EMERGING COHESION AND INDIVIDUALIZATION IN COLLECTIVE ACTION: A CO-EVOLUTIVE APPROACH

By means of a simple computational model, we explore a dynamic perspective of social cohesion in populations under stress. Dynamics are driven by the co-evolution of structural and cognitive dimensions. Submitted to sudden variations on its environmental conflict level, the model is able to reproduce certain characteristics previously observed in real populations in situations of emergency or crisis. A closer analysis of the results, observing both structural and cognitive together, uncovers a causal path from the level of conflict suffered by a population to variations on its social cohesiveness.