Fishing Together? - Exploring the Murky Waters of Sociality

Nanda Wijermans, Harko Verhagen

Abstract: Collective action research of natural resource use aims to understand why and when collective overuse arises. Agent-based simulations and behavioural experiments are part of the toolkit for this quest. In most agent-based simulation models however, individual and collective decision-making are discerned, but the crucial transition between these two stances is understudied. In this paper we formalise computational agents able to think and act from an individual, social, or collective stance using a combination of empirical findings and theoretical models on togetherness. To this end, we use a conceptual agent framework to adapt and extend an existing agent-based model designed to advance the understanding of group processes for sustainable governance of dynamic common pool resource environments. The findings of the paper are mainly a conceptual model and future research will further develop the framework as well as the agent-based model for further understanding of the processes involved.