Simulating Common Pool Resource Management Experiments with Adaptive Agents Employing Alternate Communication Routines

This paper describes the development of a series of intelligent agent simulations based on data from previously documented common pool resource (CPR) experiments. These simulations are employed to examine the effects of different institutional configurations and individual behavioral characteristics on group level performance in a commons dilemma. Intelligent agents were created to represent the actions of individuals in a CPR experiment. The agents possess a collection of heuristics and utilize a form of adaptation by credit assignment in which they select the heuristic that appears to yield the highest return under the current circumstances. These simulations allow the analyst to specify the precise initial configuration of an institution and an individual's behavioral characteristics, so as to observe the interaction of the two and the group level outcomes that emerge as a result. Simulations explore settings in which there is no communication between agents, as well as the relative effects on overall group behavior of two different communication routines. The behavior of these simulations is compared with documented CPR experiments. Future directions in the development of the technology are outlined for natural resource management modeling applications.