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The Cognitive Virtues of Dynamic Networks

The Cognitive Virtues of Dynamic Networks
The Cognitive Virtues of Dynamic Networks
For the most part, studies in the network science literature tend to focus on networks whose functional connectivity is largely invariant with respect to some episode of collective information processing. In the real world, however, networks with highly dynamic functional topologies tend to be the norm. In order to improve our understanding of the effect of dynamic networks on collective cognitive processing, we explored the problem-solving abilities of synthetic agents in dynamic networks, where the links between agents were progressively added throughout the problem-solving process. The results support the conclusion that (at least in some task contexts) dynamic networks contribute to a better profile of problem-solving performance compared to static networks (whose topologies are fixed throughout the course of information processing). Furthermore, the results suggest that constructive networks (like those used in the present study) strike a productive balance between autonomy and social influence. When agents are allowed to operate independently at the beginning of a problem-solving process, and then later allowed to communicate, the result is often a better profile of collective performance than if extensive communication had been permitted from the very outset of the problem-solving process. These results are relevant, we suggest, to a range of phenomena, such as groupthink, the common knowledge effect and production blocking, all of which have been observed in group problem-solving contexts.
Huynh, Trung Dong
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Smart, Paul R
cd8a3dbf-d963-4009-80fb-76ecc93579df
Braines, Dave
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Shadbolt, Nigel
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Sycara, Katia
df200c43-d34d-4093-bb4e-493fea2d0732
Huynh, Trung Dong
ddea6cf3-5a82-4c99-8883-7c31cf22dd36
Smart, Paul R
cd8a3dbf-d963-4009-80fb-76ecc93579df
Braines, Dave
09e96745-c478-4a3d-9a3b-46e0f0e3ac18
Shadbolt, Nigel
5c5acdf4-ad42-49b6-81fe-e9db58c2caf7
Sycara, Katia
df200c43-d34d-4093-bb4e-493fea2d0732

Huynh, Trung Dong, Smart, Paul R, Braines, Dave, Shadbolt, Nigel and Sycara, Katia (2010) The Cognitive Virtues of Dynamic Networks. 4th Annual Conference of the International Technology Alliance (ACITA'10), London, United Kingdom. 14 - 16 Sep 2010.

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Other)

Abstract

For the most part, studies in the network science literature tend to focus on networks whose functional connectivity is largely invariant with respect to some episode of collective information processing. In the real world, however, networks with highly dynamic functional topologies tend to be the norm. In order to improve our understanding of the effect of dynamic networks on collective cognitive processing, we explored the problem-solving abilities of synthetic agents in dynamic networks, where the links between agents were progressively added throughout the problem-solving process. The results support the conclusion that (at least in some task contexts) dynamic networks contribute to a better profile of problem-solving performance compared to static networks (whose topologies are fixed throughout the course of information processing). Furthermore, the results suggest that constructive networks (like those used in the present study) strike a productive balance between autonomy and social influence. When agents are allowed to operate independently at the beginning of a problem-solving process, and then later allowed to communicate, the result is often a better profile of collective performance than if extensive communication had been permitted from the very outset of the problem-solving process. These results are relevant, we suggest, to a range of phenomena, such as groupthink, the common knowledge effect and production blocking, all of which have been observed in group problem-solving contexts.

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More information

Published date: September 2010
Additional Information: Event Dates: 14th - 16th September 2010
Venue - Dates: 4th Annual Conference of the International Technology Alliance (ACITA'10), London, United Kingdom, 2010-09-14 - 2010-09-16
Organisations: Web & Internet Science

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 271479
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/271479
PURE UUID: 2a9d8bae-fe5a-446c-a998-57dda822a231
ORCID for Trung Dong Huynh: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-4937-2473
ORCID for Paul R Smart: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-9989-5307

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 11 Aug 2010 09:39
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:15

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Contributors

Author: Trung Dong Huynh ORCID iD
Author: Paul R Smart ORCID iD
Author: Dave Braines
Author: Nigel Shadbolt
Author: Katia Sycara

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