Abstract
This chapter discusses the role of sensitivity analysis in the development of an Agent-Based Model (ABM) designed to explore hypothetical scenarios relating to cultural transmission in small-scale societies. Sensitivity analysis revealed disproportionate or nonlinear relationships between parameter changes and model behaviors. Nonlinear sensitivity may indicate underlying problems in programming or model design; however, it may also reveal unanticipated results that shed light on the research questions explored in a simulation. Interpretations relating to cultural transmission and the sociospatial structure of small-scale societies are discussed.
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Carroll, J.W. (2016). Assessing Nonlinear Behaviors in an Agent-Based Model. In: Brouwer Burg, M., Peeters, H., Lovis, W. (eds) Uncertainty and Sensitivity Analysis in Archaeological Computational Modeling. Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27833-9_5
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