?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=Contextual+Geometric+Structures%3A+modeling+the+fundamental+components+of+cultural+behavior&rft.creator=Alicea%2C+Bradly&rft.subject=Animal+Cognition&rft.subject=Complexity+Theory&rft.subject=Neural+Modelling&rft.description=The+structural+complexity+of+culture+cannot+be+characterized+by+simply+modeling+cultural+beliefs+or+inherited+ideas.+Formal+computational+and+algorithmic+models+of+culture+have+focused+on+the+inheritance+of+discrete+cultural+units%2C+which+can+be+hard+to+define+and+map+to+practical+contexts.+In+cultural+anthropology%2C+research+involving+structuralist+and+post-structuralist+perspectives+have+helped+us+better+understand+culturally-dependent+classification+systems+and+oppositional+phenomena+(e.g.+light-dark%2C+hot-cold%2C+good-evil).+Contemporary+research+in+cognitive+neuroscience+suggests+that+complementary+sets+may+be+represented+dynamically+in+the+brain%2C+but+no+model+for+the+evolution+of+these+sets+has+of+yet+been+proposed.+To+fill+this+void%2C+a+method+for+simulating+cultural+or+other+highly+symbolic+behaviors+called+contextual+geometric+structures+will+be+introduced.+The+contextual+geometric+structures+approach+is+based+on+a+hybrid+model+that+approximates+both+individual%2Fgroup+cultural+practice+and+a+fluctuating+environment.+The+hybrid+model+consists+of+two+components.+The+first+is+a+set+of+discrete+automata+with+a+soft+classificatory+structure.+These+automata+are+then+embedded+in+a+Lagrangian-inspired+particle+simulation+that+defines+phase+space+relations+and+environmental+inputs.+The+concept+of+conditional+features+and+equations+related+to+diversity%2C+learning%2C+and+forgetting+are+used+to+approximate+the+goal-directed+and+open-ended+features+of+cultural-related+emergent+behavior.+This+allows+cultural+patterns+to+be+approximated+in+the+context+of+both+stochastic+and+deterministic+evolutionary+dynamics.+This+model+can+yield+important+information+about+multiple+structures+and+social+relationships%2C+in+addition+to+phenomena+related+to+sensory+function+and+higher-order+cognition+observed+in+neural+systems.&rft.date=2012-02-19&rft.type=Preprint&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F8246%2F1%2FCOGPRINTS.pdf&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F8246%2F7%2FCOGPRINTS.pdf&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F8246%2F8%2FCOGPRINTS.pdf&rft.identifier=++Alicea%2C+Bradly++(2012)+Contextual+Geometric+Structures%3A+modeling+the+fundamental+components+of+cultural+behavior.++%5BPreprint%5D+++++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F8246%2F