Scientific Models and Simulations

In sociology, we can classify scientific models into three categories, even if it is impossible to define clearly the boundaries between them: mathematical-deductive, statistical, and simulation models. The advantage of simulation models, compared to other types of model, is that they can represent the characteristics of complex systems, such as the non-linearity of relationships, chaos, and the emergence of collective properties, in a more suitable way. The most popular types of simulation model are system dynamics, cellular automata, and agent-based models (ABMs). ABMs are very suitable to represent target systems that are supposed to be composed of autonomous, goal-oriented and interacting social actors, endowed with bounded rationality and able to communicate with others; they follow some rules of behavior and are located in an environment that can be organized in a physical space, or in a social network with a particular structure