New Research on Collective Behavior

$160.00

Series: Psychology Research Progress
BISAC: PSY031000

“Collective behavior” is can be defined as human individuals acting together in groups; these groups can be as small as three people, or as large as millions of people. Collective behavior is also concerned with animals forming swarms and flocks, neurons firing in synchrony, and chemical and biochemical particles with on-board energy depots acting together as a whole. As such, collective behavior refers to units (humans, animals, neurons, biochemical substances, etc.) interacting with each other to form a whole.

In physics, collective phenomena have been studied for a long time for systems that are in thermodynamic equilibrium. Magnetism produced by the alignment of elementary spins is a well-known example. In contrast, in this book, collective behavior refers to systems composed of units that operate far from thermodynamical equilibrium. It is about lifeforms and active biochemical substances. This book presents recent developments in the research field of collective behavior. Various disciplines are addressed, ranging from economy, leisure sciences, and psychology to neurosciences, physics and biology.

This book is intended both for the general reader interested in collective behavior and for the quantitative researcher looking for an update in this rapidly developing field. This book has two parts. The first part presents theoretical fundamentals and concepts. The second part provides chapters with mathematical modeling and simulations. Although the individual chapters of this book report from a variety of research disciplines, the chapters are interconnected with each other and give rise to a general picture of the state-of-the-art research on collective behavior.

(Imprint: Nova)

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Preface

Part 1: Theory and Concepts

Chapter 1
Understanding Online Group Purchasing Behavior
(Giuliana Isabella and Suzi Elen Ferreira Dias, University of Sao Paulo and Faculdades Metropolitanas Unidas, Brazil)

Chapter 2
Modeling Social Interactions in Game Play
(Jason Gordon, Department of Psychology, University of Connecticut, USA)

Chapter 3
Leisure Phenomenon as a Complex System: Exploring its Potential for a Dynamical Approach
(Gabriela Baranowski Pinto, Federal Agency for the Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education, CAPES, Brazilian Government, Brazil)

Chapter 4
Stochastic Resonation, Paramagnetism and Emotional Contagion in Collective Behaviours
(Alan McDonnell, Emergent Dynamic Technologies Ltd, Bristol, United Kingdom)

Part 2: Mathematical Modeling and Simulations

Chapter 5
Analysis of Behavior Stability in a Multiagent System
(Florin Leon, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Gheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iasi, Romania)

Chapter 6
Collective Behavior of Active Particles
(Olga V. Yushchenko, Nanolectronics Department, Sumy State University, Ukraine)

Chapter 7
Considerations on the SET Model of Swarm Behavior in the Case of Very Large Swarms
(T. D. Frank, Department of Psychology and Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, USA)

Chapter 8
Collective Behavior in Adaptive Systems: Application to Prism Adaptation
(T. D. Frank, Department of Psychology and Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, USA)

Chapter 9
The Lotka-Volterra-Haken Model for Group Buying, Apples-to-Apples Group Play and the Competition and Attraction of Leisure Activities
(T. D. Frank, Department of Psychology and Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, USA)

Index


This book is intended both for the general reader interested in collective behavior and for the quantitative researcher looking for an update in this rapidly developing field. Target audience includes economists, researchers in leisure sciences, psychologists, neuroscientists, physicists, and biologists.

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