Computer Simulation Models of Human Behavior: A History of an Intellectual Technology

Abstract

The history of the growth and development of the technology of computer simulation is reflected in an analysis of 2034 sight-read and classified simulation studies of human behavior published before 1971. The limiting goal of the work was an exhaustive bibliography of these simulation studies. The empirical studies referenced are classified into four major model categories for analysis: 1) individuals, 2) individuals who interact, 3) individuals who aggregate, and 4) individuals who aggregate and interact. Each of these studies is also classified into one of eight types, according to the empirical relationship between the model and reality. Additional classifications are employed to describe methodological studies. The analysis includes estimates of the completeness of the bibliography and of the reliability of the classification scheme, as well as the distributions of studies by category and type.