”If I like you, I wanna be like you!” The use of dynamic systems modeling in the understanding of friendship interactions and risk behaviors during adolescence
PhD ceremony: Ms. L. Ballato, 12.45 uur, Academiegebouw, Broerstraat 5, Groningen
Dissertation: ”If I like you, I wanna be like you!” The use of dynamic systems modeling in the understanding of friendship interactions and risk behaviors during adolescence
Promotor(s): prof. P.L.C. van Geert
Faculty: Behavioural and Social Sciences
The main aim of the present thesis is to build a theoretical and mathematical model of social interactions and risk behaviors during adolescence based on the perspective of complex dynamic systems. By using computer simulations, the model explicates the complex process of friendship formation and behavior transformation on different developmental time scales (e.g., here-and-now versus months and years). The central questions of the thesis are: How do friends promote changes in adolescents’ attitudes during short-term interactions and over time co-adopt their own behaviors towards the ones of their friends? To answer our questions we apply three levels of analysis: Theoretical, mathematical and empirical. In the first part of the thesis, we propose a dynamic systems theory of friendship interactions and risk behaviors during adolescence. In the second part, we translate the theoretical framework into mathematical equations and present the results of the model’s simulations, aimed at testing our hypotheses. In the last part of the thesis the results of the empirical study are presented. The empirical study has two aims: First investigating whether similarity changes over time and second to differentiate between influence and reinforcement.
Last modified: | 13 March 2020 01.03 a.m. |
More news
-
15 July 2024
12 million euros for research into the impact of green hydrogen
A consortium to study the socio-economic impact of hydrogen, including three researchers at the University of Groningen, has been granted 12 million euros from the NWO.
-
11 July 2024
Royal decoration for dedicated Professor and mentor
On Thursday 11 July 2024, José Heesink retired. During her farewell, she received a royal decoration from Koen Schuiling, Mayor of the Municipality of Groningen.
-
27 June 2024
Practising with VR preschool class wins Dutch Education Award 2024
The project ‘De Klas op Orde met Virtual Reality’ [Order in the classroom with virtual reality] of the University of Groningen won the Dutch Education Award 2024. The Dutch Education Award is the highest award in secondary vocational and higher...