Synonyms
Individual-based modelling; Individual-orientated modelling; Multi-agent systems (has other meanings, occasionally used as synonym.)
Definition
Agent-based models are a type of model based on computer simulation, where the behavior of a system is determined by the activities of autonomous individuals and their interaction with and through an environment.
Introduction
Agent-based modelling (ABM) is a research method for understanding the collective effects of individual action selection. More generally, ABM allows the examination of macrolevel effects from microlevel behavior. Science requires understanding how an observed characteristic of a system (e.g., a solid) can be accounted for by its components (e.g., molecules). In ABM, we build models of both the components and the environment in which they exist, and then observe whether the over-all system-level behavior of the model matches that of the target (or subject) system. Constructing agent-based models (ABMs) can be seen...
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Gallagher, E.M., Bryson, J.J. (2018). Agent‐Based Modelling. In: Vonk, J., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_224-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_224-1
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