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The construction of computer models is becoming an increasingly useful and popular way of testing theories in the cognitive sciences. This paper will present a brief overview of the methods available for constructing and testing computer models of social phenomena such as religious beliefs and behaviors. It will focus on the importance of theoretical continuity and data replication in computer modelling while negotiating the relationship between specificity and ecological validity when models are extended into novel contexts. This paper will argue that computer modeling is an important supplement to the methodological toolbox of cognitive scientists interested in human social phenomena. However, this is only the case if developers pay close attention to research methods and theories and if the method of a model’s development is appropriate for the target phenomenon (Sun, 2006). It concludes that multi-agent AI models are the most appropriate computational tool for the study of complex social phenomena.
Justin E. Lane (Thu,) studied this question.