A NETWORK APPROACH TO THE STUDY OF CULTURAL DYNAMICS AND ACCULTURATION IN STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTS

Abstract

The main objective of this dissertation is to discuss the results of the implementation of a network approach to the study of cultural transmission dynamics among individuals, interacting in a strategic environment. The network approach is enacted on an baseline model that assumes the individuals involved in the strategic environment to be a continuum of agents divided in two groups. Each group is initially originated with a certain cultural trait that is, and will remain, homogeneous within each community for all subsequent periods. In fact, for analytical purposes, the two groups can be synthesized as singular representative individuals that interact among themselves and with each other, eventually transmitting their respective trait to their offspring. This cycle will continue and eventually reach a predicted equilibrium, depending on the initial traits, the type of payoffs and the specific strategic environment. The network approach is therefore introduced to simulate different patterns of interactions among all individuals and to allow for both the implementation of more than two social groups and the eventual lost of homogeneity within each of them. Agents are first modeled on a full network, so to perfectly imitate and further validate the original model's results. Consequently, agents are located on a variety of other networks configurations, so to investigate how the implementation of local interactions will affects the long run equilibrium.