Social Context

Social Context, Bruce Edmonds, Surrey Sociology Annual Conference, Barnett Hill, November t 2018, 1
Social Context
Bruce Edmonds
Centre for Policy Modelling
Manchester Metropolitan University
Slides available at: http://slideshare.net/BruceEdmonds

Talk Outline
1. Some personal history & motivation
2. Talking about “Context”
3. How the Social Sciences effectively avoid
dealing with context change
4. Approaching context from narrative accounts
5. Implementing context-sensitive behaviour in
social simulation
6. Analysing data in a context-sensitive way
7. Concluding Discussion

Some personal motivation
Part 1:

A Little Personal History
• My mother was a social worker and my father was
a bio-physicist (using physics methods to help
understand biological processes/mechanisms)
• Among other things, I was interested in formal
systems and representation, though became
increasingly aware of their limitations (especially
systems of equations that could be solve)
• Did youth work in inner city areas and taught in
Grenada in the West Indies
• Did a PhD in the nature and philosophy of
Complexity which got me thinking more about the
process of representing complex phenomena

The Complexity of Vision
• Around the house was a book: ‘the intelligent eye’
• Although easy to do, vision is very complex
• Done using processes that we are not aware of
• E.g. we are not (usually) aware of shifting focus

The Complexity of Thought
• Although easy to do, thought is
very complex
• Done using some processes
that we are not aware of
• E.g. we are not (usually)
aware of shifting context

Action within a Social Context
• Without having to do
anything conscious we
effectively ‘inhabit’ each
social context
• Adapting fluidly to each
• Using the social
affordances there as an
extension of our
perception and action

Talking about “Context”
Part 2:

The Difficulty of Talking about
Context
• The word “context” is used in many different
senses across different fields
• Somewhat of a “dustbin” concept resorted to
when more immediate explanations fail (like
the other “c-words”: complexity & creativity)
• Problematic to talk about, as it is not clear that
“contexts” are usually identifiably distinct
• Mentioning “context” is often a signal for a
more “humanities oriented” or
“participatory/involved” approach and hence
resisted by “scientists” who are seeking
general laws

A (simplistic) illustration of context from the
point of view of an actor

Situational Context
• The situation in which an event takes place
• This is indefinitely extensive, it could include
anything relevant or coincident
• The time and place specify it, but relevant
details might not be retrievable from this
• It is almost universal to abstract to what is
relevant about these to a recognised type
when communicating about this
• Thus the question “What was the context?”
often effectively means “What about the
situation do I need to know to understand?

Cognitive Context (CC)
• Many aspects of human cognition are context-
dependent, including: memory, visual perception,
choice making, reasoning, emotion, and language
• The brain somehow deals with situational context
effectively, abstracting kinds of situations so
relevant information can be easily and
preferentially accessed
• The relevant correlate of the situational context
will be called the cognitive context
• It is not known how the brain does this, and
probably does this in a rich and complex way that
might prevent easy labeling/reification of contexts

Social Context
• Since humans are fundamentally social beings…
• …social context is often most important
• e.g. an interview, a party or a lecture
• But social context may be co-determined, since:
– Special rules, norms, habits, terms, dress will be
developed for particular social contexts
– The presence of special features, rules etc. make the
social context recognisable distinct
• Over time social contexts plus their features
become entrenched and passed down
• Social Context arises and is so recognisable as a
result of cognitive and external features (e.g.
building a lecture hall)

How Social Science effectively avoids
dealing with context change
Part 3:

Why context is unavoidable
• Many aspects of human cognition are known to
be highly context-sensitive, including: memory,
preferences, language, visual perception,
reasoning and emotion
• There is much qualitative research that has
documented instances where a specific context
is essential to understanding observed behaviour
• Simple observation and introspection tells us that
behaviour in different kinds of situation is not
only different but decided on in different ways
(e.g. in a lecture and a football game)

However despite this, in much
quantitative social science….
• Almost all formal models of human behaviour
(mathematical, logical or computational) are
generic – they do not exhibit this sharp context-
dependency
• Another stream of models (models fitted to or
tested against data) consider a single model (at a
time) against a set of data that derives from many
different contexts – only interested in what
behaviour is “context independent”
• This seems to me to be a case of massive
“wishful thinking”

Context-dependency and randomness
Lots of
information
lost if
randomness
used to
“model”
contextual
variation

On the other hand in much qualitative
research…
• Does take context seriously, but has (largely) often
limits itself to description within specific contexts
• Knowledge is only useful if it is to some extent
applicable in a new situation (even if only slightly new)
• Analogical reasoning can project knowledge from one
context upon another, and this can give insights
(interesting hypotheses) but not reliable knowledge
• This kind of research often avoids responsibility for
the application of knowledge gained from its studies
(necessarily in a different situation to where it was
observed) whilst implying it is somehow useful

Context in the social sciences
– the elephant in the room
To summarise:
• We have one set of researchers who are ignoring context,
optimistically hoping to find general patterns even though
they must know context must be crucial in many cases
• Another set of researchers refuse to look at what is
general across contexts or how contexts might
systematically affect behaviour
• Few are seriously trying to study social context itself – how
it works, what regularities there are, how to identify it, how
to model its impact, when we can generalise across a set
of contexts, what happens when it cvhanges
Social context is central to human behaviour but
effectively not researched much

Some ways forward
• Keeping the data and simply NOT summarising it (at
least not prematurely)
• Data mining local patterns to detect context-sensitive
patterns of behaviour
• More complex simulation models with context-dependent
cognitive models
• Context-oriented microsimulation models
• Context-sensitive visualisation techniques
• Integrating personal/anecdotal accounts of behaviour –
making use of qualitative evidence with its context
• Not leaving the context(s) – understanding and acting
within the sphere of a shared context
• Staging abstraction more gradually
• Clusters of related models covering different contexts
1
2
3
4

Approaching context from qualitative
narratives
Part 4:

Integrating Aspects of Qualitative
Evidence into ABMs
• Identifying kinds of context (those over which we
might expect some regularity in terms of shared
norms, expectations etc.) might allow suggestions
from qualitative evidence to be incorporated into
agent-based models
• For example by providing the repertoire of possible
strategies in the context which are decided between
• This could greatly enrich agent-based models
allowing in some of the social “mess” we observe
• However this requires new methods to analyse
narrative evidence in a context-depenent manner

Identifying the ‘right’ contexts
• It is hard since people assume context, it is
usually left implicit, indeed people are often not
aware of the context they are assuming
• However…
– Socially entrenched contexts can often be identified
– When giving examples (could you imagine doing that in
situation X) people are relatively good at recognising
when the context is wrong
– Our intuitions are a good starting point, as long as we
are aware they might be wrong
• No well-developed methods – this needs further
research

Different Aspects Illustrated
Universe of Knowledge
Knowledge indicated by current cognitive context
Knowledge that is possible to
apply given circumstances
Cause1 & Cause2… 
Result1 & Result2…
Event1, event2, etc.

CSNE Analysis Framework
1. Context: the kind of situation one is in that
determines the ‘bundle’ of knowledge that is
relevant to that kind of situation
2. Scope: what is and is not possible given the
current situation and observations
3. Narrative Elements: the narrative elements that
are mentioned assuming the context and scope

About Scope
• By “scope” I mean the reasoning as to which
knowledge is possible given the circumstances
• For example, if all the seats are taken in a lecture,
then some of the norms, habits and patterns as to
where one sits might not apply
• Reasoning about scope can be complex and is
done consciously
• However once judgments about scope are made
then they tend to be assumed (i.e. are fixed),
unless the situation changes critically

Scope vs. Cognitive Context
• Both scope and cognitive context determine which
knowledge is useful for any particular situation
that is encountered
• However, they play different roles:
– CC is learnt using pattern recognition over a long time,
but then is largely a ‘given’, is almost impossible to
change when learnt, is quick and automatic and is
socially rooted
– Scope is largely reasoned afresh each time, taking
effort to do so, is possible to re-evaluate but only if
needed, and is more individually oriented

Narrative Elements
A variety of narrative structure elements are
possible, including:
– Causal stories: A … resulted in … B
– Sequences: A … then … B … then C
– Choices: had to choose between … A and B
– End points: which resulted in A which was a
disaster/really good/…
– Parallelism: A … happens at the same time as ….B
Some possible structures for these suggested by:
(Abell 1992) or (Toulmin 2003)

Some Example Analyses
using example narratives from:
Bhawani, S. (2004) Adaptive Knowledge Dynamics and Emergent
Artificial Societies: Ethnographically Based Multi-Agent Simulations
of Behavioural Adaptation in Agro-Climatic Systems. Doctoral
Thesis, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
(thesis linked from http://cfpm.org/qual2rule/essa-sig)

Hypotheses about relevant contexts
for the interviewed stakeholder
Different perspectives from which the narratives
seem to be told:
• “survival” – things are continually getting worse
and the primary goal is to keep in farming, battle
against nature etc. to avoid bankrupcy
• “comfort” – conditions are comfortable with no
immediate survival threat, one could stop worrying
so much and take things a little easy
• “entrepreneur” – one is looking for big profit,
taking risks if necessary

Survival ComfortStart Entrepreneur
Conditions Stable
and ensuring no
foreseeable threat
An opportunity
arises to make
more money
Opportunity
disappears
Existential threat
becomes
feasible
An illustration of the relevant cognitive
contexts

Quote 1 (p. 113) and CSNE Analysis
“The one conundrum here is that there are more people in
the East who want to … upgrade to more wheat allied
products, that may alter the value of the end product to us.
You see the worst thing that has happened to us worldwide
is the collapse of the Eastern economy... but it is coming
back again now and that actually may help us again. It is a
great shame because we were getting into the Eastern
markets and it was beginning to grow and suddenly it
collapsed.”

Quote 2 (p. 127) and CSNE Analysis
“…we have often had this conversation around this table.
Some people don't want to maximize profit.... They are
happier to take a slightly easier, lower level approach and
have an easier life, and not make quite so much money....
And I can relate to that... But because I'm a tenant I don't
own my own land... Everything we farm is rented and
therefore we have an immediate cost, the first cost we meet
is to our landlord and that tends to go up.”

Narrative
Text
Identifying
Contexts
Identifying
Scope
Identifying
Narrative
Elements
Agent context
structure
What agent
reasoning
about scope
occurs
Specification
of sequences,
plans,
branches
Agent context
recognition
and retrieval
rules
Reasoning
rules about
scope
Specific code
for narrative
elements
Micro-level
specification
Agent
architecture
structuring
program code

Implementing Context-Sensitive
Agents in Social Simulations
Part 5:

Ignoring Context
• Some social simulation simple ignores that their
agents are making decisions in different contexts
and hopes that does not change outcomes much
• Other modelling is conceived to represent within a
single context, in which case it can be ignored but
only if
– everyone is using the same idea of this context
– there is no significant “leakage” of causation from
outside the background, that is the scope is wide
enough to include all significant influencing factors
– The actors/organisms don’t deal with the same situation
as different cognitive contexts

Some Simulation Work addressing
Context-Dependency in Cognition
• (Schlosser & al 2005) argue that reputation is context
dependent
• (Edmonds & Norling 2007) looks at difference that
context-dependent learning and reasoning in an
artificial stock market
• (Andrighetto & al 2008) show context-dependent
learning of norms is different form a generic method
• (Tykhonov & al 2008) argue that trust is context
dependent
• (Fieldhouse & al 2016) have different social networks
and behaviours for some different contexts

Comparison in an Artificial Stock
Market
Environment:
• Traders (n context, n straight GP)
• 1 Market maker: prices and deals: 5 stocks
• Traders buy and sell shares at current market
price, but do not have to do so
• Traders have memories, can observe actions of
others, index, etc.
• Modelling ‘arms-race’
• Actions change environment

Basic Cognitive Model
• Rich, automatic, imprecise, messy cognitive
context recognition using many inputs (including
maybe internal ones)
• Crisp, costly, conscious, explicit cognitive
processes using material indicated by cognitive
context
Context
Recognition
Context-Structured
Memory
Reasoning/plan
ning/belief
revision/etc.

Example – models in the cognition of a
trading agent (with > 2 occurrences)
700
750
800
850
900
950
750 850 950
Volume - past 5 periods
Volatility-past5periods

The model contents in snapshot of
one trader
model-256 priceLastWeek [stock-4]
model-274 priceLastWeek [stock-5]
model-271 doneByLast [normTrader-5] [stock-4]
model-273 IDidLastTime [stock-2]
model-276 IDidLastTime [stock-5]
model-399
minus
[divide
[priceLastWeek [stock-2]]
[priceLastWeek [stock-5]]]
[times
[priceLastWeek [stock-4]]
[priceNow [stock-5]]]

0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
0 100 200 300 400 500
Time
TotalValueofAssetsTotal Assets in a Typical Run
Black=context, White= non-context

Implications for Simulation Modelling
• Simulations which represent agents, that in the
real world would be acting with respect to different
contexts but who are represented with an
essentially uniform behaviour need to justify this
• Social simulation might be missing a class of
phenomena that is essentially context-dependent
– How social contexts emerge
– Cross-cultural interaction where different contexts
assumed
• Context-dependent cognitive models in
simulations are feasible but are more work

Analysing Data in a more
Context-Sensitive Manner
(work by Claire Little)
Part 6:

“Troubled Family” Data & I2I Project
• A local authority (LA) negotiated a series of data
deals which meant that it could link different data
sets around many individuals & families in the
area for research purposes only
• This included: input from social worker actions
and family relationships (for core families), DWP
records, criminal records, school attendance, etc.
• We got a pseudo-anonymised version of this data
under strict conditions
• It focused on 2155 families with an intervention
between 1st August 2011 and 31st July 2015
funded by the “Troubled Family” program

Using ML to divide TF into 11 clusters

A 2D projection of these clusters

Post Hoc Tree Analysis of Clusters (1-7)

School Absences Before and After TFI

1 year Before and After Cluster 5

1 year Before and After Cluster 6

Work Done by Claire Little
As her doctoral research in conjunction with the LA.
For the detail (!!!) see her thesis at:
Little, C. (2018) Machine Learning for
Understanding Complex, Interlinked Social
Data. PhD Thesis, MMU, CPM-2018-211.
http://cfpm.org/discussionpapers/219

Concluding Discussion
Part 7:

Context-Dependency
and “Being Scientific”
• If the relevant context can be reliably identified
then context-dependency is not the same as
subjectivity (even if there are a some hard cases
that escape definition)
• Generality is nice if you can get it, but its no good
pretending to have it if this is infeasible or wrong
• Science should adapt to what it wishes to
understand, not the other way around
• Useful, validated models of context-dependent
phenomena are more scientific since they reflect
more of what is actually happening, not less

Don’t Prematurely Summarise!
• Traditionally Science has summarised its data
and conclusions using averages, linear regression
models, aggregate graphs, etc. etc.
• …and thus has missed some of the complexity,
the fundamental variety and context-dependency
of social phenomena
• We no longer have to do this!
• Agent-based modelling (along with other
approaches and advances, such as the ability to
store lots of original data etc.) means we can
preserve, model and explore this richness

Conclusions
• Social science has largely ignored, by-passed or
bracketed-off social context
• …not becuase it is not important – it is central to
many social phenomena
• ...but becuase it is hard to deal with
• ...and because context-dependency has been
associated with subjectivity and thus seen as not
scientific
• The tools to address these problems are now
emerging, and could thus allow context to
take a more central role, being explicitly

These slides are available at: http://slideshare.net/BruceEdmonds
Centre for Policy Modelling: http://cfpm.org
Collected papers and slides of mine on context at:
http://bruce.edmonds.name/context
Claire’s Thesis: http://cfpm.org/discussionpapers/219
The End!

Social Context

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