This paper aims to illustrate how social sciences, sociology in particular, have theorized on societal transitions. The first section introduces some preliminary definitions. The assumption is that a societal transition is more than a social, economic or technological change. It is a large-scale and long-term macro process through which a given social system radically changes its structural bas...

Social simulation—an emerging field of computational social science—has progressed from simple toy models to increasingly realistic models of complex social systems, such as agentbased models where heterogeneous agents interact with changing natural or artificial environments. These larger, multidisciplinary projects require a scientific research methodology distinct from, say, simpler social s...

Agent-based simulation is being recognized as a useful tool for the study of social systems. It is based on the idea that agents can be used as a good abstraction of members of a society, and by simulating their interactions, observe the emergent behavior. Usually, agent-based models for socialion of members of a society, and by simulating their interactions, observe the emergent behavior. Usua...

PsychSim is an agent-based social simulation framework that captures a wide range of the individual and cultural differences exhibited in complex social scenarios. PsychSim takes a decision-theoretic approach to modeling Theory of Mind, giving its agents a rich space of beliefs and preferences. PsychSim also uses a unique piecewise linear representation language that allows it to reason backwar...

Many fully functional multi-agent systems have been developed and put to use over the past twenty years, but few of them have been developed to succesfully facilitate social research through the use of social agents. There are three important difficulties that must be dealt with to successfully create a social system for use in social research. First, the system must have an adaptable agent fra...