and empirical research. It is currently the de-facto dominant approach to sociological theory construction, especially in the United States...
and social structure and agency
Structure and agency
The question over the primacy of either structure or agency in human behavior is a central debate in the social sciences. In this context, "agency" refers to the capacity of individuals to act independently and to make their own free choices. "Structure", by contrast, refers to the recurrent...
. During part of this same period, from the late 1970s through the early 1990s, discussion ensues in any number of other research areas about the properties of systems in which strong correlation of sub-parts leads to observed behaviors variously described as autopoetic, self-organizing
Self-organization
Self-organization is the process where a structure or pattern appears in a system without a central authority or external element imposing it through planning...
, dynamical
Dynamical system
A dynamical system is a concept in mathematics where a fixed rule describes the time dependence of a point in a geometrical space. Examples include the mathematical models that describe the swinging of a clock pendulum, the flow of water in a pipe, and the number of fish each springtime in a...
, turbulent, and chaotic. All of these are forms of system behavior arising from mathematical complexity. By the early 1990s, the work of social theorists such as Niklas Luhmann
Niklas Luhmann
Niklas Luhmann was a German sociologist, and a prominent thinker in sociological systems theory.-Biography:...
began reflecting these themes of complex behavior.
One of the earliest usages of the term "complexity", in the social and behavioral sciences, to refer specifically to a complex system
Complex system
A complex system is a system composed of interconnected parts that as a whole exhibit one or more properties not obvious from the properties of the individual parts....
is found in the study of modern organizations
Complexity theory and organizations
Complexity theory and organizations, also called complexity strategy or complex adaptive organization, is the use of Complexity theory in the field of strategic management and organizational studies.- Overview :...
and management studies. However, particularly in management studies, the term often has been used in a metaphorical
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
rather than in a qualitative or quantiative
Quantitative property
A quantitative property is one that exists in a range of magnitudes, and can therefore be measured with a number. Measurements of any particular quantitative property are expressed as a specific quantity, referred to as a unit, multiplied by a number. Examples of physical quantities are distance,...
theoretical manner. By the mid-1990s, the "complexity turn" in social sciences begins as some of the same tools generally used in complexity science are incorporated into the social sciences. By 1998, the international, electronic periodical, Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation
Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation
The Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal created and edited by Nigel Gilbert . The journal publishes articles in computational sociology, social simulation, complexity science, and artificial societies. Its approach is...
, had been created. In the last several years, many publications have presented overviews of complexity theory within the field of sociology (see Further reading). Within this body of work, connections also are drawn to yet other theoretical traditions, including constructivist epistemology
Constructivist epistemology
Constructivist epistemology is an epistemological perspective in philosophy about the nature of scientific knowledge. Constructivists maintain that scientific knowledge is constructed by scientists and not discovered from the world. Constructivists claim that the concepts of science are mental...
and the philosophical positions of phenomenology, postmodernism
Postmodernism
Postmodernism is a philosophical movement evolved in reaction to modernism, the tendency in contemporary culture to accept only objective truth and to be inherently suspicious towards a global cultural narrative or meta-narrative. Postmodernist thought is an intentional departure from the...
and critical realism
Critical realism
In the philosophy of perception, critical realism is the theory that some of our sense-data can and do accurately represent external objects, properties, and events, while other of our sense-data do not accurately represent any external objects, properties, and events...
.
Methodologies
Methodologically, social complexity is theory-neutral, meaning that it accommodates both local and global approaches to sociological research. The very idea of social complexity arises out of the historical-comparativeHistorical comparative research
Historical comparative research is the study of past events and questions using methods in sociology and other social scientific research to inform the possible outcomes and answers to current events and questions. Beginning in the late 1950s, the discipline of history became more linked with...
methods of early sociologists; obviously, this method is important in developing, defining, and refining the theoretical construct of social complexity. As complex social systems have many parts and there are many possible relationships between those parts, appropriate methodologies are typically determined to some degree by the research level of analysis differentiated
Differentiation (sociology)
Differentiation is a term in system theory From the viewpoint of this theory, the principal feature of modern society is the increased process of system differentiation as a way of dealing with the complexity of its environment. This is accomplished through the creation of subsystems in an effort...
by the researcher according to the level of description or explanation demanded by the research hypotheses. At the most localized levels of analysis, ethnographic, participant-
Participant observation
Participant observation is a type of research strategy. It is a widely used methodology in many disciplines, particularly, cultural anthropology, but also sociology, communication studies, and social psychology...
or non-participant observation, content analysis
Content analysis
Content analysis or textual analysis is a methodology in the social sciences for studying the content of communication. Earl Babbie defines it as "the study of recorded human communications, such as books, websites, paintings and laws."According to Dr...
and other qualitative research
Qualitative research
Qualitative research is a method of inquiry employed in many different academic disciplines, traditionally in the social sciences, but also in market research and further contexts. Qualitative researchers aim to gather an in-depth understanding of human behavior and the reasons that govern such...
methods may be appropriate. More recently, highly sophisticated quantitative research
Quantitative research
In the social sciences, quantitative research refers to the systematic empirical investigation of social phenomena via statistical, mathematical or computational techniques. The objective of quantitative research is to develop and employ mathematical models, theories and/or hypotheses pertaining to...
methodologies are being developed and used in sociology at both local and global levels of analysis. Such methods include (but are not limited to) bifurcation diagrams
Bifurcation diagram
In mathematics, particularly in dynamical systems, a bifurcation diagram shows the possible long-term values of a system as a function of a bifurcation parameter in the system...
, network analysis
Social network
A social network is a social structure made up of individuals called "nodes", which are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.Social...
, non-linear modeling, and computational
Computational sociology
Computational sociology is a branch of sociology that uses computationally intensive methods to analyze and model social phenomena. Using computer simulations, artificial intelligence, complex statistical methods, and new analytic approaches like social network analysis, computational sociology...
models including cellular automata
Cellular automaton
A cellular automaton is a discrete model studied in computability theory, mathematics, physics, complexity science, theoretical biology and microstructure modeling. It consists of a regular grid of cells, each in one of a finite number of states, such as "On" and "Off"...
programming, sociocybernetics
Sociocybernetics
Sociocybernetics is an independent chapter of science in sociology based upon the General Systems Theory and cybernetics.It also has a basis in Organizational Development consultancy practice and in Theories of Communication, theories of psychotherapies and computer sciences...
and other methods of social simulation
Social simulation
Social simulation is a research field that applies computational methods to study issues in the social sciences. The issues explored include problems in sociology, political science, economics, anthropology, geography, archaeology and linguistics ....
.
Complex social network analysis
Complex social networkSocial network
A social network is a social structure made up of individuals called "nodes", which are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.Social...
analysis is used to study the dynamics of large, complex social networks. Dynamic network analysis
Dynamic Network Analysis
Dynamic network analysis is an emergent scientific field that brings together traditional social network analysis , link analysis and multi-agent systems within network science and network theory. There are two aspects of this field. The first is the statistical analysis of DNA data. The second...
brings together traditional social network analysis, link analysis
Link Analysis
In network theory, link analysis is a data-analysis technique used to evaluate relationships between nodes. Relationships may be identified among various types of nodes , including organizations, people and transactions...
and multi-agent systems within network science
Network science
Network science is a new and emerging scientific discipline that examines the interconnections among diverse physical or engineered networks, information networks, biological networks, cognitive and semantic networks, and social networks. This field of science seeks to discover common principles,...
and network theory
Network theory
Network theory is an area of computer science and network science and part of graph theory. It has application in many disciplines including statistical physics, particle physics, computer science, biology, economics, operations research, and sociology...
. Through the use of key concepts and methods in social network analysis, agent-based modeling, theoretical physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, and modern mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
(particularly graph theory
Graph theory
In mathematics and computer science, graph theory is the study of graphs, mathematical structures used to model pairwise relations between objects from a certain collection. A "graph" in this context refers to a collection of vertices or 'nodes' and a collection of edges that connect pairs of...
and fractal geometry), this method of inquiry brought insights into the dynamics and structure of social systems. New computational methods of localized social network analysis are coming out of out of the work of Duncan Watts, Albert-László Barabási
Albert-Laszlo Barabasi
Albert-László Barabási is a physicist, best known for his work in the research of network theory. He is the former Emil T...
, Nicholas A. Christakis
Nicholas A. Christakis
Nicholas A. Christakis is a Greek American physician and sociologist known for his research on social networks and on the socioeconomic and biosocial determinants of health, longevity, and behavior...
, Kathleen M. Carley
Kathleen Carley
Kathleen M. Carley is an American social scientist specializing in dynamic network analysis. She is a professor in the School of Computer Science in the Institute for Software Research International at Carnegie Mellon University and also holds appointments in the Tepper School of Business, the...
and others. New methods of global network analysis are emerging from the work of John Urry
John Urry (sociologist)
John Urry is a British sociologist, Professor at Lancaster University. He is noted for work in the fields of the sociology of tourism and mobility....
and the sociological study of globalization, linked to the work of Manuel Castells
Manuel Castells
Manuel Castells is a sociologist especially associated with information society and communication research....
and the later work of Immanuel Wallerstein
Immanuel Wallerstein
Immanuel Maurice Wallerstein is a US sociologist, historical social scientist, and world-systems analyst...
. Since the late 1990s, Wallerstein increasingly makes use of complexity theory, particularly the work of Ilya Prigogine
Ilya Prigogine
Ilya, Viscount Prigogine was a Russian-born naturalized Belgian physical chemist and Nobel Laureate noted for his work on dissipative structures, complex systems, and irreversibility.-Biography :...
. Dynamic social network analysis is linked to a variety of methodological traditions, above and beyond systems thinking
Systems thinking
Systems thinking is the process of understanding how things influence one another within a whole. In nature, systems thinking examples include ecosystems in which various elements such as air, water, movement, plants, and animals work together to survive or perish...
, including graph theory
Graph theory
In mathematics and computer science, graph theory is the study of graphs, mathematical structures used to model pairwise relations between objects from a certain collection. A "graph" in this context refers to a collection of vertices or 'nodes' and a collection of edges that connect pairs of...
, traditional social network
Social network
A social network is a social structure made up of individuals called "nodes", which are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.Social...
analysis in sociology, and mathematical sociology
Mathematical sociology
Mathematical sociology is the usage of mathematics to construct social theories. Mathematical sociology aims to take sociological theory, which is strong in intuitive content but weak from a formal point of view, and to express it in formal terms...
. It also links to mathematical chaos
Chaos theory
Chaos theory is a field of study in mathematics, with applications in several disciplines including physics, economics, biology, and philosophy. Chaos theory studies the behavior of dynamical systems that are highly sensitive to initial conditions, an effect which is popularly referred to as the...
and complex dynamics
Complex dynamics
Complex dynamics is the study of dynamical systems defined by iteration of functions on complex number spaces. Complex analytic dynamics is the study of the dynamics of specifically analytic functions.-Techniques:*General** Montel's theorem...
through the work of Duncan Watts and Steven Strogatz
Steven Strogatz
Steven Henry Strogatz is an American mathematician and the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor of Applied Mathematics at Cornell University...
, as well as fractal geometry through Albert-László Barabási
Albert-Laszlo Barabasi
Albert-László Barabási is a physicist, best known for his work in the research of network theory. He is the former Emil T...
and his work on scale-free networks.
Computational Sociology
The development of computational sociologyComputational sociology
Computational sociology is a branch of sociology that uses computationally intensive methods to analyze and model social phenomena. Using computer simulations, artificial intelligence, complex statistical methods, and new analytic approaches like social network analysis, computational sociology...
involves such scholars as Nigel Gilbert
Nigel Gilbert
Nigel Gilbert is a British sociologist and a pioneer in the use of agent-based models in the social sciences. He is the founder and director of the Centre for Research in Social Simulation , author of several books on computational social sciences, social simulation and social research and editor...
, Klaus G. Troitzsch, Joshua M. Epstein
Joshua M. Epstein
Joshua M. Epstein is Professor of Emergency Medicine at Johns Hopkins University, and a member of the External Faculty of the Santa Fe Institute.- Early life and Education:Epstein was born in New York City and grew up in Amherst....
, and others. The foci of methods in this field include social simulation
Social simulation
Social simulation is a research field that applies computational methods to study issues in the social sciences. The issues explored include problems in sociology, political science, economics, anthropology, geography, archaeology and linguistics ....
and data-mining, both of which are sub-areas of computational sociology. Social simulation uses computers to create an artificial laboratory for the study of complex social systems; data-mining
Data mining
Data mining , a relatively young and interdisciplinary field of computer science is the process of discovering new patterns from large data sets involving methods at the intersection of artificial intelligence, machine learning, statistics and database systems...
uses machine intelligence to search for non-trivial patterns of relations in large, complex, real-world databases. The emerging methods of socionics
Socionics
Socionics , in psychology, is a theory of information processing and personality type, distinguished by its information model of the psyche and a model of interpersonal relations. It incorporates Carl Jung's work on Psychological Types with Antoni Kępiński's theory of information metabolism...
are a variant of computational sociology.
Computational sociology is influenced by a number of micro-sociological areas as wells as the macro-level traditions of systems science and systems thinking. The micro-level influences of symbolic interaction
Symbolic interactionism
Symbolic Interaction, also known as interactionism, is a sociological theory that places emphasis on micro-scale social interaction to provide subjective meaning in human behavior, the social process and pragmatism.-History:...
, exchange, and rational choice
Rational choice theory
Rational choice theory, also known as choice theory or rational action theory, is a framework for understanding and often formally modeling social and economic behavior. It is the main theoretical paradigm in the currently-dominant school of microeconomics...
, along with the micro-level focus of computational political scientists, such as Robert Axelrod
Robert Axelrod
Robert M. Axelrod is an American political scientist. He is Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at the University of Michigan where he has been since 1974. He is best known for his interdisciplinary work on the evolution of cooperation, which has been cited in numerous articles...
, helped to develop computational sociology's bottom-up
Bottom-up
Bottom-up may refer to:* In business development, a bottom-up approach means that the adviser takes the needs and wishes of the would-be entrepreneur as the starting point, rather than a market opportunity ....
, agent-based approach to modeling complex systems. This is what Joshua M. Epstein
Joshua M. Epstein
Joshua M. Epstein is Professor of Emergency Medicine at Johns Hopkins University, and a member of the External Faculty of the Santa Fe Institute.- Early life and Education:Epstein was born in New York City and grew up in Amherst....
calls generative science. Other important areas of influence include statistics
Statistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
, mathematical modeling and computer simulation
Simulation
Simulation is the imitation of some real thing available, state of affairs, or process. The act of simulating something generally entails representing certain key characteristics or behaviours of a selected physical or abstract system....
.
Sociocybernetics
SociocyberneticsSociocybernetics
Sociocybernetics is an independent chapter of science in sociology based upon the General Systems Theory and cybernetics.It also has a basis in Organizational Development consultancy practice and in Theories of Communication, theories of psychotherapies and computer sciences...
integrates sociology with second-order cybernetics
Second-order cybernetics
Second-order cybernetics, also known as the cybernetics of cybernetics, investigates the construction of models of cybernetic systems. It investigates cybernetics with awareness that the investigators are part of the system, and of the importance of self-referentiality, self-organizing, the...
and the work of Niklas Luhmann
Niklas Luhmann
Niklas Luhmann was a German sociologist, and a prominent thinker in sociological systems theory.-Biography:...
, along with the latest advances in complexity science. In terms of scholarly work, the focus of sociocybernetics has been primarily conceptual and only slightly methodological or empirical. Sociocybernetics is directly tied to systems thought
Systems thinking
Systems thinking is the process of understanding how things influence one another within a whole. In nature, systems thinking examples include ecosystems in which various elements such as air, water, movement, plants, and animals work together to survive or perish...
inside and outside of sociology, specifically in the area of second-order cybernetics.
Areas of application
As a middle-rangeMiddle range theory (sociology)
Middle range theory, developed by Robert K. Merton, is an approach to sociological theorizing aimed at integrating theory and empirical research. It is currently the de-facto dominant approach to sociological theory construction, especially in the United States...
theoretical platform, social complexity can be applied to any research in which social interaction or the outcomes of such interactions can be observed, but particularly where they can be measured
Measurement
Measurement is the process or the result of determining the ratio of a physical quantity, such as a length, time, temperature etc., to a unit of measurement, such as the metre, second or degree Celsius...
and expressed as continuous
Continuous function (set theory)
In mathematics, specifically set theory, a continuous function is a sequence of ordinals such that the values assumed at limit stages are the limits of all values at previous stages...
or discrete
Discrete mathematics
Discrete mathematics is the study of mathematical structures that are fundamentally discrete rather than continuous. In contrast to real numbers that have the property of varying "smoothly", the objects studied in discrete mathematics – such as integers, graphs, and statements in logic – do not...
data points. One common criticism often cited regarding the usefulness of complexity science in sociology is the difficulty of obtaining adequate data.. Nonetheless, application of the concept of social complexity and the analysis of such complexity has begun and continues to be a ongoing field of inquiry in sociology. From childhood
Childhood
Childhood is the age span ranging from birth to adolescence. In developmental psychology, childhood is divided up into the developmental stages of toddlerhood , early childhood , middle childhood , and adolescence .- Age ranges of childhood :The term childhood is non-specific and can imply a...
friendships and teen pregnancy to criminology
Criminology
Criminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behavior in both the individual and in society...
and counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism is the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, police departments and corporations adopt to prevent or in response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed.The tactic of terrorism is available to insurgents and governments...
, theories of social complexity are being applied in almost all areas of sociological research.
In the area of communications research and informetrics
Informetrics
Informetrics is the study of quantitative aspects of information. This includes the production, dissemination and use of all forms of information, regardless of its form or origin...
, the concept of self-organizing systems appears in mid-1990s research related to scientific communications. Scientometrics
Scientometrics
Scientometrics is the science of measuring and analysing science. In practice, scientometrics is often done using bibliometrics which is a measurement of the impact of publications. Modern scientometrics is mostly based on the work of Derek J. de Solla Price and Eugene Garfield...
and bibliometrics
Bibliometrics
Bibliometrics is a set of methods to quantitatively analyze scientific and technological literature. Citation analysis and content analysis are commonly used bibliometric methods...
are areas of research in which discrete data are available, as are several other areas of social communications research such as sociolinguistics
Sociolinguistics
Sociolinguistics is the descriptive study of the effect of any and all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and context, on the way language is used, and the effects of language use on society...
. Social complexity is also a concept used in semiotics
Semiotics
Semiotics, also called semiotic studies or semiology, is the study of signs and sign processes , indication, designation, likeness, analogy, metaphor, symbolism, signification, and communication...
.
In the first decade of the 21st century, the diversity of areas of application has grown as more sophisticated methods have developed. Social complexity theory is applied in studies of social cooperation
Cooperation
Cooperation or co-operation is the process of working or acting together. In its simplest form it involves things working in harmony, side by side, while in its more complicated forms, it can involve something as complex as the inner workings of a human being or even the social patterns of a...
and public goods;altruism
Altruism (ethics)
Altruism is an ethical doctrine that holds that individuals have a moral obligation to help, serve, or benefit others, if necessary at the sacrifice of self interest. Auguste Comte's version of altruism calls for living for the sake of others...
; education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
; collective action
Collective action
Collective action is the pursuit of a goal or set of goals by more than one person. It is a term which has formulations and theories in many areas of the social sciences.-In sociology:...
and social movements
Social movement
Social movements are a type of group action. They are large informal groupings of individuals or organizations focused on specific political or social issues, in other words, on carrying out, resisting or undoing a social change....
; social inequality
Social inequality
Social inequality refers to a situation in which individual groups in a society do not have equal social status. Areas of potential social inequality include voting rights, freedom of speech and assembly, the extent of property rights and access to education, health care, quality housing and other...
; workforce and unemployment
Unemployment
Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
; policy analysis
Policy analysis
Policy analysis is "determining which of various alternative policies will most achieve a given set of goals in light of the relations between the policies and the goals". However, policy analysis can be divided into two major fields. Analysis of policy is analytical and descriptive—i.e., it...
; health care systems; and innovation
Innovation
Innovation is the creation of better or more effective products, processes, technologies, or ideas that are accepted by markets, governments, and society...
and social change
Social change
Social change refers to an alteration in the social order of a society. It may refer to the notion of social progress or sociocultural evolution, the philosophical idea that society moves forward by dialectical or evolutionary means. It may refer to a paradigmatic change in the socio-economic...
, to name a few.
Sociology-related
- Computational sociologyComputational sociologyComputational sociology is a branch of sociology that uses computationally intensive methods to analyze and model social phenomena. Using computer simulations, artificial intelligence, complex statistical methods, and new analytic approaches like social network analysis, computational sociology...
- Dynamic network analysisDynamic Network AnalysisDynamic network analysis is an emergent scientific field that brings together traditional social network analysis , link analysis and multi-agent systems within network science and network theory. There are two aspects of this field. The first is the statistical analysis of DNA data. The second...
- Social differentiationDifferentiation (sociology)Differentiation is a term in system theory From the viewpoint of this theory, the principal feature of modern society is the increased process of system differentiation as a way of dealing with the complexity of its environment. This is accomplished through the creation of subsystems in an effort...
- Social network analysis
- Social simulationSocial simulationSocial simulation is a research field that applies computational methods to study issues in the social sciences. The issues explored include problems in sociology, political science, economics, anthropology, geography, archaeology and linguistics ....
- Social systems
- SociocyberneticsSociocyberneticsSociocybernetics is an independent chapter of science in sociology based upon the General Systems Theory and cybernetics.It also has a basis in Organizational Development consultancy practice and in Theories of Communication, theories of psychotherapies and computer sciences...
Other social science fields
- Archaeology (complex society)Complex societyIn anthropology and archaeology, a complex society is a social formation that is otherwise described as a formative or developed state. The main criteria of complexity are:...
- Anthopology (ethnographic network analysis)Network Analysis and Ethnographic ProblemsNetwork Analysis and Ethnographic Problems: Process Models of a Turkish Nomad Clan is an anthropological and complexity science book by social anthropologists Douglas R. White, University of California, Irvine, and of the University of Cologne...
- Complexity economicsComplexity economicsComplexity economics is the application of complexity science to the problems of economics. It studies computer simulations to gain insight into economic dynamics, and avoids the assumption that the economy is a system in equilibrium.- Models :...
- Cognitive science (personal information management)Personal information managementPersonal information management refers to the practice and the study of the activities people perform in order to acquire, organize, maintain, retrieve and use information items such as documents , web pages and email messages for everyday use to complete tasks and fulfill a person’s various...
- EconophysicsEconophysicsEconophysics is an interdisciplinary research field, applying theories and methods originally developed by physicists in order to solve problems in economics, usually those including uncertainty or stochastic processes and nonlinear dynamics...
- Organizational and Management ScienceComplexity theory and organizationsComplexity theory and organizations, also called complexity strategy or complex adaptive organization, is the use of Complexity theory in the field of strategic management and organizational studies.- Overview :...
General
- Data aggregationAggregate dataIn statistics, aggregate data describes data combined from several measurements.In economics, aggregate data or data aggregates describes high-level data that is composed of a multitude or combination of other more individual data....
- Cellular automatonCellular automatonA cellular automaton is a discrete model studied in computability theory, mathematics, physics, complexity science, theoretical biology and microstructure modeling. It consists of a regular grid of cells, each in one of a finite number of states, such as "On" and "Off"...
- Complex systems theory
- Complex adaptive systemComplex adaptive systemComplex adaptive systems are special cases of complex systems. They are complex in that they are dynamic networks of interactions and relationships not aggregations of static entities...
- Complexity (generic)Generic-case complexityGeneric-case complexity is a subfield of computational complexity theory that studies the complexity of computational problems on "most inputs".Generic-case complexity is a way of measuring the complexity of a computational problem by neglecting a small set of...
- Computational complexity theoryComputational complexity theoryComputational complexity theory is a branch of the theory of computation in theoretical computer science and mathematics that focuses on classifying computational problems according to their inherent difficulty, and relating those classes to each other...
- Dynamical systemDynamical systemA dynamical system is a concept in mathematics where a fixed rule describes the time dependence of a point in a geometrical space. Examples include the mathematical models that describe the swinging of a clock pendulum, the flow of water in a pipe, and the number of fish each springtime in a...
- Evolutionary programmingEvolutionary programmingEvolutionary programming is one of the four major evolutionary algorithm paradigms. It is similar to genetic programming, but the structure of the program to be optimized is fixed, while its numerical parameters are allowed to evolve....
- Game theoryGame theoryGame theory is a mathematical method for analyzing calculated circumstances, such as in games, where a person’s success is based upon the choices of others...
- Generative sciencesGenerative sciencesThe generative science is a interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary science that explores the natural world and its complex behaviours as a generative process...
- Multi-agent systemMulti-agent systemA multi-agent system is a system composed of multiple interacting intelligent agents. Multi-agent systems can be used to solve problems that are difficult or impossible for an individual agent or a monolithic system to solve...
- Neural networkNeural networkThe term neural network was traditionally used to refer to a network or circuit of biological neurons. The modern usage of the term often refers to artificial neural networks, which are composed of artificial neurons or nodes...
- Self-organizationSelf-organizationSelf-organization is the process where a structure or pattern appears in a system without a central authority or external element imposing it through planning...
- Systems theorySystems theorySystems theory is the transdisciplinary study of systems in general, with the goal of elucidating principles that can be applied to all types of systems at all nesting levels in all fields of research...
- SystemographySystemographySystemography or SGR is a process where phenomena regarded as complex are purposefully represented as a constructed model of a general system. It maybe used in three different roles: conceptualization, analysis, and simulation...
Further reading
- Byrne, David (1998). Complexity Theory and the Social Sciences. London: Routledge.
- Castellani, Brian and Frederic William Hafferty (2009). Sociology and Complexity Science: A New Area of Inquiry (Series: Understanding Complex Systems XV). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.
- Eve, Raymond, Sara Horsfall and Mary E. Lee (1997). Chaos, Complexity and Sociology: Myths, Models, and Theories. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
- Jenks, Chris and John Smith (2006). Qualitative Complexity: Ecology, Cognitive Processes and the Re-Emergence of Structures in Post-Humanist Social Theory. New York, NY: Routledge.
- Kiel, L. Douglas (ed.) (2008). Knowledge Management, Organizational Intelligence, Learning and Complexity. UNESCO (EOLSS): Paris, France.
- Kiel, L. Douglas and Euel Elliott (eds.) (1997). Chaos Theory in the Social Sciences: Foundations and Applications. The University of Michigan Press:Ann Arbor, MI.
- Leydesdorff, Loet (2001). A Sociological Theory of Communication: The Self-Organization of the Knowledge-Based Society. Parkland, FL: Universal Publishers.
- Urry, John (2005). “The Complexity Turn.” Theory, Culture and Society, 22(5): 1-14.
External links
- Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation
- Sociology and Complexity Science Website
- Sociology and Complexity Science Blog: An Educational Tool for Researchers and Students
- Setting The Scene - Science, Humanity and Interaction - from Chris Lucas
- On-line book "Simulation for the Social Scientist" by Nigel Gilbert and Klaus G. Troitzsch, 1999, second edition 2005
- From Factors to Actors: Computational Sociology and Agent-based Modeling - Review by Michael Macy and Robert Willer
- Behavioral Dynamics at the Santa Fe Institute for Complexity Research
- Institute for the Study of Coherence and Emergence (ISCE)
- Arizona State University Center for Social Dynamics and Complexity
- Center for Social Complexity at George Mason University
- Center for Complex Agent-Based Dynamic Networks at Oxford University
- Carnegie Mellon Center for Computational Analysis of Social and Organizational Systems (CASOS)