Simulating Social Acceptability With Agent-based Modeling

TL;DR

This paper proposes using agent-based modeling to simulate social acceptability, aiming to better understand how social contexts and technology interactions influence social norms and practices.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to model social acceptability as a dynamic bundle of practices using agent-based simulations, addressing gaps in current theoretical frameworks.

Findings

Framework for simulating social practices

Identification of interaction patterns in social contexts

Potential for exploring social norm emergence

Abstract

Social acceptability is an important consideration for HCI designers who develop technologies for social contexts. However, the current theoretical foundations of social acceptability research do not account for the complex interactions among the actors in social situations and the specific role of technology. In order to improve the understanding of how context shapes and is shaped by situated technology interactions, we suggest to reframe the social space as a dynamic bundle of social practices and explore it with simulation studies using agent-based modeling. We outline possible research directions that focus on specific interactions among practices as well as regularities in emerging patterns.