View source for Social:Social complexity

{{Short description|Conceptual framework}}
[[File:Clapham Junction - 49317028078.jpg|alt=The complex mass of train tracks through Clapham Junction, UK as an analogy of the complex society its infrastructure supports. |thumb|350x350px|'''Social complexity:''' The infrastructure of train tracks through the Clapham Junction railway station, UK, is analogous to the complexity of the society served by the railroad.]]

In sociology, '''social complexity''' is a [[Conceptual framework|conceptual framework]] used in the [[Philosophy:Analysis|analysis]] of society. In the sciences, contemporary definitions of [[Complexity|complexity]] are found in [[Systems theory|systems theory]], wherein the [[Philosophy:Phenomenon|phenomenon]] being studied has many parts and many possible arrangements of the parts; simultaneously, what is complex and what is simple are relative and change in time.<ref>Waldrop, M. Mitchell (1992.) ''Complexity: The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and Chaos.'' New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.</ref>

Contemporary usage of the term ''complexity'' specifically refers to sociologic theories of society as a [[Complex adaptive system|complex adaptive system]], however, social complexity and its [[Philosophy:Emergence|emergent]] properties are recurring subjects throughout the historical development of [[Philosophy:Social philosophy|social philosophy]] and the study of [[Social:Social change|social change]].<ref name="CCS-MMT">Eve, Raymond, Sara Horsfall and Mary E. Lee (eds.) (1997). ''Chaos, Complexity and Sociology: Myths, Models, and Theories.'' Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.</ref> 

Early [[Social:Sociological theory|theoreticians of sociology]], such as [[Biography:Ferdinand Tönnies|Ferdinand Tönnies]], [[Biography:Émile Durkheim|Émile Durkheim]], and [[Biography:Max Weber|Max Weber]], [[Biography:Vilfredo Pareto|Vilfredo Pareto]] and [[Biography:Georg Simmel|Georg Simmel]], examined the exponential growth and interrelatedness of social encounters and [[Philosophy:Social exchange theory|social exchanges]]. The emphases on the interconnectivity among social relationships, and the emergence of new properties within society, is found in the [[Social:Social theory|social theory]] produced in the subfields of sociology.<ref name="AGid-79">Giddens, Anthony (1979). ''Central problems in Social Theory: Action, Structure and Contradiction in Social Analysis.'' London: Macmillan.</ref> Social complexity is a basis for the connection of the phenomena reported in [[Social:Microsociology|microsociology]] and [[Social:Macrosociology|macrosociology]], and thus provides an intellectual [[Social:Middle range theory (sociology)|middle-range]] for sociologists to formulate and develop hypotheses.<ref>Freese, Lee (1980). "Formal Theorizing." ''Annual Review of Sociology'', 6: 187–212 (August 1980).</ref><ref>Cohen, B. P. (1989). ''Developing sociological knowledge: theory and method'' (2nd ed.). Chicago: Nelson–Hall.</ref> Methodologically, social complexity is theory-neutral, and includes the phenomena studied in microsociology and the phenomena studied in macrosociology.<ref name="CCS-MMT" />

==Theoretic background==
{{Sociology}}
In 1937, the sociologist [[Biography:Talcott Parsons|Talcott Parsons]] continued the work of the early theoreticians of sociology with his work on [[Social:Action theory (sociology)|action theory]];<ref name="Parsons-a">Parsons, Talcott (1937) and (1949). ''The Structure of Social Action: A Study in Social Theory with Special Reference to a Group of European Writers''. New York, NY: The Free Press.</ref> and by 1951, Parson had developed action theory into formal [[Systems theory|systems theory]] in ''The Social System'' (1951).<ref name="Parsons-b">Parsons, Talcott (1951). ''The Social System''. New York, NY: The Free Press</ref> In the following decades, the synergy between general [[Systems thinking|systems thinking]] and the development of [[Social:Social system|social system]] theories is carried forward by [[Biography:Robert K. Merton|Robert K. Merton]] in discussions of theories of the [[Social:Middle range theory (sociology)|middle-range]] and [[Social:Structure and agency|social structure and agency]]. From the late 1970s until the early 1990s, sociological investigation concerned the properties of systems in which the strong correlation of sub-parts leads to the observation of [[Autopoiesis|autopoetic]], [[Physics:Self-organization|self-organizing]], [[Dynamical system|dynamical]], turbulent, and chaotic behaviours that arise from mathematical complexity, such as the work of [[Biography:Niklas Luhmann|Niklas Luhmann]].<ref>Luhmann, Niklas (1990.) ''Essays on Self-Reference'', New York: Columbia University Press.</ref>

One of the earliest usages of the term "complexity", in the [[Social:Social science|social]] and behavioral sciences, to refer specifically to a [[Complex system|complex system]] is found in the study of [[Complexity theory and organizations|modern organizations]] and management studies.<ref>Kiel, L. Douglas (1994). ''Managing Chaos and Complexity in Government: A New Paradigm for Managing Change, Innovation and Organizational Renewal.'' Jossey-Bass: San Francisco.</ref> However, particularly in management studies, the term often has been used in a metaphorical rather than in a [[Qualitative property|qualitative]] or quantitative theoretical manner.<ref name="CCS-MMT" /> By the mid-1990s, the "complexity turn"<ref name=Urry>Urry, John (2005). "The Complexity Turn." ''Theory, Culture and Society'', 22(5): 1–14.</ref> in social sciences begins as some of the same tools generally used in complexity science are incorporated into the social sciences. By 1998, the international, electronic periodical, ''[[Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation]]'', had been created. In the last several years, many publications have presented overviews of complexity theory within the field of sociology. Within this body of work, connections also are drawn to yet other theoretical traditions, including [[Philosophy:Constructivist epistemology|constructivist epistemology]] and the philosophical positions of [[Philosophy:Phenomenology|phenomenology]], [[Philosophy:Postmodernism|postmodernism]] and [[Philosophy:Critical realism (philosophy of the social sciences)|critical realism]].

==Methodologies==
[[File:Penrose tiling.gif|thumb|Illustration of complexity ([[Penrose tiling|Penrose tiling]] [[Fractal|fractal]])]]
Methodologically, social complexity is theory-neutral, meaning that it accommodates both local and global approaches to sociological research.<ref name="CCS-MMT"/> The very idea of social complexity arises out of the historical-comparative methods of early sociologists; obviously, this method is important in developing, defining, and refining the theoretical construct of social complexity. As complex social systems have many parts and there are many possible relationships between those parts, appropriate methodologies are typically determined to some degree by the research level of analysis [[Social:Differentiation (sociology)|differentiated]]<ref>Luhmann, Niklas (1982). ''The Differentiation of Society.'' New York, NY: Columbia University Press.</ref> by the researcher according to the level of description or explanation demanded by the research hypotheses.

At the most localized level of analysis, ethnographic, [[Participant observation|participant-]] or non-participant observation, [[Content analysis|content analysis]] and other [[Qualitative research|qualitative research]] methods may be appropriate. More recently, highly sophisticated [[Quantitative research|quantitative research]] methodologies are being developed and used in sociology at both local and global [[Biology:Level of analysis|levels of analysis]]. Such methods include (but are not limited to) [[Bifurcation diagram|bifurcation diagram]]s, [[Philosophy:Social network analysis|network analysis]], [[Nonlinear system|non-linear]] modeling, and [[Computational sociology|computational]] models including [[Cellular automaton|cellular automata]] programming, [[Sociocybernetics|sociocybernetics]] and other methods of [[Social:Social simulation|social simulation]].

===Complex social network analysis===
{{Main|Dynamic network analysis}}
Complex [[Social:Social network|social network]] analysis is used to study the dynamics of large, complex social networks. [[Dynamic network analysis]] brings together traditional [[Philosophy:Social network analysis|social network analysis]], [[Link analysis|link analysis]] and [[Multi-agent system|multi-agent system]]s within [[Network science|network science]] and [[Network theory|network theory]].<ref>Carley, Kathleen M. (2003), "Dynamic Network Analysis." ''Dynamic Social Network Modeling and Analysis: Workshop Summary and Papers'', Ronald Breiger, Kathleen Carley, and Philippa Pattison (eds.), National Research Council (Committee on Human Factors): Washington, D.C.: 133–145.</ref> Through the use of key concepts and methods in [[Philosophy:Social network analysis|social network analysis]], agent-based modeling, theoretical [[Physics:Physics|physics]], and modern [[Mathematics|mathematics]] (particularly [[Graph theory|graph theory]] and fractal geometry), this method of inquiry brought insights into the dynamics and structure of social systems. New computational methods of localized social network analysis are coming out of the work of Duncan Watts, [[Biography:Albert-László Barabási|Albert-László Barabási]], Nicholas A. Christakis, Kathleen Carley and others.

New methods of global network analysis are emerging from the work of John Urry and the sociological study of globalization, linked to the work of [[Biography:Manuel Castells|Manuel Castells]] and the later work of Immanuel Wallerstein. Since the late 1990s, Wallerstein increasingly makes use of complexity theory, particularly the work of [[Biography:Ilya Prigogine|Ilya Prigogine]].<ref>Barabási, Albert-László (2003). ''Linked: The New Science of Networks.'' Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing.</ref><ref>Freeman, Linton C. (2004). ''The Development of Social Network Analysis: A Study in the Sociology of Science.'' Vancouver Canada: Empirical Press.</ref><ref>Watts, Duncan J. (2004). "The New Science of Networks." ''Annual Review of Sociology'', 30: 243–270.</ref> Dynamic social network analysis is linked to a variety of methodological traditions, above and beyond [[Systems thinking|systems thinking]], including [[Graph theory|graph theory]], traditional [[Social:Social network|social network]] analysis in sociology, and [[Mathematical sociology|mathematical sociology]]. It also links to [[Chaos theory|mathematical chaos]] and [[Complex dynamics|complex dynamics]] through the work of Duncan Watts and [[Biography:Steven Strogatz|Steven Strogatz]], as well as fractal geometry through [[Biography:Albert-László Barabási|Albert-László Barabási]] and his work on scale-free networks.

===Computational sociology===
{{Main|Computational sociology}}
The development of [[Computational sociology|computational sociology]] involves such scholars as Nigel Gilbert, Klaus G. Troitzsch, Joshua M. Epstein, and others. The foci of methods in this field include [[Social:Social simulation|social simulation]] and data-mining, both of which are sub-areas of computational sociology. Social simulation uses computers to create an artificial laboratory for the study of complex social systems; [[Data mining|data-mining]] uses machine intelligence to search for non-trivial patterns of relations in large, complex, real-world databases. The emerging methods of [[Unsolved:Socionics|socionics]] are a variant of computational sociology.<ref>Gilbert, Nigel and Klaus G. Troitzsch (2005). ''Simulation for Social Scientists'', 2nd Edition. New York, NY: Open University Press.</ref><ref name=epstein07>Epstein, Joshua M. (2007). ''Generative Social Science: Studies in Agent-Based Computational Modeling''. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.</ref>

Computational sociology is influenced by a number of micro-sociological areas as well as the macro-level traditions of systems science and systems thinking. The micro-level influences of [[Social:Symbolic interactionism|symbolic interaction]], exchange, and [[Finance:Rational choice theory|rational choice]], along with the micro-level focus of computational political scientists, such as [[Biography:Robert Axelrod|Robert Axelrod]], helped to develop computational sociology's bottom-up, agent-based approach to modeling complex systems. This is what Joshua M. Epstein calls [[Generative science|generative science]].<ref name=epstein07 /> Other important areas of influence include [[Statistics|statistics]], mathematical modeling and computer [[Simulation|simulation]].

===Sociocybernetics===
{{Main|Sociocybernetics}}
[[Sociocybernetics]] integrates sociology with [[Second-order cybernetics|second-order cybernetics]] and the work of [[Biography:Niklas Luhmann|Niklas Luhmann]], along with the latest advances in complexity science. In terms of scholarly work, the focus of sociocybernetics has been primarily conceptual and only slightly methodological or empirical.<ref>Geyer, Felix and Johannes van der Zouwen (1992). "Sociocybernetics." ''Handbook of Cybernetics'', C.V. Negoita (ed.): 95–124. New York: Marcel Dekker.</ref> Sociocybernetics is directly tied to [[Systems thinking|systems thought]] inside and outside of sociology, specifically in the area of second-order cybernetics.

==Areas of application==
In the first decade of the 21st century, the diversity of areas of application has grown<ref>Saberi, Mohammad Karim, Alireza Isfandyari-Moghaddam and Sedigheh Mohamadesmaeil (2011). "Web Citations Analysis of the JASSS: the First Ten Years." [http://jasss.soc.surrey.ac.uk/14/4/22.html ''Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation'', 14:(4), 22].</ref> as more sophisticated methods have developed. Social complexity theory is applied in studies of social [[Biology:Cooperation|cooperation]] and public goods;<ref>Nowak, Martin and Roger Highfield (2011). ''Super Cooperators: Altruism, Evolution, and Why We Need Each Other to Succeed''. New York, NY: Free Press.</ref> [[Philosophy:Altruism (ethics)|altruism]];<ref>Hang, Ye, Fei Tan, Mei Ding, Yongmin Jia and Yefeng Chen (2011). "Sympathy and Punishment: Evolution of Cooperation in Public Goods Game." [http://jasss.soc.surrey.ac.uk/14/4/20.html ''Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation'', 14(4): 20].</ref>  education;<ref>Mason, Mark (2008). ''Complexity Theory and the Philosophy of Education''. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell (Educational Philosophy and Theory Special Issues).</ref> global civil society <ref>Castellani, Brian. (2018). "The Defiance of Global Commitment: A Complex Social Psychology. Routledge complexity in social science series." doi:10.4324/9781351137140.</ref> [[Social:Collective action|collective action]] and [[Social:Social movement|social movement]]s;<ref>Lohmann Susanne (1994). "Dynamics of Informational Cascades: The Monday Demonstrations in Leipzig, East Germany, 1989–1991," ''World Politics'', 47: 42–101.</ref><ref>Chesters, Graeme and Ian Welsh (2006). ''Complexity and Social Movements: Protest at the Edge of Chaos." London: Routledge (International Library of Sociology).''</ref> [[Social:Social inequality|social inequality]];<ref>Castellani, Brian et al. (2011). "Addressing the U.S. Financial/Housing Crisis: Pareto, Schelling and Social Mobility."[http://cch.ashtabula.kent.edu/publications/Addressing%20the%20U.S.%20Financial%20&%20Housing%20Crisis.pdf Working Paper].</ref> workforce and unemployment;<ref>Hedström, Peter and Yvonne Åberg (2011). "Social interaction and youth unemployment." ''Analytical Sociology and Social Mechanisms'', Pierre Demeulenaere (ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.</ref><ref>Yilmaz, Levent (2011). "Toward Multi-Level, Multi-Theoretical Model Portfolios for Scientific Enterprise Workforce Dynamics." [http://jasss.soc.surrey.ac.uk/14/4/2.html ''Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation'', 14(4): 2.]</ref> [[Policy analysis|policy analysis]];<ref>Jervis, Robert (1998). ''System Effects: Complexity in Political and Social Life''. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.</ref><ref>Elliott, Euel and L. Douglas Kiel (eds.) (2000). ''Nonlinear Dynamics, Complexity and Public Policy''. Hauppauge NY: Nova Science Publishers.</ref> health care systems;<ref>Brian Castellani, Rajeev Rajaram, J. Galen Buckwalter, Michael Ball and Frederic Hafferty (2012). [https://www.springer.com/public+health/book/978-3-319-09733-6 "Place and Health as Complex Systems: A Case Study and Empirical Test"]. ''SpringerBriefs in Public Health.''</ref> and [[Social:Innovation|innovation]] and [[Social:Social change|social change]],<ref>Leydesdorff, Loet (2006). ''The Knowledge-Based Economy Modeled, Measured, Simulated''. Boca Raton, FL: Universal-Publishers .</ref><ref>Lane, D.; Pumain, D.; Leeuw, S.E. van der; West, G. (eds.) (2009). ''Complexity Perspectives in Innovation and Social Change''. New York, NY: Springer (Methodos Series, Vol. 7).</ref> to name a few. A current international scientific research project, the [[Seshat (project)|Seshat: Global History Databank]], was explicitly designed to analyze changes in social complexity from the [[History:Neolithic Revolution|Neolithic Revolution]] until the [[History:Industrial Revolution|Industrial Revolution]].

As a [[Social:Middle range theory (sociology)|middle-range]] theoretical platform, social complexity can be applied to any research in which social interaction or the outcomes of such interactions can be observed, but particularly where they can be [[Measurement|measured]] and expressed as [[Continuous function (set theory)|continuous]] or [[Discrete mathematics|discrete]] data points. One common criticism often cited regarding the usefulness of complexity science in sociology is the difficulty of obtaining adequate data.<ref>Stewart, Peter (2001). "Complexity Theories, Social Theory, and the Question of Social Complexity." ''Philosophy of the Social Sciences'', 31(3): 323–360.</ref> Nonetheless, application of the concept of social complexity and the analysis of such complexity has begun and continues to be an ongoing field of inquiry in sociology. From childhood friendships and teen pregnancy<ref name="CCS-MMT" /> to [[Social:Criminology|criminology]]<ref>Lee, Ju-Sung. (2001). "Evolving Drug Networks." [http://www.casos.cs.cmu.edu/ Carnegie Mellon Center for Computational Analysis of Social and Organizational Systems (CASOS)] Conference Presentation (unpublished).</ref> and counter-terrorism,<ref>Carley, Kathleen (2003). "Destabilizing Terrorist Networks." ''Proceedings of the 8th International Command and Control Research and Technology Symposium''. Conference held at the National Defense War College: Washington D.C., Evidence Based Research, Track 3. [http://www.dodccrp.org/events/2003/8th_ICCRTS/pdf/021.pdf (Electronic Publication).] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041218014917/http://www.dodccrp.org/events/2003/8th_ICCRTS/pdf/021.pdf |date=2004-12-18 }}</ref> theories of social complexity are being applied in almost all areas of sociological research.

In the area of communications research and [[Informetrics|informetrics]], the concept of self-organizing systems appears in mid-1990s research related to scientific communications.<ref>Leydesdorff, Loet (1995). ''The Challenge of Scientometrics: The development, measurement, and self-organization of scientific communications''. Leiden: DSWO Press, Leiden University.</ref> [[Scientometrics]] and [[Bibliometrics|bibliometrics]] are areas of research in which discrete data are available, as are several other areas of social communications research such as [[Social:Sociolinguistics|sociolinguistics]].<ref name="CCS-MMT" /> Social complexity is also a concept used in [[Philosophy:Semiotics|semiotics]].<ref>Dimitrov, Vladimir and Robert Woog (1997). "Studying Social Complexity: From Soft to Virtual Systems Methodology." [http://www.complex-systems.com/pdf/11-6-5.pdf Complex Systems, 11:(6)].</ref>

==See also==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

=== Social science ===
* Complex society
* [[Finance:Complexity economics|Complexity economics]]
* [[Complexity theory and organizations]]
* [[Social:Differentiation (sociology)|Differentiation (sociology)]]
* [[Physics:Econophysics|Econophysics]]
* [[Philosophy:Engaged theory|Engaged theory]]
* ''Network Analysis and Ethnographic Problems''
* [[Personal information management]]
{{col-2}}

=== General ===
* [[Aggregate data]]
* [[Artificial neural network]]
* [[Cognitive complexity]]
* [[Computational complexity theory]]
* [[Dual-phase evolution]]
* [[Evolutionary programming]]
* [[Game theory]]
* [[Generic-case complexity]]
* [[Multi-agent system]]
* [[Philosophy:Systemography|Systemography]]
{{col-end}}

==References==
{{Reflist|35em}}

== Further reading ==
* Byrne, David (1998). ''Complexity Theory and the Social Sciences.'' London: Routledge.
* Byrne, D., & Callaghan, G. (2013). Complexity theory and the social sciences: The state of the art. Routledge.
* Castellani, Brian and Frederic William Hafferty (2009). [https://www.springer.com/us/book/9783540884613 ''Sociology and Complexity Science: A New Area of Inquiry'' (Series: Understanding Complex Systems XV). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.]
* Eve, Raymond, Sara Horsfall and Mary E. Lee (1997). ''Chaos, Complexity and Sociology: Myths, Models, and Theories.'' Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
* Jenks, Chris and John Smith (2006). ''Qualitative Complexity: Ecology, Cognitive Processes and the Re-Emergence of Structures in Post-Humanist Social Theory.'' New York, NY: Routledge.
* Kiel, L. Douglas (ed.) (2008). [http://www.eolss.net/ebooks/Sample%20Chapters/C15/E1-29.pdf ''Knowledge Management, Organizational Intelligence, Learning and Complexity.'' UNESCO (EOLSS): Paris, France.]
* Kiel, L. Douglas and Euel Elliott (eds.) (1997). ''Chaos Theory in the Social Sciences: Foundations and Applications.'' The University of Michigan Press: Ann Arbor, MI.
* Leydesdorff, Loet (2001). ''A Sociological Theory of Communication: The Self-Organization of the Knowledge-Based Society''. Parkland, FL: Universal Publishers.
* Urry, John (2005). "The Complexity Turn." ''Theory, Culture and Society'', 22(5): 1–14.

[[Category:Complex systems theory]]
[[Category:Self-organization]]
[[Category:Nonlinear systems]]
[[Category:Sociological theories]]
[[Category:Sociological terminology]]

{{Sourceattribution|Social complexity}}